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El camino (2008)iMDB Rating: 6.9
Date Released : 22 September 2011
Genre : Drama
Stars : Leo Fitzpatrick, Elisabeth Moss, Christopher Denham, Wes Studi. Elliot, 31, a product of the Washington D.C. foster care system, has spent most of his life moving from place to place. When he is contacted by Matthew, a childhood friend from "the system" dying of cancer, Elliot goes to be by his side. At the funeral, he meets Gray and Lily, two friends of Matthew, both aimless in their present lives. Motivated by their sense of loss, and personal anger, Gray, ..." />
Movie Quality : BRrip
Format : MKV
Size : 700 MB

Elliot, 31, a product of the Washington D.C. foster care system, has spent most of his life moving from place to place. When he is contacted by Matthew, a childhood friend from "the system" dying of cancer, Elliot goes to be by his side. At the funeral, he meets Gray and Lily, two friends of Matthew, both aimless in their present lives. Motivated by their sense of loss, and personal anger, Gray, Lily and Elliot steal Matthew's ashes and take them to Mexico. As the three travelers journey cross-country with Matthew's urn in tow, they are forced to confront their own sense of family, identity and future. Set against the changing American landscape, EL CAMINO follows these characters as they search for themselves in a country that has lost it's own identity. Gray, the wayward son of a prominent D.C. family, has left his pregnant girlfriend. He is angry, volatile and fearful of commitment. Lily is Matthew's ex-girlfriend. Unbeknownst to her parents, she has dropped out of college and ...

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Review :

Road to nowhere

The last time Elliott(Leo Fitzpatrick) saw Matthew(Richard Gallagher), they were both little kids at an orphanage, harboring dreams of parental love. Matthew got lucky; he went home, but for Elliott, finding a home became an ongoing search. He stayed in houses, while Matthew collected soccer trophies and majored in journalism at college. But that was then, and this is now. Dressed in a black suit and tie, Elliott is still that little boy, trying to make a good first impression, trying to be loved, when he shows up at the front door of his dying friend he hadn't seen in twenty years. Elliott is lost, looking very much like the Harry Dean Stanton character in Wim Wenders' "Paris, Texas" in his formal attire, but with one crucial difference: Travis Henderson had intended on staying lost, roaming the flat prairie lands of Texas, whereas Elliott wants to be found. In the Wenders film, Walt(Dean Stockwell) has to convince his wanderlust brother to get in the car, while in "El Camino", a road movie about angsty white people that doesn't get its angst in your pants, Elliott begs Gray(Christopher Denham) and Lily(Elisabeth Moss) after the funeral to let him be the third wheel on their journey to Mexico, where Matthew's best friend and ex-girlfriend plan on scattering his ashes into the Pacific.

"I had a great life," says Matthew, whom Elliott shoots with his video camera, just as he did back at the orphanage, shortly before his old documentary subject passes away. The video camera is how Elliott participates in life, purely as an observer who points his lens at things of interest; an outsider trying to make a connection with other people, living vicariously through his recorded images. At one point during the trip, inside Gray's house, the spoiled rich kid calls him "Spielberg", an appropriate moniker, since the Elliott in "E.T.: The Extra-Terrestrial" was looking for a friend. When Lily coaxes Elliott to surrender his camera for an interview, he becomes the subject, perhaps for the first time since Matthew interviewed him as kids. He finally becomes a thing of interest, this orphan, who the moviegoer suspects has never loved, or been loved. Since film-making is how Elliott connects with people, this burlesquing of intimacy, having Lily turning the tables and filming the filmmaker amounts to having Elliott's attempts at intimacy being reciprocated. He's being "stripped" in front of a stripper; he's naked. When Lily kisses Elliott, he doesn't know what to do, because this orphan has spent his whole life recording life instead of living it. At the final destination, a beach in Mexico, after Elliott parts ways with Gray(the angst-ridden rich kid with daddy issues), and Lily(the angst-ridden, chain-smoking exotic dancer with mommy issues), the formally-attired "boy" takes off his shirt and walks toward the ocean. Since, in all likelihood, there's nobody to watch his film, he doesn't bother recording his homecoming. (The final scene is open-ended; it might, or might not be a suicide attempt.)

Project 7 (2006)iMDB Rating: 6.7
Date Released : 8 May 2006
Genre : Drama
Stars : Christel Ferguson, Jeffrey Langelli, Anjelia Pelay, Andrew Roth. When you work for Project 7, if you leave, you die, it's a rule. Project 7 is the secret intelligence agency that performs inhumane experiments to see just how far the human population can go. By learning how to break down individuals defenses, they can further strengthen their own nation and army. But what will happen when a new employee Angel who has full intentions of bringing the firm down, ..." />
Movie Quality : HDrip
Format : MKV
Size : 700 MB

When you work for Project 7, if you leave, you die, it's a rule. Project 7 is the secret intelligence agency that performs inhumane experiments to see just how far the human population can go. By learning how to break down individuals defenses, they can further strengthen their own nation and army. But what will happen when a new employee Angel who has full intentions of bringing the firm down, suddenly falls in love with everything that she despises? Will the firms lead researcher, Dylan Wright be able to walk away from all that he is and all that he knows to save the life of the woman who tries to destroy him?

