In Like Flint (1967)

 Sequel to 1966's "spy fi" comedy adventure 'Our Man Flint', 'In Like Flint' features star James Coburn's return to the role of playboy, jack-of-all-trades master spy Derek Flint. Both films did very well for 20th Century Fox at the box office but Coburn felt done with the character after two outings, so save for an abortive TV pilot with a different cast no more Flint films were ever made. Still the Flint movies were probably the sharpest of the various James Bond imitators of the time, ably balancing legit mystery and adventure with parody elements.

The villians of the first film were, and this will sound weird, 'well meaning misogynists', so this film goes the other way with a radical feminist conspiracy containing lesbian undertones. However the wicked ladies are double crossed when the military men they were working with reveal their intentions to start a world dominating dictatorship with aid of an orbital weapons platform.

Coburn is great as always and Jean Hale is lovely to look at as Flint's primary love interst (with "Batgirl" Yvonne Craig also lovely as the secondary love interest). Yet both films greatest asset and key to grounding the property to some realism and pathos is Lee J. Cobb as Flint's boss Camden, he's given more to do this film and we see he and Flint's relationship mature from the more antagonistic dynamic of the first movie, it would have been interesting to see where they would have taken this had subsequent films been made. Andrew Dugan is also good as the Eisenhower/Johnson mash up president and his vainglorious imposter. Both movies are similar levels of good, this one being probably a little better made and a little less fun. ***

The Killers (1964)

 Director Don Siegel's 1964 version of 'The Killers' does a significant rework of the 1946 Robert Sidomak version and all but omits any cary over from the 1927 short story by Ernest Hemingway. The original story was very specifically set in Illinois, the 46 version moves the action to Pennsylvania/ New Jersey and the 64 take roams from Florida to California. Our leads now John Cassavettes, the Scandinavian angle is dropped and he's a racecar driver rather then a boxer. The shadowy noir look is gone, this is brightly lit and in color.

Originally intended as the first TV movie, NBC passed deaming it too violent, the honor of first TV movie went to something called 'See How They Run', which appears to be a thriller, stars John Forsythe and features future 'Naked Gun' co-stars Leslie Neilson amd George Kennedy. 

'The Killers' has Lee Marvin and Clu Gulager as the titular killers, Angie Dickinson as the femme fatal and TV's Mr. Roper as another badie. Of particular note is Ronald Reagan in his last feature film role, its also the first (and obviously only) time he played a bad guy on screen (politics not withstanding). Like John Wayne and Edward G. Robinson, Reagan gets to die on screen in his final role.

This is a solid, exciting picture that punches above its pay grade and while not as good as the 46 version it's still more then watchable and has a couple of solid action sequences. A high perctange of lead characters die so I get why NBC passed at the time, JFK having been killed while the film was in production, this has multiple gun deaths, including by sharp shooter, and probably wouldn't have played well as prime time family viewing. ***

The Killers (1946)

1946's 'The Killers' is an adaption and expansion on the 1927 short story of the same name by Ernest Hemingway. Only about the first 15 minutes of the film is directly from the short story, which is really short. Two strangers come to a small town to murder a 'keeps to himself gas station attendant', as part of their plan they briefly take over the diner where their target eats most every night. The story drops hints as to the targets criminal past, German born director Robert Sidomak expand the story into more of a film noir, a genra he'd work alot in thereafter, having worked his way up from horror and adventure films at Universal.

The story is presented in a formate similar to that of 'Citizen Kane', here an insurance investigator played by Edmond O'Brian tracks down the middle aged Atlantic City hotel maid who the victiam, played by a 32 year old Burt Lancaster in his screen debut, left his $2,500 (roughly $38,000 in today's dollars) insurance death benefit to. Turns out the maid had stopped him from committing suicide 6 years previous. 

O'Brian meets and interviews various people who knew Lancaster and gets parts of the man's story which are told in flashback. Eventually he connects Lancaster to a pay roll robbery 6 years before and finds that the lynchpin to cracking that case is a femme fatale played by Ava Gardner. Solid, engaging, and very well told, it's a step above on nearly every level. ***1/2

Lighting Over Water (1980)

 When German director Wim Wenders came to America he wanted to meet the director Sam Fuller, Wenders meet Fuller and he also meet Nicholas Ray, both Americans had reputations as tough, working men directors, often constrained by budget but with autorist leanings. While Wim liked Fuller, he clicked with Ray, they became fast friends and colaborters, Ray would appear as an actor in Wenders 'The American Friend' and together they would work both behind and in front of the camera in 'Lighting Over Water'.

