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THE SQUEEZE 1977 Michael Apted
When it comes to criminally under rated British movies then they do not come much more under rated than Micheal Apted's The Squeeze,other wise why hasn't it had a decent uk release yet,?? and considering the high cult appeal the likes of The Sweeney and Sidney Lumets The Offence have ,you would think it would have a certain cult appeal,especially if you enjoy everything from The Performance to The Long Good Friday.And if that was not enough the screenplay was by Minder creator Leon Griffiths,directed by Michael Apted and starring a feast of British talent including David Hemmings,Edward Fox and er Freddie Starr,(who it has has to be said does a good job.of basically being a more mellow version of his hyperactive tv persona that was). And of course not forgetting the rather marvellous Stacy Keach as an alcoholic ex -police detective who while he isn't throwing up all over himself he is being humiliated by the local gangsters and made to walk home naked with only a shoe to cover his pride. Keach is on top form in the role Jim Naboth an ex-copper with more than his share of inner demons to contend with,alcohol being the main one,which caused him to be sacked and see the break up of his family.My only gripe with Keach's performance is that his accent does waver into something which sounds a little bit Aussie to me,but apart from that its a very convincing portrayal of a man tottering on the edge of despair at times.Of course no gangster film is complete without its villains,the main one being Irish hood Stephen Boyd as Vic and leader of the kidnapping gang David Hemmings as Keith,while both actors are good,Hemmings is masterful in the role as head gang member and manages to be charismatic and sinister in equal measures.Another highlight is an early appearance of hard man for hire Alan Ford,who must have been in every British gangster film since the 1970's.The plot is a fairly straight forward kidnap story,the twist being that the kidnapped woman Carol White as Jill,is Edward Fox's missus,but was also Keach's (Naboth) ex wife as well.If your like me,one of the fun things about British films from the 1970's is seeing all the locations from the past and comparing them to the present day,and The Squeeze uses some marvellous run down areas of London,especially the scenes where the daughter of Jill has been dumped inside a disused factory to die.A truly gripping thriller .
__________________ Always forgive your enemies, nothing annoys them so much.. Last edited by Inspector Abberline; 1st March 2017 at 09:37 PM. |
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I watched Logan this morning and I know it's no "cult" film like I Drink Your Blood but damn this was a superb film. I mean it too, superb is the word I'm going with here. It's brutally violent and bloody, full of anger and foul language but with a tenderness and heart that just hasn't been present in previous X-Men universe films. The basic premise, for those that haven't got round to reading up on it yet, is that Logan is in hiding and looking after Professor X, who's not very well. They're both losing their mutant abilities and thing's aren't great for Logan, he's not a happy wolf and he just wants to die. Things get worse when he's found by a young girl who needs his help.... trouble ensues. It is dark, moody and just entirely different to any other superhero film released so far, it has real maturity and an unsettling mood that's unique, yet refreshing to see. It is without a doubt Hugh Jackmans finest performance yet, it now tops Prisoners as my favourite of his. Patrick Stewart is incredible too, as always, the relationship between their characters is full of love, loathe and brilliant banter. In fact this film is certainly funnier than I expected (not in a jokey kind of way by throwing in jokes for the sake of trying to get a jarring giggle from the audience, but real life humour.) I hope that makes sense to you all. It's funny because it's real, real conversations with family and friends can at times be funny and that natural humour works so well and actually compliments the dark mood and tone of most of the film. The cinematography is gorgeous at times and the special effects were brilliant too, used sparingly aswell so they felt natural and definitely not overused. Did I mention the violence? Oh it was brutal, so much blood and dismemberment, was just too damn good. I was wincing and cheering at the same time. The action scenes were shot and choreographed really effectively and it wasnt just one second cuts with shakey cam like most modern films, this was much more "John Wick" than your average blockbuster. You see the violence close and with full effect, no unnecessary cutaways here my friends. To be honest there really wasn't anything negative I can say about this film at the moment, I can't think of anything that annoyed or confused me that would warrant a reduction in its score so I'm going to have to give this a 5 out of 5. I may be too generous but I'm in that mood because I'm still thinking about this film 8 hours later and I'm still smiling about it. Although I have to admit it wasn't all smiles whilst watching, I will admit that I cried once.... or twice.... okay okay okay, three times then. I'm a sensitive guy people, give me a break Sent from my HTC One using Tapatalk
__________________ A Night of living terror led to a Dawn of false hope but nothing before will prepare you for the darkest Day the world has ever known Check out my wife and I's new travel blog www.wepackedourbags.com My entire Blu Collection for sale: https://www.cult-labs.com/forums/dvd...tion-sale.html |
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