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Sincerely Yours (1955)iMDB Rating: 5.7
Date Released : 1 November 1955
Genre : Drama
Stars : Liberace, Joanne Dru, Dorothy Malone, Alex Nicol. Tony Warrin has it all: a popular pianist who plays any style, he has money, great clothes, a penthouse overlooking Central Park, a rich blond fiancée, a loyal brunette secretary secretly in love with him, and a date at Carnegie Hall. On concert night, disease deafens him. While medical science works on a cure, he must find other ventures. He learns lip reading and, using high-powered binoculars,..." />
Movie Quality : BRrip
Format : MKV
Size : 870 MB

Tony Warrin has it all: a popular pianist who plays any style, he has money, great clothes, a penthouse overlooking Central Park, a rich blond fiancée, a loyal brunette secretary secretly in love with him, and a date at Carnegie Hall. On concert night, disease deafens him. While medical science works on a cure, he must find other ventures. He learns lip reading and, using high-powered binoculars, eavesdrops on conversations in the park. When he finds people in need, he plays God, interceding with help. Meanwhile, his fiancée is falling in love with another man, his secretary quits, and his doctors give him new hope. Carnegie Hall and true love may be within reach.

Watch Sincerely Yours Trailer :

Review :

You can't silent scream all the way to the bank

Interesting that ptb-8 suggests this movie for late-night audience participation, for that's exactly how I first saw it at the late-lamented Vista Theater in L.A. about 20 years ago. It was featured in a "worst films of all time" festival, and while other contenders such as The Lonely Lady and Hello Everybody! had their piquant charms, nothing beat Sincerely Yours for continuous laughter and riotous audience response.

What makes the film so beautiful and so special is that it takes all the Classical Hollywood conventions (regular-guy hero desired by both nice girl and vamp; illness and disability used for shameless heart-tugging; totally artificial sets and lighting) and unthinkingly dumps Liberace -- grinning, unctuous, goggle-eyed and palpably uneasy -- right into them.

Lee gamely goes through the motions, but scene after scene goes weirdly wrong, with every third line of dialogue becoming a hilarious double entendre comment on the star's deeply closeted yet totally obvious sexuality. He's introduced interrupting his cigar-chewing manager's bubble bath, just thrilled to hear that he's secured tickets to the big prizefight ("I love a good fight" he murmers). He ends the film tap dancing in a pink tuxedo. In between he goes all dramatic as deafness strikes him (I seem to recall a silent scream) and takes to spying on a young boy's daily walks in Central Park via the biggest pair of binoculars you ever saw.

Don't worry that the music might be too highbrow for you: amid the butchered Chopin and Schumann, there's a full concert version of "Chopsticks" and some boogie woogie. Liberace plays a bit of the latter and smirks "that's the boogie..." and I have to say that waiting for him to complete the thought by saying "that's the woogie" was one of the most gloriously happy moments of my life. The Vista programmer informed us that Liberace's brother George assembled this eclectic musical programme; when the film became a huge flop, he ungenerously blamed George and the two brothers were estranged for some time afterwards.

That's the woogie, baby.

The VHS tape of Sincerely Yours is faded and panned-and-scanned; this inadvertent masterpiece deserves a full restoration to its widescreen glory on DVD.

No Man's Woman (1955)iMDB Rating: 7.0
Date Released : 27 October 1955
Genre : Crime, Mystery
Stars : Marie Windsor, John Archer, Patric Knowles, Nancy Gates. Carolyn Ellenson double-crosses five people who cross her path and is murdered by one of them. After marrying Harlow Grant for his money, she leaves him but carries on her infidelities so cleverly he can not divorce her. When Grant falls in love with Louise Nelson, art-studio employee, Carolyn demands a prohibitive cash settlement and large alimony payments. Then tiring of her art-critic lover, ..." />
Movie Quality : HDrip
Format : MKV
Size : 870 MB

Carolyn Ellenson double-crosses five people who cross her path and is murdered by one of them. After marrying Harlow Grant for his money, she leaves him but carries on her infidelities so cleverly he can not divorce her. When Grant falls in love with Louise Nelson, art-studio employee, Carolyn demands a prohibitive cash settlement and large alimony payments. Then tiring of her art-critic lover, Wayne Vincent, who has jeopardized his own career touting her art-studio business, Carolyn leaves him to pursue Dick Sawyer and break-up his engagement to Betty Allen. All of these five people have motives for murdering Carolyn and the police choose Grant as the logical suspect. But another person comes forward to confess to the killing for personal reasons, but he didn't do it. The real killer feels secure but must remove the murder-weapon from the studio before the police discover it.

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Review :

A must for Marie Windsor fans. Overly formulaic but entertaining.

Windsor plays a conniving, unfaithful wife whose fed up husband wants to marry a "nice" girl and is willing to make her a fair offer in exchange for a divorce. She makes an exorbitant demand and ups the price by 100 grand after he responds by throwing a drink in her face. This is followed by her shocked father-in-law's remark "no matter how you look at it, that woman is a witch!" To which his son replies "no matter how you spell it either." A good example of some of the clever (not to mention funny) pseudo-profanity and "no-no" innuendo script writers had to develop back then.

As usual, Windsor plays her part to the hilt and makes a very credible villain. Unfortunately, the script writers went overboard with her character, almost making her a caricature of herself. They exaggerate her "W" or "B"ness to such a degree that it becomes unrealistic and even comical. What self-respecting cold, calculating gold-digger would publicly commit adultery with her secretary's fiancée before she was done squeezing her husband? Windsor herself seems to display an inner grin even with her nastiest facial expressions. She no doubt realized how ridiculous some of the script was. In the movie, she owns and lives in an art gallery. Since the real Marie Windsor was a multi-talented individual who achieved some success as a painter and sculptress, I wonder if this is simply coincidental.

I guess one purpose served by making her such a larger than life meanie is to make all the suspects seem equally likely to have killed her.