The two had decided they wanted to co-direct a film together, they had some lose ideas but then Ray got cancer and the film morphed into a highly metatextual work with both directors playing themselves. The film is meandering, improvisory. What story there is concerns Wenders coming to visit Ray at his home in New York, knowing him to be dying they talk, play backgammon, Ray gives a lecture at Vassar, rehearses an actor for a play he'll never see, tinkers with the editing on his unwieldy final film 'We Can't Go Home Again', then he checks into the hospital and dies.

The director Elia Kazan, who had been a friend of Ray's since the 1930's, records in his memorie going to visit Ray in the hospital shortly before his death in 1979. He was disgusted to see Ray's hospital room full of filming equipment, Ray was essentially trying to direct his own death; Kazan was mad at Wenders for permitting this, on further reflection however Kazan realized that this is indeed how Ray would want to go out, a commited filmmaker to the very end.

The finished product, releassed the year after Ray's passing, is understandably unfocused and self indulgent. As a "movie" it's not very good but as a "film" it's documentation worth having around. The interactions with Ray's family are particularly interesting, Ray's cinematographer son Tim is constantly about and there is a scene where Ray's soon to be widow Susan, 40 years her husband's junior, is just watching him talking with one of his grown daughters and it's the emotional highlight of the film to me, she says no words but says so much.

Still 'Lighting Over Water' is mostly a mess and I often had a hard time paying attention. So again while this is worthy as a document, as an engaging watch it is mostly wanting. **

To Catch a Killer (2023)

 The unimaginatively titled 'To Catch A Killer' is a welcome throwback, a lean, straightforward investigative procedural. The most recent film this reminded me of was 'The Little Things' (2021), only there the nostaliga was more overt with its early 90's setting. 'To Catch a Killer' has a contemporary setting, explicitly post Covid, it's a variant on the 'Silence of the Lambs' type investigative thriller with a psychological edge, here with some 21st century cultural markers, gay marriage, survilance state, Proud Boy's types etc.

Set in Baltimore, a mass shooter has killed 29 people under cover of a New Years  fireworks display. Ben Mendelshon is leading the FBI task force, his right hand man is Jovan Adepo. Shailene Woodley is a beat cop who happens to be at a crime scene and later at a briefing that Mendelshon is giving, she demonstrates an unusual perceptivness as to the shooters apparent psychology, this owing to her own traumatic childhood. Sensing raw talent Mendelshon recruits her as his liaison with Baltimore PD and as an assistant, he wants to mentor her, Woodley at first fears he wants to sleep with her, he dosen't, he's in a commited homosexual marriage.

Mendelshon and crew continue their investigation in the face of more shootings, false leads and beurocratc second guessing. This is solid, in my book as long as the mystery is at least somewhat interesting and the lead characters likable, it's hard to go wrong with this kind of story telling. I have some minor issues with the ending and one or two other things but on the whole I enjoyed this well put together film. Like 'The Little Things' critics have been luke warm to it, but I'd give it a solid ***

One Church (2016)

 What made me curious about 'One Church' was the presence of Jessica Lynch in the cast. Twenty years ago the story of private Jessica Lynch, her capture and rescue from behind enemy lines, was a major "feel good" story of the early days of America's Second Iraq War. I vaugly recall Ms. Lynch publicly expressing an interest in being an actress, on Imdb she has 5 acting credits, all between 2015 & 2017, then a music video appernece in 2021.

The title of the film and the poster image of a generic looking protestant church suggested to me a movie about various goings on within a single congregation, but 'One Church' is an apocalypse lite conspiracy theory film that Marjorie Taylor Green might get behind. Jessica Lynch plays the daughter of an American president, who embittered by an elder daughters death in a cult suicide 18 years earlier, is pushing legislation to essentially nationalize all Churchs. This plays into a perennial motif of a church of the devil which goes hand in hand with evil world government stuff; the movie has neither the budget or talent to pull it's conceit off well, instead it just seems silly and cheap.

