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technicolortheshow · 5 years ago

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BOHREN & DER CLUB OF GORE

My Bloody Quarantine part 1

The last six months have been pretty shit, hey? It looks like there is no future anymore... global warming, COVID-19, Australia on fire, wars... shall I go on?

ANYWAY, we are not here to talk about a stupid government led by a buffoon with a mop in his head (ops!) but to praise one of the bands who kept me company during this bloody quarantine of mine: BOHREN & DER CLUB OF GORE. This German act, in fact, hung out with me during the several nights of insomnia, which, trust me, were devastating, loooooong and cold. Cigarettes after cigarettes, wine after wine, I thoroughly enjoyed the discography of the quartet and I thought it was time to write something about them.

Because of the slow-moving and nocturnal nature of their music, a doom jazz plenty of end-of-the-world ballads, or, in their words "unholy ambient mixture of slow jazz ballads, Black Sabbath doom and down-tuned Autopsy sounds", I happily matched their records to these apocalyptic months. Just like a dark noir by Leo Malet, or a Terry Gilliam dystopian movie, Bohren & Der Club of Gore managed to convey, over the last 25 years, a deep sense of ethical abandonment and claustrophobic imprisonment. There is no future in the music of the German band, no escape from reality, which is doomed and looped into an endless limbo. A not long time ago - which now seems AGES ago, to be honest - I went to the White Cube for the latest Kiefer’s exhibition. I believe that the combination of BCG music and Kiefer’s artworks pretty well.

Over the last months, while listening to them, between a Medoc and a Nebbiolo, I was picturing the band in a smoky “bar at the end of the world”, channelling some kind of Tom Hillenbrant’s dystopian political setting or a Lynde Mallison’s grey cold painting. The best description, though, comes from the band website: “Dear friends of nighttime drives, remote bridges to nowhere and empty multi-storey��car parks”. Club Silencio state of mind, indeed.

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The ensemble has constantly been releasing high-quality records since 1994, with the first doom jazz album called MOTEL GORE - albeit the first release was a 1992 cassette filled with post-hardcore noise published under the name of Langspielkassette. MOTEL GORE is, as someone brilliantly described it “audio pointillism”. I think this similitude is accurate: the band did draw tiny dots of obscure, eerie, music on canvases of sound. “Die Fulci Nummer” drives me mad, with its spectral adagio: it’s so good it would’ve been great in the Fulci’s masterpiece Non si Sevizia un Paperino. “Cairo Keller” is charming and evocative, reminding me of a possible soundtrack for Lovecraft The Nameless City. Extra points for the brilliant reference of the cover.

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in 1997 BCG published MIDNIGHT RADIO, two hours of lynchian-LA-night-driving-without-a-destination soundtrack. if it is true that its predecessor "Gore Motel" is more song-oriented, and therefore a lot easier to listen to - it’s evident that Midnight Radio is more rewarding in its own special way: it’s a journey in the darkest corner of your mind. Yes, because the journeys BCG offers are not only external but often internal. The band has developed over the years a therapeutic dialogue between the listeners and their consciousness. Jungian jazz music anyone? LET’S DEBATE!

By the way, while writing this article, I’ve realised how difficult is to talk about BCG music without quoting several cliches - everyone always ends up referring to the same stuff:” car parks”, “night drive”, “Lynch”. But I have to admit, in this case, it’s definitely true! Listening to BCG can really inspire these topics under our skins, as trivial as it sounds! The point is: they do it better than anyone else, they have been doing this forever and they represent the top in this particular sub-genre. With the results of a cinematographic component in their music that leads to these night drive scenarios, post-modern inner state of minds. Bravo!

Let’s go back to Midnight Radio, to BGC and their discography. It’s undeniable that their music fits perfectly in the set of the SLOW TV/MUSIC/YOUTUBE movement. From The Norway train to this 1986 Canadian TV show called “NIGHT WALK” (which, by the way, looks freaking awesome), from Andy Warhol’ “SLEEP” to Kiarostami or Tarkovsky cinema, the slow movement has left an imprint to contemporary culture. Arguably, BGC, with their long holistic records, is part of the movement. Calming the listeners and bringing them into a meditative state of mind, without being mindfulness - luckily. The point is: BCG makes you think about yourselves, finding out that you are someone you should be scared of! Know yourself, fear yourself!

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All that Jazz came in 2000 with the thrilling “SUNSET MISSION”, thanks to the help of saxophonist Christoph Clöser. In this record the band opened up the sound, literally letting some fresh air to enter their music, easing the claustrophobic moods of the previous albums. A hint of lounge-ness came in, due to the mellow, yet sophisticated, sax of Mr Clöser. It is still quintessential BCG, with the nihilism of the band raising up form the bass. Slow, reiterated bass lines are running through the record, giving to Sunset Mission a gloomy, hypnotic cadence. The liner notes include a quote from Matt Wagner's Grendel comic book, which reads: "Alone in the comforting darkness the creature waits. As confusion reigns on this hellish stage, the deafening grind of machinery, the odious clot of chemical waste. Still, the trail of his ultimate prey leads through this steely maze to these, the addled offspring of the modern world.

According to many people, 2002 ‘BLACK EARTH” is BCG masterpiece. I don’t know yet, as I REALLY like them all. What I can say is that Black Earth sounds a lot more accessible, with an even more developed sense of ‘lounge-ness’ which was not so evident in the previous records. Blach Earth is a good record. Perhaps the trick here is the balanced tempo of the saxophone. Perfectly played within the songs at the right time, Christoph Clöser’ sax conveys an open jazzy sound. One of my favourite directors ever is Jean-Pierre Melville, his movies are everything I like in term of style and plot. Noir a là Dashiell Hammett, but French and without hope - give me more of this, Hollywood, please! Enough of fucking Marvel heroes, give me noir hard-boiled movies!

Black Earth could have easily been the perfect great soundtrack for Mr Melville’s movies - especially, IHMO, Bob le flambeur. Think about it: a french man, with a cigarette in his mouth, gambling his life for a young woman, in a dirty Marseille, with the BCG slow tempo doomed jazz. yasss please, give me more. Or a glacial Alain Delon killing his lover for money.

Black Earth was followed up, in 2005, by “GEISTERFAUST”, which is considered a slower than ever version of the former album. In Ghost Fist (this is the translation) Bohren & Der Club of Gore has stripped down its sound to the bone, becoming more gentle and less aggressive without any compromise. 5 songs only, named after the 5 fingers of the hand, for an hour of dark jazz. Again, excellent quality.

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I have been buying BCG on CD, I think this music on vinyl does not sound perfect UNLESS you have an extremely high-quality sound system, Like some classical music issue, where you need to hear the pianissimo of the piano and single notes, BCG music deserves a very clean medium, I would say CD is the best.

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Jazz de nuit again on their seventh album “DOLORES” published in 2008. This record is pure Badalamenti, pure Lynch in the night. Within the ten songs of Dolores, the core idea of slow-music is even more highlighted, with no guitars at all on the whole album and a sedated keyboard-based mood. In 2009 the band released a 10 minute EP called “MITLEID LADY”. it is strange, because, albeit recorded just after Dolores, it sounds way more gloomy and somehow different. It is BCG but has another level of sophistication compared to the previous record. This step further in the direction of stylistic accuracy is confirmed two years after, in 2011, with another EP, this one named “BEILEID”. The cover of the record is a reference to the famous Edward Gorey, or at least I believe.

The record includes the cover of "Catch My Heart" by German heavy metal band Warlock, with vocals from Mike Patton. I believe this is the only song with a singer in the entire catalogue of the band. Beileid is a cinematic mood-changer composed of pained saxophone solos, and ghostly string sections, an album that will sweep your mind away into dreamland. A must-have IHMO.

In 2013 the ensemble released “PIANO NIGHTS” probably the warmest record of the band. The Piano obviously helps a lot in making the sound softer and brighter - candle lighted rigorously. A German Gothic feast, with a touch of Teutonic expressionism - who remembers the movie The Hands Of Orlac. BCG should definitely play the soundtracks of this movie. A twisted, dark, thriller with Gothic and expressionist elements. After many years, the band introduces the

Finally, in 2020, the band published “PATCHOULI BLUE”. A pristine, unique, summa of their work, which manages to sound similar to other releases of the band, yet unique, with something different, like a small accent. 50s noir glam, Badalamenti, German Gothic, Slow-Movement philosophy are all elements we can find in this record, but there is something else: a hint of electronic, which can possibly open new territories to the band. I am curious to see if they will become a techno ambient act in the like of Gas (joking).

Aristotle once said that the whole is greater than the sum of its parts. I guess this is the whole point in BCG’s music. The synergy the band has been consistently showing over the last 3 decades, and the constant refinement of their own skills.

VIVA BOHREN!

#bohren #bohren & der club of gore #gothic #german #noir #leomalet #melville #alain delone #jazz #ambient #doom jazz #angelo badalamenti #lynch #mulholland drive #gas #grendel #nightmoves #anselm kiefer #expressionism

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oscopelabs · 6 years ago

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Mirror, Mirror: When Movie Characters Look Back at Themselves by Sheila O’Malley

“I always feel it behind me. It’s myself. And I follow me. In silence. But I can hear it. Yes, sometimes it’s like I’m chasing myself. I want to escape from myself. But I can’t!” —Peter Lorre as child-murderer, M (1931)

There was a period in the ‘60s and ‘70s when you could barely call yourself a male movie star if you didn’t do a scene where you stared at yourself in the mirror, doing various “private” things. The device shows up before then, too, but the floodgates opened in the ‘60s and ‘70s. Meryl Streep has observed, “Often the scenes that are the most exciting, and most illuminating in film, are the ones with no dialogue…where a character is doing something alone, where the deepest most private self is revealed or explored. Exposed.”

Mirrors have multiple thematic uses (as well as the obvious directorial choice to add visual interest to the frame). But if a character is inarticulate, then seeing him “deal with” his reflection can fill in some gaps. It’s a great storytelling shortcut. If the character has a firm public “mask,” a “mirror scene” can let us see who he is when no one is watching. We all lie, to some degree, out there in the world (or on social media). We construct a “self” and a mirror scene allows the character to strip that away.

Speaking stereotypically (or, in archetypes), what is expected of male characters in terms of public persona is different from the pressures on female characters. Not better or worse, just different. Crying, showing uncertainty, weakness, vulnerability … can be a minefield. This is why the glut of male mirror scenes in the 70s makes a kind of sense: as the women’s movement rose, men began to wonder about their place, as well as buck against some of the gender norms imposed on them (or, in some cases, re-entrench said gender norms, Travis Bickle’s “You talkin’ to me” the most classic example).

Shakespeare’s use of the soliloquy—in particular for Kings and prospective Kings—could be seen as mirror scenes, with the audience as the mirror. A man goes into a private space, showing the audience things he cannot show on the battlefield or in the court. Hamlet, one of the most introverted of Shakespeare’s characters, showing non-gender-norm qualities of uncertainty and sensitivity, has a massive six soliloquies. (“O that this too too solid flesh would melt”, “O what a rogue and peasant slave am I”, “To be or not to be”, “Tis now the very witching time of night”, “Now might I do it pat” and “How all occasions do inform against me.”) It is impossible to imagine the play—or Hamlet—without them. In Richard II, after Richard is forced to surrender his crown, what is the first thing he does? Like a true narcissist, he calls for a mirror. As he stares at himself, he wonders,

“Was this face the face That every day under his household roof Did keep ten thousand men?”

and throws the mirror on the ground.

Mirrors are powerful and mysterious symbols. The doubling-up can mean all kinds of things. Alice steps through the looking glass into another world. Goethe’s Faust looks into the witch’s mirror and sees a beautiful woman staring back. Dorian Gray takes a mirror to compare his face with the one in the attic portrait. (Like Richard III, Dorian smashes the mirror.) A mirror is crucial in Tennyson’s “The Lady of Shalott,” where “The Lady” is cursed to view the world only through a mirror. But then Lancelot rides by and she can’t help it, she has to sneak a peek. Maybe the most famous fictional mirror is the Evil Queen’s in “Snow White,” the one she asks every day, “Mirror, mirror, on the wall, who’s the fairest of them all?” Richard III doesn’t look for a reflection of his beauty. He wonders where his “self” even is, without the crown.

An early male mirror scene—and one of the best—is Peter Lorre’s in Fritz Lang’s M (1931). Our first glimpse of Lorre’s face comes without warning. As a handwriting-analyst theorizes in voiceover about the child-killer’s psychology, we see him, staring at himself in the mirror. He pulls at his face, slowly, manipulating his mouth into a smile, trying it on for size, maybe seeing what it looks like to the children he seduces. He bugs his eyes out, turning this way, that, a maniacal presence, almost like a shark rolling its eyes backwards as it attacks. He has no sense of what human beings feel like, of what he looks like, of how to even make a facial expression. It’s one of the most chilling private moments in cinema.

