A rare and much appreciated good B-movie: Christy/Brown/Sizemore's BLUE RIDGE

Surprisingly well-written and -acted, and directed with enough verve and intelligence to keep viewers watching, BLUE RIDGE turns out to be one of those rare finds among the countless B movies being released in these days of our current pandemic. It's smart and thoughtful and has a fleet and lovely grasp of everything from character to situation and setting -- the gorgeous Blue Ridge mountains of Appalachia.

As directed by Michigan native Brent Christy and co-wrriten by Caleb G. Brown and Shea Sizemore, the movie is also that rare bird in today's let's-make-it-as-bloody-and-violent-as-possible context that deliberately chooses, as does the film's hero (the new-to-town sheriff played by Johnathon Schaech), to prevent that blood and violence from taking place. 

Director Christy (shown at right) knows how to create suspense without over-milking anything and he draws fine performances from every actor on screen, leads to smallest speaking parts. This is the best role Mr. Schaech (shown above and below) has had in some time, and he does a terrific job with everything from the action scenes to the abashed romantic moments. He is helped enormously by the excellent script that draws character from quick, smart flashes of dialog that are often witty, charming or nasty -- as needed -- and never over-does anything. The exposition, too, is an integral part of the investigation here, as the screenplay allows our newcomer sheriff to learn things at the same time as does the audience.

The movie begins as the sheriff and his young daughter (he has taken this particular job in order to be in closer proximity to that daughter and to his estranged-but-still-loving wife) make a quick stop at a local convenience store only to find that something is going wrong there. The film's biggest coincidence -- fortunately, it's one that comes at the beginning so it's over with quickly -- is that this sleepy little town has two major criminal events happen on the same day. But even this comes together nicely via the smart screenplay by the film's finale.

The clever, off-the-cuff dialog is most apparent between the sheriff's two friendly-feuding deputies (Ben Esler and Lara Silva, above, left and right respectively) and his wife and daughter (Sarah Lancaster and Taegen Burns, right and left, respectively, below). The former's are fun and funny, the latter's more emotional, and both are always brief and believable.

Supporting cast includes some fine actors giving their brief scenes exactly the right oomph and gravitas: Graham Greene (below, seen earlier this week in the crappy horror film, Tar) plays the father of the first victim, 

while an excellent Tom Proctor (below) handles the role of the Greene character's major adversary with a resonant anger that's both surface and buried. This proves a kind of local Hatfield/Mc Coy situation, and it's the major thing that our sheriff must keep from exploding.

Even the husband of the initial victim is written and portrayed (by Kevin L. Johnson, below) with enough trenchant and specific detail to make this guy register more strongly that you'd expect. The solution to the crimes is a surprise but one that, given the situation and information we've learned, makes good, sad sense.

TrustMovies does not want to overstate the case for Blue Ridge. It's nothing great, but as decent B-movies go, it's one of the better examples of late and should provide a good evening's entertainment without making you sorry you watched. The movie's a pleasure. And not at all a guilty one.

From Imagicomm Entertainment and running a just-right 88 minutes, the movie hits DVD and digital HD this Tuesday, October 20 -- for purchase and/or rental.

Blu-ray debut of a 1952 camp classic: Crawford and Palance in David Miller's SUDDEN FEAR

TrustMovies had heard about, though never actually seen, SUDDEN FEAR -- that early 1950s film with Joan Crawford in danger and loving every minute of it. Now that he has finally viewed the movie, he can understand why. Unaccountably drawing some good reviews at the time of its release (and later re-release) (and garnering four Oscar nominations!), the film mostly points up the utter gullibility of mid-20th-Century audiences and critics.

Interestingly enough, Sudden Fear pops along quite smartly and believably for its first 20-30 minutes, as we see a Broadway play in rehearsal, with the playwright (Ms Crawford), having to give a thumbs down to her leading man (Jack Palance, above) and finding a replacement -- over the objections of her producers and director (or maybe agent?) and of course the actor himself.

During this opening period (and even beyond it), the acting is excellent -- from everyone concerned (even Crawford comes off as real) -- and so is the movie's pace, storyline and direction (by David Miller). When the playwright later encounters the actor on a train bound for San Francisco (above), an apology ensues, and a relationship starts to bloom. So far so fine. Mr. Palance is especially sexy and even romantic and endearing (qualities he rarely showed on screen). But, of course, there is much more afoot here.