Poorly acted (sorry Jessica) and mostly a slog, there is still some charm to its rediculusness. Lynch's lack of secret service protection and central role in "the resistance" is a howler if you think about it. Because of budgetary reasons nothing looks high end, even the White House interior is a suburban home. Nearly everyone in the country is complelty unconcerned with internment camps and the roll back of nearly all religious liberties. Where is the Supreme Court? How in a country of such division are one worlders getting elected uniformly to congress? This religion hating president is supposed to be a Republican? Such leaps, but in the worldview that underlies this production people are  unthinking sheep because they have to be for the far fatched paranoid plot to work. Sadly many people see the things postulated in this fairly stupid movie as not just possible but probably inevitable. *1/2

Born to be Bad (1950)

 Of this film director Nicholas Ray would remark late in life, "'Born to be Bad' and it was." A studio assignment early in Ray's tenure 'Born to be Bad' was based on a best selling book of the 1920's which RKO had twice before attempted to turn into a movie, but it had fallen apart in pre production both times. The intent was to use the property as a vehical for Joan Fontaine, who owed the studio one movie from an expiring contract. Fontaine asked RKO producer John Houseman (a former boyfriend) to recommend a hot new director at the studio, Housman recommended his friend Nic Ray and after Fontaine screened his then still unreleased first picture 'They Live by Night' she agreed.

However Nic and Joan never clicked on set, not uncommon for Ray who tended to forge close connections to his male leads and more or less ignore the women, making him a kind of anti-George Cukor. Ray would gain one of his more frequent collaborators actor Robert Ryan in making this film.

The story, a melodrama about an innocent looking woman (Fontaine) who subtly manipulates those around her, stringing along Ryan and breaking up Joan Leslie and Zachary Scott's engagement, is not a great fit for Ray. The film dosen't play to the directors strengths, ironically cheif among these was making non sympathetic characters sympathetic, the opposite of what he was asked to do here.

I did not enjoy this film, nobody was really likable and nothing very interesting happens. There is a gag with twins at an art show which would be forgettable in most any other film, but here is tragically one of the highlights. *1/2

Suzume (2022)

The anime film 'Suzume' tells the story of Suzume, a high school junior living with the aunt who raised her in southern Japan. One day while biking to school Suzume meets a handsome stranger looking for a near by abandoned villiage. It turns out that he is a "closer", a kind of wizard priest who ceremonialy returns once peopled places to the ancient gods and seals doorways to "the ever after" to keep out a giant demon worm who causes earthquakes. 

Suzume unwittingly interferes releasing a cat guardian spirit who transforms the closer into a walking, talking childrens chair missing a leg. The two embark on a cross country journey north, chasing the cat towards Tokyo, closing portals and making friends along the way, and that's only about the first 60% of the film.

This very Japanese kind of story is adapted from a book and very loosely inspired by some Shinto myths. It's director Makato Shinkai has made a number of films including 'Your Name' which came out back in 2016 and which I also rather liked. Makato may well be the new Miyazaki, he is very skilled with both world building and crafting engaging characters. I will try and seek out his stuff in the future.

This movie has done extremly well, 96% on Rotten Tomatos, a 7.8 on Imdb and is now the 4th biggest domestic hit in the history of the Japanses box office. The film is very engaging, visually, character and story wise, boasts some strong poignant moments and a soundtrack featuring Japanese pop hits of the 70's to 90's. That the films principle love interests are a 16 year old girl and a grad student, well at least it dosen't go beyound kissing. Still I really enjoyed this and the film does a good job of telling a character wrap up epilogue story in the closing credits. ****

Film Stars Don't Die in Liverpool (2017)

 Gloria Graham is probably best rememberd by modern audiances, to the extent they are aware of her at all, as Violet Bick in 'It's a Wonderful Life'. Graham, considerd a great beauty in her time had a decades long film and stage career, was twice nominated for an Oscar and won once. She also had an unusually scandalous personal life, including 4 marriages, two of which were with a father/son pair, with her 4th husband being her first sons half brother.

'Film Stars Don't Die in Liverpool' tells the story of a late in life romance Graham had with English actor Peter Turner, 30 years her junior. Jamie Bell does a good job as Turner and Annette Bening manages to convey what made Gloria beguiling, even as she got on in years and even as her behavior could be erratic. This movie managed to get a good 40 minutes of interest out of me, problem is its an hour and 45 minutes long.