A mix of true "noir" and standard "whodunit" hurt by overdone melodramatics, yet still worth seeing.

The Baby and the Battleship (1956)iMDB Rating: 5.3
Date Released : 23 April 1957
Genre : Comedy
Stars : John Mills, Richard Attenborough, André Morell, Bryan Forbes. After a quayside mix-up with the Italian family of his fiancée, Able Seaman Knocker White finds himself literally left holding the baby. Unable to return it before his ship sails he enlists the help of best mate Puncher Roberts to smuggle the child aboard. But babies are surprisingly demanding and gradually the whole crew is drawn into helping keep it fed and washed - and undiscovered. Even so, ..." />
Movie Quality : HDrip
Format : MKV
Size : 700 MB

After a quayside mix-up with the Italian family of his fiancée, Able Seaman Knocker White finds himself literally left holding the baby. Unable to return it before his ship sails he enlists the help of best mate Puncher Roberts to smuggle the child aboard. But babies are surprisingly demanding and gradually the whole crew is drawn into helping keep it fed and washed - and undiscovered. Even so, the officers above deck start to puzzle over the increasingly strange happenings on board.

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Review :

Royal Navy looks after a baby and fails (at making a movie)

My FTA usually puts on great old movies with regularity and I am always eager to watch because I don't see much these days that has any real depth to the story, so I usually chew it up eagerly. So, this afternoon, I was treated to "The Baby and the Battleship". The name put me off a bit, but I saw that the there was quite a stellar cast and decided to stick with it while lying on the lounge and eating a nice hot pork dumpling soup with some jasmine tea (sounds kinda snotty-nose doesn't it?)

Well....that's where it ended.

If you thought that you were getting class with John Mills and Richard Attenborough, forget it. They have done better things when visiting the toilet when they get up of a morning. The whole movie is a milquetoast presentation with a poor shot at Marx Bros. mayhem that misses by quite a bit. From start to finish, the whole plot is just an unbelievable potpourri of badly written comedy, stiff acting and rubbish lines in general. It doesn't surprise me that the movie was panned by critics back in the 50's. What did stand out was the editing of the movie. My wife and I sat and watched the movie thinking that the baby (quite mature) that was used would have been blubbering intensely at the end of most scenes, but I believe that, due to editing, the kid was made to look like a total actor that was in control of itself at all times, which is more than I could say for the grown-ups. The rest of the cast were made to look like badly written cartoons.

Do yourself a favor and give this one a miss. The big names in this movie have made better and this must have been just a quick money-maker while they were in between projects.

It may not seem like it, but I'm lost for words with this one.

Attack (1956)iMDB Rating: 7.5
Date Released : 17 October 1956
Genre : Drama, War, Action
Stars : Jack Palance, Lee Marvin, Eddie Albert, Robert Strauss. During the closing days of WWII, a National Guard Infantry Company is assigned the task of setting up artillery observation posts in a strategic area. Lieutenant Costa knows that Cooney is in command only because of 'connections' he had made state-side. Costa has serious doubts concerning Cooneys' ability to lead the group. When Cooney sends Costa and his men out, and refuses to re-enforce them, ..." />
Movie Quality : BRrip
Format : MKV
Size : 700 MB

During the closing days of WWII, a National Guard Infantry Company is assigned the task of setting up artillery observation posts in a strategic area. Lieutenant Costa knows that Cooney is in command only because of 'connections' he had made state-side. Costa has serious doubts concerning Cooneys' ability to lead the group. When Cooney sends Costa and his men out, and refuses to re-enforce them, Costa swears revenge.

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Review :

Fantastic War Movie - No Holds Barred

One of Robert Aldrich's classic war movies explores pyschological pressure and just how war effects men mentally. Even the "good guys" have their bad sides, and the bad guys are so screwed up you either sympathize with them or hate them.

During the fall of 1944, Captain Cooney (Eddie Albert) commands a weary infantry company. Lt. Costa (a young Jack Palance) realizes that Cooney is unfit for command when he freezes in combat. Costa and close friend Lt. Woodruff (Bill Smithers) try to inform their superior, Colonel Bartlett (Lee Marvin sporting a southern drawl) of Cooney's incompetence; instead, White wants to stay out of the way and hopes for the best. He owes Cooney a chance to become a hero so he can look good back home. Well, as you might have expected, Cooney again freezes in combat, this time costing the lives of several of Costa's men - and Costa goes looking for vengeance in an awesome climactic sequence.

The supporting cast is dotted with familiar faces, including Robert Strass from STALAG 17 as an oafish, emotional dogface; the late Buddy Ebsen (BETWEEN HEAVEN AND HELL) as Costa's loyal platoon sergeant; and Richard Jaeckel (who's appeared in at least a dozen war flicks) as another young soldier. Kudos to Bill Smithers, who does a fantastic job in an early role as Costa's rational friend. His final scene will leave you stunned and reeling.

The movie features a number of memorable scenes which combine physical action, superb dialog and emotion perfectly. One scene in which a mortally wounded Jack Palance prays that God will let him live long enough to kill Cooney is gut-wrenching. Interestingly, both Cooney and Costa have lost their grip on sanity. It's clear from the beginning that Cooney is a whackjob, and Costa is perfectly sane. But he becomes madly (no pun intended) obsessed with killing Cooney, that he forgets everything else - including his own men which is fighting to save. Instead of focusing on thousands of troops and big explosions, Aldrich delivers enough punch in his small-scale story to knock you down. Interiors and exteriors are beautifully shot, confining the action within small spaces to deliver maximum intensity and efficiency.

