Film Of The Year 10 – 6 (2017)

By Cevni MooreBlog
  1. Guess Who’s Coming To Dinner (1967) (Indicator Series Blu-Ray)

In 2017, this should not still be as potent or relevant as it is. Unfortunately it’s probably more powerful now than it’s ever been.

  1. Take The Money And Run (1969) (Fremantle Media DVD)

Maybe I’m one of them guys that sit at the shallow end of the pool and say they prefer early Woody Allen, but with this, Bananas and Sleeper I’ve got a pretty strong argument. The best he’s reached since these is Zelig for my tastes and that’s a long time ago now…

  1. Here Comes Mr. Jordan (1941) (Criterion Blu-Ray)

First and foremost, the chemistry between our leads Robert Montgomery as Joe and Evelyn Keys as Bette is simply a joy to behold. Along with James Gleason as Max Corkle, the trio are the beating comedic heart of a story about second chances. And to strike a balance, Claude Rains plays the title role so measured, his passiveness really does create a character you believe is at home with his invisibility to others.

The tale takes more than a few turns in its short runtime which means it never suffers from the sagging second act that plagues so many otherwise fine films, and by the time Bette utters the words “I’d love to go with you Mr. Murdoch”, if you don’t have a grin a mile wide and more than moist eyes, you have no soul.

A wonderful score from the classical composer Freidrich Hollaender featuring a simple saxophone motif from The Last Rose Of Summer (that Joe could always had a note sour) soars exactly where it needs to, and to match the high calibre audio experience, who better to photograph the piece than Joseph Walker who has shot some of the finest and most memorable classic Hollywood movies and knows exactly how to make every shot a piece of art.

A story that has had numerous remakes and inspired many others “Here Comes Mr. Jordan” is still head and shoulders above the imitators.

“So long champ”

  1. The 5,000 Fingers Of Dr. T (1953) (Indicator Series Blu-Ray)

Breathtaking technicolour visuals which possess the patented child’s dream logic of Dr. Seuss.
Stellar sound design decades ahead of its time.
A cast headed up by the beautiful Mary Healy and Hans Conried as the villainous Dr. T doing his best moustache twirling performance is rounded out by Tommy Rettig who manages the tricky task of being the least annoying child actor ever.
All these factor in to a children’s musical that was deemed too dark for children which damaged its box office substantially.

6.The Ghoul (2016) (Arrow Video Blu-Ray)

I’m pretty sure that I wasn’t expecting anything in particular, but if it was something, it certainly wasn’t this. What a delight.