Speaking of “private moments”: Constantin Stanislavski wrote a lot about how actors needed to feel “solitude in public.” He wrote: ”During a performance, before an audience of thousands, you can always enclose yourself in this circle…You can carry it with you wherever you go.” Lee Strasberg developed his “private moment exercise” to help actors achieve “solitude in public.” There are things you do when you are alone which you would stop doing if someone walked in. Maybe you sing along to the radio. Maybe you talk to yourself. Maybe you pick your nose. Maybe you do all of these things simultaneously. Our “public” selves are drilled into us from a very young age. There are “good manners,” there are “contexts” to be memorized—what flies at home will not fly outside the home. Breaking down the public face, letting an audience see who you are when you are by yourself, is part of the actor’s job. (It’s not a surprise that the '70s came to be dominated by private-moment mirror scenes, considering the influence of the Strasberg method on acting styles.)

One of the most important mirror scenes, and a huge influence on Martin Scorsese, is Marlon Brando’s in Reflections in a Golden Eye, directed by John Huston. Brando plays Major Weldon Penderton, a closeted gay man married to a frustrated, luscious Elizabeth Taylor. Late at night, Penderton sits alone, staring at pictures of naked male statues from Greek antiquity. The character lives in an almost totally male world (the military), turned on by young soldiers, and terrified of revealing himself. In one scene, alone downstairs in the house, he walks into the hall and stares at himself in the mirror. After a moment of vacuity, he begins to talk to himself, or, more vulnerably, to an imaginary other person. He pretends to respond to what the other person says, he practices laughing, and he smiles, but the smile is superimposed. He can’t get it to look real. What he says is a kind of murmur, a “pretense” of conversation. This is the kind of vulnerability Brando could achieve like no other. Without this scene, the Major could have been a caricature. All we see is his fuddy-duddy sexless stiff public mask. The mirror scene shows his confusion at how to be a man, how to navigate even a casual conversation.

Alain Delon has a stunning mirror moment in Purple Noon (1960), Rene Clement’s adaptation of Patricia Highsmith’s The Talented Mr. Ripley. Delon plays the sociopath Tom Ripley, in thrall to his casually masculine friend Philippe Greenleaf (Maurice Ronet). Delon’s chilly presence onscreen works to beautiful effect: He doesn’t show us much. But then, he tries on Philippe’s clothes, a sleek pinstripe jacket, fancy shoes. He checks himself out in the mirror. Most actors would leave it at that. But Delon understood the homoerotic implications of the script, not to mention the character’s dangerous narcissism. Delon leans into the mirror and gives himself a rapturous long kiss, slitting his eyes open at one point, to check out what he looks like.

It’s interesting to contrast this with the same scene in the 1999 adaptation, The Talented Mr. Ripley, starring Matt Damon. Director Anthony Minghella makes the subtext practically text, by placing mirrors in almost every scene (the final shot of Ripley is through a mirror). When Ripley tries on his friend’s clothes, he dances around to Bing Crosby’s “May I,” doing a vaudeville burlesque. It’s a different kind of rapture than Delon’s swooning kiss. Damon’s drag-style dance is more for the audience, an explicit display of inner gay-ness, what Ripley is hiding beneath his good-natured submissive public persona. It’s a good scene, although I prefer Delon’s. Delon’s kiss is Stanislavsky’s “public solitude”—and it shows the terrifying void within the character. There is no self. The entire world is a mirror.

In Karel Reisz’s gritty Saturday Night and Sunday Morning, Albert Finney’s Arthur, in a whirl of work, sex, and alcohol, is suddenly caught by his reflection one hungover morning. He was beat up the night before. He plays at being a sniper through his window, targeting local women with pellets. It’s a thin line between playfulness and murderous acting-out. Finney digs into this aspect of the character when he suddenly speaks to his reflection. It is a statement of bravado before descending into confusion: ”I’m me and nobody else. Whatever people say I am that’s what I am not, because they don’t know a bloody thing about me. God knows what I am.”

For the opening sequences of Rocky, we see Rocky Balboa’s normal “day in the life.” We are introduced to him through various public selves. But when he goes home to his dank apartment, feeding his turtles, gentle and quiet, his loneliness is so acute it reverbs off the screen. Childhood photographs of him line the mirror frame, and Rocky stares at them, his big-lug face almost crushed in disappointment. Holding a container of turtle food, he starts to talk to himself. What he’s saying doesn’t sound like anything, just private-moment murmurings, but in the next scene, when he goes to visit the girl in the pet store, it becomes clear. He was practicing a joke to tell her, a joke designed to make her laugh, show her he’s a safe person, he’s nice. Rocky practicing a joke in the mirror is one of Stallone’s most vulnerable moments as an actor (and evidence of his gift as a screenwriter).

John Travolta’s mirror moment in 1977’s Saturday Night Fever is star-making, not just because of Travolta’s almost otherworldly gorgeousness (as well as how he revels in said gorgeousness, behavior considered coded-female). Surrounded by 1970s icons—posters of Rocky, Serpico, and Farrah Fawcett—he blow-dries his hair, places gold chains around his neck, and stands like a superhero in his black speedo briefs, shot from below. Perhaps the most revealing thing about the scene is that when his father barges into the room, Travolta’s Tony Manero does not stop what he is doing. His lack of embarrassment tells us everything we need to know about the character.

Francis Ford Coppola’s epic, Apocalypse Now begins with a hallucinatory sequence showing a PTSD-rattled Martin Sheen, holed up in a hotel room in Saigon, tormented by memories. In one shocking moment, Sheen stands unsteadily, and lurches around in front of the mirror, flailing his arms out in imitation martial-arts moves, an attempt to combat his helplessness and anguish, his impotence. But the gap between reality and fantasy is too great, and he, like Richard III, smashes the mirror.

Richard Gere’s mirror moment in American Gigolo is a distant cousin of John Travolta’s. His Julian has carefully crafted an immaculate persona for his female clients, and part of the movie’s pull is watching it get stripped away. At home, Julian wanders around, practicing Swedish, working out, picking out clothes for his next appointment. He’s vain, but vanity is part of his job. Smokey Robinson’s “The Love I Saw In You Was Just a Mirage,” and it’s perfect because Julian literally is a mirage. To his clients, to himself, even. When he stands in front of the mirror, flexing his muscles, he is more Evil Queen than Richard III, a destabilizing of gender norms around male sexuality (and self-presentation) which is so much a part of the film. (When Julian meets a private detective, it’s at a joint called the Me & Me Coffee Shop. Julian’s hall of mirrors shatters by the end of American Gigolo: in the final scene, he talks to Lauren Hutton through a glass partition in prison. The mirror is no more. He can see through it now to the other person, and, crucially, he can be seen, too, as he really is.)

The most famous mirror moment is, of course, Robert De Niro’s in Taxi Driver. In the insomniac voiceover, his Travis Bickle says, “I think that someone should become a person like other people,” showing the character’s alienation from other humans. You aren’t already a person, to Travis: you have to become one. As Travis descends into psychosis, dreaming of 1. impressing the cool blonde (Cybill Shepherd) who rejected him after he took her to a porn movie on their first date and 2. rescuing the child prostitute Iris (Jodie Foster), he begins to amass a small arsenal, putting together boot holsters and straps to go around his wiry body. In the unforgettable moment when he checks himself out in the mirror, he goes into a zone of macho fantasy. (Schrader’s script said only “Travis speaks to himself in the mirror.” De Niro’s “You talkin’ to me” was his improvisation.) De Niro goes so far into his sense of privacy, it’s almost embarrassing to watch. And yet it’s so human, too. (If you say you’ve never talked to yourself in the mirror, or sung in the shower, you’re lying.)

De Niro’s second mirror moment is Raging Bull’s final scene, when the bloated Jake La Motta recites Marlon Brando’s “I coulda been a contender” monologue from On the Waterfront, before standing up and doing a series of “pumping up” exercises, to get ready to go onstage. (Side note: Mary Elizabeth Winstead closes out Eva Vives’ wonderful 2018 film All About Nina, about a troubled stand-up comic, with a re-creation of the scene from Raging Bull.) What’s fascinating about the Raging Bull scene is that Jake La Motta has no “self” to reveal. It’s almost like there’s no inner life at all. He doesn’t “get it.” He never did, he never will. De Niro blanks himself out in a very unnerving way, opposite to the dangerous vengeful-spirit fantasy he inhabits in Taxi Driver.

Although Walter Hill’s Johnny Handsome descends into a cliched crime movie with paper-thin characters, the opening sequences are dark, cynical, and atmospheric. Mickey Rourke plays Johnny, a man with a deformed head, an “ugly” appearance which has separated him from other humans. Reminiscent of the Joan Crawford film A Woman’s Face, a caring plastic surgeon (Forest Whittaker) offers to operate on Johnny, to give him a chance at a new life. When Rourke unwraps the bandages and sees his new face (i.e. Rourke’s real face), Rourke has a mirror moment like almost no other, a moment worthy to be placed alongside Brando’s and De Niro’s. He touches his face with wonder, bursting into tears. That’s touching enough, but then, as he glances back at Whitaker, Rourke goes deeper. A look of fear, and lifelong anguish floods his eyes, as he says, “I feel like I still have a mask on” and then, after that, Rourke goes even deeper into a maelstrom of emotion: gratitude, bafflement, awe, despair. The scene is Rourke’s finest hour.

Up until recently (with a couple of exceptions), when women stared at themselves in the mirror in the movies, it was obvious what they are doing: touching up their makeup, checking out their mask. Once again, in the 1960s and 70s, women started doing “mirror scenes” equivalent to men’s mirror scenes, where the purpose was not perfecting the public mask, but to - as Sylvia Plath wrote in her poem “Mirror” - search “my reaches for what she really is.” Faye Dunaway has a great one in Jerry Schatzberg’s Puzzle of a Downfall Child. Gena Rowlands has quite a few “mirror scenes” in the movies she did with Cassavetes (there’s a couple of stunners in Opening Night). In my favorite moment in Sofia Coppola’s The Bling Ring, after breaking into Paris Hilton’s house, Katie Chang goes into a daze of mad-woman fantasy, staring at herself in Paris’ mirror. It’s not hard to imagine the character slipping into the Manson family, if a Manson came along. She’s as blank as Jake La Motta. In La Verite’s opening scene, Brigitte Bardot stares at her face in a broken shard of a mirror, right before marching off for her court date. Her “self” is fragmented, broken. Jennifer Jason Leigh has an extraordinary extended “mirror scene” in Georgia. The moment is everything: self-hatred, rage, searching and longing, and bone-deep narcissism.

Men staring at themselves in the mirror let us into their secret worlds, their fantasies and anxieties, uncertainties and vulnerabilities. It’s not about being self-obsessed. It’s trying to find the self, the self that is not allowed free rein, be it a benign self or a malevolent one.

In Caravaggio’s “Narcissus,” Narcissus leans towards his reflection in the water, his posture pulled downwards with a seductive tug. He braces himself by his hands on the ground, and his knee, bulging out beneath his torso, is the only barrier between Narcissus and his reflection (and, perhaps, drowning). In the painting the reflection below is cut off; all we see are the forearms and that gleaming sturdy knee. Even though Narcissus’ body is barely visible, even though he’s hunched over himself, his energy is childlike, soft and open. He gives his reflection a caressing stare, a swooning look. He yields. This is not just vanity. This is something else.

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victorianoir · 5 years ago

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The Detective and the ManFatale, Part 1

Sorry I haven’t been keeping up here. But I’ll be adding the rest of what I’ve written since the last chapter I posted on tumblr. And I’ll add it to the MASTERPOST of The Detective and the Tech Guy here, as well. If you want to read this chapter on the fanfiction.net site, you can read it here: BOOP.

Enjoy!

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

She found herself nodding off at her desk yet again, thanks to the long night she'd had.

Reaching up, she gave herself a few light smacks to the cheek and blinked, stretching her arms above her head. A satisfied smile made itself known on her face. The extra tiredness was more than worth it. Not sleeping more than the two hours she'd gotten earlier this morning? Worth it.

Part of her had been reluctant to say yes to Chuck when he proposed they "adventure" last night. Well, honestly, she'd misunderstood at first when he'd said they should "adventure", because she'd taken it in an "exploration" sort of way. It wasn't her fault, really, since they'd been wrapped up together on his couch watching TV at the time. Or not watching TV, because they were actually making out heavily with the TV on in the background. So it only made sense that she'd taken "We should adventure" as "Let's move from second base to third base".

Then she had realized he'd meant outside; actually going somewhere in the middle of the night and adventuring in the city.

She'd been more reluctant about that. Obviously. What woman wouldn't be when she had a Chuck Bartowski to enjoy being pinned under instead?

She snorted to herself and pushed her hands through her hair.

God, she was tired. Even if driving over bridges, climbing to the tops of hills, looking up at the stars from their spot on the sandy beach after walking along its shores, was all worth it.

Why did she even come to the agency today? She was her own boss. She could've taken today off, kissed Chuck goodbye as he left for work, and stayed all wrapped up in his bed for the rest of the day, sleeping the tiring (but invigorating) night she'd had off.

But that wasn't how she wanted to operate with Walker Investigative Enterprises. She was a damn professional. And she'd be here, yawning and all. Because she was honestly between cases and really needed to up the marketing to get someone with a case in here. Granted, most of the work she needed to do was ugly, horrible paperwork. Filing things for taxes, making sure the IRS didn't come busting her door down.