ATTACK! is an honest film - yes, this type of thing did happen; read or see BAND OF BROTHERS (particularly episode #7) to witness a brutally accurate account of flawed leadership resulting in disaster. I give an 11/10.

The Man from Bitter Ridge (1955)iMDB Rating: 6.1
Date Released : 12 April 1955
Genre : Western
Stars : Lex Barker, Mara Corday, Stephen McNally, John Dehner. Jeff Carr, a special investigator, arrives in Tomahawk. His assignment is to discover who has been holding up the local stagecoach and is guilty for a series of killings that terrorize the town. Sheepman Alec Black is suspected by the local population but it is not long before Jeff realizes the man is innocent. Alec even becomes a good friend although he is in love with the same woman as him, ..." />
Movie Quality : HDrip
Format : MKV
Size : 870 MB

Jeff Carr, a special investigator, arrives in Tomahawk. His assignment is to discover who has been holding up the local stagecoach and is guilty for a series of killings that terrorize the town. Sheepman Alec Black is suspected by the local population but it is not long before Jeff realizes the man is innocent. Alec even becomes a good friend although he is in love with the same woman as him, Holly. Jeff will manage to arrest the real culprits but not before the latter try to compromise him down.

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Review :

Not the best Jack Arnold western ever made but...

A pretty good time waster. Effective, fast paced, with very good action sequences. The cast is also adequate: Stephen Mac Nally, Lex Barker, Mara Corday, and John Dehner as the bad guy: a banker involved with a gang of stagecoach robbers, outlaws.

But unfortunately the topic is rather foreseeable. Barker is the guy who is accused for being one of the outlaws who robbed the stagecoach. And he finds an allied in Stephen Mac Nally, a sheep man.

The gunfights sequences at the end of the movie are vibrating.

A good western, but we are far away from NO NAME ON THE BULLET, also directed by Jack Arnold and, I admit, a rather psychological western.

Börn (2006)iMDB Rating: 7.6
Date Released : 9 September 2006
Genre : Drama
Stars : Gísli Örn Garðarsson, Nína Dögg Filippusdóttir, Ólafur Darri Ólafsson, Andri Snær Magnason. Karitas is a single mother of four who desperately tries to make ends meet. Fighting a losing battle with her ex-husband for custody over her three daughters, she's oblivious to what's going on with her twelve year old son Gudmund, a victim of brutal bullying at school and whose life is on the fast track to destruction. Gudmund's only friend in the world is Marinó, a schizophrenic in his forties,..." />
Movie Quality : HDrip
Format : MKV
Size : 870 MB

Karitas is a single mother of four who desperately tries to make ends meet. Fighting a losing battle with her ex-husband for custody over her three daughters, she's oblivious to what's going on with her twelve year old son Gudmund, a victim of brutal bullying at school and whose life is on the fast track to destruction. Gudmund's only friend in the world is Marinó, a schizophrenic in his forties, who lives with his mother in the same apartment building. When Marinó realizes that his mother has secretly been dating a stranger, Marino starts to lose grip on reality. Gardar is an underworld enforcer who makes a mess at work and as a result his twin brother Georg is beaten up. Exiled both from the underworld and his family, Gardar has to make a fresh start in life. He decided to seek out his family, Gardar has to make a fresh start in life. He decided to seek out his son Gudmund whom he has never seen but the straight and narrow is a though path to follow

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Review :

Gritty contemporary tale does not leave one untouched

I saw this movie at the 2007 International Film Festival of Rotterdam. The director and lead actor were present at the screening for a Q&A.

Garðar, a short-fused blond guy with a big dog makes his living by threatening people and beating them up.

Karítas is a young divorced nurse. She parents four kids. The three younger daughters seem to find their way. Her son, the oldest has no friends. He plays football with Marino, a mentally handicapped man in his thirties.

Marino has a mysterious, maybe violent past. He also works in the convenience store of his uncle. The uncle is gay, but in the closet.

This is how the main elements of this group of characters start out. Like its sibling movie Parents, Children has many small intertwined stories.

In direct comparison to Parents, this story is more grim and violent. Children focuses on people who live "on the wrong side of the tracks", whereas Parents plays in the suburbs.

The acting is superb and engaging. Even though all of the characters have an evil twist or vice of some significance, it is not hard to take their side at some point in the story.

I can recommend this to anyone who wants to experience heartfelt emotions in a realistic, gritty contemporary tale. Leaving the theater untouched is not an option. 9/10

Casting Trivia: The three main actors are part of the same theater group. As this was a low to no-budget production, each of the three main actors was asked to bring in the actors for the characters around themselves. As a result, Nína Dögg Filippusdóttir (Karítas) cast her brother for the role of her son Gudmund. Lead actor Gísli Örn Garðarsson plays both the violent blond guy and his bearded brother with the beer belly.

Screenplay Trivia: Each actor developed their own dialog and story-line together with the director.

Production Trivia: The shooting of Children and Parents took place in the same time period. The editing for each film was done separately. Because of the tremendous amount of footage, editing took 6-7 months for each film.

Editing Trivia: A big story-line surrounding the gay shop owner (Marino's uncle) had to be left out of the final movie. The director thought it did not fit well enough together with the other story-lines. He almost had enough material to make another movie..

Acting Trivia: When actor Gísli Örn Garðarsson was in his role for the violent Garðar, they would shoot scenes in a bar. He was amazed and shocked to experience how girls would be attracted to these types.