When the shoe finally drops (in a clever, even-if-we've-been-very-obviously-set-up manner), the idiocy begins. Logic goes the window, while Crawford gives in to every bad acting habit in which she had ever indulged -- and then doubles down on them. The movie quickly turns into unintentional camp of a particularly high order and can be enjoyed in this manner, if not for the increasingly stupid twists and turns of the plot -- which resolves itself in every bit as ludicrous and coincidental way as has all that's come before.

In the cast are luminaries like Gloria Grahame (above) and Mike Connors (when the latter was still known as "Touch"), and the cinematography apes noir, but the movie is so thoroughly heavy-handed and over-the-top that it goes well beyond noir (and all else).

The film also runs 110 minute -- too long for this kind of B-movie nonsense -- and the plot machinations are fed to us in such as obvious, did-you-get-that? Are-you-absolutely-sure? manner that they drag out what ought to be fast and furious into a snail-paced slough.

Still, Sudden Fear is fun -- if you're in a certain mood. After all, no less than François Truffaut is said to have declared the film "A masterpiece of cinema." (But, then, the French can be so perverse, can't they?)

From the Cohen Film Collection,in a new 2K restoration (that looks OK but nothing spectacular), and featuring an audio commentary by film historian Jeremy Arnold, the Blu-ray hits the street this Tuesday, December 13 -- for purchase or rental.

Finally -- a chance to see the Dick Miller/Roger Corman classic, A BUCKET OF BLOOD, in a newly-restored, hi-def version

In this year's delightful documentary, That Guy Dick Miller, viewers learned a lot about a certain classic exploitation film from the late 1950s called A BUCKET OF BLOOD, the movie that pretty much put Mr. Miller of the map. One of the things I craved most while watching that nice little doc was the chance to actually see A Bucket of Blood. Now, thanks to a company called The Film Detective, we can -- and in a very well-restored, hi-def version, at that.

Directed (and not at all badly) by Roger Corman and written by Charles B. Griffith, the movie is a near-perfect time capsule of its era -- from the black-and-white cinematography that nicely apes film noir to its tale of a shy and schlubby waiter in a beatnik cafe of the day (the film's "take" on beatnik culture is funny and quite on the mark) to its take-down of pompous art critics and art culture (as true then as it is now).

The famous (especially for those of us who love our character actors) Mr. Miller, above, plays that waiter with a wonderful mix of sincerity, goofiness and the kind of edge that comes from being put down over an entire lifetime. Miller has always been a fine actor, and here, in a leading role, he owns the movie and delivers in every way.

The dialog is crisp and unshowy, with humour bubbling up pretty consistently, and when the movie turns dark, it does so quite believably -- even if the idea of the art on display fooling anyone for long is rather ridiculous. But that's part of the satire here. Supporting roles are handled well, and the film's running time of just 66 minutes means that it's over before you can object to its craziness.

For Miller fans, this restoration should be a must. For anyone else who wants to know what B-moviemaking was like back in the day (and what Mr. Corman could do with a minuscule budget and a lot of talented help), A Bucket of Blood should prove eye-opening -- and lots of fun. It arrived on Blu-ray just prior to Halloween. Click here for more information.

Yikes -- Martian zombies! Ruairi Robinson's "B" movie in space, THE LAST DAYS ON MARS

More satisfying, if more conventional, than the recent exploration-of-life-on-other-planets-themed Europa Report, the new sci-fi/horror/thriller THE LAST DAYS ON MARS is a fast-moving genre jumper that eventually morphs into, yes, a zombie movie. If you follow this blog at all, you'll know that TrustMovies is not particularly keen on the zombie genre. That said, this new one, directed by first-time/full-length filmmaker Ruairi Robinson (shown below) and written by Clive Dawson (from a short story by Sydney J. Bounds), proves pretty much worth your time and interest.

Despite all the genre jumping done by Last Days On Mars (LDOM), I'd call the real genre of this entertaining film an old-fashioned "B" movie -- Pushover, The Killer Is Loose and Invasion of the Body Snatchers come immediately to mind -- and it should recall  those tight, smart, low-budget genre films that usually did their job well without nearly all the fuss-and-muss of the big-deal studio films. LDOM is, like the old "B"s, well-written, -directed and-acted. Mr. Robinson proves especially good at making everything from the sets to the dialog appear real in a mostly low-key manner -- except for the gorgeous and scary Martian sandstorm that begins the film and becomes (unless you're particularly fond of zombie make-up) the film's highlight in terms of special effects. The dialog, in particular -- thanks Mr. Dawson and the acting crew -- has the ring of real behavior to it.