She yawned again and groaned, thumping her forehead against the top of her desk, taking a deep breath, and letting her eyes shut.

It was worth eventually walking up that hill to watch the sunrise with Chuck's arms around her.

Totally worth it.

And God, why hadn't she stayed in bed? Professionalism really was a lousy trait for someone to have.

Suddenly, she heard the soft sound of the hinges on the outer door to her agency creak, and she lifted her head, sitting up straight.

"Uh…ahem…anyone here? Is there a, um, a bell?"

She rushed out from behind her desk, opened her office door a bit more and stepped out. "Yes. Good afternoon. May I help you?"

The man lifted both eyebrows as he peered at her, and she couldn't help but notice the almost charming slow smile that presented itself on his handsome face. "It's a great afternoon suddenly, from where I'm standing."

She gave him an exceedingly polite smile. If this was a client, she couldn't afford to be rude. Literally, she couldn't afford it.

He cleared his throat, shaking himself a bit, seeming almost self-deprecating. And then he smirked a bit, as though…Well, he seemed pretty aware of himself. There was a thread of amusement at his own expense, which she didn't expect. "Right. Uh, I'm here to see the, um, private investigator. Detective Walker? Mister Walker? Not sure which…"

"I'm Sarah Walker, private investigator."

"It's you?" he asked. He pushed a hand through his wavy jet black hair, and grinned. "Wow, that's your name on the door, huh?"

"Yes. It is."

"Oh. Right. Sorry. I'll stop being such a prick and get to the reason why I'm here."

She wished he would. She was too tired for him to be standing here doing the same thing a lot of people had done when they first saw her. The gawking, either at her being a woman, or perhaps at the fact that she was as good-looking as she was, or both. The asking of that age-old question: "Really? You're Walker?"

Yes, asshole. Really.

She didn't care if this guy was handsome in an old school Alain Delon sort of way, or that he had a nice lilting accent that sounded like it might be British…but not at the same time. She thought he was probably South African, but the accent felt…different. A little off, maybe.

It was still freaking annoying that he fell into the same trap everyone else had.

"Uh, so…" He cleared his throat and shut the door behind him finally, straightening the tan suit he wore. "Well, I think I need your help."

"You think?"

"Well, I guess I know I need someone's help." He shook his head. "And I need someone good, someone who can be very discreet."

"I'm both of those things," she said, smirking a little.

A bit of a flirtatious look came over his features and he crossed his arms at his chest. "And confident, too. I like that."

"Why do you need a private investigator, Mister…?"

"Cartwright. Robert Cartwright. You can call me Robbie."

"What can I help you with, Mister Cartwright?"

"Not Robbie, then?" He chuckled and nodded. "Sorry. You're a professional. I should treat you as such. Inspector Walker? Detective?"

"Miss is just fine."

"That is good news."

The meaning wasn't lost on her, and she pretended it was, seemingly continuing to stare at him, waiting for him to actually get to business like he said he would ages ago. She was too tired to play games but she wanted a case to work on.

He cleared his throat again. "Right, well…It seems I'm in a bit of trouble, Miss Walker."

"All right. Come into my office and we'll talk about it."

"You mean you'll take my case?" he asked hopefully.

She sent him a bit of an amused look. "Did I say that?" she asked over her shoulder, eyeing him, and she led him into her office, gesturing for him to take a seat across the desk from her, taking her own seat after. "Can I get you water? Coffee?"

"Do you have any whiskey?"

"No."

"Well, good. I'm a champagne man, myself."

Sarah smirked. His sense of humor was catching her off-guard in a similar way to the way Chuck's had, especially when she'd first met him a few years ago, sitting across from him in his father's office, not expecting him to be so handsome or charming, to the point where she'd found herself flirting with him without realizing it.

She wouldn't be flirting with Robbie Cartwright at all, and certainly not in the way she'd flirted with the tech nerd.

She was more than simply taken. When it came to Chuck, she was fully off the market, even for something as innocent as flirtation. Even if it was almost…intriguing…how similar parts of this man were to Chuck, while also being incredibly different. Maybe it was the place he was coming from, the way Chuck felt very sincere in everything he did while this man just made her feel a bit…not guarded, per se, just…on her toes.

It was very strange. She wanted to work it out more than she wanted to hear about his case, she found.

"I don't have champagne."

"No, I expect you wouldn't. Not here, anyway. Perhaps when you fix this issue of mine, we can find somewhere that does have champagne and celebrate?"

"Please, let's not get ahead of ourselves here, Mister Cartwright. I haven't taken your case. I still don't even know what it is yet." She went into her drawer, pulled out her small notepad, a pen, and leaned back in her chair, crossing her legs and propping the pad on her knee as she waited patiently.

"Yes. Sorry. I shouldn't just assume you are single…" He pulled his chin back a bit and looked at her through his eyelashes, as if hinting he wanted to know if she was single. She didn't owe him any information about her personal life or romantic life. And anyway, whether she was attached to someone or not, he owed her more respect than to be broaching the subject of champagne or celebration when he'd literally just walked in to ask her to help him with an 'issue'.

"Mister Cartwright, your problem you need help with…?" she finally prompted, as if she didn't even notice the way he paused significantly.

He seemed to pick up on what she was doing and seemed to appreciate it as he smirked and nodded. "I apologize. You're…very distracting." She had no response to that. "Right. Yes. Well… There is this…acquaintance, shall we say, of mine. Normally, I try to mind my own business, especially when I don't know a person, right? But there's just something about him that seems…not right."

"How so?" Sarah asked, twirling her pen in her fingers.

"Jerald Brown. Have you heard of him?"

"No, I'm afraid not."

"He's an alleged philanthropist. Think he has a tech company or something. But I keep hearing things about business dealings that just don't add up. And with the connection he has to philanthropy, the amount of people who depend on him being on the up and up, it's genuinely concerning."

Sarah frowned, giving him a dubious look. "What does that have to do with you, Mister Cartwright?"

"Maybe I'm just a good guy."

He chuckled when she gave him a flat look. She wouldn't stand for a potential client treating her like she was stupid.

"I'm sorry, you're right," he said, smiling, his light blue eyes sparkling. "I'm an okay guy. It's mostly that I'm thinking about maybe doing some business with him. I want to make sure he's not involved in any illegal business dealings. I don't want to be hoodwinked or have my named tied up with his if he's…disreputable. I want to know he's a good family man."

"Are you a 'good family man', Mister Cartwright?" she asked, without a hint of flirtation.

He apparently took it that way, though, as he grinned and leaned forward. "I am not, Miss Walker. Any particular reason why you ask?"

"Yes," she said, smiling a little. "Because I wonder why you require a potential business partner to be a good family man if you don't require that of yourself."

"Oh." He sat back again. "Perhaps—and I'll admit this to you, Miss Walker, because I'm not claiming to be an angel by any means," he said, with a mischievous look she might've been more attracted to at some other point in her life, namely the past, "I might be something of a hypocrite. Perhaps I expect more of my colleagues than I do of myself." He shrugged. "Isn't that human? Don't we all?"

She sniffed in amusement. "Touché."

He grinned again at her assenting his point.

"So, will you take my case, Miss Walker?"

Sarah eyed him for a long time, flipping her notepad shut, open, shut, open… There was something about him that intrigued her. And it wasn't exactly a good intrigue she got from this first impression, like she'd gotten from her very first encounter with Chuck; it wasn't a need to know more about him, to know him better because he seemed like it would make her feel good to know him. No, this was different. She wanted to get to the bottom of where this guy was coming from because he wasn't like other people she'd met. Something set her on edge and she wanted to know why.

It wasn't just the clicking lilt of his accent or the way he seemed to emphasize certain words in his speech, every syllable coming out measured and precise as if he was parsing words. The more he sat across from her and spoke to her, the more his charm was less genuine and more a blanket to cover something else, or it was a distraction perhaps.

But she wanted to keep this guy around, she decided, keep him in her sights. She found she didn't care much about Jerald Brown. Robert Cartwright had her full attention.

So she nodded. "All right, Mister Cartwright. I'll look into Jerald Brown for you. It might take some time. I need to tail him, get some information, meet with contacts." She climbed up from her chair and set her notepad and pen on her desk.

"Take all the time you need, Miss Walker." He clapped once and stood as well, smiling in relief. "As long as it's discreet. I don't want a potential future business associate to know I've sicked a wicked P.I. on him."

"Wicked?" she asked, smirking.

"Mhm. Oh, don't worry. It's a compliment."

She gave him a look, then pulled her calendar out, scanning it. "Do you have time to meet again on Friday? I'll draw up a payment plan, we can go over that, and we'll solidify what you need from me."

The look on his face told her he was just barely resisting the urge to tell her exactly what he needed. And she was glad he was holding back. She didn't want to have to draw lines with a client. It was demeaning.

"Here?" he asked.

"Yes. Please. Noon work for you?"

"Friday at noon." He straightened his suit again. "Shall I bring the champagne?"

"I don't drink when I'm working, Mister Cartwright."

He held his hands up. "Of course. But may I try again to ask you to call me Robbie? I might be a bit too entrenched in my South African ways…"

She wasn't sure that was a South African thing. It sounded more like a Guy Who Was Attracted To A Woman sort of thing. But she didn't care enough to dispute him. "If that makes you more comfortable, then I will."

"It does."

She nodded, neglecting to tell him he could call her Sarah. Because, honestly, he couldn't. "All right. See you on Friday, then, Robbie."

His wide smile was charming again as he flashed her a double thumbs up. "Sounds great. Thank you for considering my case, Miss Walker."

She nodded, watching as he left. And it wasn't until the main door out into the hallway shut behind him that she let out a long sigh and sagged against the desk her assistant would sit at. If she had one.

This was going to be interesting.

Very interesting.

XOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXO

Chuck was in the middle of blowing a robot's head off when he heard the door to his condo open. "Hey, hot stuff," he called over his shoulder, not looking as he finished off another robot.

A few seconds later, as he beat the level, pumping his fist in front of him with a "yessssss", he felt her cool hand slide over the back of his neck.

"You knew I wasn't Morgan, right?" she asked. "I feel like I just need to make sure."

He cracked up and saved, turning it off altogether. "He doesn't have a key to my place. You're the only one who does."

"Good point," she giggled, leaning down and kissing the top of his head. He noticed she had her briefcase draped over her shoulder but she wasn't in her work clothes, in stretchy pants and a V-neck shirt instead. "You don't have to turn off your game."

"Nah, that was a good stopping point."

"I'm going to be doing work anyway." She lifted her briefcase and huffed, plopping down onto the couch next to him and swinging the strap off over her head, dropping it to the floor next to her feet, kicking off her sneakers and tucking her legs under her body.

He lifted his arm and let her lean into his side, draping that same arm over her shoulders and pulling her close. "Paperwork?"

"A case."

"Oh. Oh!" He squeezed her shoulder. "Hey! A case! That's awesome! Tell me everything. The whole thing. I want to know every detail."

She giggled. "Chuck, I can't give you every detail of every client's case."

"Fiiine." He gave her a put-upon sigh and got his hair ruffled for it, giggling and trying to push her hand out of his curls. He managed to wrestle her down into his lap, her head resting on his thighs and she beamed up at him, blowing some of her blond locks out of her face and threading her fingers with his, resting them on her abdomen. "You can tell me, like, highlights if you want."

She giggled. "You win. But only because it's really adorable how excited you are about my work."

"That's mostly just because it's you. I hope you know that."

Sarah's blue eyes softened and she reached up to pinch his chin. "I love you a lot." He just grinned down at her, resting his hand on her head and stroking her hair back from her face. "So, yeah. This, uh, rich guy from South Africa wants me to look into someone he's thinking of doing business with. That's all."

"Ah, doing some vetting, huh?"

"Mhm."

"Some discreet vetting. That's the best kind."

She chuckled. "I guess so. It's not as easy."

"But you got it. You're incredible at being discreet." He shrugged. "You're incredible at everything."

Sarah beamed up at him. "You're being so cute and schmaltzy tonight. What's up with that?"

"I dunno," he said with a chuckle. "I missed you. Haven't seen you in, like, two and a half days. Do you get to tail this guy?"

She made a face, probably at his quick change of subject. But she still answered. She was too used to him doing that to her, he thought. "Yeah, I do. I have to, I don't get to. Tailing people isn't fun in any way, shape, or form, Chuck."

"No, I'm sure it's no piece of cake or anything. But it is kinda cool."

"You just think that because you watch too many movies that make it look cool. It's completely boring and exhausting."

He huffed. "I'll take your word for it. Since you're a professional. So is this South African guy just wanting to make sure he won't get himself into trouble being connected to this other guy?"

"Yes. Cartwright seems…I dunno…" She paused, biting her lip. "There's something I can't quite put my finger on. He's charming, doesn't seem like a terrible person or anything. I've spent the last few days just doing a quick check on him, building a little dossier of sorts. Mostly keeps to himself, stays out of the limelight… couldn't really find any pictures of him as a result. At least nothing prior to a few months ago."

Chuck had already pulled his phone out and brought up Google. "What's his full name?"

"Robert Cartwright," she said, giggling as he typed it in. "You really think I didn't Google image search him? There are literally no pictures of the guy. Anywhere. Just a recent picture on some low-tier celebrity blogger's page."