Sincerely Yours (1955)iMDB Rating: 5.7
Date Released : 1 November 1955
Genre : Drama
Stars : Liberace, Joanne Dru, Dorothy Malone, Alex Nicol. Tony Warrin has it all: a popular pianist who plays any style, he has money, great clothes, a penthouse overlooking Central Park, a rich blond fiancée, a loyal brunette secretary secretly in love with him, and a date at Carnegie Hall. On concert night, disease deafens him. While medical science works on a cure, he must find other ventures. He learns lip reading and, using high-powered binoculars,..." />
Movie Quality : BRrip
Format : MKV
Size : 870 MB

Tony Warrin has it all: a popular pianist who plays any style, he has money, great clothes, a penthouse overlooking Central Park, a rich blond fiancée, a loyal brunette secretary secretly in love with him, and a date at Carnegie Hall. On concert night, disease deafens him. While medical science works on a cure, he must find other ventures. He learns lip reading and, using high-powered binoculars, eavesdrops on conversations in the park. When he finds people in need, he plays God, interceding with help. Meanwhile, his fiancée is falling in love with another man, his secretary quits, and his doctors give him new hope. Carnegie Hall and true love may be within reach.

Watch Sincerely Yours Trailer :

Review :

You can't silent scream all the way to the bank

Interesting that ptb-8 suggests this movie for late-night audience participation, for that's exactly how I first saw it at the late-lamented Vista Theater in L.A. about 20 years ago. It was featured in a "worst films of all time" festival, and while other contenders such as The Lonely Lady and Hello Everybody! had their piquant charms, nothing beat Sincerely Yours for continuous laughter and riotous audience response.

What makes the film so beautiful and so special is that it takes all the Classical Hollywood conventions (regular-guy hero desired by both nice girl and vamp; illness and disability used for shameless heart-tugging; totally artificial sets and lighting) and unthinkingly dumps Liberace -- grinning, unctuous, goggle-eyed and palpably uneasy -- right into them.

Lee gamely goes through the motions, but scene after scene goes weirdly wrong, with every third line of dialogue becoming a hilarious double entendre comment on the star's deeply closeted yet totally obvious sexuality. He's introduced interrupting his cigar-chewing manager's bubble bath, just thrilled to hear that he's secured tickets to the big prizefight ("I love a good fight" he murmers). He ends the film tap dancing in a pink tuxedo. In between he goes all dramatic as deafness strikes him (I seem to recall a silent scream) and takes to spying on a young boy's daily walks in Central Park via the biggest pair of binoculars you ever saw.

Don't worry that the music might be too highbrow for you: amid the butchered Chopin and Schumann, there's a full concert version of "Chopsticks" and some boogie woogie. Liberace plays a bit of the latter and smirks "that's the boogie..." and I have to say that waiting for him to complete the thought by saying "that's the woogie" was one of the most gloriously happy moments of my life. The Vista programmer informed us that Liberace's brother George assembled this eclectic musical programme; when the film became a huge flop, he ungenerously blamed George and the two brothers were estranged for some time afterwards.

That's the woogie, baby.

The VHS tape of Sincerely Yours is faded and panned-and-scanned; this inadvertent masterpiece deserves a full restoration to its widescreen glory on DVD.

Papa, maman, ma femme et moi... (1955)iMDB Rating: 6.4
Date Released : 18 October 1955
Genre : Comedy
Stars : Robert Lamoureux, Gaby Morlay, Fernand Ledoux, Nicole Courcel. Robert Langlois is now married to Catherine, the former housemaid. And they would live happily ever after if the housing crisis did not force them to live together with Gabrielle and Fernand, Robert's parents. For, despite the good will on either side, tension soon arises. What else to expect when there is too little space in their Montmartre apartment for four people (then for six then eight, ..." />
Movie Quality : HDrip
Format : MKV
Size : 870 MB

Robert Langlois is now married to Catherine, the former housemaid. And they would live happily ever after if the housing crisis did not force them to live together with Gabrielle and Fernand, Robert's parents. For, despite the good will on either side, tension soon arises. What else to expect when there is too little space in their Montmartre apartment for four people (then for six then eight, the couple having... two pairs of twins!) ; the continued presence there of Fernand (who loves peace and quiet) after he is driven to retirement ; the difficult beginnings of Robert as a lawyer in a room of the apartment, etc... Other troubles follow and the harried family is on the verge of implosion...

Watch Papa, maman, ma femme et moi... Trailer :

Review :

