themirrorcrackd

To swallow "Elizabethtown" without experiencing a sharp tummy cramp of disbelief, you have to accept Orlando Bloom as a tormented soul. Why, the boy is so emotionally hobbled he can’t respond to the blond, uber-adorable Kirsten Dunst.

Let’s delve into Orlando’s pain, shall we? He’s Drew Baylor, a shoe designer from Oregon whose latest creation has incurred company losses of close to $1 billion and led to his firing. Despondent, he drives home and seats himself on a Rube Goldbergian suicide device — an exercycle with a mounted dagger rigged to stab the rider. All one has to do is pedal furiously. This is not what your fitness instructor means by negative gain.

Kirsten Dunst, left, pursues Orlando Bloom in the romantic comedy “Elizabethtown.” (By Neal Preston — Paramount Pictures, Via Reuters) More in Movies ‘Elizabethtown’: National Showtimes   Watch the Trailer   More Movie Trailers   In Focus: Cameron Crowe   New Movie Releases   DVD and Home Video   More Movies in Arts & Living   var technorati = new Technorati() ; technorati.setProperty(’url’,'http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/10/13/AR2005101301904_Technorati.html’) ; technorati.article = new item(’\'Elizabethtown,\’ Way South of \’Garden State\”,’http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/10/13/AR2005101301904.html’,'To swallow “Elizabethtown” without experiencing a sharp tummy cramp of disbelief, you have to accept Orlando Bloom as a tormented soul. Why, the boy is so emotionally hobbled he can\’t respond to the blond, uber-adorable Kirsten Dunst.’,'Desson Thomson’) ; document.write( technorati.getDisplaySidebar() );

This is exactly when the phone rings. No, it’s not Bloom’s agent telling him to leave the set before his career implodes, it’s Drew’s sister Heather (Judy Greer), who informs Drew that their father, Mitchell, has passed away. It happened while he was visiting his old friends and relatives in Elizabethtown, Ky. Heather says Drew’s mother, Hollie (Susan Sarandon) would like her son to fly to Elizabethtown, cremate Mitch and bring his ashes home to Oregon. It would help, too, if he made nice with the Kentucky kin; they’re still mad at Hollie for stealing Mitch away, oh, 20 years ago.

So Drew is off the suicide machine and onto the plane to Kentucky. Enter Dunst, as Claire, a flight attendant who, judging by her wide grin, seems to be lying in wait for him. Drew’s the only passenger on this flight (like that ever happens), which gives her time to talk to Drew about her obsession with the mystique of names, the best way to drive to Elizabethtown and, most importantly, the road map to her big, home-fried heart.

Drew, still mopey about the shoe catastrophe and thinking about his Elizabethtown mission, isn’t responsive at first. But not long after he meets his father’s people and checks into a hotel, loneliness sets in. He reaches for the phone number Claire left him and . . . oh, you know.

Writer-director Cameron Crowe’s most recent stumble, "Vanilla Sky," continues without interruption into "Elizabethtown." It’s hard to believe the creative mind that gave us "Almost Famous," "Jerry Maguire," "Say Anything" and "Fast Times at Ridgemont High" looked up with satisfaction after typing 117 pages of this.

Speaking of killer exercycles, "Elizabethtown" comes across as little more than repedaled "Garden State." In both films, a prodigal son of sorts returns to the old home state because of the death of a parent, gets caught up in a world of offbeat characters and is ultimately saved by the love of an eccentric young woman.

Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen full movie best quality

The crucial difference? "Garden State" was a good movie. Writer-director Zach Braff made an appealing returning son, and Natalie Portman was a charm as his nutballish savior. You really believed she could redeem souls. The locals (from New Jersey) were wonderfully memorable: Remember Peter Saarsgard as the gravedigger who steals necklaces from the dead?

In "Elizabethtown," the Kentucky contingent, including Aunt Dora (Paula Deen), Uncle Dale (Loudon Wainwright III), cousin Bill (Bruce McGill) and Lynyrd Skynrd cover band singer Jessie (Paul Schneider), practically carries the word "zany" aloft on billboards. The movie’s best shot at wild-card endearment comes from Sarandon’s Hollie, who makes the trip to Elizabethtown to deliver a heartfelt speech about Mitch. Her intended showstopper is a brand new tap-dance shuffle — to "Moon River" — and she brings the house down, but only because the actors were paid to applaud.

