Cinema Cycle - Maverick

CINEMA CYCLE

(Cardio Workout And Reviewing Movies At The Same Time)

DATE REVIEWED: 11/20/2017

TITLE:. Maverick

FORMAT: Laserdisc

TIME RIDDEN / FILM LENGTH: 127 minutes

DISTANCE RIDDEN WHILE VIEWING: 28.7 miles

TOTAL CINEMA MILES LOGGED: 8067.7 miles

SYNOPSIS: A young slick gambler makes his way across the west to compete in a high stakes poker tournament.

CONCEPT IN RELATION TO THE VIEWER: Western farce that appears to be a bunch of Hollywood “A” listers and their agents getting together to make a formulaic film.

PROS AND CONS:  I had sort of a love hate relationship with this film.  It is well done, but for all the wrong reasons.

The acting and script are walk through affairs with the characters mugging for the camera and getting into comedic situations that are neither funny or entertaining.  

I am a stickler for historical accuracy and do not much care for the stylized version of the west put forth by Hollywood.  That said, this film is impressive to look at.  You can tell that big bucks were spent on production value and scene selection.  That said, this isn’t how the real west was folks.  

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 - Number Seventeen

CINEMA CYCLE

(Cardio Workout And Reviewing Movies At The Same Time)

DATE REVIEWED: 11/17/2017

TITLE:. Number Seventeen

FORMAT: DVD

TIME RIDDEN / FILM LENGTH: 65 minutes

DISTANCE RIDDEN WHILE VIEWING: 19.3 miles

TOTAL CINEMA MILES LOGGED: 8030 miles

SYNOPSIS: British espionage / murder mystery, common fair for 1930s England

CONCEPT IN RELATION TO THE VIEWER: A chase and mistaken identity set in upper crust society where even the bad guys are politically correct.

PROS AND CONS:  Not a great film but interesting to watch just to see how Alfred Hitchcock’s style and sense of storytelling evolved.  

The plot is hard to follow and requires a lot of listening to fast dialogue between two characters in long oratory scenes.  The film does not hold your interest much during the first 30 minutes and in fact, I had a hard time even following what was going on.

The last 20 minutes of the film are hilarious, only because they tend to use the big surprise scene to give the film a sort of payoff for the audience.  In this case the elaborate Bus / Train chase all done with miniatures, which at times almost resembles a Bugs Bunny / Road Runner cartoon.

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 Santa Fe Trail

CINEMA CYCLE

(Cardio Workout And Reviewing Movies At The Same Time)

DATE REVIEWED: 11/15/2017

TITLE:. The Santa Fe Trail

FORMAT: VHS

TIME RIDDEN / FILM LENGTH: 110 minutes

DISTANCE RIDDEN WHILE VIEWING: 31.5 miles

TOTAL CINEMA MILES LOGGED: 8019.7 miles

SYNOPSIS: Young West Point Officer’s in 1850 set off to capture abolitionist John Browne.

CONCEPT IN RELATION TO THE VIEWER: A re-writing of history to give a silver aura to the American past of racism and slavery.  

PROS AND CONS:  This would be a funny film, if it were not done so badly.  A lot of money was spent making it, based on the crowd scenes and the number of horses.  But not even a young Ronald Reagan (as George Custer) and Errol Flynn (as Jeb Stewart) can make this worth watching.

The film appears to be an “I’m Sorry” card for all the bad things that lead up to the Civil War, and the young West Pointers are portrayed as pious, aw-shucks, good ole boys that are bound for destiny.  These are social studies figures that are blown up way beyond their historical significance.  

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.

Date: 11/15/2017

Time: 110 minutes

Mileage:31.5 miles

Cinema Cycle - Ryan's Daughter

CINEMA CYCLE

(Cardio Workout And Reviewing Movies At The Same Time)

DATE REVIEWED: 11/15/2017

TITLE:. Ryan’s Daughter

FORMAT: Laserdisc

TIME RIDDEN / FILM LENGTH: 201 minutes

DISTANCE RIDDEN WHILE VIEWING: 47.9 miles

TOTAL CINEMA MILES LOGGED: 7988.2 miles

SYNOPSIS: The chronicles of a rural Irish town at the turn of the century during the British occupation of Ireland.

CONCEPT IN RELATION TO THE VIEWER: In a small town, everyone knows everyone else's business.

PROS AND CONS:  A astounding film.  This work completes David Lean’s set of projects that were on a larger than life scale.  Laurence of Arabia, Bridge On The River Kwai and Dr. Zhivago all lead up to this film.  

Not so much a film with plot, but character studies of the people that live in a small agrarian town and how they deal with political strife and sexual frustration.  

