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Reviews
Last Exit to Brooklyn (1989)
Bizzarro Brooklyn Noir
Uli Edel and Desmond Nakano by intertwining unrelated stories completely warps the past. I was a kid in the 1950s and still can remember. It's bizzarro weird because it never would have happened like it's depicted. Selby wrote stand alone stories. The various worlds written about by Selby never would have interacted as easily as is shown in the film in a working class neighborhood. Gays were closeted because it was, one, back then, against the law and two, being openly flamboyant could get you killed.
In Manhattan is where being gay was more tolerated and accepted, the outer boroughs not so much, but even there in Manhattan it would probably be only in certain neighborhoods.
The way the film plays out putting most of the story in Sunset Park doesn't ring true, and then the way the opening sequence is set up with Vinnie and the boys in cahoots with Tralala makes you wonder where the heck is this hood gang when a local girl gets in trouble on their turf?
(But in the book Tralala is working solo).
The Noir visuals are powerful thanks to Stefan Czapsky's excellent Cinematography, Mark Knopfler's Morricone-ish sounding score is good but the film really should have had a lot diegetic Sinatra, Dino, Tony Bennett, Jo Stafford, Perry Como, in both the luncheonette and Willis's dive bar. Even Selby writes about the locals were complaining about half of the songs on the jukebox were country tunes for the servicemen to play, who frequented the place. Worth at least one watch. 7/10.
Fleshpot on 42nd Street (1972)
A Gritty/Noir Pretty Woman
I urge any of you who think all Grindhouse/Sexploitation films are crap with lousy acting, direction, cinematography, story, etc., etc., go to Amazon Prime pay with your credit card the $1.99 fee, and watch the R/NC-17 streaming version of his film that is available. You may not like or approve the subject matter of it but it will be an eye opener to the amount of quality that was achieved on a low budget. Bravo Andy Milligan.
Laura Cannon who played Dusty Cole (in the film credited as Diana Lewis) can act, she is amazingly believable in her role. Make no mistake though she was a porno actress with 30 films credited on IMDb. Her co-stars were Harry Reems (famous for Deep Throat) and Neil Flanagan who I've never heard of before. They both can also act BTW.
Married Too Young (1962)
Sanctimonious Horse Poop
Ridiculous cautionary tale about two straight arrow kids trying to to the right thing and get married before playing hide the sausage in the spacious back seat of Tommy's rag top.
They are so cute they don't even spend the night together after they get hitched. All that the film makers show is the dreary side of marriage and not anything about all the boinking they are both enjoying most likely a good part of their 24/7 week.
Tommy trying to make ends meet even starts dealing in stolen cars one of which the newly weds are driving when they are chased by the cops. They go right over the edge of Mulholland Drive.