"That's impressive." He scrolled through. There really was nothing. "Oh. What about this guy?"

"Mm. No. That's not him. That's for some crab shack restaurant or something in Maine. A different Robert Cartwright."

"How did he manage this? I want to talk to him and ask him. Because I would love this to happen when people Google search for Charles Bartowski. Instead of that stupid fuckin' picture of me from that celebrity video game tournament when I'm practically biting my tongue off in concentration. Four years later and I still don't know how to purge the Internet of that damn picture. Headphones smashing my hair in all these weird directions."

"I love that picture. I'm gonna print it out and frame it…keep it on my desk at the agency to remind me of how lucky I am."

"Stop it."

She giggled with her tongue between her teeth. "And I'll tape a hundred dollar bill to it to remind me of how rich you are, which is why I'm really lucky."

Chuck's jaw fell open as he cracked up, trying to grab her as she bolted upright out of his lap and dove out of his reach.

They eventually settled into their routine of sorts, Chuck strewn long ways across the couch, his head in her lap, his laptop propped on his abdomen, Sarah holding the file she was building on the Jerald Brown "mark" she'd eventually told him about as they talked about the case here and there.

It had surprised him. He'd heard about Jerald Brown even if he hadn't ever done business with him, or even crossed paths with him. But the man seemed like he was genuine, not a criminal, even above reproach, if the things Chuck heard about him in the past were any indication. He told Sarah that, in not so many words, and she'd seemed to mull it over for a while.

"Okay, here's what I don't get…" she said finally. "Are you busy? May I confer with your stellar brain?"

Chuck snorted. "You may. Though my stellar brain might need a martini to really feel stellar. I held off on a martini earlier because I think I just had a sixth sense you'd be coming over tonight and I should wait."

"Awww, are we at that point in this relationship when our minds are melding?"

"Oh, definitely," he hummed. "I'm gonna mind meld with you right now. You're going to ask me why Cartwright isn't as handsome or as cool as I am, even if he is from South Africa and has a tight accent."

She laughed, her head falling back. "How did you do that?" she asked, booping him on the nose. He chuckled. "He does have a tight accent, though. But I was going to say I don't get why Cartwright is so paranoid about Jerald Brown."

Chuck shrugged, shutting his laptop with a yawn and reaching over to set it on the coffee table. "You said he keeps to himself, stays out of the limelight. Maybe he's just like that. Paranoid. Thinking everyone's out to get him, steal from him. Even guys on the up and up like Brown."

"But does he hire a P.I. for every single business transaction, every partnership? My fees aren't exactly cheap, and I'm on the lower end of the private detective LA circuit. Why is he so paranoid about Brown in particular?"

"Maybe he knows something about Brown he isn't telling you. Like, he's testing you to see if you can figure it out for yourself."

She gave him a look. "Chuck, what would be the point of that?"

"I…" He thought for a few seconds. "Don't know. Sorry. I'm just lobbin' ideas atcha. Seeing if anything sticks. I don't know of anything Brown might be hiding."

"You might be right and he's just paranoid. I bet you are right, actually. He just doesn't seem like that type of guy. He seemed…outgoing. Kind of mischievous and teasing. He didn't really fit the paranoid build."

Chuck froze a little. Something about the way she'd been talking about this guy made him sound like he was on the younger side, but also that he might be…compelling, charming. That interested him. And set off a few quiet but definitely still there alarm bells. But there was also something about the way her eyes became so sharp, her lips pursed, like she was deep in thought, working something out… He knew her enough to know there was more to this guy than met the eye.

"Just how much about this guy's build did you notice, Sarah Walker, P.I.?" he asked, widening his eyes and sitting up, shifting close to her and facing her full on.

"Shut up," she giggled. "You know exactly what I meant."

"Yeah, yeah. Sure. He's probably, like, some ManFatale…flipping his hair and giving you a dark, dangerous look as he tells you he's in trouble." She began laughing and shaking her head as he affected an old-timey accent. "I'm in big trouble, Sarah Walker, P.I., and I need help. I need ya help, see?" He smoldered to finish it off.

"Why do I even like you?"

"Martinis and money."

Sarah cackled and slid her fingers into his hair at the back of his head, leaning in to give him a long kiss. "Mmmm, both of those things help." He loved the cheeky way she smiled at him, biting her lip. "But speaking of martinis…"

"On their way." He pecked her lips and got up from the couch, yelping as she gave his backside a swat while he moved past where she sat. "You know, sometimes you do that and I feel like a piece of meat," he teased, going to the bar and grabbing everything he needed.

"Wait, do you really?" she asked, and he looked over his shoulder to see that the look on her face was one of sincere concern.

"No," he said with a snort. "You just got through talking about my stellar brain, after all."

"It is pretty stellar."

"Thank you. And so is yours. You're like if Poirot was an incredibly sexy woman in her twenties instead of an old Belgian man with a crazy cool mustache."

She giggled. "Would you still love me if I had a crazy cool mustache?"

"What?" He finished the martinis in record time and went into his kitchen to grab a few olives for himself. "I think I would love you extra, if I'm bein' honest."

That earned him a strange look as he came back in with their drinks, one in each hand.

"No, seriously. Maybe while you're tailing Jerald Brown you can wear one for me, huh?" He made a play growl sound as he carefully sat next to her and handed her a martini.

"You're so weird and I love you so fucking much." She sipped her martini and moaned. "So much. How is it this good every time?"

"Baby, I'm a masterpiece. Obviously." He chuckled as she let out a bubbly giggle, tugging on one of his curls.

"You kind of are, though."

"Mm nope. I have my faults."

"Sure. So do I. And yet…you masterpiece." She shut the folder on her lap and set it to the side, on top of his laptop.

"Oh. Folder's away. Uh oh. What are you up to—? OH."

Sarah had swung her leg over to straddle him, martini still in hand, interrupting him with a slow, and sizzling if he did say so himself, kiss. When she pulled back, she took another calm sip of the drink.

"I have an idea."

"Please God tell it to me," he breathed out in a rush.

That made her snort, and yet it didn't break the heated mood even a bit. "What day is tomorrow?"

"That's a question, not an idea—Sorry. Uh, Thursday."

"Thursday. Well, I don't have anything pressing at the agency. Do you have anything pressing at B.E.C.?"

"No."

"You sure?"

"I'll cancel everything."

She beamed. "You don't have—"

"Listen, if you weren't currently sitting on my phone, I would've already texted Adisa to cancel everything for tomorrow by now."

Chuckling, she leaned in and kissed him again. She had this way of coupling a slow, heated kiss with stroking his hair that made him feel like he was sitting in a fire pit in the middle of the Saharan desert.

"Let's stay in tomorrow," she murmured against his lips.

"Perfect. We can do an X-Files marathon."

Sarah giggled and shook her head. "Stop it." She kissed him again.

"No, I'm serious. Nothin' like aliens and—"

He stopped when she pressed her finger to his lips. "Okay, you really need to know when to shut up."

Chuck smirked. "Yeah, true. It's one of my faults."

"I can work with it."

"Oh?"

"I have ways of shutting you up."

"Do y—Oh. Oh, wow you do."

XOXOXOXOXOXOXOXO

Chuck was in a bit of a sour mood as he pulled up to the parking lot beside the building where Sarah's agency was. That was why he was here in the first place, wasn't it? To get rid of his mood. His girlfriend had a singular way of chasing the dark clouds away.

Also, he was hungry and he thought he'd treat her to lunch.

He hadn't seen her walk out of her apartment this morning with a packed lunch like she did more often these days. It saved money, she said, his frugal and responsible private investigator.

Well, she'd save money today, because lunch was on him.

He needed to get his mom's stinging barbs from earlier out of his mind. He needed to get rid of the anger he'd felt at her words. And he needed to do it before he got up to Sarah's agency, because she'd see the look on his face no matter what he did to hide it, and he'd have to tell her that his mom was being awful about her again.

He hated that it hurt her.

He hated that his mom still did this.

He and Sarah were approaching their second anniversary: it was almost two years since that morning they ate breakfast together on the floor of his half-demolished hotel room in Paris, when they decided to make a genuine go of it. And his mom had known about their relationship for over a year now. She still couldn't just…be nice.

It had felt a lot worse today because he'd almost let himself hope that Mary Bartowski was starting to come to terms with her son's relationship with the woman Pinkerton sent to protect him two and a half years ago, her son's relationship with the woman he had more than proven he was in love with. And he felt like Sarah had more than proven she reciprocated his feelings.

His mother had been almost pleasant, in a sincere way, the past few weeks. She'd extended a genuine invite over the weekend for Chuck and Sarah to come have a meal with the whole family. That had included Devon's parents, even, which was just…unheard of. Even when she had asked Chuck about inviting Sarah's parents, when he told her that they weren't in the picture, since he didn't really know much more than that honestly, his mom had seemed sorry and sympathetic, rather than using it as yet another reason to hint something was wrong with Sarah. There was no tone when she'd said, "Oh. Poor Sarah. I didn't know." And it had given him some hope.

But today, she'd gone back to her usual business when she'd visited Chuck in his office, asking whether Sarah was getting clientele yet, if "after all of this time", she actually had a job. As though the months and months of her building up her agency wasn't literally a job, even if she didn't get paid for it until she took on her first case.

It was worse because he'd built so much hope, only to have it dashed. Like she'd been saving it up for the exact purpose to make him feel even more like shit. He knew that wasn't the case. And he knew she had misgivings about Sarah for reasons that were real for her. But she was wrong. And until she accepted Sarah, she'd always be wrong.

He needed to find some way to deal with it besides being so angry all the time. He was well past done allowing his mother to hurt Sarah, and that meant keeping these small rifts he had with his mother over her from reaching her ears.

Taking a deep breath, he got out of his car and headed inside of the building, pressing the button and waiting for the elevator.

He straightened his blazer and took another deep breath. He was about to see his favorite person in the world for the second time in one day, if waking up beside her this morning counted. He counted it. And he was incredibly happy about it, ready for it. He needed it, frankly.

Even just seeing that epic door of hers, with the foggy glass and her name printed on it: Walker Investigative Enterprises. It filled him with joy. She was living her dream. She was here. They were here together.

His mom could frankly sit down and shut up. He tried not to inwardly wince at that thought. As though wherever she was, Mary Bartowski might feel or hear his thought about her, fly to his side, and ground him, send him to his room, bar him from his video games.

Chuck opened the door to her outer office and stopped when he heard voices inside of her personal office. Oh…she had a client, a visitor, someone was here. He felt like maybe he should turn back, leave, and come back in fifteen minutes maybe. He could text her first. And then he'd come back.

Or…

He could eavesdrop…since that was what he wanted to do more. As much as he knew he shouldn't. But he just wanted to.

So he oh so silently crept in and eased the door shut. The hinge creaked a bit and he made a note to bring some WD40 at some point to fix that. But he didn't hear the voices stop, so he assumed they hadn't heard.

"This fee is more than doable," the man in her office said, his voice wafting out of the not-quite-shut door. "In fact, it feels like a steal. Why don't you let me give you more up front?"

"It isn't necessary," Sarah said. "I have a set rate I charge my clients depending on the type of case and the work that will go into it. This is a fair price to start."

"It's too fair. I'll up it by thirty-three percent." The man chuckled. "Oh, come on. You know, I'm trying really hard here to thank you. A little kindness, you know…" Chuck rolled his eyes at that. "For someone I like." That made him frown a little. "And it helps that upping the paycheck I give you means I might get even better work from you."

"I do my job pretty well with the rate I set."

"That's not what I mean at all."

"No, I know," Sarah said, being more than reasonable, Chuck thought. "Robbie, please just agree to this, read through it, sign. That's all I need from you. This amount here, write me a check up front. And the rest when I finish the job. I reserve the right to charge more depending on the work I end up having to do for the case."

Robbie…?

"You're really stubborn, you know that? But I'll match your stubbornness as we continue to see one another, you just give me some time." There was a pause, the sound of papers being turned, the scratching of a pen against paper. "This is a lot better than an Apple terms and services agreement, I'll tell you that. You get right to the point, don't you, Sarah Walker?"

"I find brevity works better for everyone involved."

"Oh, not me. I love complications. I'd have complications' children if it was at all possible."

Chuck heard Sarah giggle at that. He felt a bit of heat come up from his collar, knowing how foolish it was immediately. Even if this Robbie fellow was obviously charming and even more obviously flirting with his girlfriend, his girlfriend hadn't flirted back—nor would she. It wasn't his ego telling him that, it was his trust in her, in them.

And he needed to cool it with the green-eyed monster.

But he found it even harder to do when he leapt back to the visitor chair and sat down, grabbing the issue of Cosmopolitan that was sitting there and picking it up to pretend he was reading it, because out came a stupidly handsome man, dressed in a spiffy, tailored suit, insanely perfect swoosh-hair, and blue eyes that were literally sparkling as he looked over his shoulder at Sarah as she followed him out of her private office.

"So you're shooing me out—?" The words died on the stupidly handsome man's lips as he noticed Sarah had stopped, looking at something else. That something else was Chuck and he was pretty mollified and gratified both by the dazzling smile she flashed him after her client spun to see what she was looking at. Or whom.

