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Reviews
Out of Control (1993)
Out of Control - worth a look..
Channel surfing over-the-air TV the other night (boycotting cable right now) I stumble across this little number. As others have commented what starts out as well-paced and coherent becomes quite jumbled by the end; were they just rushing to end the production for some reason(?) The frequent re-appearance of cast members, esp. Mike Parks and Sofia Milos helps keep up your interest as the plot goes it's merry way..it's a little too pandering to qualify as a psycho-drama. Reasonably well produced Out of Control scores points for being filmed in a small market (Corpus Christi, TX) with interior and night shots clear and colorful. A surprise is actress - Lady B. Pearl - playing a club rapper/spurned girlfriend of Dial. It appears this has been the only movie she's starred in. Pity.
Street of Dreams (1988)
Solid P.I. yarn from the 80's, excellent for a TV production..
I spied this little number while in the checkout line at BIG LOTS (can I say that?). For only $1.50, how could anyone lose? If you don't like it - turn it into a coaster :) Anyhow, since I never had much chance to catch 80's television (mostly by choice - so much of it was dreadful) I thought I'd take a chance on a slow Friday night.
In short, I was not disappointed by Street of Dreams; more like pleasantly surprised. It looks like some effort was made in writing, casting and producing this made-for-TV movie. I especially admire the contributions of David Marciano (Bando) the wise-cracking hood and Alan Autrey (Maurey Fields) without his "Heat of the Night" sou-than drawl in evidence.
Even John Hillerman's (Raymond Kepler) fake English accent is tolerable - it's much more polished and less hackneyed than when he starred in that HI P.I. show - yeah, you know which one. Diane Salinger plays his wife (Anne Kepler) and the only one who seems to know what's going on a-la Jane Hathaway (Nancy Kulp - The Beverly Hillbillies).
One of the other contributors has fairly described the plot of Street of Dreams in a nutshell - when (if) you watch this one various connections to Hollywood and the Mob also become evident. Besides the late model cars and Ms. Fairchild's (Laura Cassidy) 80's "big-hair" look this movie has not aged too badly. Video quality ranges from fair to quite good, depending on the light of each scene. It suffers at both extremes.
PS - I live just down the street from the HS that Ms. Fairchild attended and subsequently dropped-out of. To my eyes she looks even better today than back when they made Street of Dreams.
High Flight (1957)
Too bad it's in black and white..
..because the flying scenes are terrific.
Another one of those older movies that could be seen on TV years ago and can't be seen at all anymore. Pity.
The story is somewhat weak what with the stiff-upper-lip Wing Commander riding a new charge at his training wing (who just happens to the son of a squadron-mate from his old unit in the last war (WWII).
Now it's trial by a new fire as the "old man" feels he has to exercise restraint in reining in the young flyer's antics in order to assuage his conscience about an incident that led to the death of the kid's father.
As usual, the British seem to get what makes a movie about flying right with wonderful air-to-air shots of Hunters, Vampires, Provosts and the like. And if you don't know what I'm talking about, this probably isn't the movie for you, anyway.
If you can ignore the "Cold War" overtones and some continuity errors (young pilot takes off in a DH-115; dashes about the sky in a DH-100 and lands back again in a DH-115) you may find this one at least a passing fancy.
The 7th Dawn (1964)
No one has mentioned..
..the terrific opening titles by noted artist Maurice Binder. He is most famous, of course, for the BOND film titles.
This movie is indeed overlooked, though I remember seeing it on more than a few occasions on TV. Nowadays older movies don't make it on the tube in the U.S.; at least on regular (commercial-laden) channels.
I hope to acquire a copy of this movie someday, either tape or DVD. Format doesn't matter to me. The way old movie stars of this era (40's-50's-60's) are dropping like flies it's important to grab up as much of their work as possible. The up-and-coming generation of movie goers probably won't demand this kind of material unless they get a chance to view it.
Sweet Revenge (1976)
Fine little 70's curio
Having known specialists in 'midnight auto' Ms. Channings portrayal of an obsessed car thief rings very true-to-life. To anyone else watching this movie the mechanics of the trade must have been an eye-opener. Of course, every car nut worth his (or her) salt has probably lusted after a Ferrari 246 Dino; but not to the degree that's reflected in Ms. Channings single-minded pursuit of that modern classic automobile.
At the time "All American Girl" was released I was living in Sea-Tac WA, the primary film setting. No effort made in trying to create a fictional locale. There was plenty of local press coverage and the movie may have even premiered there (?) Just about every frame contains shots of both the beauty and grittiness of the place and the characters inhabiting the world of grand-theft-auto (a perfect tonic BTW, for that Roger Corman/Ron Howard film on the same topic).
Not that I found the movie a 'downer'. Far from it. There's plenty of humor supplied by Ms. Channing, presaging later roles on film and TV. Her character's various changes in disguise as she alternately sells and steals a Porsche 356 in order to get up the scratch for the ultimate score are just too funny.
Making a film like "Sweet Revenge" could probably not come close to happening these days. The age of the Anti-Hero is long gone. One should be glad that it was released when it was. There's nothing else around quite like it.
Also recommended, "Gone in 60 Seconds" (the original).