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A pretty daft and goofy spoof on the heist genre. The comedy is a bit loud and random at times, don't expect any subtlety or classy humor in other words. But in that chaos does lie a decent amount of fun. Not so much that it becomes a very memorable film, but it's certainly no ordeal to sit through. Four people are planning a diamond heist, but they all want the diamonds for themselves. Wanda and Otto aim to beat Ken and George by informing the police, but they get played by the duo themselves. The only way to figure out where the loot is, is through their lawyer. Wanda tries everything to seduce him. Kline and Curtis feel a bit out of place, which is not surprising in a Cleese comedy. Kline in particular can be somewhat annoying. The pacing is pleasant though and while not all jokes are hits, there are quite a few fun scenes to be discovered. Just a bit of random filler, but if you're looking for something light and pleasant you could do far worse.Read all
An odd little film. Maybe I've seen a few too many film noirs lately, but I figured that stylistically this little heist flick was a pretty good match. The only difference being that this is a jolly old British comedy, with plenty of puns and an upbeat soundtrack, which makes for a very different type of film. Sadly it didn't make for a particularly good one. An employee of a company that transports gold decides it's time to grant himself a little bonus. Together with a sculptor friend a few more hardened criminals he devises an airtight plan to steal the gold. During the heist the operation goes smoothly, but once they have the gold the real trouble starts. It's interesting to see a more uplifting execution of a simple heist setup, but the comedy hasn't aged that well. It's all very stuffy and outdated. The performances are decent and the pacing is fine too, not in the least because the runtime is rather short, but in the end I didn't derive much pleasure from this film.Read all
An early horror anthology. I say horror, but the film is mostly a mystery, with lots and lots of dialogue, sometimes regarding supernatural phenomena. I can see how this setup could've been quite influential, but by modern standards, it's a pretty dull collection of supernatural stories. An architect drives out to the countryside to work on a home. Once there, he recognizes the place and the people present as part of a recurring dream he has had. He tells them about his dream, but not everyone is willing to believe him. The others have some mysterious stories of their own to share though. Dialogue-driven, like so many other films of its time. It's the opposite of what I look for in a film, so it's no surprise this didn't really do it for me. The performances weren't great either, and the stories were pretty underwhelming. The anthology-like setup did mean there was enough happening to keep me occupied at least.Read all