Bloom’s inability to convey convincing emotion is manifest; if he has any allure in this movie, it’s got to be the hair gel. Dunst is an appealing presence in most movies, but here she’s reduced to a strangely ethereal stalker. She’s always appearing behind him, and eventually he becomes happy to see her, but the phrase "restraining order" comes to mind. For all the time she and Bloom spend together, there is surprisingly little magic — just the surface appeal of two attractive people making (or almost making) kissy face. The deepest banter exchanged between them, in fact, comes at the end of a mammoth cell-phone conversation.

"Should we hang up now?" Claire asks.

Definitely.

Elizabethtown (117 minutes, at area theaters) is rated PG-13 for profanity and some sexual references.

Nico and Dani

is a Spanish coming-of-age story about two friends at
the peak of burgeoning sexuality. They want to get laid more than anything. It
has been said many ways by many movie critics, but the truism is inescapable:
had it been made in America,

Nico and Dani

would have featured copious
fart and breast jokes with an overly forced gross-out or three. Instead, we get
a realistic emotional portrayal of sexual frustration, friendship, and angst.
Depending on your disposition, the film is helped or hindered by graphic
depictions of teenage homosexual acts,

very

subtle nuances, and
open-endedness.

Nico (Jordi Vilches) travels to visit his longtime friend Dani (Fernando
Ramallo) for the summer. Dani's parents own a condo at a beach near Barcelona.
They go on a trip and leave Nico and Dani to their own devices for a couple
weeks. The two are ostensibly under the care of a housekeeper and tutor, but are
actually as free as birds.

Nico encounters a pair of eligible girls, Elena (Marieta Orozco) and Berta
(Esther Nubiola), and immediately goes into hormonal overdrive. Nico's tunnel
focus on getting laid annoys Dani because Dani is attracted to Nico. The two
vent sexual steam by masturbating each other every night. These nightly
encounters fail to deter Nico from his mission, which drives Dani into despair.
Fortunately, gay author Julian (Chisco Amado) is nearby to ease Dani's
angst.

(

Spoilers in this paragraph.

) Let's get this out of the way early: I
found Dani thoroughly abhorrent. Many critics have praised

Nico and Dani

as a sweet, authentic, risk-taking coming of age story about diverging sexual
identities. In many ways, this viewpoint is understandable, yet I was
uncomfortable with the mantis-like predatory stare Dani fixed on everyone,
sizing up how they could help him. Dani had an agenda; it was all that mattered.
He used or disregarded everyone in his path to achieve his whim and thwart
obstacles. Dani wanted Nico, so he enticed Nico manually, orally, and anally.
When sex failed to do the trick, Dani used people. He manipulated Nico's
girlfriend by lying to her about Nico's sexuality. He drugged and date raped his
own "girlfriend" to test his sexuality and/or make the girls leave
early, then cruelly ignored her from then on. He casually rejected or disobeyed
every adult. And he cared nothing for Nico's feelings. Every act gave me a lower
opinion of Dani. It is true that Nico often shows equal disregard for Dani's
needs, and is complicit in Dani's acts. However, Dani is usually the catalyst
and shows a consistent pattern of manipulation. The film feels realistic, but
not in the sweetly nostalgic way many people have summarized it. Perhaps I'm the
wrong demographic for

Nico and Dani

, but I have never drugged someone
against their will, raped an unconscious girl, or forced anal sex on my
friends.

That said,

Nico and Dani

does capture the magical, unfettered spirit
of the coming of age tale. The kids frolic without oversight, lending a carefree
intensity to their acts. They romp on the beach, sneak into bars, and experiment
with all sorts of adult behaviors. These earnest strivings for maturity create a
believable coming of age patina. The setting doesn't hurt. Director Cesc Gay
puts forward the best foot of the Spanish coast. I wanted to relax alongside the
characters in their sun-drenched exploits and never ending evenings.

