SNOWPIERCER (2013)

"I believe it is easier for people to survive on this train if they have some level of insanity."

Set in 2031, SNOWPIERCER tells about how way back in ye olde 2014 countries all over the world purposely released some climate engineering shit into the atmosphere in hopes of counteracting the rising temperatures...it worked.  It worked so well, in fact, that it created another ice age and nearly killed all life on Earth.  D'oh!

Nobody knows how many people survived in underground bunkers or caves.  SNOWPIERCER only tells story of a large group of survivors on a massive train that drives around all over the planet nonstop.  Now the logistics of a train driving fast as shit, nonstop for 17 years busting through mountains of snow and walls of ice is completely ridiculous, but whatever.  The entire movie is filmed in a kinda vague, surrealistic way so I don't think reality was what the filmmakers were going for.  I think SNOWPIERCER is more about style.

As such, it succeeds.  The story is about the inhabitants on the back of the train (the "slum" area) getting sick and tired of their living conditions, so they revolt and start making their way to the front of the train.  All kinds of hip imagery and fight scenes follow.  If you don't put too much stock into the story and just enjoy the ride, SNOWPIERCER is an enjoyable ride.  The fight scenes could have been more brutal, but I definitely got a SALO, OR THE 120 DAYS OF SODOM vibe a few times (the woman in the yellow jacket scene and the look on Tilda Swinton's face during the night vision scene) so that was a good thing.

Quick pace, good acting (I especially liked Alison Pill as the tripped out school teacher...eyes all rolling back in her head with psychotic fervor), plot holes galore, under use of Kang-ho Song, exciting action scenes that look good but lack any real violence, good lighting, unsatisfying ending.

For what it is, SNOWPIERCER is a fun film.  I would really like to see a ultra-gritty video game version. [Update 2021: The Snowpiercer level on Hitman III is dope!]

Worth a watch.

BETWEEN MIDNIGHT AND DAWN (1950)

Pre-dating "Dragnet" (the TV show, not the radio version) BETWEEN MIDNIGHT AND DAWN is an alright early police buddy cop film.   Patrol car coppers Edmond O'Brien and Mark Stevens do everything together: work together, live together and even romance the same woman.  That's kinda strange, but entire feel to BMAD is strange.  It's almost like two films were awkwardly crammed into one film.  On the one hand you have the goofy antics of O'Brien and Stevens trying to pick up radio operator Gale Storm and then on the other hand you have the violent story of the police versus a local gangster.  The gangster story is interesting, but the comedy stuff is badly dated.

Average acting, well-filmed car chase, very little tension, weak romance angle, dated humor, nice lighting, informative procedural scenes.  It was interesting to see an earlier Edmond O'Brien film, but I doubt I'll ever watch it again.  If you're limited on time, I'd watch D.O.A. or 711 OCEAN DRIVE instead.

CRY DANGER (1951)

The directorial debut of Robert Parrish finds Dick Powell getting a questionable early release from prison.  He'd been sent up for robbery, but it seems that the $100,000 he supposedly stole has never been found...so you can probably guess that his release wasn't due to good behavior.  Now Powell is looking for the person or people who framed him, while at the same time bunch of other people (including the police) tracking Powell in hopes that he'll lead them to the dough he supposedly has hidden somewhere.

The story isn't that original, (although it's a good one that I always enjoy seeing, most recently in ZIFT) but the main thing that will catch your attention is the non-stop wisecrack dialogue told in a deadpan way by serious characters!  At first you kinda smirk but then you realize that it's not stopping and it's brilliant.  I have absolutely no idea what possessed screenwriter William Bowers to write the dialogue in such a way, but I'm glad he did it cause it really livens up the movie.  Solid acting, quick pace, excellent dialogue that is a non-stop delight, beautiful shots of Los Angeles, good direction, brief appearances by a young Kathleen Freeman and one of the longest two-door cars I've ever seen in my life!  Recommended for classic film lovers.

Why does he have his seat pulled up that far?!