While I have seen this film before, this was the first opportunity to see it in it’s original anamorphic widescreen format with the Dolby DTS sound.  The storm scene alone is worth watching with the right audio video setup.

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 - Mad Men / Season One / Indian Summer

CINEMA CYCLE

(Cardio Workout And Reviewing Movies At The Same Time)

DATE REVIEWED: 11/10/2017

TITLE:. Mad Men Season One - Indian Summer

FORMAT: DVD

TIME RIDDEN / FILM LENGTH: 48 minutes

DISTANCE RIDDEN WHILE VIEWING: 14 miles

TOTAL CINEMA MILES LOGGED: 7940.3 miles

SYNOPSIS: (from Wikipedia)

It's October.[6] Peggy's work writing copy for a weight-loss device that is better at providing sexual stimulation earns her a raise. Roger has a second heart attack during a meeting with the head of Lucky Strike, Lee Garner, Sr and as a result, Don is offered a partnership in Sterling Cooper, making Pete jealous. Betty finds a new outlet for her growing dissatisfaction.

CONCEPT IN RELATION TO THE VIEWER: The farther it fades into history, the more surreal these times become.

PROS AND CONS:  Having seen the entire series before, I can pick and choose these individual episodes and concentrate more on the visual feel of the world in 1960.  

The reality of a misogynistic male dominated society where liquor and money flowed like water is almost sort of creepy.  I recall as a young child in the 60s seeing men act like this.  Those must have been heady days if you were white and middle-class.

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 - Run

CINEMA CYCLE

(Cardio Workout And Reviewing Movies At The Same Time)

DATE REVIEWED: 11/08/2017

TITLE:. Run

FORMAT: Laserdisc

TIME RIDDEN / FILM LENGTH: 91 minutes

DISTANCE RIDDEN WHILE VIEWING: 22.4 miles

TOTAL CINEMA MILES LOGGED: 7926.3 miles

SYNOPSIS: A law student is pursued by the mob and local police after being involved in the death of a mobster.

CONCEPT IN RELATION TO THE VIEWER: A chase film in the genre of North by Northwest.

PROS AND CONS:  Not a bad film for what it is.  A film with young talent and competent visuals that keeps you watching to find out what happens next.  

Supposedly, Patrick Dempsey is supposed to be a current heart-throb, but here is comes off a bit on the nerdy side and wiser than his young looks would lead the viewer to believe.

They spent a lot of money on stunts in this film.  There are a lot of wrecked cars, explosions and gunplay.  That said, it takes a healthy dose of suspension of reality by the time you get to the last 20 minutes of the film.  

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 - Naked City: A Case Study Of Two Savages

CINEMA CYCLE

(Cardio Workout And Reviewing Movies At The Same Time)

DATE REVIEWED: 11/06/2017

TITLE:. Naked City: A Case Study Of Two Savages

FORMAT: DVD

TIME RIDDEN / FILM LENGTH: 51 minutes

DISTANCE RIDDEN WHILE VIEWING: 15.8 miles

TOTAL CINEMA MILES LOGGED: 7903.9 miles

SYNOPSIS: (from Wikipedia)

Guest stars: Rip Torn as Ansel Boake, Tuesday Weld as Ora Mae Youngham, Audra Lindley as Mrs. Youngham, William Cottrell as Lab Technician, Russell Hardie as Sheriff Fulcher, Rosetta Bain as Mrs. Arcaro, Joseph Beruh as Joe Arcaro, Pat Malone as Riley, Charles Dierkop as Junkyard Worker.

In an episode inspired by Charles Starkweather's 1959 killing spree (which is mentioned in the episode), a backwoods couple leave a trail of murders behind when they arrive in Manhattan and shoot Sgt. Arcaro.

CONCEPT IN RELATION TO THE VIEWER: A very gritty and violent television drama from the early 1960s.

PROS AND CONS:  When I was growing up in the 1960s, this series was considered taboo, 1) because it had the word ‘naked’ in it and 2) it dealt with things that good young American boys weren’t supposed to know about .  No bother, we didn’t have network coverage where we lived in the midwest, so it was never viewable anyway.

Fast forward 50 years and this is amazing stuff to watch.  Never mind a very young Rip Torn and Tuesday Weld, or the location shooting in New York City, this is really gritty stuff, even by today’s standards.  

What shocked me about this episode, was the amount of violence and murder that was extremely graphic for the time.  In the final bank robbery scene, Ansel Boake (Rip Torn) is shot by no less than eight cops in a mass shooting inside the bank lobby.  This stuff could have really messed up my mind as a kid.

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.