Tod Browning remakes his silent movie (formerly starring Lon Chaney), this time featuring a pre-Little Caesar Edward Robinson (still using his old-timey gangster voice). The basic setup is the same, with a couple of thieves hiding out after pulling off a heist, and laying low while being pursued by the cops, as well as a mob boss who wants a share of their money. This time around though, the acting is far better by the entire cast, the set-up is…
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Mata Hari 1931
Greta Garbo's most successful picture shows her as the famous spy "Mata Hari", a woman who uses her body and her sexuality to steal secrets. While performing her duties, she encounters a young pilot (Roman Navarro) and over the course of her time extracting secrets from him, she falls in love with him. Ultimately, she chooses the firing squad rather than betraying him. Garbo is really great in this performance, and commands her scenes, however Navarro feels miscast in this…
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Monte Carlo 1930
Jeanette Macdonald stars as a Countess with no money who leaves a Duke at the altar, as she would have only been marrying him for his money. She travels to Monte Carlo where she plans to use her last few dollars to gamble her way to a fortune, but after winning a fortune within seconds, she loses it twice as fast and is broke. A man, a Duke himself, see's her from afar and, determined to meet her he poses…
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Not So Dumb 1930
After a successful team up in the very funny silent film "Show People", King Vidor and Marion Davies team up again in their first talkie comedy, and for the most part it works. The film is zany, and feels like a stage play, but it *is* funny (particularly Marion saying "Shut up Willy!" every few minutes, often undeservedly so...) and even parts that might not have been meant to be funny are humorous in a modern light. However, Marions voice…
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Dishonored 1931
Marlene Dietrich is remarkable as the Spy X-27, in this movie about a woman plucked from the streets as a prostitute and recruited to serve her country against Russia by finding the spies leaking information. She does this through her seduction, and if anyone is good at Seductionit;s Marlene Dietrich.... The rest of the cast is a bit lackluster but Dietrich carries the film and every scene that she's in. The ending is also great as she sexily puts on her lipstick before.....
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Outside the Law 1920
The Second pairing of browning and Lon Chaney cemented their friendship, as Lon plays dual roles of a devoted asian servant and a cruel and crooked gangster who attempts to frame a man and his daughter to get even with them. The father gets sent to prison for months, but the daughter gets wise and runs off with jewels from a robbery, but while hiding out she gains a conscience and decides to return the jewels, but not before Lon's…
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The Unholy Three 1930
Lon Chaney's last film, and his only talkie, is a remake of his 1925 film "The Unholy Three". Lon Chaney (directed by browning) is a circus performer (AGAIN) ventriloquist, who turns to a life of crime with two other members of the circus, the strong man, and a baby man. The three open a pet shop, and use it to rob their customers, with Lon pretending to be an old woman, and the baby man pretending to be.. a baby...…
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Nope 2022
After the death of their father, a brother and sister (Daniel Kaluuya & Keke Palmer) struggle to continue their family business of training horses for films, but when a UFO is spotted near their home, they realize that capturing evidence of it on film can solve all of their money problems, *IF* They can capture a good enough piece of evidence.... While the film is enjoyable, and has great performances (notably Keke Palmer and Brandon Perea as "Angel", a tech support…
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Thor: Love and Thunder 2022
When Gore the God Butcher begins killing Gods around the Universe, he ultimately kidnaps a group of Asgardian children. Thor must team up with Valkyrie, Korg, and surprisingly Jane Foster (who is now imbued with the powers of Thor after seeking out Mjolnir to help mitigate her terminal cancer) to get them back before Gore completes his plan to kill all Gods using a wish from Eternity.... I very much wanted to love this movie but it's genuinely off the…
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The Silver Horde 1930
A man named Boyd down on his luck in Alaska meets a woman named Cherry (Evelyn Brent), with a secret slutty past, who asks for his help re-building a Salmon cannery, which will also help his prospects in his endeavor to marry his Fiancé, the daughter of a wealthy businessman. However, Boyd's relationship with his girl causes friction with another man who also wants to marry her, and who also has a cannery in Alaska.... To turn them against each…
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Paramount on Parade 1930
The last of the 4 All-Star revues from the 4 major studio's showing off their stables of performers, Paramounts contribution ends the trend on a high note. The film is mostly carried by the always delightful and extremely charismatic Maurice Chevalier who performs three musical numbers that show off his natural talent and clever wit. There's even an allusion to all of the sex that French people have which seems very risque for 1930. In addition to Chevalier, we get…