KILLER JOE (2011)

A shitbag family hires a shitbag assassin to kill their shitbag ex-wife/mom.  That's not the tagline, but it could have been.  When trailer park drug dealer Chris finds out that his scumbag mom stole his dope he's all pissed off, cause if he doesn't pay his dealer back the 6 grand the drugs are worth he's gonna end up tortured and buried alive.  So what's his plan?  Hire crooked cop/assassin Joe to kill his mama so he can collect the $50,000 insurance money.  Of course, being a dumbass, he couldn't do this on his own so he ends up getting his dad, his sister and his stepmother involved.  Combined their I.Q.'s equal about 75.

The idea for KILLER JOE is alright, just alright, nothing more and in the right hands it could have ended up awesome, but in the hands of William Friedkin it ended up only so-so.  While I was watching it I was mildly amused, but it was predictable and I'd never watch it again.  If you need me I'll be in my room watching WILD AT HEART.

Nude scene

 I've lived my entire life in Texas and I ain't never heard anybody call KFC "K-Fry-C".  

 Poorly disguised fire sprinkler pipes.

THE GREENE MURDER CASE (1929)

Detective Philo Vance's next case after THE CANARY MURDER CASE finds William Powell once again taking on a murder mystery that the police appear to be stumped on.  The scene of the crime is a mansion full of Greene family members and their servants.  During the night, two of the family members were shot, one fatally.  The police believe it's just a robbery gone bad, but Powell thinks there's more to it than meets the eye.

Although TGMC was made the same year as TCMC everything about it is an improvement.  The acting is better, the sets look nice, the pace is quick, the mystery is pretty light-weight, but still enjoyable enough.

I can't imagine that modern day audiences would have any interest whatsoever in something like THE GREENE MURDER CASE, but if you do then it's worth checking out if only to see an early talkie of William Powell, Jean Arthur and Eugene Pallette.

MR. LUCKY (1943)

Hmmm, well this was kinda disappointing .  With the title MR. LUCKY I was expecting a screwball comedy about a guy who wins the lottery and then has problems finding out if the cute girl he just met is into him or just his money...or something like that.  Instead, MR. LUCKY has Cary Grant as a tough guy gangster (haha...I've never thought of Cary Grant as tough) who's running an illegal gambling set up.  The law is making things tough for him so he gets involved with a War Relief group in hopes that they'll help him set up a big time charity event and then before they know what's going on he'll split with the $200,000.   That's pretty fucking low, but naturally he has a change of heart when he starts to fall for the chick who's running the joint, Laraine Day.  Yawn.

As much as I like the two leads I had a hard time getting through this film.  The story is depressing, the romantic stuff is just ridiculous and the pacing is murder.  I have zero desire to ever watch this ever again.  If you need me I'll be in my room watching THE AWFUL TRUTH or BRINGING UP BABY or both!