Strangers on a Train (1951)

It begins with the shriek of a train and ends with shrieking excitement!


Directed by: Alfred Hitchcock
Written by: Patricia Highsmith (novel), Whitfield Cook (adaptation), Czenzi Ormonde, Raymond Chandler (screenplay)
Starring: Robert Walker as Bruno Anthony, Farley Granger as Guy Haines, Ruth Roman as Anne Morton, Patricia Hitchcock as Barbara Morton, Kasey Rogers as Miriam Haines, Robert Gist as Hennessey, and Leo G. Carroll as Senator Morton

I've heard many things about this film - that it was a hack, that it was Hitchcock's best film, that it was/wasn't worth my time. But I figure anything Hitchcock did is worth two hours at least if I'm going to watch a film.

Right off the get go, I was impressed with the cinematography...as usual. Hitchcock always does a great job using shots of seemingly innocuous things to add depth to both his characters and his storyline. You see that really, Guy and Bruno are similar - although one is a psychopath. Bruno initially appears to be just a bit annoying, eccentric or an odd fan. It isn't until we see him home with his family that realize there's more than just the usual wrong with the man.

The one thing I particularly enjoyed about this film is the way Hitchcock doesn't allow Miriam to be as much as a victim as many other movies do. She is disgusting in nearly every way - an unfaithful wife, a blackmailer, a vicious woman - and I don't claim this merits being killed but it makes it a bit easier when she dies. Barbara ends up playing the victim half of Miriam's character, another part of Hitchcock's genius. Every character has their perfect little niche in the story, even if they aren't involved in blackmail or murder.

I cannot praise enough the slow build of suspense that flows in this movie. There are several minor climaxes up until the end of the movie which explodes. Bruno is exceptionally creepy and Guy is wonderfully paranoid - with Barbara and Anne flitting around on the sidelines adding a sense of urgency to the story. They're in danger, therefore must be protected. Hitchcock uses music and silence, light and dark, spectacular shots with the camera, and strange plot twists to run this movie exactly as a train. It starts out shudderingly, novel, and full of promises. It speeds up until it reaches its destination, where it (unlike a train, hopefully) ends with a cataclysmic showdown between good and evil. How about five pairs of glasses out of five (5/5)?

The Pajama Game (1957)

Based on the hit Broadway musical, featuring the choreography of Bob Fosse.

Directed by: George Abbot, Stanley Donen
Written by: George Abbot, Richard Bissell
Starring: Doris Day as Babe Williams, John Raitt as Sid Sorokin, Carol Haney as Gladys Hotchkiss, Eddie Foy Jr. as Hinesie, and Reta Shaw as Mabel

I stuck this film on my Netflix list because it was performed by my high school during my senior year. That year I had done full time Running Start (college courses for both high school and college credit) and many of my friends were cast in the play but I had no time to go and see it. My mother did, however, and said she was disgusted with the entire thing.

I wasn't too worried, considering the film starred Doris Day - whom I love as an actress and singer. When I read the premise of the plot on the Netflix envelope, I got a little apprehensive, and by the time the first few songs had played through, I was disgusted as well. I never thought I'd ever see Doris Day singing and wish she would just be quiet. Seriously. Not that she wasn't talented enough for the role, but the entire plot was so patched together I wasn't exactly sure what was the point of the movie until it congealed into something slightly recognizable as linear halfway through the movie.

The songs were a little odd in movie format, I definitely recognized them as being originally intended for the stage. And while Ms. Day is certainly talented, her voice lacked the shine it usually takes on - she seemed nearly to be forcing the music out. The man who played opposite her was wooden on the screen and when showing emotion, came across as either the complete tough guy or the moonswooning teen.

The one brilliant spot in this film was the character of Gladys. She was the center of the comedy, her songs were the high point and she should have gotten billed as the top actress instead of Doris Day since she kept the movie from being a complete humiliation of what I'm assuming was a great play. I'll give it two pairs of pajamas out of a possible five (2/5).

Speed Racer (2008)

“Go Speed go!”


Directed by: Andy and Larry Wachowski
Written by: Andy and Larry Wachowski
Produced by: Joel Silver, Grant Hill, Andy Wachowski, Larry Wachowski
Cinematography by: David Tattersall
Starring: Emile Hirsch, John Goodman, Christina Ricci, Susan Sarandon, Matthew Fox
Music by: Michael Giacchino



So. Speed Racer. Hated by critics, dismissed at the box office. It's easy to understand why - this is a film that's like nothing that's ever come before it. It's a family film, a ground breaking special effects extravaganza, and a treatise on self purpose, strength of character, the value of family, and the importance of doing what you're "meant" to do.

If it sounds confusing, you're not far off - but I have a theory about this, and the theory is this: this, my friends, is the next wave of film. Look at all other forms of art - they have different periods, different styles throughout the years. Different techniques are adapted, new styles used to bring about new messages and ideas, and bold new changes that tell you this is new. This is different. And, interestingly enough, the first thing that often welcomes a brand new style is dismissal and outright disgust from the critics.

Speed Racer plays with color, sounds, movement, philosophy, and story structure in such unheard of ways that it's entirely too easy to dismiss it - this is a far cry from the intricately structured and subtext laden Matrix trilogy. In fact, here the Wachowski brothers have gone the exact opposite route - instead of wanting you to examine every last minutia of the film, they want you to accept everything at surface value. By cutting across time lines and tying together thematically - and tonally - disparate storylines they're able to create moods and ideas that startingly come to life when you're not even looking for them. Confused?

Think of the paint on (or in) a house - one color brings about it's own feelings and moods. Pair it with another color - which also has it's own feeling and mood - and the two create an entirely new experience.

This is what the Wachowskis are doing with Speed Racer. They're taking radically different elements and blending them together for an altogether new experience. It's visually, aurally, and intellectually stimulating - and awesome. This isn't the first film to do this - The Fountain did it (marvelously) a year and a half ago , and it, too, was dismissed by many. And, like The Fountain, Speed Racer's ending involves an impressive crescendo that draws upon every moment in the film up till then, and culminates in a moment where the film very nearly transcends the medium. I kid you not.

Of course, Speed Racer is also just a fun family movie. As technically impressive and emotionally uplifting it is, it won't change your life. And yes, I could be full of crap - after all, I'm no "true" critic, I'm just a guy that writes stuff.

But I'm convinced that I'm right. This truly is the next "wave" of film, and it's absolutely thrilling to be able to see it happen.

And yes, Speed Racer isn't prefect. It has it's faults. (It's a bit too long, for one thing.) But it's oh-so worth it. It takes a while to get used to it, but when you do, prepare yourself - Speed Racer is an utter and complete blast.

"Go Speed go!" indeed.