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Big Phil
Reviews
Equinox (1970)
Next on MST3K, The Equinox Beast
We can only hope that Mike and the bots pick this one up. I have to admit I didn't watch the whole thing, but then I've never been able to stare at horrible car crashes for too long either; some things are too gruesome to dwell on. Such is Equinox; I was sucked in like moth to a bug zapper but saved by a phone call that drew me away from the carnage. Technical buffs excuse this incoherent, no-budget "movie" because of the special effects and the fact that it was a student project. By their standards, every movie that's able to run through a projector is a potential Oscar winner. Maybe Dennis Muren went on to FX fame, but why do I want to waste my limited leisure time watching an early effort? I don't want to read Hemingway's freshman report on "what I did last summer" either. I'd say this baby ranks down there with "Manos: Hands of Fate" and the benchmark of bad movies, "Plan 9 From Outer Space".
True Grit (1969)
True Grit is truly one of the best westerns ever made.
This is one of the best Westerns ever made. I think the script makes it so enjoyably watchable, over and over again. I think that's probably how people talked back then. There's plenty of low-key humor too. You can tell that John Wayne and Glen Campbell enjoyed their roles but played them straight. The characters are well-drawn and unique. Even after 30 years I still remember the names of even minor characters, J. Noble Daggett, Tom Chaney and The Original Mexican. Who could ever forget the showdown between Ned Pepper and Rooster Cogburn? "Fill yer hand" (with this movie) and see how good a Western can and should be!
Absence of Malice (1981)
It's worth it, if only for Wilford
I caught this movie again recently, on cable, and was impressed with how well it's held up. The topic is especially compelling in this information age if you think about how quickly the media jump to speculations, if not conclusions. I.e., we "knew" it was Arabs who bombed the federal building in Oklahoma City; we "knew" Mr. Ramsey killed Jon Benet, or was it her mother, or her brother? Paul Newman is his usual taciturn self, but that's exactly what the role calls for. The real highlight of the movie; what you'd buy the video for, just so you could fast forward to it; is the scene with Wilford Brimley. It's right up there with "what we got here...is failure...to communicate" and "we don't got to show you no stinkin' badges". It's a classic.