Windbreaker!

As is typically the case with his noir reviews, JimBell's take on The Narrow Margin is consistent with mine, but more eloquent.  This DVD is part of the excellent Warner Bros. Film Noir box sets (vol 2) that I gush about regularly.

This is not throwaway film noir material.  In fact, it's one of those decades-old films that will make you say "why can't they make movies like that more often today?"  A small but talented cast combined with mounting tension can make any plot enjoyable.  Like 2003's Identity, for example.  My only complaint is that Detective Brown didn't discover "Mrs. Neal's" body after the mob hood shot her in the back.  Man, that would have been killer payoff, especially if right after that Brown chases the hood who jumps off the back of the train to hook up with mob reinforcements.  It would take incredible self-control not to shoot the guy in the back, but Brown knew the Highway Patrol was en route.  But... not everyone is as  smart as me (including Richard Fleischer).

I may have to have words with Puhner over this one.  I'm not sure, but I think I saw he rated Underworld Beauty "loved it" which made me queue it up with Blockbuster Online.  I love film noir, and I'm a sucker with Asian cops & robbers flicks -- so I was intrigued by this DVD.  But in the end, I've got to say the only thing that really captivated me was the Asian kids bopping around a dance hall to American 1950s swing music, complete with bobby socks and black leather jackets.

I'm not going to complain too heavily about Sunshine, because it was a free rental.  But I wasn't thrilled with it. 

Stylish, yes.  Interesting spin on some potentially standard sci-fi subject matter, yes.  But there were so many moments you had to suspend your disbelief even within this film's universe.  I love sci-fi so it's no problem for me to accept that the entire premise of a ship flying into the sun to deliver a massive payload is plausable.  But along the way, there are ridiculous plot devices that occur only to move Alex Garland's story forward. 

Actually, let me qualify that "acceptance" statement.  I can accept that we could develop such a ship and associated hardware.  I cannot accept the idiotic idea that the end result -- an increased sun -- would benefit mankind.  It would wipe out earth.  That's part of nature's beauty -- any closer to the sun and we'd burn up... further away and we'd freeze.  It's perfect.  If the sun dies, it dies... and so do we.