Nico and Dani

contains a healthy amount of situational humor. Nico is
obsessed with his Adam's apple. Dani asserts mature coolness by smoking and
drinking in a crowd of boys a foot taller than he. The humor is a subtle and
sophisticated counterpoint to the "semen in the beer" antics favored
by American teen comedies. Present also are scenes of intense humanity:
desperation, turmoil, jealousy, and indifference are balanced by ineffable
moments of quiet poignancy.

Nico and Dani

rewards careful observation of
human nuance.

This delicate emotionality would not be possible without sure direction and
solid acting. Gay ambles from time to time, but wrings out complex performances
from all the key actors. It requires courage and surety of self to abstain from
commentary and let the camera capture the acting. Gay shows a deft touch that
grants extra layers to the film.

His cast rises to the occasion. Vilches, Ramallo, Orozco, and Nubiola
portray authentic teenage angst. I immersed myself in recollections of formative
years, encouraged by cues from these four actors. Their awkwardness,
overextended maturity, mercurial temperaments, and easy companionship were all
spot on. Equally believable were the adults: tutor Sonja (Ana Gracia) was more
interested in her own summer exploits than in tutoring Dani. Writer Julian was
carefree and immature enough to entice Dani into age-inappropriate situations.
The cast responds to each other, forming a unity of magnified dysfunction. One
notable exception is the remarkably cool dynamic between Nico and Dani. There is
rarely a reaction to the action. Dani affronts Nico, Nico affronts Dani, yet
neither gets riled nor even seems to notice. This antiseptic "morning
after" syndrome leads to the criticism that

Nico and Dani

lacks
dramatic contrast. Most viewers will find the string of authentic human moments
just compensation.

The extras are brief but rewarding. Given their
brevity, the amount of overlap is frustrating, but the features give decent
insight. We get to see the actors engaged in their craft, freezing their buns
off while making us believe summer is in full bloom. Vilches and Ramallo give
direct and entertaining interviews that highlight the essence of their
characters. Gay discusses the source material,

Krámpack

, and some of
the challenges in filming. Music videos "La Chatunga" by Dr. Explosion
and "End of Summer" by Holland Park round out the extras. By the time
you watch the video for "La Chatunga" you might be burnt out on the
song; it is featured heavily in the movie and DVD menus.

Finally, the music deserves note. The contemporary score is used to great
effect, highlighting certain moods and accenting moments of angst. The songs are
energetic and jangly without being annoying. The aforementioned "La
Chatunga" is catchy.

Nico and Dani

seems unfocused at times. There are moments of
conversation that don't seem to further mood or plot. One can depict a languid
summer without being languid. Factor in the curious detachment of the leads from
their actions, and you have a case for boredom. I think Gay was simply too
subtle at times, which is a small crime in light of the authentic discourse he
achieved.

Less forgivable is the video quality. The baseline is a grainy, somewhat
scratched image that lacks detail. Blacks are uneven, but the colors are warm
enough. Edge enhancement is present but only obtrusive in certain close-ups. The
real culprit here is persistent and distracting digital noise reduction. The

Nico and Dani

DVD was mastered almost two years ago; DNR algorithms have
improved since then, but there is no excuse for the overzealous noise reduction
present in this DVD. Diagonal movement obliterated detail to the point where
entire objects were disappearing. I laughed to myself as lamps and other objects
dissolved into blurs and reappeared later. Equally disconcerting was the
moiré-like crawl in backgrounds, faces, and clothes. Check out the swirling
hexagon lamp, or Sonja's shimmery striped shirt, or the disappearing pipes on
the kitchen wall.

In some ways,

Nico and Dani

follows the flock of trendy homoerotic
Spanish films that are the rage of late. The film distinguishes itself through
fine acting and a delicate environment of confusing sexual identity issues. It
feels real and feels relevant. If you can forgive some despicable acts,

Nico
and Dani

might charm you. The confirmation of enduring friendship is
ultimately uplifting.