"Oh," Sarah said. "You're here."

"I am." He nodded once, then looked down at the magazine in his hands. The page he'd randomly opened it to in order to make it seem like he wasn't eavesdropping was absolutely a full-page How To chart for oral sex. "Ahem." He dropped the magazine back to the table. "Interesting…articles…in there. Informative," he said, tugging at his suit a bit to straighten it.

The stupidly handsome man seemed to just be standing there awkwardly then, and Sarah snapped out of her amused, but somewhat searching look, and gestured towards the door.

"Mister Cartwright, I'll fill you in on what I find Monday when we meet again."

"You don't work on weekends then, huh?" Cartwright asked, smiling teasingly.

"I do, yes. Hence why I'll have something for you on Monday."

Yeah, you stupidly pretty assmunch, Chuck thought to himself with an inward smirk. God, she was so hot.

"Oh. That makes sense." He chuckled self-deprecatingly, then turned to eye Chuck a bit expectantly.

It became clear to everyone in the room that he wouldn't leave without some sort of an introduction. So Sarah, very reluctantly Chuck saw, moved between them and reached out in his direction. "Oh, excuse me, Mister Cartwright. This is Mister…"

"Bartowski," Chuck said, stepping closer and sticking his hand out. "Charles Bartowski."

Robert Cartwright's eyes widened in recognition as he took his hand. "As in Bartowski Electronics Corporation?"

"That's the one, yes. Nice to meet you, Mister, uh…"

"Cartwright," the other man said with a grin. Sarah gave Chuck a bit of a droll but amused look that only he could see.

"Cartwright, yes. Sorry. Have so much on my mind, always."

"Oh, yes. Yes. So you're seeking Miss Walker's services as well, are you?" He crossed his arms at his chest.

"Yes. Yes, I am…seeking Miss Walker's services." He shared a bit of a look with Sarah and he could see that telltale sparkle in her blue eyes, the way she twisted her pursed lips to the side, probably to keep from smiling or laughing.

"Well, I don't think either of us has anything to worry about. You're highly recommended, Miss Walker. I've heard nothing but very good things, and I get around and hear…well, quite a lot. In my business." Cartwright clapped his hand on Chuck's shoulder, even though he'd been talking to and looking at Sarah.

"Yes, Walker Investigative Enterprises operates with the utmost discretion. So discreet. Professional." Cartwright turned back to Chuck as he responded.

She mouthed "Stop it" from where she stood behind Cartwright, her eyes wide, amusement threatening to boil over.

"Indeed, Charles. Indeed. Well, Miss Walker, I'll let you see to your other client, I suppose, though it's hard to pull myself away, I admit…" the other man groused, and then he reached out his hand towards Sarah for her to shake. He held onto her hand for longer than Chuck thought was necessary, then bid his goodbye and swept out of the place.

He was charming as all get-out and it made Chuck feel…grumpy. And what in the hell was with the strange clip in his accent, like he was concentrating? It didn't feel like an easy charm and it unsettled him. It was probably jealousy. And he was even grumpier about that.

But then Sarah sidled up to him, twisted her hands in the lapels of his jacket, and pulled him in for a slow kiss. "Mmmmm," she hummed, before pulling back, their noses and foreheads pressed together. "Why didn't you just let me tell him you're my boyfriend?"

"Honestly? Two reasons. The first is that he'd trust a recommendation from a super rich tech guru with high expectations over a recommendation from your boyfriend." That made her grin. "The second is that if you told him I was your boyfriend, after all of that flirting he was doing at you, it'd be a little embarrassing for him and I wouldn't be able to hold back the hubris. Which is just rude."

Sarah looked like she was going to laugh, but then an intelligent spark lit her eyes and she pursed her lips, raising an eyebrow. "He wasn't really flirting that bad…"

"Uh, yes. Yes, he kinda was. I mean, he doesn't seem like a full-fledged garden or anything…"

"Garden?" she asked, making a face.

"Seedy. It's a new thing Morgan and I came up with. The term'll catch on. Just wait."

"Oh my God." She just shut her eyes and pinched the bridge of her nose, her usual reaction to the weird phrases he and Morgan tried to trademark.

"Wait." She looked at him funny. "Are you…jealous?"

Chuck scoffed. "Nah. It's just…I mean, I walked in and you called him, um, Robbie. And when he flirted with you, there was a liiittle bit of a giggle that came out of you. I'm just sayin'. I heard it. But…I mean, no big deal."

"Chuck, stop."

"No, it's just that he looks like someone took him right out of GQ's Face Edition."

"There's no such thing."

"If there was, he'd be the cover. He's a ManFatale, Sarah. Don't let those baby blues fool ya. That one's dangerous." He leaned his face close to hers and narrowed his eyes, lifting an eyebrow.

"Oh my God," she groaned, letting her forehead fall to his shoulder. "Chuck, I was—" Then she stopped, pulling back a bit and looking up at him through her eyelashes. "I really don't have to explain myself, do I?" It was more of a statement than a question.

"You know you don't," he said softly.

"I didn't think so."

"But seriously, he's kind of too charming. That's weird. And also, how'd he know who I am, Sarah?"

She gave him her 'what the fuck' look. "Chuck, I literally just told him who you are. I introduced you to him."

"No, I know. But he knew Bartowski Electronics Corporation. What's that about?"

"Seriously, Chuck? It's not exactly like B.E.C. isn't well-known. You were on the cover of Forbes with your dad. Where do you think all of that money I'm dating you for comes from?"

"Haaah," he drawled mockingly, sending her a faux glare that made her giggle. "I'm just saying, I'm a little suspicious."

"You're a little jealous."

He held up his fingers. "Just this much. That's all. He looks like a god, Sarah. And he was flirting. Admit that." She conceded with a small shrug. "Am I allowed a little jealousy? Even if I acknowledge it's silly?"

She giggled quietly and kissed him again. "Yes. It's good for my ego. But that doesn't mean you can start flirting back at that Benji Thompson guy's daughter who was at your parents' little anniversary shindig a few months ago."

"Marilyn?"

"Yes. Her."

The way she narrowed her eyes was extremely gratifying, and he held onto the sensations of knowing that interaction had made Sarah into a bit of a green-eyed monster. Not to mention she'd remembered Marilyn Thompson even all these months later. Hmm. "Well, at least we're being ridiculous together," he snarked.

Sarah snorted. "True." She kissed him one more time, then fixed the collar of his suit jacket. He didn't know if it really had needed fixing or if it was just a habit of hers to play with it. "What brings you here today, my tech guy? Miss me already? Even after this morning?"

Her blue eyes glinted with what she'd done to him this morning and he cleared his throat, his hands balling into fists over the waist of her pencil skirt she wore. "I think especially after this morning, if I'm bein' honest."

That made her giggle.

"I actually wanted to take you to lunch. If you haven't eaten."

She hadn't.

And that was how they found themselves sitting across from one another at a breakfast and lunch cafe a few blocks away from her office. He watched as she hungrily shoved her burger in her mouth and took a massive bite. He was glad he'd pulled her away to eat. Any later and she would've let herself start to become Hangry Sarah. And Hangry Sarah was almost as bad as Hangry Chuck. God, the few times Hangry Sarah and Hangry Chuck had met…scary. Truly scary. Morgan had nearly been murdered but thankfully the chef had fed them fast enough to protect himself.

So he waited until she'd gotten enough into her system to eat a bit slower before he brought up the other thing.

"Hey…So…Interesting timing, me coming to take you to lunch today, what with your meeting with Cartwright and everything being today as well." She made a questioning face as she sipped her ice tea to wash the burger down. "Well, because I was actually going to talk to you about that case. Cartwright's case I mean."

"Why? You have info or something for me?" she asked around a fry.

"Yes." He cleared his throat. "So, this um…" Chuck leaned in closer to her and lowered his voice. "Jerald Brown guy, the one Face Edition is having you investigate." She gave him a flat look at the new nickname he was using for her client but he ignored it. "He works in the tech industry."

She nodded. "Yeah. He has a large share in Gridiron Technology."

"GT deals mostly with the big machines, like the big security systems, power grid, all that digital stuff big firms and factories are using to operate and protect their businesses." Sarah nodded again, as though she already knew all of this. "GT is looking for a new investor. Someone else they can bring in to buy some shares and add some power and money to the whole thing, get back some clout after their stock took a hit last year."

"Cartwright," she said.

"Mhm, that was my thought."

She smiled at him. "How'd you find all this out?"

"Babe, I'm in the know. Duuuuh." She rolled her eyes as he picked at the lettuce on his own burger and put a bit in his mouth. "This is my playground. My dad's pals with all of these guys. Or at least, he knows of them. And because he does, I tend to learn stuff, hear stuff as well. But!" Chuck held up a finger. "This is really hush-hush. They don't want to seem like they need this investor. So they're being discreet, operating it under the radar, so to speak."

"So is that shady? Seems like it could be shady."

"It could be, but it'd be a lot of damn work and for what reason? There's also the fact that Jerald Brown has a reputation."

"What kind of reputation?"

"A really good one. Family man, good business, fair, honest."

"Family man." She rolled her eyes. "That's such a loaded phrase."

He winced. "Really good point. He has a family and he seems close with them, though."

"You ever meet him? Do business with him?"

"No, but…I mean, speaking from experience, I'd say Brown is a lot more trustworthy than this god-like Casanova giving you money to investigate a guy who seems pretty upstanding."

"Chuck, your green-eyed monster is showing."

"No, it's not that," he hissed. "Brown is a tech guy. I trust a tech guy over a smarmy rich guy who, frankly, you don't even know where he gets his money. Let's be real, here. Um, also, Jerald Brown can be found on Google."

"Stop," she said in a flat tone. "Chuck, come on. You're being biased because Brown works in your industry and you heard Cartwright flirt at your girlfriend."

"No, I—Sarah, please. You know I'm not that childish." She smirked and he frowned at her. "Fine. Look. Just keep what I said in mind, huh? And maybe look into Gridiron Tech a bit more closely."

"That's good advice, and I also appreciate you giving me that info about GT, Chuck. Thank you," she said, sliding her hand over his on the table and squeezing. "And please, try not to be too jealous. Said with no sarcasm and full seriousness. His Alain Delon looks don't have any effect on me. Not when I have my very own curly-haired, handsome moneybags."

"Talk about my money too much and I'll start getting ideas."

"Oh? What kind of ideas?"

"Expanding the company to make even more money. Gotta keep ya around somehow." She laughed and he put his tongue between his teeth, wrinkling his nose cheekily. "With all these Alain Whoever ManFatales kicking your door in, one of 'em might succeed in sweeping you away from me otherwise."

"You're such an idiot."

"Buuuut you love meeee."

"On Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays."

Chuck snorted and ate his last couple of fries. "I'm really glad it's Friday, then."

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denimbex1986 · 11 months ago

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'Suspended atmospheres, vivid contrasts, unforgettable faces. Perhaps these three elements would be enough to summarize the little masterpiece that is Ripley . The 8-episode mini-series by Netflix and directed by Steven Zaillian re-enacts the famous character created by Patricia Highsmith : Tom Ripley. Zelighi's anti-hero, who lives by assuming the identities of others, the Lupine doppelganger, the Adriano Meis mask. To him, the brilliant and prolific American writer, somewhat snubbed by the critics of the paid prizes, she dedicated five books, all successful among the general public.

Yes, because Tom is not a character like the others. Technically he is the "bad guy", yet at the same time the central pivot of the narration of crimes and exchanges of identity of which he becomes the protagonist (his him in spite of himself?). Around him a cloud of "shoulders" who never manage to snatch the scepter of thriller focus from him. There is no real antagonist, the antagonist and the protagonist are the same person and how could it not be otherwise in this hero's journey which is ultimately a hairpin bend in identity (even if it overlooks the murky waters of crime?) . This is until Ripley , the serial version that Zaillian adapts and transforms while remaining, if not extremely faithful, in some way adhering to Highsmith's mood.

Minghella wasn't fully successful and in 1999 he signed "The Talented Mr. Ripley" with a stellar cast. The film receives a barrage of nominations, but in the end wins little or nothing. Far from being a bad film product, but perhaps lacking that noir push so dear to the Texan writer.

Before him, the master of thrills Hitchcock, René Clément, had already tried in France with “Plein Soleil” , slyly entrusting the role of Tom to the fascinating Alain Delon, then again Wim Wenders, Claude Chabrol and several others. In the post Minghella also a talent made in Italy: Liliana Cavani with "Ripley's Game" , up to 2022 with Adrian Lyne, the man behind the camera of "Nine and a Half Weeks", "Fatal Attraction" , “Indecent Proposal”, “Lolita” (yes there is another famous one besides Kubrick's), in short, someone who knows a lot about morbidity. The total is almost a record: 17 films about Tom Ripley.

Almost all of them are well written and/or created, with more or less extensive license from the original text, but as we know, when there is a transition from one artistic medium to another one must "betray" in the Latin sense, precisely to "hand down ”. So what made Zaillian stand out? It may seem banal, but beyond the very perfect atmospheres bordering on horror that make each episode a refined picture in its own right, what in my opinion made the difference was precisely the choice of seriality.