While the two central performanes are strong they are also better then the movie they are in. The melodrama got plodding and overly streached out, there wasn't really a full movie worth of stuff there, I got bored. There is a clever late in film revel that then goes back to show us some earlier events from a different perspective, kudos to that but it wasn't enough to save the film. **

Destination Moon (1950)

George Pal was probably the best known and most financially successful sci-fi/ fantasy producer of his time; while best remembered for the 1953 'War of the Worlds' and 1960 'The Time Machine' his most significant film was probably 'Destination Moon'. Financally it made $5 million world wide off a budget of just under $600,000, but that impressive return is not why it's important, it's important because it was probably the first science fiction film to take the science seriously.

Pal wanted to make a film about the first moon landing that was as releastic and scientifically accurate as he could make it. On a technical level what is shown is not that different from the Apollo program and the real moon landing of 19 years later. The differences however are fun, Pal's moon mission, while also rooted in fears of the Russians getting there first, is privately financed and launched from the desert. A full rocket makes the whole trip there and back and the crew of four use magnetic boots to get around inside. Once on the moon the mission leader claims it for the United States of America, largest land grab in history.

The characters are hardly characters, save the one with the Brooklyn accent, this is a story of human achivment not of human characters. The crew encounter technical problems necessitating a space walk in route, they also have some difficulty getting back and have to dump most of their stuff on the lunar surfice in order to achieve lift off. Included in that refuse are their multicolored space suites.

The film looks fairly neat, bright colors, effects that have dated and Woody Woodpecker makes an appearance in a film within the film intended to explain the science to would be investors. The story, acting, most of the action, dead dull. Like its crew however the film still goes where no one had gone before, at 91 minutes it remains just watchable. **

The Pope's Exorcist (2023)

I might say "spoilers" but it's not the kind of movie you can really spoil.

Some years ago I read an artical about an exorcism confrence, it's weird to think of a conference were exocrists get together and talk about their craft, technique, tools of the trade and presumably recent developments in the field. A featured speaker was Manuel Acuna, the prefered exocrist of Pope Francis during his Argentine days, something of a controversial choice. given that Acuna is a Lutherian. Upon papel elevation Francis would inherated as official exocrist of the Diocese of Rome Father Gabriele Amoroth, who had served his two immediate predecessors and would hold the position from 1986 until his death in 2016 at age 91, he had purportedly performed thousands of exocrisims.

'The Pope's Exocrist' is based losley on two of Amoroth's longer writings, as his character tells an associate upon learning he has only read his articals "the books are good", a joke that will ocure more then once in the movie. The real Amoroth was apparently something of a jokester, I image his a profession in which the ability to ease tension is particularly helpful psychologically, or even practically as he also informs us that the devil hates jokes.

Amoroth is played by Russell Crowe, his performance fits well the strangely balanced tone of the piece. This movie plays things, even kind of ridiculous things, mostly straight, while it takes it demons seriously it's dosen't take its self too much so. Set in the summer of 1987 the plot is principally concerned with the exorcism of a young American boy (Peter DeSouza-Feighoney) living with his sister (Laural Marsden) and widowed mother (Alex Essoe) in Spain, specifically a recently inherited former abby they are in the process of renovating. The abby of course has a dark history, which gets into Dan Brown territory, and is home to one of Satan's 200 top demons. Gabriele enlists the young local priest (Daniel Zovatto) to assist him in his fight against evil, and along with the boys family they must all learn to fight personal inner demons in order to fight a real physical demon.

As mentioned before the film does an impressive job of balancing its various elements, it is neither too serious or too silly; it has roots in classic's of the genre like 1973's ' The Exocrist', but also it's knock-offs, Dan Brown fare and even Universal's abortive 'Dark Universe' (yes Crowe was in the Tom Cruse 'Mummy movie), ending by telling us that Father's Amoroth and Esquibel have begun their hunt for the Devils 199 other lieutenants.

So I liked it, have gone back and forth a bit on how to rate it but have decided to go with a full *** rather then **1/2, because while it ain't deep or groundbreaking, it is unexpectedly well executed and consistently entertaing. For those who might be wondering a Pope does make an apperence in this movie, though rather then the period correct John Paul II its a fictional Pope played by Italin B movie legend Franco Nero, the original Django himself, the devil hadn't a chance.