: Vexille is set in 2077; the Agreed Nations having set limits on the advancement of robotics due to the good chance of the troubles it would ideal. Japan decides to reject the position and go into separation, employing a comprehensive tactics of isolationism backed by a technological shield that prevents the residuum of the world from spying on the isle glory. Limited trade is maintained but given the advances Japan had been making since the veil of secrecy went up in 2067, her exports limited to allowable technology by their most powerful corporation, Daiwa Intense Robotics Industries. Daiwa is the most energetic force in Japan, her board of directors including sizeable stable political and financial figures from all over the domain. The movie starts off with a meeting of the meals outside of Japan in a heavily noncommittal mansion on Christmas Eve, the free world sending in a team of military operatives to enquire claims of international violations of law. The duo sent in is a small group of agents in battle gear from a secret congregation called SWORD; a highly advanced link up akin to Delta Power, the Seals, and geared up with weaponry that surpasses anything of our time.

The future worth fighting for.

As a result of some intelligence gathered on a routine guard operation (shown in flashback form), the meeting was discovered and all efforts were taken to figure out what was so important that it would be held on a snowy holiday night. As the perimeter is breached, we learn that the location is not without defenses but the biggest surprise being the fate of the board at the hands of Daiwa executive Saito. Saito is known by one of the operatives, a talented young lady by the name of Vexille, the lead protagonist of the story. She does her best to capture him for the information he holds but he escapes just before the mansion blows up, nearly taking the team with it. Upon inspection of Saito’s amputated leg, lost during the firefight, it is discovered that Japan’s technology has not only advanced to the point where perfect copies of humans exist but the means to imitate their bio-signature masking the fact as well. In a change of long time policy, it is decided to send out a recon team from SWORD to infiltrate Japan to see exactly how far their advances have come in the past ten years; a possible suicide mission with the caveat that anyone caught will be on their own.

Impact Pt I full movie best quality

Those looked suspiciously like Sand Worms from Dune.

The SWORD team uses stealth to breach the barrier protecting Japan from prying eyes and they almost succeed in their goal to set up a device that will allow spy satellite’s to peer into the hidden land but most of the team is gunned down by Saito’s men. Vexille barely manages to escape thanks to the help of some natives in a shanty town near the coast, finding that a lot of the natives oppose Daiwa’s control over the country. The secrets she uncovers during her stay threaten to change the course of the entire world, pitting her and her newfound allies against the might of the nation. As the story continues to unfold, the stakes get much higher as the fate of the entire world rests in the hands of Vexille against someone from her past, a dangerous man with an even more dangerous vision that he fully intends to achieve.

Vexille versus a crashing helicopter; fair odds?!?

Using animation much like that of Mobile Suit Gundam MS Igloo rather than hand drawn or more traditional looking techniques, the CGI was a nice attempt to try something almost humanizing in some ways, falling short in my book but still another step in the advancement of the genre. The story itself, reduced of eye candy and big budget tricks, was on the weak side but it showed enough promise in terms of layering the different elements into what became a limited theatrical release (still rare for anime in the USA) that I think traditional fans of the genre will fall all over themselves to sing its many praises. I wanted something with more substance but I said that about Appleseed too, much to the chagrin of folks suggesting I turn a blind eye to the faults of the project in favor of focusing my efforts on the more positive aspects. Regular readers know I do not do that and I applaud FUNimation endlessly for their efforts in providing the best anime to domestic viewers but I really felt that a rating of Rent It was more appropriate given the lack of extras (almost ensuring it will have a better re-release, hopefully in Blu-Ray with a full compliment of extras) and limitations.

Picture: Vexille was presented in a fetching anamorphic presentation using 16:9 enhancement with an aspect ratio of 1.78:1 color with the MPEG-2 codec used on this SD version. The characters moved almost as fluidly as the backgrounds, the falling snowflakes adding depth in the opening scene as did the various secondary elements throughout the show. The backgrounds were not strictly a single frame looped in and that assisted in tricking the eye into seeing the show more realistically but the macro-blocking in the darker sections was noticed more than once and some of the effects did not seem as advanced as others. Director/Writer Sori wove a fairly boilerplate espionage thrill here, the science fiction elements added in mostly to appease the audience of cyberpunk fans from what I could tell. This type of animation looks kind of creepy to me in how it cannot (yet) mimic the human nuances (at least on budgets like this) but seems to project a certain human quality better than the anime most of us have become used to over the years. I noticed no compression artifacts and the bitrate hovered around the 8 Mbps mark.

