K. Gordon

Peter Bogdanovich's wonderful re-capturing of 1930s Hollywood comedies, May 25 2013

This still works great 40 years later. Shot in gorgeous black and white, its a film full of smiles and laughs, a
lot of heart, but very little sticky sweetness.

A low level grifter (Ryan ONeal) gets stuck with taking a tough as nails orphaned 9 year old (ONeals real life
daughter Tatum, in an astonishing performance for a kid that age  she actually deserved the Oscar she won)
home to relatives. Along the way they get into all sorts of misadventures, and meet numerous characters,
including a wonderfully funny Madeline Kahn as an exotic dancer named Trixie Delight, and John Hillerman
doing his usual excellent low key work as a bootlegger and his… Read more

Admirable in its ambitions, if uneven in execution, May 24 2013

This hyper low-budget, rough edged study of a friendship between two men, one straight, one gay is unusual for the honesty
with which it shows the layers that men place over their feelings, between each others and even within themselves.
The need for love, the use of sex as a distancing device instead of a way of being closer, the confusion of vulnerability
and weakness, the use of humor to mask deeper feelings, these traits are rarely examined with much honesty. The same
could be said for how male friendship in general functions (and doesnt) as well.

Made in the rough edged, improvised tradition of Casavettes and Mike Leigh, this deserves points for trying… Read more

A very impressive debut feature., May 22 2013

Extremely tense, beautifully shot, generally well (if not quite brilliantly) acted, this is a clever and effective
exercise on making an exciting film on a tiny budget. Even though about 75% of this kidnapping tale takes
place in a two room apartment, director/writer Blakeson finds enough effective and compelling ways to
photograph his tiny set, and enough sharp plot twists and reveals that any claustrophobia becomes a
plus not a problem.

There are a few times when credulity is stretched, and a few plot turns that have that sense of being a clever
twist instead of something organic to the characters or the story (you can feel them as theyre where… Read more