Oldie Movie Review - Dog Day Afternoon

Director: Sidney Lumet
Genre: Crime/ Drama
Runtime: 125 minutes
Year: 1975
Starring: Al Pacino, John Cazale, Penelope Allen, Sully Boyar, Carol Kane, Gary Springer, James Broderick, Chris Sarandon, Charles Durning

I WATCHED THIS MOVIE FOR MY 2022 MOVIE CHALLENGE.
WEEK 39: A MOVIE THAT TAKES PLACE IN ONE DAY
 
Description: Three amateur bank robbers plan to hold up a bank. A nice simple robber: walk in, take the money and run. Unfortunately, the supposedly uncomplicated heist suddenly becomes a bizarre nightmare as everything that could go wrong does.

Review: In “Dog Day Afternoon”, Sonny Wortzik and Sal, along with a third accomplice, enter a Brooklyn bank. On this sweltering, late-summer day, the three men try to steal money from the vault just before closing time. However, the accomplice soon gives up and Sonny and Sal are left alone. The robbery goes horribly wrong and in now time the two men and nine hostages are trapped in the bank building, surrounded by policemen, journalists and civilians outside. Sonny and Sal face all sorts of human problems during their actions.

“Dog Day Afternoon” was nominated for six Academy Awards in 1976, including those for Best Picture and Best Script. The last category was a win.

The duo of Al Pacino and John Cazale is masterful in “Dog Day Afternoon”. From moment one, the unusual combination makes you sympathize with the characters Sonny and Sal. The way Pacino portrays Sonny is outstanding.

By today’s standards, “Dog Day Afternoon” might be a bit slow and people would say action is lacking. But that is exactly why this film is so good. The whole thing is so convincing. The mostly usual clichés in heist movies, are carefully avoided. The credible acting of the cast, the oppressive atmosphere, it all adds to the tension of the film. Director Sidney Lumet managed to get fine performances from his cast and made “Dog Day Afternoon” worth watching.

Rating: 4/ 5

90s Movie Review - The Nightmare Before Christmas

Director: Henry Selick
Genre: Animation/ Family/ Fantasy/ Musical
Runtime: 77 minutes
Year: 1993
Starring: Danny Elfman, Chris Sarandon, Catherine O’hara, William Hickey, Ed Ivory, Glenn Shadix, Paul Reubens, Ken Page, Susan McBride, Debi Durst, Greg Proops, Kerry Katz, Randy Crenshaw, Sherwood Ball, Carmen Twillie

Description: Jack Skellington (Chris Sarandon), king of Halloween Town, discovers Christmas Town, but doesn't quite understand the concept

Review: Tim Burton has his own style, which is clearly present in every one of his movies. Everything breaths the typical, dark and fairytale like atmosphere. “The Nightmare Before Christmas” was written by Burton, but directed by Henry Selick.
Selick had some experience with stop-motion, so the perfect man for the job. The characters, characteristic world and the atmosphere came from Burton’s mind, but it was Selick that brought them to life.
Both of them made it into an amazing piece of art. There is so much going on, so many wonderful and unique things to see. The movie is set in three worlds: Halloween town, Christmas town and the real world. Halloween town is Jack Skellington’s home. Jack is animated amazingly. He has so many facial expressions. To create them, there were about 400 exchangeable heads used. Stop-motion needs so much eye for detail, that makers of the genre deserve all the respect they can get.
The movie is an animated musical. The music is written (and sung) by Burton’s go to composer Danny Elfman. The songs don’t get stuck in your head, the way Disney does it, but “The Nightmare Before Christmas” has some show stoppers and effective songs.
It’s especially the way the movie was made that will amaze everyone. It’s such a beautifully crafted work of art, with a great atmosphere.

Rating: 5/ 5

Scary Movie Night - Halloween 2020

Halloween isn’t really celebrated here in The Netherlands, but I wished it was. Because I love it and everything about this holiday. I usually have a scary movie night on Halloween, but I never really shared anything about it on my blog. This year I will. And I will do more of these in the future, whenever I have a themed movie night. My favorite kind of ‘party’ to host.
 
This year we chose three films. All horror, but three very different films. I won’t review them here, but will give you links to the reviews of the movies we viewed.
 
My scary movie night partner in crime this year was my brother Frank, who is a horror fan and has seen some of the most obscure films in the genre and is an expert when it comes to scary films.
 

The first film we watched turned out to be the most shocking and heavy one of them all: “Sinister”, starring Ethan Hawke. The film shines because of its suspense and tension build-up and had some really big, effective jump scares. I realized that my heart rate went way up when I watched “Sinister”. Check out my review HERE .
 

Number two was a rewatch and a personal favorite for both of us: “Fright Night”. The original version from 1985, with Chris Sarandon as Jerry Dandridge. This film is not so much scary, but extremely entertaining, funny with horror elements and a great 80s throwback. It was a nice change from the heavy material we saw before. Check out my review for “Fright Night” HERE .
 

We finished with a movie I had never seen, but is one of Frank’s favorite horror movies of all-time. And I think a favorite for most horror fans: “Hellraiser”. This is scary because of the gore. It’s a body horror film with pretty disturbing and bloody images. Also very eighties. You can read my review HERE .
 

I was a fun scary movie night, with some real good scares. What did you watch on Halloween?

100 Movie Challenge 2015 - # 13: Fright Night

Director: Tom Holland

Genre: Horror/ Thriller/ Comedy

Runtime: 106 minutes

Year: 1985

Starring: Chris Sarandon, William Ragsdale, Amanda Bearse, Roddy McDowall, Stephen Geoffreys, Jonathan Stark, Dorothy Fielding, Art Evans, Stewart Stern, Nick Savage, Ernie Holmes, Heide Sorenson, Irina Irvine, Bob Corff, Pamela Brown

Description: When teenager Charley (William Ragsdale) learns that his next door neighbour Jerry (Chris Sarandon) is a vampire, no one will believe him.

Review: In the eighties horror villains like Michael Myers, Jason Voorhees and Freddy Krueger ruled the screen with their slasher movie series “Halloween” “Friday the 13th”and “Nightmare on Elm Street”. Like character Peter Vincent says in this movie: ‘Nobody wants to see vampire killers anymore, or vampires. All they want are demented madman, running around hacking up young virgins. Thank goodness for “Fright Night”, a nostalgic vampire movie for every horror fan.

Charley’s new next door neighbor, the very charming Jerry Dandridge, has strange nightly habits. Charley is a fan of the horror show ‘Fright Night’ and soon knows Jerry is a vampire. Off course no one believes him, so he calls in the help of Peter Vincent, the presenter of ‘Fright Night’ and a former actor.

“Fright Night” never really terrifies, it’s more a mocking of the vampire genre without ridiculing it. It’s a good mix of horror and comedy, which works very well. And there is enough tension.

Chris Sarandon, who also had a cameo in the remake of “Fright Night”, is the right guy to play the vampire and has that charm to enchant his victims. Williams Ragsdale convinces as Charley and the cat and mouse game between Charley and Jerry is just a joy to watch. I also liked Roddy McDowell, who plays Peter Vincent, who uses horror clichés to win over his fear for vampires.

“Fright Night” is good horror comedy, that really entertains. The love for the vampire genre is clearly present and it’s a recommendation for every fan of the genre.

Rating: 3,5/ 5