Sound: The audio was presented with a choice of 5.1 Dolby Digital Surround in either the original Japanese or the newly commissioned English language dub, with optional English subtitles (looking like dubtitles in terms of how similar they were to the dub) for those that care. I watched the movie twice since there were few natural breaks that would allow me to review it with any consistency trying both languages out. The Japanese track was the better of the two, sporting a wider range of intonation and inflection by the voice actors in almost all cases. The English language dub seemed to slightly alter the music and mixes a bit to favor the bass, especially in the battle sequences, but each was much alike outside of the vocal nuances. The front speakers got the majority of the separation except during the action sequences which were done nicely enough, some tweaks needed on the dub to engage a more realistic surround effect. The bitrate was 448 Kbps, substantially higher than usual, and I found the score by Paul Oakenfold to be a step ahead of most such projects in recent years.

Extras: The only extra was a few trailers to other productions, no way to skip them when first playing the disc.

Final Thoughts: Vexille was a lot different from many traditional anime offerings but it certainly paid a lot of tribute to all that went before it as well. The cyberpunk themes, the future as a decidedly mixed bag, and the political implications of some of the commentary missed the mark but still should appeal to a number of people that aren’t “into” anime as a general rule of thumb so as a cross over title, Vexille is better than average even if the adult themes were more in line with a rating higher than the PG-13 it earned. While some of the story elements were not as strong as the visual appeal the movie offered, you might find this to be appealing on levels that few anime series have provided in recent times so give it a look. It might even give fans something to show to their friends to get them interested in some of the better titles on the market thanks to the heavy science and dark nature of humanity it displayed.

If you enjoy anime, take a look at some of the recommendations by DVD Talk’s twisted cast of reviewers in their Best Of Anime 2003, Best Of Anime 2004, Best of Anime 2005, and Best of Anime 2006 articles or their regular column Anime Talk.

Agree? Disagree? You can post your thoughts about this review on the DVD Talk forums.

<!– if(typeof ord == ‘undefined’) { ord=Math.random()*10000000000000000; } var google300=’‘; google300+=’‘; google300+=’‘; document.write(google300);//–>

<!–

Popular Reviews

1.  Star Trek: The Original Series - Season 1 2.  Sin City 3.  The Matrix: 10th Anniversary Edition Blu-ray Book 4.  The Wrestler 5.  Tierney Gearon: The Mother Project 6.  X2: X-Men United 7.  In the Realm of the Senses - Criterion Collection 8.  2010 9.  In the Realm of the Senses - Criterion Collection 10.  Final Destination

Disney held a special screening in Los Angeles today, giving us a sneak peek at the brand new Tron Legacy theatrical trailer, a brief return to the video game world of 1982 computer graphics landmark Tron. Then we saw it again.

While other cities held their own Tron Legacy events today, offering a painfully quick 2-minute trailer and a polite request to get the hell out, the one held in Southern California gave Tron fans a second glance. As an added bonus, the director of Tron Legacy, Joseph Kosinski, was on hand for a Q&A session between trailer viewings. Also in attendance was original Tron director Steven Lisberger, who is acting in a producer role for the sequel.

Let's talk about what we saw.

The trailer—well, portions of it anyway—were in IMAX 3D, as immediately evidenced by the Walt Disney Pictures logo, which transformed into a bluish, scanlined version for authentic video game effect. The trailer opens with Sam, the son of Jeff Bridges' character Kevin Flynn from the first Tron, receiving word from his father's old friend Alan Bradley (Bruce Boxleitner) that he believes his father may still be alive—offering no theories that Flynn is trapped within a computer program.

His evidence? A phone call from the old Flynn's Arcade, where son Sam travels—in extreme, reckless youth motorcycling fashion that should translate well to piloting a lightcycle—to seek out his father. After poking around the dusty abandoned arcade, full of still-functioning arcade cabinets, Sam stumbles upon the digitizer that sent the original Flynn into the virtual world where Programs fight for survival in familiar Tron arcade games.