Bitter Victory (1958)

 Along with 'Wind Across the Everglades' which came out the same year and 'The Savage Innocents' which came out in 1960, 'Bitter Victory' is part of Nicholas Ray's "location trilogy", grouling shoots afar a field resulting in films of mixed reputation.

Adapted (losley?) from the French novel of the same name and set in North Africa during the Second World War, it tells the story of a group of British imperial solders who successfuly raid intellegence information from a German headquarters, but find returning to safety across the Libyan desert to have a high attrition rate.

Central to the story is a love triangle between Richard Burton, Ruth Roman and Curd Jurgans. Burton and Roman had been lovers before the war, Ruth's now husband Jurgans finds out about it and dosen't like it. The two men are to lead the mission together, Jurgans a major is the superior officer, but Burton an archeologist before the war knows the country and speaks the language. Burton brings an old friend and bedoin guide along (Raymond Pellegrin) and director Ray did intend the homosexual subtext in that relationship, a bit daring for the time.

The most puzzling thing about the film is the casting of the German Jurgans as leader of the Allied solders; he could only mask his accent so much so they made his character South African as a sort of cover. Still one of the chief pleasures of the film is when Jurgans and Burton harp on each other, the career military man shows some cowardice in the field and is bailed out by the intellectual enlistie, who won't let him forget it 

The film looks beautiful, a sharp black and white in wide cinemascope it soaks up the desert and some local flavor when the team is in Bengazi. I really enjoyed the score by Frenchmen Maurice Le Roux, he never did an American movie so his sound is European not Hollywood, this film was largely French financed which explains his presence. Still the film is uneven, it takes too long to start and has too many slow bits, but there are parts that work extremly well, Burton espically is top of his game. The supporting cast is fine with Christopher Lee a stand out as a very competent solder. The sour ending works better then I'd have expected. ***

 Lately I've been watching these 'In the Line of Duty' movies on Prime. These are a lose series of TV movies NBC made between 1988 and 1997. They each cover then recentish true crime stories and the role various law enforcement organizations played in resolving the case. 

The quality ranges from pretty good to kind of bad, they are mostly of interest for the number of recognizable names and faces that show up in them, Samuel L. Jackson, Rod Steiger, Alan Arkin, Melissa Leo ect. Someone could ask me "Nate, with all the political correctness and wokeism in the world now could the networks get away with making movies that so positively depict law enforcement today?" Well I'm affraid my answer would have to be no, because the networks don't make TV movies anymore.

In A Lonly Place (1950)

 While containing mystery and nourish plot elements 'In A Lonely Place' is really about a couple, who while they genuinely love each other, simpley should not be together. In the hands of director Nicholas Ray this is a very meta movie. Ray's surragate Dixon Steel (played by Humphrey Bogart) is a screenwriter (as opposed to a director) in the process of very loosely adapting a novel; 'In A Lonely Place' is also very loosley adapted from its source material. Ray directs his then wife Gloria Graham in the story of a doomed relationship even while their own real marriage was falling apart. While the two remained very professional onset they seperated mid filming, with Ray moving into the set of Bogarts apartment, its self modeled on Ray's former home at the Chateau Marmont.

Steel is suspected in the death of a young woman who was last seen in his company, Graham is Steel's new neighbor Laurel Gray, an aspiring actress who provides his alabi. Laurel did legtimelty see him bid his ill fated visitor goodbye and then return to his bungalow, but as she went to bed shortly there after she can't be sure he didn't leave. She wants to believe he's innocent, the two are very quickly taken with each other, becoming nearly inseparable, they talk of marriage. Yet an impulsive and quick to anger part of Dixon is becoming increasingly noticeable to Laurel, doubts start to form and do battle with her love. Steel starts to pick up on this vibe, which only quickness his anger. They are both 'in a lonely place' and sooner or later somethings going to give.

Bogart gives a solid performance and Graham does some of her best work here. Film's in which Ray has a large amount of control over the supporting casting tend to be better then those where he dosen't; the directors instincts in this regard tend to run a little out of the box, old friends, lesser knowns, has beens and non professionals. Art Smith and Robert Warwick have memorable turns, black jazz singer Hadda Brooks has multiple scenes, and Frank Lovejoy makes good of the part of Dixon's old war buddy now investigating him for murder.