With an international cast led by the exceedingly butch and no-nonsense Liev Schreiber (above), an actor who, throughout his whole career, has specialized in "real," the actors -- initially loose and playful -- rise quickly, as does the movie itself, to the occasion of a life-and-death situation.

From Bosnian-born Goran Kostic, as the initial loose-screw in the opera-tion as this crew prepares to leave Mars for good, to the always capable Olivia Williams (above) as the bitchy crew member (for good reason, as it turns out), the international cast of this British/Irish co-production delivers a raft of good performances that prove exactly what is needed.

The lovely Romola Garai (above, of The Crimson Petal and the White) is always space-suited here but proves up to her usual level, while Elias Koteas (at left, below, with Tom Cullen) lends a nice air of authority tinged with vulnerability to his role.

I call this a zombie movie, and indeed I believe it really is. What makes it different from the rest in this genre is how these particular zombies are initialized and then evolve. There's no rising from the dead here; in fact, it is almost the reverse.

That we actually begin to understand how these "things" were created is also a nice change for this genre, and we don't seem to spend half the movie on this subject, either, in the manner done by World War Z -- which, again, shows up the difference between the "B" movie and its overkill A-list counterpart.

At 98 minutes, LDOM is still around 10 minutes too long. Consequently its "thriller" aspect grows attenuated--but not enough to sink the (space)ship. This is a generally tight tale well told. The movie, from Magnolia Pictures/Magnet Releasing, complete with both Universal Pictures and Focus Features screen grabs, open this Friday, December 6, theatrically in New York City (Landmark's Sunshine Cinema) and Los Angeles (Landmark's NuArt in West L.A.). Additional theaters in some thirteen cities will be added in the weeks to come. Click here to see 'em all.

Note; this film is also currently available via most VOD outlets. 

Check your own TV reception provider to details.

VEHICLE 19: In Mukunda Michael Dewil's South African chase thriller, Paul Walker goes fast and furious, B-movie level

First-off, TrustMovies sees nothing wrong with a good "B" movie. We should have more of them, as in the good ol' 1940s and 50s eras, when I was growing up. "A" movies these days are so often bloated in length, while paltry in style and content, that the new Paul Walker vehicle made in South African and titled VEHICLE 19 -- though for all I know it may be an "A" movie so far as South African is concerned (we don't see that many home-grown films from there; District 9 was something of an anomaly) -- seems to me a good example of a generally tight, twisty little B film.

Written and directed by a South African fellow with the mouthful of a name -- Mukunda Michael Dewil (shown at right) -- the movie tosses you into an immediate car chase with Mr. Walker (below) at the wheel (Fast & Furious franchise fans should feel right at home with the person, if not the place). Then, after some speedy, scary moments, we come to a sudden halt, and then we're taken back to a few hours earlier, as the plot kicks into action. While there is not a hell of a lot of plot, there's enough to keep us and Walker occupied tidily for the 85-minute running time. Basically, this is one of those in-the-wrong-place-at-the-wrong-time movies, but with a little bureaucratic twist in which an employee makes a simple mistake in her assignment of a particular object. And then all hell breaks loose.

I don't want to go much further plot-wise because the movie has a couple of neat surprises up its sleeve, one of which involves another character. I will just say that, as usual, with films in which you find dirty cops at the top of the food chain -- from L.A. Confidential to the recent Eden -- things do not look all that bright for the protagonists on view.

Mr. Walker's character, Michael, has a checkered history himself, which adds to our hero's problems, and while the actor plays mostly angry and determined (with a couple of very moving moments of concern and grief), but he handles these two states well enough. Naima McLean (above, right) plays her "whistleblower" role quite well, too, and the only other major character is essayed by Gys de Villiers, first heard as a phone voice and finally given the solidity of a body to go with it.

In an article I searched out about the making of the film, it was said that all the action takes place inside the titular vehicle. I don't quite remember the movie that way. There are plenty of scenes shot from outside the car looking in, so this is not on of those "contained thrillers" like Buried or Brake.) I also think I recall Walker's getting out of the vehicle, as well. Still, most of the movie does take place in the generally speeding car, and the fact that it gets such good mileage out of this situation is very much to the filmmaker's credit as writer and director.