The following sequences were all quick cuts, some of them in dazzling 3D, including a stunning shot of the massive bipedal Recognizers, looking far more detailed, and more than one Program arming himself with a deadly disc, ready to throw at another Program. Along the way, brief looks at actors Olivia Wilde and Garrett Hedlund in form-fitting illuminated outfits flashed across the screen, as did two Matrix-looking potential bad guys, one fierce looking female and one Space Oddity era David Bowie lookalike playing a little digital air guitar.

The trailer fake-ended with a voiced over interaction between father Flynn and son. "Long time," Sam says. "You have no idea," says Flynn. Then it kicked into a lightcycle race, the trailer ending with an explosion and a "Woah…" from Sam as a lightcyclist.

The design of the characters, costumes, vehicles—like the trademark lightcycle—all looked fantastic, including the surprisingly believable looking younger version of Jeff Bridges' Clu decked out in yellow, in contrast to his currently aged Flynn. We'll be seeing two versions of Bridges, Clu and Flynn, playing off each other, the film's director said, as teased in previous Tron Legacy trailers.

Oh, and Tron himself will be in it, Kosinski reminded the audience, somewhat sarcastically.

It was really gorgeous stuff, sleek, sexier and more natural looking than the 1982 original, the trailer offering little in the way of over-the-top 3D effects, some of those effects looking unfinished.

The Tron Legacy trailer gave Daft Punk fans in attendance—and there were plenty of them—a first genuine listen to some of their contributions. According to Tron Legacy director Joseph Kosinski, whatever leaks we'd heard from the soundtrack weren't authentic and that the trailer's score was specifically created for that purpose only.

Kosinski wouldn't confirm that Daft Punk would make cameo appearances in the film, but his avoidance of the question was confirmation enough for many of the screening's attendees. He said that the French electronic duo was heavily involved in the creation of the film, with a dozen or so creative meetings happening between Kosinski and Daft Punk.

Tron Legacy's director—also responsible for the "Starry Night" commercial for Halo 3—confirmed to one fan that the video game Tron 2.0 was not considered canon in the creation of Legacy. Original Tron director Steven Lisberger accurately described the look and feel of the sequel as having a minimalist aesthetic that drew more upon the viewer's memories of what Tron looked like in 1982, rather than to slavishly recreate its signature look or, worse, veer too close to mimicking The Matrix.

Kosinski was limited in what he would confirm about future Tron Legacy marketing events or whether Daft Punk would be supporting the film with shows or appearances, only saying that those things "may happen in the future."

We'd keep an eye out. It looks like Disney will be aggressively and creatively marketing Tron Legacy for the next ten months. As for the Tron Legacy trailer, it's reportedly attached to the upcoming Alice In Wonderland remake.

Send an email to Michael McWhertor, the author of this post, at mike@kotaku.com.

Shrek is the sort of ‘new’ ogre the world’s been waiting on the side of - he’s house-proud, a keen chef, forbearing-la-de-da (unless provoked), and a heart beats under his wooden-headed unversed overlay, if lone someone could be prostrated initiate through his gruff isolation. Princess Fiona reckons she’s the one; but the outbreak with princesses who’ve fini too dream of cooped up in castles is that they tend to have a shaky grasp of actuality. When Shrek comes a-rescuin’ her from the dragon that’s been gobbling her suitors, she takes a while to comprehend that her real claimant is Swagger Farquaad, a oppressor of limited personal stature, who has contracted out her deliverance in yield for the duration of ridding Shrek of the diversified pesky fairytale characters milling on all sides his manor. DreamWorks is clearly picking up the rate with its animated features. Technically, the film’s a triumph. Gag by restraint - and there’s a stream - it’s merrily irreverent, visually and vocally. The bigger picture, even so, is willingly prefer more conventional. The play with fairytale clichés merely freshens them up for re-use; and the moral comes served with earnest tearfulness. Not sure about the ‘hip’ soundtrack playlist, either.

“Shame” is to “Shane” as the XX chromosome is to the XY. It’s a Western with a sex swap, an Australian update of the time-honoured configuration that simply substitutes heroine for leading man. This creative garble turns an otherwise simplistic drama into a annoying curiosity. The question is, should we give the lady a cigar?