The film plays a little off kilter for a movie of its time, it's both airy and tight, not alot happens on the surface but the subtext is almost crowded. Dixon's anger is erratic and intense, scary in a way a typical movie tough of the era was not. We know he has an artists soul, we know he lives rigorously by an internal code but we come to know increasingly as the film progresses that he is capable of murder, though the movie wisely waits until the last minute to tell us if he killed the girl or not. 

Solid and understated, at times this movie feels more like something out of the "New Hollywood" of the 1970's then a product of the old studio system. The film is small in scale and the story ultimately not that deep, but the execution is artful and the cast turns in a handful of really engaging performaces. Ray is on game behind the camera even as his life beyound it was falling apart.  ***

Alice, Sweet Alice (1976)

 There is more going on here then in your typical slasher. Released under various titles, 'Communion', 'Holy Terror', and most famously 'Alice, Sweet Alice', it has been said this is a movie only an angry ex Catholic could make.

A passion project of its co-writer and director Alfred Sole (1943-2022), the film was made early in his career, and though it shows great promise Sole did not go on to do much more directing. David would do some director for hire work but would spend much of his Hollywood career in production design and there mostly in television, he is the credited production designer on nearly every episode of 'Veronica Mars' and 'Castle'.

The production design on 'Alice' is rather strong, espically on its independtly financed budget of $350,000. Sole was a trained architect and working in the field of building restoration as he started the film, as a result he got some great locations inside and around older buildings in various states of repair. Filmed and set in his decaying home town of Patterson, New Jersey, I was about 20 minutes in before it dawned on me that this was a period piece. The film is set in 1961 and that presumably so it could depict the pre Vatican Two Catholicism in which the director was raised.

A 10 year old Brooke Shields in her screen debut plays Karen Spages, the advertising of later releasses emphasized her presence but she's not in it that much, her character is murdered, strangled and then set aflame moments before her first communion. Suspicison naturally falls on her older sister Alice (Paula Sheppard), who was not in the chapel where she was supposed to be at the time of the murder, is a somewhat cruel child and is seen to be jelouse of her favored younger sibling.

Alice is known to act out, she is copping, or trying to with the absence of her father. Though the backstory is never spelled out in great detail "Dom" Spages (Niles McMaster), left the family and church in the recent past and remarried. The mother (Linda Miller, daughter of television Legend Jackie Gleason) remains defiantly Catholic. Alice is surrounded mostly by Catholics and they are mostly unsympathetic to her, difficult child as she is. Even Father Tom (Rudolph Willrich), the most likable and benign Catholic presence in the movie clearly favored Karen to Alice.

The film deals with the drama of an already shattered family trying to cope amid tragedy. "Dom" comes back for his daughter's funneral, trys to comfort his surviving daughter and also solve the mystery of the killers identity. There are further attacks, stabbings, Alice remains under suspecision and is remanded to the custody of mental health professionals who like seemingly everyone else in her life fail her. Director Sole said he wanted Alice to be depicted as a troublesd girl, an adolcent (She's supposed to be around 12 but the actress who plays her was 19, though dosen't look it at all) on the brink, who could seemingly go either way in life.

Minor spoilers

Alice turns out to not be the real killer, that person turns out to be a character we know from other contexts and this persons motivations are perversely religious. Unreleted to all this we also have a pedophile residing in Alice's building, he makes some trouble and is played by the obese and slimy Alphonso DeNoble, who was working as a bouncer in a gay night club at the time this movie was made. DeNoble would go on to have a short film career in a couple of other horror movies before dying in his early thirties. Lillian Roth, a notorious actress in her own right, also has a small role as a police pathologist.

'Alice, Sweet Alice' is a moody, horror- thriller-family-drama, a strange hybrid of a film whose distinctive look, amateur detective verses killer story line, as well as themes of religion, decay and hidden truths have caused it to be referred to as an American 'Giallo film'. It's a diamond in the rough piece of cinema, which hints at a potential autor filmmaker whose career sadly never realized. ***

Boom Town (1940)

 Clark Gable and Spencer Tracey are frienemie oil wildcaters in the 1910's and 20's. Their fortunes go up and down, they both like Claudet Colbert, Tracy bows out but then Hedy Lamarr shows up in the second half to tempt Gable. Gable and Colbert's second teaming, Gable and Tracey's third; yet I don't think it works, it's cliche and takes too much for granted. Critics were midling on it but audiences approved, big hit, $5 million off $1.6. **