Yes, because a character like Tom Ripley calls it, invokes it, dives into it, wants to remain trapped in it as in the waves of Atrani. Secondly, the author's rawest and most authentic spirit. In Ripley it finally explodes with all its burden of shadows and ambiguities, in which I hear the pages of Francesco Mastriani and Carolina Invernizzi echoing. Precisely them, the "pop" masters of the serial novel, whose cultural heritage perhaps Highsmith could not collect, but of whom she somehow makes her own, hybridizes and transforms the instances.

Some may turn up their noses at the comparison, but the truth is that platforms like Netflix and its companions owe them everything and those who write and work in these contexts know this well. If you want to invest a little of your literary education in a handful or more of narratives like the ones I mentioned, the comparison will seem much less audacious. Zaillian, as per the original script of the first book of the pentalogy ( The Talented Mr. Ripley ), then focuses on the Italian "masks" (the scene is set in various locations in Italy) and among these one is certainly the one that marked the gap between the previous speculations.

I wrote at the beginning that no one could really oppose Tom Ripley, his own antagonist, always poised between self-affirmation at all costs and refusal of the abyss he created. Well, in the series of films written by the same pen as " Schindler's List" (of which a fitting inspiration can be found practically everywhere and certainly not only for the choice of black and white) an "against" character emerges. He is Inspector Pietro Ravini, who in a ghostly and restless Rome tries to reconstruct Mr. Ripley's criminal fil rouge. Playing him in the series is Maurizio Lombardi , a fantastic quick-change artist in the film, someone who can really take on any role effectively, currently in a true state of grace.

His is a long career full of valuable interpretations, not least on the stage, which Lombardi has thoroughly enjoyed (and it shows). His is the unforgettable ballet of Cardinal Mario Assente in " The new pope" (to which Ortega's celebrated dance in " Wednesday " owes something), where the good Malkovich also works, who will also appear in Ripley's gloss. Spoiler alert: what a gem is the final "handover" between Andrew Scott and John Malkovich, who played the role of Tom Ripley in Cavani's "Ripley's Game" . Damn how many quotes, but after all the series lends itself, it is so full of them, the one on Caravaggio's David is enough, which depicts two versions of himself in the painting: young and old, hero and defeated.

Going back to Lombardi, he is the only real character (and I don't use the English term by chance) who can contrast with the protagonist, one who, if it weren't for the (perhaps) double stitching of the last episode, wouldn't mind at all see it appear in other sequels of the series… (but who knows, who knows). His face remains sculpted and draws close glances with that of Andrew Scott , Ripley 's undisputed giant . Appreciated in " Fleabag " and recently in " Strangers ", in this series I bring out the best of his talent... Now I fall into quotationism. In the story he should be around 25-30 years old, but he is actually 47. It matters little, he is absolutely credible, down to every single detail, studied, weighed and returned beyond the screen to the spectator, who cannot help but greedily drink every what from those eyes so full of everything.

In short, Scott-Lombardi are the narrative couple whose narrative about Tom Ripley was orphaned. I sign it. The other performers are equally spot on (applause for the casting of Barbara Giordani, Avy Kaufman and Francesco Vedovati) , from the splendid Dakota Fanning to the incredible Eliot Sumner , as well as Johnny Flynn who holds his own, even if perhaps less brilliantly than Jude Law in the role of the faded Dickie. Let's not talk about the care taken over the props, in practice I would like to own them all, including the Picasso, even if it is an off-course copy.

But let's not forget the small, large army of Italian actors who leave their necessary mark. First of all Margherita Buy who, as always, brings home her own, but then also Vittorio Viviani , Massimo De Lorenzo , Renato Solpietro , Francesco Foti , Loredana Piedimonte , just to name a few. Assisted needless to say by "minor" (only for the number of jokes) stars and stripes clapperboard companions, above all Fisher Steven and the iconic Ben Jahrvi of " Short Circuit " who, as he ages, strongly resembles Frank Caprio, the good judge more famous than Tik Tok.

In short, Ripley is the series of the year. A true pearl, also from a directorial point of view, although not for everyone, but personally I disagree with the criticisms of the "slowness" of the scene or too many silences, I grew up on Barry Lindon and Celentano. Irony aside, the series deserves a large list of awards, which crowns the wide response from the public and inaugurates the rediscovery of both Highsmith and our local appendixists.

In the meantime (another spoiler) I bow first to the director of photography and then to the last episode: "Narcissus" , as is known, the name of an odorous flower, which however perhaps not many people know derives from a Greek verb which means "to stun" , the precise sensation that pervades us when faced with the prowess of the narcissus par excellence Tom Ripley. Leaving Venice, he takes on a new identity along the lines of the eponymous student from Hawthorne's semi-unknown novel (the one in The Scarlet Letter ): “Fanshawe,” which in the series is Fanshaw, but pronounced with Malkovich's Midwestern accent rings in my ear a bit like "false"... So much stuff people! I'll stop or this review will be as long as La Recherche.

REVIEW OVERVIEW

Film script ***** Actors ***** Direction ***** Scenes and costumes ***** Photography *****

5 *****

TOTAL SCORE'

#John Malkovich #Patricia Highsmith #The Talented Mr Ripley #Andrew Scott #Anthony Minghella #Steven Zaillian #Maurizio Lombardi #Dakota Fanning #Inspector Ravini #Marge Sherwood #Dickie Greenleaf #Eliot Sumner #Freddie Miles #Jude Law #Barbara Giordani #Avy Kaufman #Francesco Vedovati #Fleabag #All of Us Strangers

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classicmollywood · 6 years ago

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Thank You FilmStruck

As a film lover, I am absolutely distraught that FilmStruck’s swan song is in seven days. The creativity and passion used when putting films on the streaming site was absolutely apparent and for a film lover, it was refreshing.

This streaming service has been great in introducing me to films I would have never even thought of watching. So, as my ode to FilmStruck, I am going to list the top 15 films that I watched on the service that touched me in some way or another (and it was so hard just to pick 15).

So here are my top 15 films that I watched on FilmStruck that I think everyone should check out and they are in no particular order:

1. Norma Rae (1979) - Starring Sally Field, Beau Bridges, and Don Leibman

Sally Field plays a single mother who helps unionize the textile factory she works at, even though there is great risk and danger involved.

Why you should watch it: Sally Field is so inspiring as Norma Rae! She absolutely deserved the Oscar she won for that role. Also, girl power and unionizing is awesome!!

2. Bicycle Thieves (1948) - Starring Lamberto Maggiorani and Enzo Staiola

A working-class family man has his bicycle stolen, which he needs for the job he finally got in depressed post-War World II Italy. Thus, he takes his son on his journey to find his bicycle.

Why you should watch it: This story is such a heartbreakingly beautiful tale. The emotion that both Maggiorani and Staiola convey really help the audience feel their pain. The film also takes you all over the streets of Italy, which is fantastic.

3. The Crowd (1928) - Starring James Murray and Eleanor Boardman

The story of a man and woman who fall in love and get married. However, the husband’s unhappiness with their small apartment, being a small fish in a big pond, and his in-laws disapproval could be the downfall of their marriage.

Why you should watch it: Even though this film is from the 1920s, some of the concepts can be placed in any time period. The situations that the husband and wife go through could happen to any working-class family. Also, King Vidor did some amazing directing and some of the shots he set up are just spectacular.

4. La Notte (1961) - Starring Jeanne Moreau, Marcello Mastroianni, and Monica Vitti

A married couple’s deteriorating marriage is magnified through one day and one night. The two flirt with other people and have to truly realize their personal problems.

Why you should watch it: Michaelangelo Antonioni does a brilliant job in capturing this couple and their unraveling relationship. Also Mastroianni and Moreau are fantastic as the couple. Not all movies have the happiest of endings, but that is what makes them, and this film, so realistic. Life isn’t always happiness.

5. The Nights of Cabiria (1957) - Starring Guiletta Masina, Francois Perrier, and Franca Marzi

A prostitute desperately wants love, but all she gets from men is extreme heartbreak.

Why you should watch it: Guiletta Masina is FANTASTIC as Cabiria! Oh my gosh, she is so good at making Cabiria a sympathetic character. Also, who doesn’t love a good story about a hooker with a heart of gold?

6. What’s Up, Doc? (1972) - Starring Ryan O’Neal, Barbara Streisand, and Madeline Kahn

A zany Screwball Comedy that involves 4 plaid bags that all contain different contents. Each bag is important in its own way and causes so much confusion, it’s hysterical.

Why you should watch it: This movie is so zany. That is the only way to describe it. Barbara Streisand and Ryan O’Neal are great at comedy! And this is Madeline Kahn’s first feature film! I also never realized there were Screwball Comedies made in the ‘70s.

7. Le Samourai (1967) - Starring Alain Delon, Francois Perier, and Nathalie Delon

A professional hit man makes a hit but has witnesses. He tries his best to make an alibi for himself, but ends up getting entangled in the web of his witnesses.

Why you should watch it: This film is badass! Even though it is French, this film has major Japanese Samurai film influences! Also, it was my first introduction to the amazing Alain Delon and he is such a fantastic actor.

8. Shadows (1958) - Starring Ben Carruthers, Leila Goldoni, and Hugh Hurd

It’s the Beat-era in New York! Jazz is used throughout the film to help explore interracial relationships and friendships.

Why you should watch it: This is John Cassavetes’s directorial debut and he uses jazz and jump shots to give us a feeling of the fast paced life the characters are living. Also this film was made in the late ‘50s and was absolutely revolutionary for its time. No one wanted to honestly address racism, and Cassavetes (who is a white man) is very honest about the subject.

9. Sunflower (1970) - Starring Sophia Loren and Marcello Mastroianni

An Italian couple gets married right before WWII. The husband gets drafted and never comes home. The wife goes on a journey to find him and realizes he is still alive, in Russia, living a new life.

Why you should watch it: This film WILL break your heart. But if a film doesn’t make you feel any emotion, then what’s the point of watching it? Sophia Loren and Marcello Mastroianni are magnificent in this film! Also the cinematography is breathtaking. Audiences witness Italy and Russia as if they are there.

10. History Is Made at Night (1937) - Starring Jean Arthur, Charles Boyer, and Leo Carillo

A divorcee falls in love with a French man but her insanely jealous ex-husband will spare no measure to keep her from moving on.

Why you should watch it: This film has Charles Boyer at his best. He portrays charm, silliness, and determination so well. Also Colin Clive is so sinister as the ex-husband, he is the best antagonist. Jean Arthur is vulnerable as the woman who wants to be free. There is also a great bit with a hand with a face drawn on it.

11. He Who Gets Slapped (1924) - Starring Lon Chaney, Norma Shearer, and John Gilbert

A professor is betrayed by a count and leaves his old life to become a clown. He then tries to save a young woman he loves from falling into the count’s web.

Why you should watch it: Lon Chaney will break your heart. He does such a good job at playing a clown who seems to always be smiling, but in reality is in so much emotional pain. Also Norma Shearer and John Gilbert together are absolutely electric. They are both so young and so good looking.

12. Belle de Jour (1967) - Starring Catherine Deneuve, Jean Sorel, and Michel Piccoli

A frigid housewife takes a daytime job as a prostitute.

Why you should watch it: This movie is wild!! The housewife who won’t even touch her husband becoming a prostitute? That’s such a randomly satisfying story line. Also, Deneuve’s Severine has very interesting dreams that blur reality and fantasy.

13. Cluny Brown (1946) - Starring Jennifer Jones, Charles Boyer, and Peter Lawford

Cluny Brown is a parlor maid who just wants to be a plumber. When she meets Czech refugee Adam Belinski, their zany shenanigans shake up an English village.

Why you should watch it: Jennifer Jones is perfect as Cluny! She plays her with a naivety that is just refreshing and funny. Charles Boyer as Professor Belinski is great too because he is a man of great knowledge who isn’t afraid to be unconventional. It also hilarious seeing Cluny fix plumbing problems.

14. Keep Your Powder Dry (1945) - Starring Lana Turner, Laraine Day, and Susan Peters

Three very different women try to adjust to their lives in the Women’s Army Corps.

Why you should watch it: A lot of WWII films talk about men in the army. This film is one of two that I know of that talk about the women in the army. It is also interesting to see the three different women who have to tolerate each other in such close quarters. Also, I like seeing Lana Turner in a role that is not super dramatic and her being someone’s love interest the whole film.

15. Too Bad She’s Bad (1955) - Starring Sophia Loren, Marcello Mastroianni and Vittorio De Sica

A young thief and her accomplices try to steal a cab driver’s cab. However, the cab driver, the thief, and her thieving family just can’t seem to stay away from each other.

Why you should watch it: Sophia Loren and Marcello Mastroianni in a COMEDY? Yes, I will have seconds. I love their comedic timing together. Also, there are so many shenanigans in this film that are just fantastic to watch unravel.

Thank you FilmStruck for introducing me to so many films I wouldn’t have had the access to if it weren’t for you. Thank you to all of the talented people who worked so hard to create a truly unique experience for film lovers. I will miss FilmStruck so much.