Like Shane, the Lone Ranger and Billy Jack, Asta Cadell (Deborra-Lee Furness) will restore order, instill courage and rout the bullies. Mounted on a motorcycle, she rides into the town of Ginborak, the proverbial lonesome stranger. Asta is billed as “a fighter with a burning sense of justice that no redneck cop can stop.” When her bike breaks down, Asta is obliged to stay over. Reluctantly, the mechanic agrees to give her his spare room for the night.

Ginborak seems normal, but Asta can’t help but notice the cowering women and the abnormally aggressive men. That night when the mechanic’s daughter Lizzie (Simone Buchanan) returns home in hysterics, Asta learns the town secret. Women are regularly raped, but the rapists are never prosecuted because the women “were asking for it.”

By day, packs of teen-age boys roam the streets, leering and jeering like construction workers from Hell. By night, they gang-rape wives, grandmothers and virgin girls. The men make the mistake of taking Asta on — and end up with busted faces, black eyes and stitches where their brains used to be. She is a two-fisted, tall-walking, hard-riding, wheelie kind of woman. It takes a lot to get this cool head mad — about as much as it takes with Clint Eastwood — but do it and she’ll punch your lights out. And by gosh, Furness makes you believe she could do it. She looks the part, James Dean lean, hard, with eyes that become ball bearings when you get her riled. A cocky swagger, good grimace, stern face and quite a pair of tailpipes.

Lizzie idolizes Asta, the most courageous, intelligent and mechanically skilled woman she has ever known. Inspired by the older woman, the shy, traumatized girl decides to press charges against the boys, though the townspeople deride her. The boys are arrested, but soon bailed out by the town pillars.

It’s an outrageously manipulative movie that plays on your own worst instincts. Director Steve Jodrell has done his job well when it comes to raising the heart rate for the final showdown. And you’ll be wanting justice, by damn. Asta is so miffed when she finds the boys have taken Lizzie off again that she grabs the worst of the baby barbarians by the throat and threatens to break his neck. She almost does it, too, till suddenly she comes to her senses and glares down at him with that “You ain’t worth spit” look in her eyes.

The screenplay, written by Beverly Blankeship and Michael Brindley, is careful to include scenes that show women do like sex, noting, however, that they prefer to have a choice in the process. It is the movie’s only nod to femininity. Otherwise, “Shame” is about a woman being a man.

In “Tootsie,” Dustin Hoffman actually walked a mile in high heels and learned what femininity felt like. Asta puts on the boots, but they walk her around. We see a woman repair engines and deal manfully with societal wrongs. We don’t learn much from that, except that women can respond to complex social problems the way Rambo does if they want to.

Ultimately what “Shame” is saying goes back to “My Fair Lady,” in which Professor Higgins asked, “Why can’t a woman be more like a man?”

You’ve come a long way, baby — go ahead and make his day.

Reviewed by Dennis Schwartz

The Iverson Ranch at Chatsworth, a movie site rented out to all studios,
was dressed up and used for the Technicolor production of RKO’s Rancho
Notorious. Lang’s Western is considered to be one of the most unusual
Westerns ever made. It’s a film that could not be dragged down by the bickering
between Lang and Dietrich during the filming, or by the low budget ordered
by Howard Hughes which kept most of the work in the studio, or by Hughes’
taking Lloyd Gough’s name off the credits because he failed to testify
in the HUAC’s Hollywood witch hunt.

It was the first Western to make use of a folk ballad–Chuck-a-luck.
It was played at various times to bolster its theme of “hate, murder, and
revenge.” An old folk song in the film, “Auralee,” was later turned into
the theme song of Elvis Presley’s, “Love Me Tender” (56). The film even
had TV’s superman, George Reeves, playing one of the bandits hiding out
at Dietrich’s Chuck-a-luck, a safe haven for wanted bandits. Those who
stayed at the combination ranch and hideout were willing to pay her a ten
per cent cut from their robbery and the only rule in the place, was to
ask no questions. This was a ludicrous ploy, as if one expected the bandits
to be honest with her and give her the exact amount to stay; but it is
fair to say, that reality was not one of the film’s strong points.