Distributed by Ketchup Entertainment, Vehicle 19, a good title, the meaning of which comes eventually clear, opens this Friday via AMC theaters in ten cities across the country, including New York City (at the Empire 25), Ontario (in California, at the Ontario Mills 30), Atlanta (at the Southlake Pavilion in Morrow, GA), Chicago (at the Barrington in So. Barrington, Il.), Dallas at the Mesquite in Mesquite, TX), Houston (at the Studio, Houston), Miami (at the Sunset Place in South Miami), Philadelphia (at the Neshaminy in Bensalem, Pa.), San Francisco (at the Deer Valley Stadium in Antioch, Ca.), Washington DC (at the Hoffman in Alexandria, VA). If you don't live near these locations, I expect VOD and DVD will be coming semi-soon.

William Monahan finds his B-movie metier with the excellent LONDON BOULEVARD

Now we discover what William Monahan can really serve up. Best-known as the award-winning screenwriter of the multi-Academy Award-winning movie The Departed (which could begin a very long list of undeserving "Oscar" winners), Mr. Monahan comes into his own with the (unfortunately very limited) release of his new film LONDON BOULEVARD, a very model of an intelligent, witty, stylish (while never showy) B-movie, a crime melodrama that gets virtually everything right. As the director, screenwriter (adapted from the novel by Ken Bruen) and a co-producer, to boot, the movie is Monahan's baby all the way, and a cracklingly good one it is.

The filmmaker, shown at right, is content to tell a good story well, and I wish more of his peers understood the importance of this. He also appreciates that this is a visual medium and so gives it its due -- without going overboard with the "style." Oh, the movie is stylish, all right -- consider the fine scene in which star Keira Knightley (below, playing a hugely popular-with-the-tabloids Brit movie star) visits a drug store and is either noticed by everyone or is simply bonkers paranoid, maybe both -- but it refuses to shout about its quiet but nonetheless full-blown accomplishments.

Telling the not unusual tale of the convict released from prison who resolves to go straight, the movie makes this situation seem remarkably fresh, thanks to the casting and performance of its leading man Colin Farrell, below, who finally has a "star" role that, were there any justice in moviedom, would catapult him into permanent box-office heat. Farrell uses his face and body remarkably well here, taking the time to create a character with whom we sympathize enormously as his problems pile up. He comes to his hero role by degrees, and we're with him every step.

In Ray Winstone (below), the movie also has a crackerjack villain, a fellow who's as frightening as he is crazy, an unnerving combination of which Winstone makes the most.

The supporting cast includes some of Britain's finest -- from Anna Friel (center, two photos below, as Farrell's substance-abusing sis) to Eddie Marsan (a goofily crooked cop), Ben Chaplin (the best friend nobody needs, shown at left in the penultimate photo) and especially David Thewlis (below, right), who plays with great relish Ms Knightley's major domo. Thewlis has some of the movie's wittiest lines, which he tosses off with utter aplomb.

It's in the scenes with Thewlis and others that feature Sanjeev Baskhar (below, right, as a hospital doctor who befriends Farrell's character and then become besotted with his sister) that Monahan really struts his stuff. These scenes further the plot and the characterizations but are also great fun. They're short, too; nothing here goes on too long (the movie runs 103 minutes, with each one present and accounted for).

Monahan also seems to understand intuitively when to suggest and when to go for broke. Considering all that happens, the movie is relatively free from blood-and-guts. We neither see nor hear much violence, but the quick sight of a hammer with blood and hair attached speaks volumes.

Tone and pacing are on the mark, too, so that the occasional coincidence appears relatively natural and real. The view we get of London paparazzi is nasty enough to make what happens to a pair of them seem more than just. And the photography by Chris Menges is everything we expect from this master cinematographer.

Make no mistake, London Boulevard is a B movie, a noirish crime thriller of the type we've seen countless times (and will see even more again, should we live that long) But because of its smart grasp of character, event, momentum and especially irony (the ending is brilliant and the irony of it anything but cheap), it stands heads and shoulders above all else of this type we've seen of late.

Released via IFC Films, the movie opens this Friday, November 11, in New York at the IFC Center, and in Los Angeles at Laemmle's Music Hall 3 on November 18. As is often the case these days, it has also been playing via VOD for the past month, as well. Click here to learn how to get it via your local cable/TV reception provider.