#filmstruck #classic film #norma rae #bicycle thieves #the crowd #la notte #the nights of cabiria #whats up doc #le samourai #shadows #sunflower #history is made at night #he who gets slapped #belle de jour #cluny brown #keep your powder dry #too bad she's bad

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padfootagain · 6 years ago

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Carole’s rec-list :

To start this new event, I will try to share with you some of my favourite French movies…

I cannot give you a list that will give you all the French that you should watch… even for me, who has not a thorough knowledge of French cinema, there would be way too many. But I can try to give you my favourites, and to find a balance between 'classics' and 'just the ones I love'. As you may have noticed, I LOVE cinema, so I will undoubtedly get carried away…

And as I cannot give you as much recs as I would like, I will first give you the names of a few directors that have shaped French cinema and that you should definitely check out, even if I won't recommend movies from all of them here, so if you want more French movies, you can check out their work :

- Jean-Luc Godard

- Jacques Tati

- François Truffaut

- Claude Lelouche

- Jacques Audiard

- Jean-Pierre Melville

- Jean Renoir

- Claude Chabrol

- Jacques Demy

Also, I can't recommend movies with all the actors I like, so here are a few names you should check out if you're interested in more French movies (obviously, the list isn't exhaustive, but I like these actors a lot :) ) :

- Guillaume Canet

- Lambert Wilson

- Albert Dupontel

- François Cluzet

- Mélanie Laurent

- Audrey Tautou

- Marion Cotillard

- Alain Delon

- Jean-Paul Belmondo

- Jean Gabin

- Catherine Deneuve

Alright, now, let's get to business! There's a bit of everything here, I have tried to put a bit of funny and sad movies to keep a balance and all can find something they like. There's no particular order.

Les Demoiselles de Rochefort

1962 - Directed by Jacques Demy, starring Catherine Deneuve, Gene Kelly, Françoise Dorléac, Jacques Perrin, George Chakiris, Danielle Darrieux

Sum-up : For a few days, we follow the life of two twins sisters, living in the small town of Rochefort, who are both looking for love and to escape this tiny town to try to build a career as musician and dancer in Paris. During these few days, the town is shaken by two events : a murder and the arrival of a fair. Characters will walk through the town, and pass by each other, but will the two young women meet the right person?

Carole's critique : This is undoubtedly my favourite French movie of all time, along with my favourite musical movie. After LoTR, it is undoubtedly my favourite movie as well. It's happy, full of colours and characters that you can't help but love. The music, composed by Michel LeGrand, is amazing, and will make you want to dance through your home. The aesthetic of the movie is very representative of the 60's in France and its cinematography at the time: full of colours.

There aren't much musical movies in France, but Jacques Demy shaped the whole genre and gives, with this movie the best French musical movie you will find out there.

YOU MUST SEE IT!

If you like this movie, you should also watch : Les Parapluies de Cherbourg, Peau d'Âne.

Astérix et Obélix: Mission Cléopâtre

2002 - Directed by Alain Chabat, starring Gérard Depardieu, Christian Clavier, Gérard Darmon, Jamel Debouze, Alain Chabat and Monica Bellucci

Sum-up: During Roman control, a single village resists to the military invasion of the powerful Caesar. Their secret: a magical potion brewed by their druid that gives them an extraordinary strength. When an old Egyptian friend needs help to build Cleopatra the most amazing palace, and knowing that he will be killed if he fails, a group of Gallic travels all the way to Egypt to give him a hand and save his project.

Carole's critique : Astérix and Obélix are very popular comic characters in France. Most of us have grown up reading the comic books as a child. There have been many adaptations on screen of the adventures of the two heroes, but this one is probably the most famous and the best. Directed by Alain Chabat, who started with a little group of friends as a comedy actor, he is known for his crazy but hilarious movies. And with this one, he doesn't disappoint us. It's completely mad, it's goofy and full of mad moments, but it is 100% hilarious. My entire generation knows this movie, and some scenes are now extremely famous. If you want to discover French crazy humour, watch this, you will spend a lovely time.

If you like this movie, you should also watch : La Cité de La peur, Astérix et Obélix aux Jeux Olympiques, Rrrrrr

Bienvenue Chez Les Ch'tis

2008 - Directed by Dany Boon, staring Danny Boon, Kad Merad.

Sum-up: A postman is transferred from the sunny south of France to the cold north of the country after trying to cheat to be transferred in the town his wife longed to live in. At his arrival in the new town, he has to adapt to the strange accent of his colleagues, along with their food and other habits.

Carole's critique : One of the funniest French movies here again, this film had a HUGE success here, pushing the actors of the movie to the rank of stars in the country. Dealing with the clichés told about the northern part of France (shaped by a lot of mining in the past century, it is often seen as one the poorest part of the country), Dany Boon signs a tender movie about his home. It's hilarious, it's tender, it's happy and will make you feel a bit dizzy. I just hope that the translations will be enough to carry the wordplays used in the movie, as most of the humour relies on that. Anyway, you should definitely watch it.

If you like this movie, you should also watch: Intouchables, Rien à declarer, Un peu, beaucoup, aveuglément

Intouchables

2012 - Directed by Eric Toledano, starring François Cluzet, Omar Sy

Sum-up: After an accident, a wealthy man is paralyzed and needs constant help to get through his day. Looking for someone to help him, he encounters a strange man from the poorest part of town, looking for a job. On impulse, this wealthy man decides to hire him. The two men will soon become close friends, and change each other's life.

Carole's critique: I'm staying on funny movies, because, despite what the sum-up might let you think, this a comedy. Here again, huge success in France (I've also heard of an American reboot in preparation, but what is the point in watching a reboot when you can watch the original thing?). Actors are perfect and dosing perfectly the balance between humour and serious topics treated in this movie, from disability, poverty, racism and life in general. A beautiful movie, spiced with hilarious scenes.

If you like this movie, you should also watch : Bienvenue Chez Les Ch'tis

La Grande Vadrouille

1966 - Directed by Gérard Oury, starring Louis de Funès, Bourvil

Sum-up: While the country is under German occupation during the Second World War, a group of English soldiers are parachuted in Paris. But they are attacked during the operation, resulting in the scattering of the English soldiers throughout town. A French painter and a French conductor at the opera rescue two of the soldiers, and try to help them escape the German army.

Carole's critique : Here again, a comedy. This is one of the most beloved and famous French movies. Iconic actors De Funès and Bourvil share the screen to result in hilarious scenes that are now extremely famous. It's funny, it deals with the war but do not fear, you will not see anything shocking. The characters are loveable and utterly ridiculous and you will laugh a lot with this movie.

If you like this movie, you should watch : Le Corniaud, La 7ème Compagnie, Le Gendarme de Saint-Tropez

Les Tontons Flingueurs

1963 – Directed by Georges Lautner, starring Lino Ventura, Jean Lefebvre, Bernard Blier, Francis Blanche

Sum-up : An ancient mafia member has to take over the business of his oldest friend after he dies. But many envy the business of the dead man, and try to take away the control of the whole mafia.

Carole's critique : A classic. Everyone has watched, or at least heard about this movie. Clearly a parody of American movies, the movie is a very funny comedy. The last of three independent movies adapted from the same series of books, this movie has become over the years one of the most famous French films. And the actors will always be remembered mostly for their role in this masterpiece.

If you like this movie, you should watch : Touchez pas au grisbi, Le cave se rebiffe (the first two movies of the trilogie, even if the three movies are completely independent from one another), l'Aventure c'est l'aventure.

Mais où est donc passée la septième compagnie?

1973 - Directed by Robert Lamoureux, starring Pierre Mondy, Jean Lefebvre, Aldo Maccione, Erik Colin

Sum-up: During the Second World War, a group of soldiers is captured by the German troupes, at the exception of three soldiers, who were sent ahead as scouts, and escape the capture. Trying to run away from the German forces, they encounter a French pilot, whose plane has been shot down. Together, they try to establish communication with their hierarchy and hide from the German army.

Carole's critique : This is the first movie of a trilogy, undoubtedly the best movie of the series of movies, btw. In the same spirit as La Grande Vadrouille, the movie is hilarious, despite the theme and time where the story takes place. I used to watch these movies a lot as a kid.

If you like this movie, you should watch : On a retrouvé la septième companie (the second movie of the trilogy), La Grande Vadrouille, Le Grand Blond avec une chaussure noire, La Chèvre.

Fantômas

1964 – Directed by André Hunebelle, starring Jean Marais, Louis de Funès, Mylène Demongeot

Sum-up : A famous burglar steals a series of precious jewels. In order to catch the criminal, a police officer and a journalist try to build a trap, but they will soon find out that Fantômas is more dangerous than what they thought.

Carole's critique : This is the first movie of a trilogy, inspired by a series of French novels. This is also my mother's favourite film, so I had to put it here. Once again, the movie is funny (yes, I like funny French movies, as you may have noticed). I also adore Jean Marais, who plays two different roles in this (Fantômas and the journalist). It's funny, and there's adventure, and I love this movie, that is all.

If you like this movie, you should watch : Fantômas se déchaîne, Fantômas contre Scotland Yard (the rest of the trilogy), le Corniaud, Arsène Lupin

L'Arnacoeur

2010 – Directed by Pascal Chaumeil, starring Romain Duris, Vanessa Paradis, François Damiens, Julie Ferrier

Sum-up : A man runs a surprising business : he is a professional 'couple breaker'. People can call him, and ask him to cause the break-up of a friend's or family member's couple. Everything was fine, until he was sent to this special mission, and falls for the woman he is supposed to convince to stop before she can get married.

Carole's critique : My personal favourite French romantic comedy. Because it's hilarious, and tender, and just sweet. If you want something funny and cute, watch this!

If you like this movie, you should watch : Jules et Jim, Paris-Manhattan, Un bonheur n'arrive jamais seul, Un peu, beaucoup, aveuglément, Jeux d'enfants

Un peu, beaucoup, aveuglément

2015 – Directed by Clovis Cornillac, starring Clovis Cornillac, Mélanie Bernier, Lilou Fogli, Philippe Dequesne

Sum-up : A puzzles creator tries to get rid of his new neighbour, a pianist. Indeed, the wall between their two flats is so thin, they can hear everything happening in the other's apartment, and he can't focus when she plays. Failing at convincing her to leave, they try to find a way to live as neighbours despite this very thin wall.

Carole critique : Is this movie a classic? No. Is this the best movie ever? No. But hell, I love it. Because the characters are completely mad and I love them. The story is tender and soft and funny and just cute. A romantic comedy just the way I love them. I advise it if you need something to raise your spirit.

If you like this movie, you should watch : La Délicatesse, Le Fabuleux destin d'Amélie Poulain, l'Arnacoeur, Paris-Manhattan.

La Belle et La Bête

1946 – Directed by Jean Cocteau, starring Jean Marais, Josette Day

Sum-up : An adaptation of the famous tale Beauty and The Beast.

Carole's critique: If Cocteau is very famous for his poetry and art, many tend to forget that he was also a film director, pouring poetry all over his projects. This is an old movie, so obviously the special effects are old, but the movie masters such a strange atmosphere and poetry, that it really doesn't matter at all. Jean Marais and Josette Day are outstanding, and the movie is basically the only adaptation of the tale that is worth being watched.

If you like this, you should also watch : Le Fabuleux destin D'Amélie Poulain, Au revoir là-haut, L'Ecume des jours

Le fabuleux destin d'Amélie Poulain

2001 – Directed by Jean-Pierre Jeunet, starring Audrey Tautou, Mathieu Kassovitz

Sum-up : We follow the life of a dreamer, Amélie Poulain, through her very peculiar world.

Carole's critique : The movie was and kind of still is an alien. The atmosphere is strange, and the movie is strange too, but full of a weird poetry as well. And when you stop watching it, you feel a bit dizzy, like the world around you isn't so real anymore.

If you like this movie, you should watch : L'écume des jours, La délicatesse

Au Revoir Là-Haut

2017 – Directed by Albert Dupontel, starring Albert Dupontel, Laurent Laffite, Nahuel Pérez Biscayart

Sum-up : After the First World War, two former soldiers decide to organize a fraud using the artistic talents of one of them to create fake war memorials.

Carole's critique : The topic of the movie is obviously not happy. But the movie is surprisingly poetic and tender, dealing with the aftermath of war and terrible injuries in a delicate manner. The atmosphere is poetic, sometimes barely real, owning the film and its strange aesthetic a soft side. Yes, you will probably cry a little bit, but the feeling that this movie leaves is not as sad as it is tender. The best movie about the conflict and its consequences I've watched so far.

If you like this movie, you should watch: Joyeux Noël, La Traversée de Paris, L'Ecume des jours

Le Samouraï

1967 – Directed by Jean-Pierre Melville, starring Alain Delon, François Périer, Natalie Delon, Cathy Rosier

Sum-up : An assassin kills his target, but it might be more difficult than planned to get out of it alive and free.

Carole's critique : A dark thriller that is undoubtedly one of Delon's best roles. Alain Delon is one of these icons of French cinema, and he is the best in the genre 'films noirs', that defies these dark thrillers that exploded in the 50s and 60s in France. It's one movie of a dark series of films that bloomed around that time in France. And it's a good one!