Vern Haskell (Kennedy) is the happiest rancher in Wyoming because
he will marry in eight days the lovely Beth Forbes (Gloria), whom he has
just given a special brooch to. His happiness will be shattered when two
men ride into his small-town and one of them, Kinch (Gough), will go inside
the general store where Beth works and rob the safe, steal her brooch,
rape Beth, and then kill her when she screams. The other man, Whitey (Doucette),
who waited outside with the horses, is upset with his partner and wants
to leave him and get his share of the robbery before they reach Chuck-a-luck.
Kinch will have none of that and shoots Whitey in the back. But before
Whitey dies, Vern hears his last words: Chuck-a-luck. Vern was chasing
the two before the posse decided to chicken-out and turn back, and he decides
to go on alone to get the remaining killer.

Vern dedicates his life to getting revenge, even if it means he has
to become a killer to catch him. He will get his best lead in a barbershop,
where the man getting a shave overhears him ask the barber about Chuck-a-luck.
The man tells him it is a gunslinger’s hideout run by Altar Keane (Dietrich)
and he is not supposed to ask strangers about it. The two get into a fist
fight after the man pulls a gun on Vern, and Vern subsequently kills him
and is arrested. When Vern uses his head and tells the sheriff that he
only killed a wanted man, the sheriff confirms that it is so by looking
at Wanted Posters and seeing that it is Ace Maguire he killed and lets
him go; but, not before telling him about a saloon in Virginia City with
a chuck-a-luck wheel and a singer named Altar who used to work there.

In Virginia City, Vern hears the story of how Altar got fired by
the crooked saloon owner Baldy (Frawley) and took the twenty dollars in
wages he gave her to bet at the chuck-a-luck wheel. She won big and with
the help of a fastdraw gunslinger, Frenchy Fairmont (Ferrer), is able to
keep her money and leave town on the stage for Silver City under his protection.
Baldy, embittered that since Altar left his place business plummeted, tells
Vern that he heard that Frenchy was just arrested at a town called Gunsight.

Vern has become so obsessed with revenge, willing to do anything
to get the killer, that he gets himself thrown in the Gunsight jail by
causing a disturbance in a saloon. There are two cells, one occupied by
crooked politicians and the other by Frenchy. Lang takes a jab at the politicians,
as the jailer asks Vern which cell he prefers and he replies: “I’d rather
be with an outlaw than with a politician, at least what they are doing
is out in the open.” Frenchy and Vern are able to escape and since Vern
is now a wanted man, he brings him to Altar’s place by the Mexican border.

Once there Vern notices Altar wearing the brooch he gave Beth and
comes to suspect that one of the nine men staying there gave it to her.
It becomes a cat-and-mouse game for him to get to the bottom of things
as he sweet talks Altar, getting her to like him. Vern is the good man
that Altar had once been looking for but never thought she would find.
Meanwhile, Frenchy becomes jealous, though he continues to teach Vern how
to shoot like him. Vern turns indistinct from the others at the ranch,
even robbing a bank with them.

Warning: spoilers to follow.

When the cold-hearted, almost masculine-like, Altar, warms up and
finally falls for Vern, he presses her about the brooch thinking it was
Frenchy who gave it to her. But she tells him it was Kinch and her temporary
romantic bliss is destroyed, almost like Vern’s life was destroyed when
he learned what happened to Beth. He goes into a rage, telling her he will
kill Kinch and that he has no respect for what kind of life she is leading.

The final scene is a brutal one among the gang members: they have
found out that Altar snitched on Kinch and come into Altar’s ranch to pull
a gun on the bewildered Frenchy and the almost lifeless Altar, who has
fallen apart after her rejection. This results in a shootout and final
confrontation between Kinch and Vern.

It’s Lang’s last Western and one that covers again the themes he
successfully used in his noir films, and one that makes good use of his
expressionistic style of filmmaking. The film compensates for having the
51-year-old Marlene being the sexpot in the film, a casting decision which
seems to me based more for her star power than for looking the part. But
aside from looking old, Marlene proved she was up to the part, giving a
brilliantly mannered performance. The film has a certain electricity about
it, even if it does seem a bit corny at times.

The requested URL /amerquil.htm was not found on this server.