Movies
Surprisingly light film by Stanley Cramer. It's a film that earned its title, sadly, it turned out to be a little too one-note and with a runtime this long, the entertainment value started to dry up after a while. It's a shame as I really liked the first hour or so, I wish there had been a better editor available. When a car crashes down a mountain, several witnesses go to check if there are any survivors. One man lies next to his car, telling everyone who can hear that a huge treasure is buried in a faraway location. When the people can't agree on a fair deal, it becomes a race to see who can reach the treasure first. There's quite a bit of shouting going on, and the setup is a tad simple, but it makes for a pretty chaotic film with plenty of car chases (other vehicles are involved too). The performances aren't great, the second half is quite repetitive, but the manic atmosphere and the preference of comedy over a more serious film make this a pretty decent ride. If only it had been at least 30 minutes shorter.Read all
I guess if you're really generous, you could say this is one of those films that is still relevant today. On the other hand, the message here is so empathic and spelled out that it really starts to grate over the course of 110 minutes. The film starts out as a predictable but light drama, but goes completely off the rails in the second half. John and Joanna are an interracial couple. They want to get married, but haven't told their parents yet they're dating someone with a different skin color. A dinner is supposed to clear everything up, but not everyone is on board with their plans, even those who have thought themselves to be pretty liberal. Though the film is presented as a thematic exploration of race issues, it's just as much about gender, with both moms supporting the young couple, while both dads are firmly against the marriage. Performances are decent and I did enjoy the lighter tone at the start of the film, but it becomes so overly moralistic that the entire second half turned into one big cringe-fest. Hopelessly outdated.Read all
Kramer's The Defiant One starts off pretty decent, but it's a simple affair that can't quite stretch the intrigue until the finale. What could've a fun genre flick starts dragging once the two leads get stuck in a local village. It's a shame, because the first half showed some actual promise. Joker and Noah are two criminals who manage to escape prison when their transportation vehicle crashes in a ditch. They're bound together by a chain though, and they're not really the best of friends, but they'll need to work together if they want to remain out of the clutches of the police. The white man/black man pairing was probably more interesting when it was first released and the conversations between the two are pretty on the nose, but once their trek through the wilderness starts they make for an interesting duo. The second half of the film fails to uphold the tension and by the time the film finished, I'd stopped caring about both leads. Not terrible, but it could've been a lot better.Read all