A modest but relevant insight into the France of the 1950s

A sequel to the highly successful "Papa, maman la bonne et moi" directed by Jean-Paul Le Chanois in 1954, "Papa, maman ma femme et moi, reuniting the same cast and crew, forms the second part of a diptych that is much better than its reputation. It is easy to see what attracted Jules Borkon, the producer, in the first place : the tremendously popular song/comedy sketch entitled "Papa, Maman, la bonne et moi" which, back in 1950, made a young emaciated comedian named Robert Lamoureux an instant star of the comic genre. The song part told in a good-natured way of the small worries of an ordinary French family but what made the act irresistible was that it was regularly interrupted by the singer himself, prone to making incendiary comments against his father. Indeed, according to Lamoureux, Dad's extreme clumsiness caused all kinds of havoc which the young man reported to the public in a hilarious mock-serious tone. "Well, Borkon appropriately said to himself, if the comedy sketch made audiences roar with laughter, why not transpose Lamoureux's crazy universe to the big screen and pocket big money?" So he did, but the move was more than just cynical. For, instead of entrusting the movie to some run of the mill director, he chose Jean-Paul Le Chanois, a socially committed filmmaker who felt closer to the man in the street than to the rich and powerful (the schoolmaster of "L'école buissonnière", the taxi driver of "Sans laisser d'adresse", the doctor of "Le cas du Docteur Laurent", the ex- convict Jean Valjean of "Les Misérables", ...). He also allowed two great writers, Marcel Aymé and Pierre Véry, to work with him on the script. And he did not surround Robert Lamoureux by second-rate stooges (as is often the case when one wants to promote a new name coming from outside the movie world) but by great talents like Fernand Ledoux, Gaby Morlay (more accustomed to drama than comedy) and many many others like Louis de Funès and Jean Tissier. Last good point but not the least, Le Chanois and his two prestigious co-writers decided to soft-pedal on the zaniness of the sketch part to emphasize instead the everyday life aspect of the song part. A sound choice indeed insofar as the two films of the diptych, and more particularly "Papa, maman, ma femme et moi", manage to capture the reality of what life was like in the France of the 1950s. The first half is in this regard a perfect little gem. Set in a modest Montmartre apartment both uniting and pitting one against the other two couples (retired teacher Fernand Ledoux & his translator wife Morlay) and their son (junior lawyer Lamoureux & his newlywed wife Courcel) - plus... two pairs of twins!, the movie presents itself as half sweet half sour chronicle of the life of average French people. A life made difficult in those post-war years on account of the housing crisis. Nothing tragic happens in this context, only a host of small worries, of exacting tensions, of repeated vexations which cannot but spoil family life to some extent. The two films struck a chord with the people of the time and arouse nostalgia in those who have known this period and see them today.

"Papa, maman, ma femme et moi" can actually be seen by viewers of any generation, provided they are adults and have kids. What makes such a modest comedy so timeless and universal is its being the perfect epitome of ALL the stages a couple goes through after the limited time of seduction and romance: the honeymoon, the euphoric return home, the kisses and embraces exchanged every minute, the first conflicts over minor details, a baby coming soon and the expenses going with it, the anxiety caused by this event and fed by well-meaning bad news bearers ("there's a baby born in the neighborhood with six fingers", the lot), the noisy babies, the rows about their education (to punish them or not? Should they be able to read before going to school or not, should babies eat meat or not?, etc.)

This first part, all made of funny light touches, is delightful, What a pity the authors do not follow this road till the end. Instead, they surprisingly sink into convention as Lamoureux finds himself on the verge of sentimental deceit and "Maman Morlay", following his example allows herself to be courted by... an explorer back from the North Pole! Just boring and bordering on ridiculous.

There are still a few amusing scenes though (such as the catastrophic building of Mr. Langlois' dream house) but the momentum is lost and what could have been a small masterpiece closes disappointingly, despite its initial qualities. It still remains that this popular comedy deserves to be seen for its excellent cast, its sociological value and its warm but no-nonsense tone.

Attack (1956)iMDB Rating: 7.5
Date Released : 17 October 1956
Genre : Drama, War, Action
Stars : Jack Palance, Lee Marvin, Eddie Albert, Robert Strauss. During the closing days of WWII, a National Guard Infantry Company is assigned the task of setting up artillery observation posts in a strategic area. Lieutenant Costa knows that Cooney is in command only because of 'connections' he had made state-side. Costa has serious doubts concerning Cooneys' ability to lead the group. When Cooney sends Costa and his men out, and refuses to re-enforce them, ..." />
Movie Quality : BRrip
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Size : 870 MB

During the closing days of WWII, a National Guard Infantry Company is assigned the task of setting up artillery observation posts in a strategic area. Lieutenant Costa knows that Cooney is in command only because of 'connections' he had made state-side. Costa has serious doubts concerning Cooneys' ability to lead the group. When Cooney sends Costa and his men out, and refuses to re-enforce them, Costa swears revenge.

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Review :

Fantastic War Movie - No Holds Barred

One of Robert Aldrich's classic war movies explores pyschological pressure and just how war effects men mentally. Even the "good guys" have their bad sides, and the bad guys are so screwed up you either sympathize with them or hate them.

During the fall of 1944, Captain Cooney (Eddie Albert) commands a weary infantry company. Lt. Costa (a young Jack Palance) realizes that Cooney is unfit for command when he freezes in combat. Costa and close friend Lt. Woodruff (Bill Smithers) try to inform their superior, Colonel Bartlett (Lee Marvin sporting a southern drawl) of Cooney's incompetence; instead, White wants to stay out of the way and hopes for the best. He owes Cooney a chance to become a hero so he can look good back home. Well, as you might have expected, Cooney again freezes in combat, this time costing the lives of several of Costa's men - and Costa goes looking for vengeance in an awesome climactic sequence.

The supporting cast is dotted with familiar faces, including Robert Strass from STALAG 17 as an oafish, emotional dogface; the late Buddy Ebsen (BETWEEN HEAVEN AND HELL) as Costa's loyal platoon sergeant; and Richard Jaeckel (who's appeared in at least a dozen war flicks) as another young soldier. Kudos to Bill Smithers, who does a fantastic job in an early role as Costa's rational friend. His final scene will leave you stunned and reeling.

The movie features a number of memorable scenes which combine physical action, superb dialog and emotion perfectly. One scene in which a mortally wounded Jack Palance prays that God will let him live long enough to kill Cooney is gut-wrenching. Interestingly, both Cooney and Costa have lost their grip on sanity. It's clear from the beginning that Cooney is a whackjob, and Costa is perfectly sane. But he becomes madly (no pun intended) obsessed with killing Cooney, that he forgets everything else - including his own men which is fighting to save. Instead of focusing on thousands of troops and big explosions, Aldrich delivers enough punch in his small-scale story to knock you down. Interiors and exteriors are beautifully shot, confining the action within small spaces to deliver maximum intensity and efficiency.

