NOIR 1949 & 1950 - "TOO LATE FOR TEARS" (1949) & "711 OCEAN DRIVE" (1950) - 2 ABSOLUTELY TERRIFIC OLDIE BUT GOODIES

 

You can file this one under late night black n white noir double feature or something like that ha ha. Two terrific oldies that are streaming now on Tubi, Crackle & Plex. 

In Too Late For Tears, Lizabeth Scott totally kills it as a ruthless woman who finds a suitcase with $60,000 in it and is determined to keep it come hell or high water or anything that tries to get in her way. 

In 711 Ocean Drive, Edmond O Brien plays a telephone technician who crosses the wires sort to speak for the mob so they can run their illegal bookmaking scheme. 

Grab some snacks and cozy in for these two, they're great together as a double feature. 

Too Late For Tears (1949)   3.5 stars/5

711 Ocean Drive (1950)   3.0 stars/5

HIGHLIGHTING THREE OF THE NEW BLOGS ON THE LIST - FLICK ATTACK, THE DEADLY DOLL'S HOUSE OF HORROR NONSENSE & FULL MOON REVIEWS

 Greetings all - There were quite a few new blogs added to the 2024 list and today I would like to highlight three of those outstanding blogs. All three of these are class A winners, please take a look at their blogs and what interests you, I put a short description below each one. T 

Just an outstanding blog, if you want diversity, this cat has it all. 

He reviews just about every imaginable genre from all years of time.

Oh yes, the Deadly Doll's House Of Horror Nonsense, you gotta love it. 

I'm going to some up this incredible blog in one sentence >

A steady stream of twisted consciousness from a short fat girl. 

Great writing, specializes in horror but also crosses over into sci-fi/fantasy.

Recently reviewed hot films such as Lisa Frankenstein & Night Swim.

MARK RUFFALO & ETHAN HAWKE ARE OLD SOUTH BOSTON CHUMS WHO TURN TO CRIME TO PAY THE BILLS IN "WHAT DOESN'T KILL YOU" (2008)

 

Who says crime don't pay when you come home and haven't seen each other in a long time? Our two leads are great in this little mob crime thriller that flew way below the radar. After a decent premier at TFF, the film had a very small release before Yari Film Group collapsed. 

It's a pretty decent crime thriller and has a prison sequence in the middle which is cool. Action sequences are excellently produced. Hawke is his usual self, Ruffalo is actually really good, classic pout and all. Amanda Peet as Hawke's wife I could do without here and pretty much everything she's been in. Donnie Walberg has a supporting role as a probation officer, he's been way better but I always enjoy seeing him, mostly the opposite with his more famous brother. What Doesn't Kill You streams on Tubi, Plex, Pluto and other free services.    2.75 stars/5

THE STEPFATHER (1987) THE STEPFATHER 2 (1989) & THE STEPFATHER 3 (1992) - IF YOU'VE NEVER PARTAKEN OF THE STEPFATHER SERIES THEN...

 
...don't pass go and don't collect $200, just get yourself over to Tubi and binge them this weekend, preferably in order, ha ha. It's kind of that classic thing where they bump down a bit in quality but really all three are quite entertaining. Besides Tubi, the series is on just about every free streaming service out there. After you're through watching all three then be careful in the future - if someone walks by you humming Camptown Races, run the other way! ;-) 

The Stepfather (1987)  2.75 stars/2.75   

The Stepfather 2 (1989)  2.5 stars/2.75

The Stepfather 3 (1992)  2.25 stars/2.75

UNDERRATED WOODY ALLEN - EMMA STONE STARS AS A PSYCHIC AND COLIN FIRTH IS TRYING TO UNMASK HER IN "MAGIC IN THE MOONLIGHT" (2014)

 

By all accounts Magic In The Moonlight really belongs in that heavily populated category known as Allen's Mediocre's which comprises probably 65-70% of his catalog. But it's from this exact category that I pick films I think deserve a little more praise - they're not hits like Midnight In Paris, Sleeper or Annie Hall but they're not crap like Curse Of The Jade Scorpion, You'll Meet A Tall Starnger or Rainy Day In New York. 

"Magic" elevates for two reasons especially the first. The man is a genius writer. This is where the true Woody Allen talent lies. Keep in mind this guy was making a living writing for some very reputable publications when he was still in high school! This script is marketed like a romance but it's really a story about the metaphysical, a common reoccurring theme in Allen's work. As Colin Firth's character struggles back and forth with whether to believe in real mediumship or not, Allen presents some very interesting ideas on life and death concepts that we all deal with.

The simple bare-bones cast in this one all fit real nice too, I particularly like Hamish Linklater as the son of a rich family that is smitten with Stone and serenades her nonstop with ukelele. Also, as usual the photography, I believe he uses his same cinematographer here, is beautiful capturing the south of France. A simple 90-min comedy, worth at least one watch for Allen fans.  3.0 stars/5 

"I see a wonderful future for B-Movie Gazette..."