Cinema Cycle - The Other Side Of Midnight

CINEMA CYCLE

(Cardio Workout And Reviewing Movies At The Same Time)

DATE REVIEWED: 10/14/2016

TITLE: The Other Side Of Midnight

FORMAT: Laserdisc

TIME RIDDEN / FILM LENGTH: 2 hours 50 minutes

DISTANCE RIDDEN WHILE VIEWING: 38.3 miles

TOTAL CINEMA MILES LOGGED: 5438.7 miles

SYNOPSIS: A young girl from Paris is spurned by her lover in pre-WWII France, and plots her revenge against him 10 years later.

CONCEPT IN RELATION TO THE VIEWER: Passion, lust and revenge set against a lavish backdrop with a twist.  A long romance novel aimed at women.

PROS AND CONS:  I first thought that this film was going to be rather long and boring.  It is long, but got more engaging as the storyline progressed.  

This is a lavish production.  While it is not epic or over the top, there is a lot of attention to detail and production value in the film and a lot of impressive location shooting.  That said, the film is a showcase for the two female leads in the film while the male characters are relegated to lesser roles and do not appear to be very likeable.  

What was interesting was the last hour of the film, where things go off in directions that you would not expect.  The ending was very entertaining and you don’t see it coming.  By the time it was all over, I was more impressed with the film than I thought I would be.

To read an overview of this project, check out this status posting.  

This film is a part of my LaserDisc Collection.

Clicking on the title will take you to the Internet Movie Database (IMDB) entry for this film. 

This film was viewed while exercising on my recumbent cycle.  A summary of my time spent working out on my journey through movie-land can be found on Strava.com.

Cinema Cycle - Hollywood Canteen

CINEMA CYCLE

(Cardio Workout And Reviewing Movies At The Same Time)

DATE REVIEWED: 10/10/2016

TITLE: Hollywood Canteen

FORMAT: LaserDisc

TIME RIDDEN / FILM LENGTH: 2 hours 9 minutes

DISTANCE RIDDEN WHILE VIEWING: 27.9 miles

TOTAL CINEMA MILES LOGGED: 5400 miles

SYNOPSIS: A young G.I. returning from WWII finds love and romance in a star studded Hollywood dance hall.

CONCEPT IN RELATION TO THE VIEWER: Celebrity worship in the 1940s.  Starry eyed young boys fresh off the farm live their celluloid fantasy near the end of WWII.

PROS AND CONS:  A great film, more for it’s historical significance than anything else.  It is uproariously funny to watch, hokie at times with stellar dance and musical numbers.

This is the stable of Warner Brothers stars during 1944, when America was deep into the second world war, but we also knew that victory would be inevitable.  This is meant to be a postcard from home that the boys on Guam and in Italy could see watch at the USO and be reminded of what they were fighting for.

The film is rich in good old down home American values, apple pie and gosh-darn-shucks silly moments.   Of special interest were the rousing musical numbers by The Andrew Sisters, Roy Rogers, The Golden Gate Quartet, Tommy Dorsey and Joe E. Brown.  

To read an overview of this project, check out this status posting.  

This film is a part of my LaserDisc Collection.

Clicking on the title will take you to the Internet Movie Database (IMDB) entry for this film. 

This film was viewed while exercising on my recumbent cycle.  A summary of my time spent working out on my journey through movie-land can be found on Strava.com.

Cinema Cycle - The Conversation

CINEMA CYCLE

(Cardio Workout And Reviewing Movies At The Same Time)

DATE REVIEWED: 10/07/2016

TITLE: The Conversation

FORMAT: LaserDisc

TIME RIDDEN / FILM LENGTH: 1 hour 56 minutes

DISTANCE RIDDEN WHILE VIEWING: 27.7 miles

TOTAL CINEMA MILES LOGGED: 5373 miles

SYNOPSIS: A troubled private investigator specializing in surveillance uncovers a murder plot.