ATTACK! is an honest film - yes, this type of thing did happen; read or see BAND OF BROTHERS (particularly episode #7) to witness a brutally accurate account of flawed leadership resulting in disaster. I give an 11/10.

Nuodemes uzkalbejimas (2007)iMDB Rating: 7.3
Date Released : 2 March 2007
Genre : Drama
Stars : Rasa Samuolyte, Kostas Smoriginas, Aleksas Kazanavicius, Nele Savicenko. A nearly-suicidal, young woman visits a psychotherapist. She is in love with a priest, and the diagnosis of her husband's mental illness leaves no hope. The psychotherapist, in her attempts to resolve the amassed difficulties, seemingly begins to duplicate the life stages and behavioral patterns of her patient. A script for this film is based on motifs from the best-seller, scandalous novel, ..." />
Movie Quality : BRrip
Format : MKV
Size : 870 MB

A nearly-suicidal, young woman visits a psychotherapist. She is in love with a priest, and the diagnosis of her husband's mental illness leaves no hope. The psychotherapist, in her attempts to resolve the amassed difficulties, seemingly begins to duplicate the life stages and behavioral patterns of her patient. A script for this film is based on motifs from the best-seller, scandalous novel, Witch and Rain, by female author, Jurga Ivanauskaite. By choosing a priest as the main role for a love story, the author broke an existing societal taboo. Faith, Love and Hope form the trilogy by the authors of this screenplay. Love stands as the grandest of the three.

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Review :

Are you psycho-something enough for this?

First of all, if you are from Lithuania or at least a Lithuanian deport, its a must-see movie. Why? Well, for a number of reasons.

To begin with, have you ever seen director's Algimantas Puipa best movie made so far "Forest of The Gods"? I guess you did not. But if you did.. Actually, this movie is better drama with better script, better actors and the director had improved too!! Secondly, this is not only a movie, its based on three of R.I.P. Jurga Ivanauskaite books. Its not an adaptation or a remake of some old movies. "Whisper of Sin" is representing passion of new era movies - its based on a book. Another plus for this movie is that camera-man really did his job and movie looks amazing!! Not amazing compared to those Hollywood expensive crap, but its the most we could expect from a Lithuanian movie. Lastly, i found no contra-arguments for this movie, so i can just say that even if you are not Lithuanian or you don't understand our language, download this movie from internet someday, or buy DVD when it hits stores later this year.

All in All, even this movie will probably wont get an Oscar, because 300 will :), still, it's and awesome Lithuanian flick.

Dirty Habit (2006)iMDB Rating: 6.3
Date Released : 29 July 2006
Genre : Thriller
Stars : Reagan Dale Neis, Kirsty Hinchcliffe, Sam Anderson, Eloise Root. A crack-addicted prostitute and a nun get stuck on an elevator. One is going to, one is coming from, a meeting with a killer. In a seedy hotel, battered prostitute Leslie flees the scene of a crime only to get trapped on the elevator with young Sister Amelia. When no one responds to their cries for help, they reluctantly turn to each other. Leslie starts smoking crack and goes from standoffish, ..." />
Movie Quality : HDrip
Format : MKV
Size : 870 MB

A crack-addicted prostitute and a nun get stuck on an elevator. One is going to, one is coming from, a meeting with a killer. In a seedy hotel, battered prostitute Leslie flees the scene of a crime only to get trapped on the elevator with young Sister Amelia. When no one responds to their cries for help, they reluctantly turn to each other. Leslie starts smoking crack and goes from standoffish, to giddy, to ferociously hostile at the drop of a hat. The unlucky sister learns more than she wants about the violent crime Leslie has just perpetrated. Tensions mount as Leslie pries into Sister Amelia's private affairs and they discover a shared secret that binds them together in a macabre and surreal plot involving a talking handbag and a Catholic bishop. It's a dark, hallucinatory ride with powerful performances and supernatural thrills that goes straight to the heart of a girl on her way to Hell.

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Buscando a Leti (2006)iMDB Rating: 6.3
Date Released : 5 December 2006
Genre : Family
Stars : Yovanny Cabarcas, Carmen Cenko, Juan Manuel De la Torre, Sabrina Duarte. Buscando A Leti - In Search of Leti, is written and performed in Spanish, subtitled in English. Leti, a ten-year-old girl, is the protagonist of this film. The grandparents become the caretakers when her parents leave Mexico to find work in Chicago. She is discriminated against by her own grandmother, Agustina, for having a dark complexion and indigenous features. The grandfather, Vitorio, ..." />
Movie Quality : HDrip
Format : MKV
Size : 700 MB

Buscando A Leti - In Search of Leti, is written and performed in Spanish, subtitled in English. Leti, a ten-year-old girl, is the protagonist of this film. The grandparents become the caretakers when her parents leave Mexico to find work in Chicago. She is discriminated against by her own grandmother, Agustina, for having a dark complexion and indigenous features. The grandfather, Vitorio, protects Leti from the grandmother's prejudiced attitude and bad treatment. This continues for years until Maria, Leti's mother, returns to take her to the United States, tearing her apart from her grandfather.

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Review :

a plain film with a clear view into a different life

This is a film balanced somewhere between documentary and tear-jerker, but ultimately is neither. It just seems like that because the setting is quite real and the reality is moving.