If you like this movie, you should watch : Le Guépard, La piscine, Le Clan des Siciliens, Plein soleil, Borsalino, Peur sur la ville

L'Armée Des Ombres

1969 – Directed by Jean-Pierre Melville, starring Lino Ventura, Simone Signoret, Paul Meurisse, Jean-Pierre Cassel

Sum-up : A little group of people try to resist under the Occupation during World War II. But the Gestapo is closing on them.

Carole's critique : It's dark, but it's great! Depicting the resistance under the occupation with a vivid fear of getting caught, this movie is not a happy one. If you are interested in the topic, it's a brilliant movie to watch, but be careful, it's a dark one.

If you like this movie, you should watch : La traversée de Paris, Au revoir là-haut

Quai des brumes

1938 – Directed by Marcel Carné, starring Jean Gabin, Michèle Morgan, Michel Simon, Pierre Brasseur

Sum-up : An army deserter meets a strange girl who is terrified by her godfather. To defend her, he will have many perils to overcome, and the price to pay may be higher than expected.

Carole's critique : A classic. The scenario, written by Jacques Prévert as an adaptation of the novel of the same name, gives a poetic touch to this 'film noir'. And well, it's a masterpiece, what else can I say, it's just a classic. It's also the movie that revealed both Gabin and Morgan, some of the best French actors.

Le Capitan

1960 – Directed by André Hunebelle, starring Jean Marais, Bourvil, Elsa Martinelli

Sum-up : A man tries to protect the interests of the King against powerful men who are scheming against him.

Carole's critique : I used to watch this movie a lot when I was a child. It's a good example of the genre 'Cape et d'épée', that boomed in the 50's and 60's in France. And to me, it's just a lot of memories from my childhood, so I had to put it on the list.

If you like this movie, you should watch : Le Bossu, Le masque de fer, Le capitaine Fracasse, Cartouche, Cyrano de Bergerac, Fanfan la tulipe.

Le cinquième élément

1997 – Directed by Luc Besson, starring Bruce Willis, Gary Oldman, Milla Jovovich

Sum-up : To save the universe, the five elements must be brought together. But on the side of evil, many people try to capture in the fifth element, a perfect being.

Carole's critique : I mean, this movie is brilliant. It's completely crazy, but undoubtedly one of my favourite Sci-Fi movies! I know it's pretty famous worldwide, but if you haven't watched this, you must see this movie! Gary Oldman's performance is extraordinary, let's be honest.

If you like this movie, you should watch : Léon

Proposed by anon :

Les choristes

Directed by Christophe Barratier, starring Gérard Jugnot, François Berléand, Jean-Baptiste Maunier, Kad Merad

A new member of the team in a boarding school in 1949 introduces music and singing in the school. This will help the lives of the children there, even through hard times.

#event #recs #movie recs #movies event #movies recs

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roseisread · 6 years ago

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My Year in Movies: Favorite Non-2018 Feature Films (Part 2)

Continuing the countdown of my favorite movies I saw for the first time in 2018 that were released in previous years... for part 1 of this list, click here.

39. Tokyo Drifter (1966, directed by Seijun Suzuki, country of origin: Japan)

Seijun Suzuki pulls together his favorite tropes from the Western, film noir, and Yakuza genres and throws a post modern, new wave sensibility on top complete with lots of neon and surrealism. The end result is one of the most stylistically bold movies I’ve ever encountered, and its influence extends to modern auteurs like Quentin Tarantino, Jim Jarmusch, and Nicolas Winding Refn. Tokyo Drifter (which has nothing to do with the Fast & Furious franchise as far as I know) follows a gangster on the run, but the plot really is secondary to the overall feel of the movie. Really fun and one I can imagine revisiting a lot just for its aesthetic choices and action set pieces. Rent it on Amazon Prime; in the meantime, here’s a pretty decent fan-made trailer.

38. Born to Kill (1947, directed by Robert Wise, country of origin: US)

Hollywood’s original bad boy Lawrence Tierney stars in this nasty little noir that fully lives up to its violent title. Sam Wilde (Tierney) is a gorgeous, amoral social climber who doesn’t let a little trifle like murder stand in the way of getting what he wants. Helen Brent (Claire Trevor) finds herself strangely drawn to him, even as she learns of his criminal leanings. There’s a particularly lustful scene between Sam and Helen that could be a direct influence on Natural Born Killers, actually. The fact that this picture was directed by Robert Wise, best known for his work on The Sound of Music and West Side Story, makes it all the more interesting--this pulpy film doesn’t have any musical numbers but it certainly is well-crafted and choreographed. If you love a good antihero, you owe it to yourself to watch this. Available for rent on Amazon, YouTube, and Vudu.

37. Throw Momma From the Train (1987, directed by Danny DeVito, country of origin: US)

This comic riff on Strangers on a Train starts off with murder on its mind, but there’s a surprising sweetness lying just below the surface. I’m sure most people have already seen this film but in case you haven’t, you’re in for a hilarious and endearing story that showcases peak Billy Crystal and Danny DeVito. Anne Ramsey plays the titular “Momma,” and she was nominated for both the Oscars and the Golden Globes in this supporting role. There are lots of ways to watch this movie for free, including Amazon Prime, YouTube, Vudu, GooglePlay, and Showtime.

36. Johnny Guitar (1954, directed by Nicholas Ray, country of origin: US)

The title refers to Sterling Hayden’s outlaw cowboy, but the real star of the show is Joan Crawford as Vienna: a saloon owning, jeans wearing, piano playing woman who takes on the whole town in a showdown. Portrayals of women in Westerns vary, but few emanate such power and self-assuredness as Vienna.

Another woman, tellingly named Emma Small (played by Mercedes McCambridge), has set her sights on getting rid of Vienna and her establishment once and for all, and she will stop at no amount of violence or trickery to make it happen. So basically this is Mean Girls but in the Wild West. Offscreen, Joan Crawford was hooking up with director Nicholas Ray; and she’d previously been romantically involved with McCambridge’s now-husband. Both ladies also consumed a fair amount of booze while filming. This led to their rivalry bleeding into real life, and perhaps added to the tension we see on screen between the two.

This movie didn’t have the warmest reception when it premiered stateside (Bosley Crowther on Crawford’s Vienna: “...as sexless as the lions on the public library steps and as sharp and romantically forbidding as a package of unwrapped razor blades.”) But European audiences devoured it, and it became beloved of people like Francois Truffaut who saw it as a major influence. You can watch it now on Hulu or rent from a number of streaming platforms.

35. Sonatine (1993, directed by Takeshi “Beat” Kitano, country of origin: Japan)

Takeshi Kitano wrote, directed, and starred in this cult take on Yakuza films. In it, he plays Murakawa, a gangster who dispatches (often in creatively cruel ways) anyone his bosses happen to dislike. But he’s starting to grow weary of this way of life when he gets sent on a new assignment that has him mediating a dispute with a rival gang in Okinawa. He suspects that he may be the real target, but goes along with the order. While hiding out between confrontations, Murakawa and a batch of young recruits find ways to pass the time--shooting cans off each other’s heads, playing a roulette version of rock paper scissors, pretending to be sumo wrestlers, and more.

There’s not a lot of dialogue here, and Kitano plays his character with a stoicism that Buster Keaton and Alain Delon no doubt influenced. But the poetry and emotion are all in the action (and inaction) on screen. Here is a man whose main accomplishments are surviving bloody shootouts and racking up the body count for his employer--no wonder he hallucinates about self-destruction and walks the beach in a daze. There’s actually a good bit of comedy here too, as the movie isn’t afraid to veer into cartoonish moments and satirize the very genre it portrays. I also have to specifically call out the action scenes, especially one near the end--completely memorable, unique, and gorgeously shot. Watch this via rental on Amazon, YouTube, and GooglePlay--especially if you’re a fan of movies like Drive, Kill Bill, or Le Samourai.

34. Metropolitan (1990, directed by Whit Stillman, country of origin: US)

My first encounter with Whit Stillman came via 2016′s Love and Friendship, his adaptation of a Jane Austen story. When his debut film appeared on Filmstruck, I realized what a perfect fit Austen and Stillman really are. This movie follows a group of (mostly) wealthy teenagers in Manhattan, who attend debutante balls and gather at each other’s homes for long pretentious conversations and romantic sparring. If Austen were alive today, no doubt she would have written a novel in the same setting, filled with the same biting wit (no pun intended) that Stillman displays. If you like your movies with a lot of action and plot twists, this may not be your cup of tea; but if you enjoy the works of, say, Woody Allen/Noah Baumbach/Wes Anderson then you will definitely find this a subtle delight. No big names amongst the cast; and many of them only did one or two other projects after this, but I think that adds to the feeling of naïveté and naturalism. Random observation, but when I watched this movie I found connections between a number of its characters and the cast of The Breakfast Club--see if you agree. Right now you can rent this via iTunes, and since it takes place around Christmas and New Year’s, this would be a great time to watch.

33. Radio Days (1987, directed by Woody Allen, country of origin: US)

This might be the sweetest, least cynical movie in Woody Allen’s filmography. It’s a love letter to the 1930s and 40s, when families would gather around the radio (rather than the TV) for music, serials, and news of the outside world. Seth Green plays the Woody stand-in as a child, Mia Farrow plays an aspiring radio actress, Larry David pops up as the Communist next door neighbor--it’s a real hoot. The music (from the likes of Benny Goodman, Artie Shaw, and Glenn Miller) is gorgeous and it’s fun to see old New York recreated for this film. Suitable for all ages and utterly delightful, you can watch it on Hulu with a subscription or rent it on Vudu for $2.99.

32. Pickup (1951, directed by Hugo Haas, country of origin: US)

I caught up with this low-budget B-movie noir during Noir City Chicago, and fell head over heels for it. The director plays the lead character, a lovable but lonely railroad worker named Hunky (he does not live up to this name in appearance). When he encounters the gorgeous and sassy Betty (Beverly Michaels) at a carnival, he can’t believe a guy like him could hold the romantic interest of such a hottie. As luck would have it, though, she’s more attracted to his life savings than to him. What a golddigger. What sets this movie apart is the addition of a little plot twist: Hunky loses his hearing in an accident, which is just fine by the conniving Betty who can now scheme and talk trash around her husband. But when Hunky’s hearing unexpectedly returns, he doesn’t tell anyone and discovers that his beloved wifey is plotting his demise. Bonus: There’s a pretty adorable puppy in the mix. This isn’t available on DVD, sadly, but someone has uploaded it to YouTube and if you have 77 minutes to kill, I recommend checking it out.

31. Ghost (1990, directed by Jerry Zucker, country of origin: US)

Look, I love Demi Moore and Whoopi Goldberg and Patrick Swayze just as much as the next person, but for some reason I had always assumed that Ghost was this really cheesy paranormal romance. Wrong! It’s a charming murder mystery with some legit scary moments a lot of comedy, and, yes, some romance too. So if you have somehow missed this gem, you can catch up with it for 99 cents right now on Amazon or rent it for a Few Dollars More on other streaming sites.

30. One False Move (1992, directed by Carl Franklin, country of origin: US)

In part one of this list, I mentioned watching multiple Bill Paxton movies in 2018. This one features Paxton as a small town sheriff with illusions of grandeur--instead of settling small time domestic disputes, he’d love to one day solve murders and thwart serial killers and arrest drug kingpins in the big city. He gets his chance to do something bigger when a car full of murderous fugitives rolls into town. The LA detectives on the case don’t quite know what to make of Paxton; but he views them as heroes. When he gets his chance to show them what he’s made of, he doesn’t flinch.

Billy Bob Thornton co-wrote the screenplay and co-stars in the film, another connection between this and the other Paxton entry on my list (A Simple Plan). Here, he’s a vile and brutal sociopath (a role he’d go on to play in the TV adaptation of Fargo), with a girlfriend named Fantasia (Cynda Williams) that might be having second thoughts about their relationship. Director Carl Franklin is perhaps better known for the Denzel Washington neo noir Devil in a Blue Dress; and Franklin himself introduced a double feature of these two films at Noir City Chicago. He’s a brilliant, economical director with a deep well of classical film knowledge and a knack for capturing defining character traits in the space of a few frames. Rent this movie on Amazon, Vudu, or YouTube and prepare for a gritty, moving ride.

29. Peeping Tom (1960, directed by Michael Powell, country of origin: England)

I caught up with this out of print masterpiece (purchased at my local library sale for 50 cents on Criterion DVD!) during my October horror viewing, and immediately wanted it to find a wider audience. Reviled upon its initial release, it follows a talented but troubled young filmmaker whose obsession involves recording the final moments of his murder victims’ lives, as they realize their fate. Pretty twisted, I know. The exploration of voyeurism and the relationship between the camera, its subjects, and an audience really make this a fascinating watch, both from a technical perspective and as a critique of moviemaking and consumption. One can’t help but see the influence this movie has had on horror filmmakers from Wes Craven to John Carpenter, particularly in the way it forces us to identify with the psychologically damaged killer instead of centering the narrative on his victims. Massively underrated, and deserving of your attention if you consider yourself a fan of horror movies. Watch it via rental on a number of streaming platforms.

That concludes part 2 of the list! Stay tuned for the next segment, coming soon!

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