Movies
An old war movie in love with aircraft, hence the name. But it's not just dogfights and war scenes, Wellman also throws in a love triangle, some nightclub scenes, and a bit of comedy on the side. That explains the runtime to a certain degree, but it doesn't really warrant the full 140 minutes. Jack's big dream is to become a fighter pilot. His next-door neighbor Mary is madly in love with him, but Jack only has eyes for Sylvia. Sylvia is more interested in David, but then WWI starts and both boys are summoned to go and fight in the war, completely messing up any romantic aspirations. The dogfights are still pretty decent, the pacing is solid and there are a few shots that are well ahead of their time. The war scenes do go on for too long though and the love triangle is very bland and uninspired. Not a bad war film though, certainly not for its time. I'd expected worse.Read all
A classic crime film. It's really nothing special, then again that's probably because so many films in its wake followed a very similar template. I'm not at all surprised someone like Scorsese cites this as a film to watch, it's a crime landmark with Cagney as a rough model for Joe Pesci's most famous roles. Tom and Matt are two friends who grew up in poor immigrant families. They hang out with Putty Nose and become low-ranking criminals. They have ambition, and they quickly rise through the ranks. When the Prohibition hits, they see their chance to make it big, but you don't become an important criminal without making a couple of enemies along the way. Men in coats and hats, rainy settings and grubby black and white cinematography are the perfect ingredients for a crime noir, which will surely please the fans. I'm not one of them, so all I'm left with is a relatively short runtime and decent pacing. This one is for classic genre fans only.Read all
A film with a message. I'd seen this one compared to 12 Angry Men before and after watching is, it's clear why people like to link the two together. The Ox-Bow Incident is a film where every element is geared at just one single thing: getting that message across as loud and clear as possible. Two wanderers just happen to be in a saloon when news arrives that a nearby rancher has been killed, his cattle stolen. The townsfolk are angry, and it doesn't take long before they form a posse. The two wanderers join in, but it's clear that the need for revenge is bigger than the need for justice. Just like 12 Angry Men, this film felt extremely forced, overly tailored to the message it needed to convey. Performances are static, the plot is far too obvious, and the dialogues are pretty cringe-worthy. The only positive here is that the film is short, though it still felt twice as long to me. Not my kind of cinema.Read all