Quite apart from the central story of Leti I found the detailed surroundings quite fascinating. The interactions between the children, between the grown-ups, and society as a whole. This is not much of a story about immigration to the USA, although that is background and a brief part of the story is an interlude in Chicago. If you are looking for an immigration expose this is not it. Mostly the story is about the family (both close, and extended) left behind. You get a broad brush image of family relations, prejudices, marriage, machismo, religion, and the flavor of the town where Leti and her brothers and sisters are growing up. And not painted either pretty or nasty on the whole - simply shown to you for you to think about. Plenty of things to think about.

The acting is varied. Leti, her mother, abuelito and abuelita are all well acted. Nobody else has a big role. Kudos to Leti's fairer sister who starts out a little wooden but you can see becomes a much better actress as the film progresses. There are a couple of violent scenes which are acted out in an obviously faked way - not big budget stunt person stuff. Really, it does not matter, the film has its personality and the acting gets the story across.

Colors and cinematography are occasionally allowed some free reign to show the countrysides and cityscapes. Presentation was letterbox, a disappointment (hey studio dunderheads! use anamorphic, give us proper DVD quality). Subtitles are kept within the letterbox frame, a good thing (you can read them when the film is expanded to full screen). Translation was competent. Sound was clear and the soundtrack choice of music was generally helpful.

The Baby and the Battleship (1956)iMDB Rating: 5.3
Date Released : 23 April 1957
Genre : Comedy
Stars : John Mills, Richard Attenborough, André Morell, Bryan Forbes. After a quayside mix-up with the Italian family of his fiancée, Able Seaman Knocker White finds himself literally left holding the baby. Unable to return it before his ship sails he enlists the help of best mate Puncher Roberts to smuggle the child aboard. But babies are surprisingly demanding and gradually the whole crew is drawn into helping keep it fed and washed - and undiscovered. Even so, ..." />
Movie Quality : BRrip
Format : MKV
Size : 700 MB

After a quayside mix-up with the Italian family of his fiancée, Able Seaman Knocker White finds himself literally left holding the baby. Unable to return it before his ship sails he enlists the help of best mate Puncher Roberts to smuggle the child aboard. But babies are surprisingly demanding and gradually the whole crew is drawn into helping keep it fed and washed - and undiscovered. Even so, the officers above deck start to puzzle over the increasingly strange happenings on board.

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Review :

Royal Navy looks after a baby and fails (at making a movie)

My FTA usually puts on great old movies with regularity and I am always eager to watch because I don't see much these days that has any real depth to the story, so I usually chew it up eagerly. So, this afternoon, I was treated to "The Baby and the Battleship". The name put me off a bit, but I saw that the there was quite a stellar cast and decided to stick with it while lying on the lounge and eating a nice hot pork dumpling soup with some jasmine tea (sounds kinda snotty-nose doesn't it?)

Well....that's where it ended.

If you thought that you were getting class with John Mills and Richard Attenborough, forget it. They have done better things when visiting the toilet when they get up of a morning. The whole movie is a milquetoast presentation with a poor shot at Marx Bros. mayhem that misses by quite a bit. From start to finish, the whole plot is just an unbelievable potpourri of badly written comedy, stiff acting and rubbish lines in general. It doesn't surprise me that the movie was panned by critics back in the 50's. What did stand out was the editing of the movie. My wife and I sat and watched the movie thinking that the baby (quite mature) that was used would have been blubbering intensely at the end of most scenes, but I believe that, due to editing, the kid was made to look like a total actor that was in control of itself at all times, which is more than I could say for the grown-ups. The rest of the cast were made to look like badly written cartoons.

Do yourself a favor and give this one a miss. The big names in this movie have made better and this must have been just a quick money-maker while they were in between projects.

It may not seem like it, but I'm lost for words with this one.

The Gun That Won the West (1955)iMDB Rating: 5.0
Date Released : 1 September 1955
Genre : Adventure, Western
Stars : Dennis Morgan, Paula Raymond, Richard Denning, Chris O'Brien. In the late 1880s, Colonel Carrington and his command are assigned the job of constructing a chain of forts in the Sious Indian territory- of Wyoming. Carrington recruits former cavalry scouts Jim Bridger and "Dakota Jack" Gaines to lead the project. Bridger and Gaines are friendly with Sioux chief Red Cloud, and they feel a peace treaty with the Indians can be made. If an Indian-war breaks out, ..." />
Movie Quality : BRrip
Format : MKV
Size : 700 MB

In the late 1880s, Colonel Carrington and his command are assigned the job of constructing a chain of forts in the Sious Indian territory- of Wyoming. Carrington recruits former cavalry scouts Jim Bridger and "Dakota Jack" Gaines to lead the project. Bridger and Gaines are friendly with Sioux chief Red Cloud, and they feel a peace treaty with the Indians can be made. If an Indian-war breaks out, the cavalry is depending on getting a new type of Springfield rifle. Bridger, Gaines and Gaines wife, Maxine, arrive at the fort for the conference. Gaines;, in a drunken fit, tries to intimidate the Indians unto signing a treaty. Chied Red Fox threatens war if his territory is invaded by any troops building forts.

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Review :

Slow moving but OK account of Red Cloud's War 1866-68

Despite the summary above, this events that this movie depicts happened during Red Cloud's War happened in 1866- 1868 not the late 1880s. Also, the Secretary of War depicted in the movie, Edwin Stanton left office in 1868. The introduction of the Springfield rifle helped the Army win some battles. Peace came after a change of policy that lead to the Army's abandonment of the Powder River Country and its forts along the Bozemann trail. Settlers were channeled to the Transcontinental Railroad then nearing completion. It's route ran farther south.

Red Cloud was the only major Indian leader who really won a war against the US Army. The peace treaty did not last long thanks to white treachery, greed for gold, Custer's thirst for glory, etc.