bamsel Reviews

Hudson Hawk (1991)

How bad could it be?

[23 March 2002]

I remembered its being savaged by the critics and generally bad-mouthed long after its release. But there it was on the HBO Cable schedule, so I thought, "It stars Bruce Willis, Andie McDowell and Danny Aiello. How bad could it be?" Silly question. Answer:.....as bad as they all said, and worse. Yes, it had all the attempts to be clever, and all the "inside" jokes....but despite the attempts to compare it to the clever parodies of the "In Like Flynt" movie(s) for its tongue in cheek humor, "Hudson Hawk" failed, miserably. At least from now on I'll never allow myself to be faked into watching a critically failed movie, e.g., "Ishtar" will never pass before my eyes.

I'll give "Hudson Hawk" 0.5 stars out of 10. All that saves it from a total zero (or a negative rating if that's possible) is the cinematography. Another wasted two hours out of my life.

Five Fingers (1959–1960)

Loved this series.

[16 November 1999]

Five Fingers was a series of espionage and intrigue ahead of its time in 1959. David Hedison was the male protagonist and a for a time acquired a female following as a "hunk." The female star, Italian actress Luciana Paluzzi was one of the most beautiful women I have ever seen on TV. Her beauty was not lost on movie producers who cast her opposite Sean Connery in the James Bond film "Thunderball" in 1965. It would be interesting to know if any of these TV episodes were ever preserved and could be watched today. Probably not.

Havana (I) (1990)

Pleasantly surprised by this movie

[21 August 1999]

Based on bad reviews upon its release, and the fact that I don't care much for Robert Redford, I hadn't expected too much, but I was pleasantly surprised. It's not a great movie, but it is a GOOD movie. I especially enjoyed Lena Olin, and her performance, and the only problem I had with the plot was how quickly and easily her character got over the murder of her husband and climbed into the sack with RR. Grief stricken indeed! The Dave Grusin score was very good and not obtrusive.

I too was mystified that Raul Julia was not credited since he was a major character in the film.

So This Is New York (1948)

Adventures of a midwestern family in NY.

[9/10 · 23 February 1999]

Filmed in B&W. I saw this movie while I was still in my teens in 1948. It remains in my memory as one of the funniest movies I've ever seen. It used some clever techniques for the time, such as "stop action" with voice-over commentary. The movie chronicles the mis-adventures of a man who is dragged to NY, unwillingly, by his wife and her sister, who have delusions of grandeur. It is set in the late 1920s or early 1930s. They are taken advantage of by three broadly-drawn characters, played by Jerome Cowan (a con man), Leo Gorcey (a jockey), and Rudy Vallee (a rich, but flawed, man). I laugh again just thinking about it. I don't know that it has ever been shown on television, but it should be.