CONCEPT IN RELATION TO THE VIEWER:   Voyeurism in the 1970s and the concept of surveillance and security prior to the digital age.  

PROS AND CONS:  String these names together; Francis Ford-Coppola, Gene Hackman, Robert Duvall, Harrison Ford, Teri Garr, Frederic Forrest and you get a pretty good movie.

This is an excellent film, which may be one of the reasons it was nominated for a best picture Oscar.  The pace, soundtrack acting and script all click here to make for a very engrossing film about privacy and secrecy in the 1970s.

The film is still topical even though it takes place in a world prior to the Internet, cellphones and NSA.  There really is no privacy and there never has been.  Even in 1971.

To read an overview of this project, check out this status posting.  

This film is a part of my LaserDisc Collection.

Clicking on the title will take you to the Internet Movie Database (IMDB) entry for this film. 

This film was viewed while exercising on my recumbent cycle.  A summary of my time spent working out on my journey through movie-land can be found on Strava.com.

Cinema Cycle - Assault and Matrimony

CINEMA CYCLE

(Cardio Workout And Reviewing Movies At The Same Time)

DATE REVIEWED: 10/05/2016

TITLE: Assault and Matrimony

FORMAT: LaserDisc

TIME RIDDEN / FILM LENGTH: 1 hour 36 minutes

DISTANCE RIDDEN WHILE VIEWING: 23.2 miles

TOTAL CINEMA MILES LOGGED: 5345.2 miles

SYNOPSIS: A married couple seeks to kill each other in order to inherit a million dollars.

CONCEPT IN RELATION TO THE VIEWER:   A television movie from the 1980s.  Fashion and cars have changed a lot in the intervening years.  

PROS AND CONS:  Not a great film, but I really didn’t expect it to be.  The husband and wife team of Tucker and Eikenberry are fun to watch, but there talents are a bit wasted here.  

While funny in spots, the script is a bit lackluster and the motivations of the two characters aren’t really clear.  The ending is even more unsatisfying, when the couple make up and live happily ever after at the end of the film.

There are some scenes that show inspiration, when Tucker and Eikenberry lapse into Walter Mitty-like episodes where they fantasy plot the demise of the other.  

To read an overview of this project, check out this status posting.  

This film is a part of my LaserDisc Collection.

Clicking on the title will take you to the Internet Movie Database (IMDB) entry for this film. 

This film was viewed while exercising on my recumbent cycle.  A summary of my time spent working out on my journey through movie-land can be found on Strava.com.

Cinema Cycle - Elmer Gantry

CINEMA CYCLE

(Cardio Workout And Reviewing Movies At The Same Time)

DATE REVIEWED: 10/03/2016

TITLE: Elmer Gantry

FORMAT: Laserdisc

TIME RIDDEN / FILM LENGTH: 2 hours 31 minutes

DISTANCE RIDDEN WHILE VIEWING: 33.3 miles

TOTAL CINEMA MILES LOGGED: 5322 miles

SYNOPSIS: A turn of the century salesman discovers he has a gift for enthralling the masses with religion.

CONCEPT IN RELATION TO THE VIEWER:   Is it real or is it fake?  What is the line between evangelism and hucksterism.  It is more blurred than you might think.

PROS AND CONS:  Another film that stands the test of time.  It lasts almost two and a half hours, but I never noticed.  The story sweeps you along with so many twists and turns that it is over before you know it.

Lancaster won an Oscar for his portrayal of Elmer Gantry and with good cause.  He defines the roll and pushes his character to the edge of believability before throttling back.  

The other interesting part of this film is the music.  It is good old down home revival meeting music, the likes of which are not found much anymore.  Think of “Oh Brother, Where Art Thou” from the 1960s.  

To read an overview of this project, check out this status posting.  

This film is a part of my LaserDisc Collection.

Clicking on the title will take you to the Internet Movie Database (IMDB) entry for this film. 

This film was viewed while exercising on my recumbent cycle.  A summary of my time spent working out on my journey through movie-land can be found on Strava.com.