B-MOVIE OF THE MONTH - THE DEATH OF RITCHIE (TV 1977)

Looks like a lot of fun to me, I don't know. Seriously and for those that don't know, The Death Of Ritchie is one of the most iconic TV movies of the entire '70's decade. I was roughly 15 when it aired and i can tell you that both Robby Benson and teens taking drugs were very hot topics at the time. The film is based on a true story where a father who couldn't control his teen's behavior from drug abuse was forced to take the law into his own hands. The father here is good ole Ben Gazzara and he is at his Gazzara best with a ferocious intensity, his scenes with Benson as father and son a perfect chemistry. At the time more emphasis was on Benson as a model but his performance here is really amazing. Streams free on Tubi, Freevee, Roku and Plex, if this was being rated on the standard scale I would give it five stars, 'nuff said. 2.75 stars/2.75

Sunday, October 1, 2023

INSIDE (2023) - WILLEM DAFOE RUNS AMOK TRAPPED IN A NYC LUXURIOUS PENTHOUSE AND GIVES NEW MEANING TO WTF

 

For the ultimate example of why dialog is so essential in a film, one need look no further than Robert Redford's All Is Lost and now Willem Dafoe's Inside. However, whereas Redford's film focuses mostly on the material things his protagonist can do to get out of his predicament, Inside covers the psychological and spiritual as well. Inside is indeed a very strange beast to be taken on its own terms - a bizarre one-man slowburn and,  I suspect, a metaphoric message on climate change or the human condition in general. 

You probably already know Dafoe plays an art thief who gets trapped inside a luxurious penthouse which shuts down all its systems. "Nemo" has to figure out how to survive without water, temperature control or much food as well as figure out how to escape. Let's just say his journey is long and goes some desperate, ugly and insane places. 

Dafoe is truly one of our greatest living thespians and in typical fashion he brings an energetic and intense performance here. But ultimately Inside is a miss and a reminder that we always need dialog in features.  2.75 stars/5

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