FILM FRENZY

Errol Flynn in The Adventures of Robin Hood (Photo: Warner Archive)

By Matt Brunson

(View From The Couch is a weekly column that reviews what’s new on Blu-ray, 4K and DVD. Ratings are on a four-star scale.)

THE AMAZING MR. X (1948). It may not quite be amazing, but darn if it isn’t quite good. Also known under the title The Spiritualist, The Amazing Mr. X has the feel of a Gothic thriller (even though it’s set in the present; i.e. 1948), with dashes of film noir and ghost story also tossed into the brew. Lynn Bari is Christine Faber, still mourning the death of her husband Paul (Donald Curtis) two years earlier. Her fiancé Martin (Richard Carlson) and her younger sister Janet (Cathy O’Donnell) both want her to move on with her life, but that becomes even more difficult once she starts hearing the voice of her late hubby calling out to her. She hires a charming spiritualist known as Alexis (Turhan Bey) to help her communicate with Paul, but is the clairvoyant a phony or the real deal? The mystery is compelling enough, but then the movie raises the stakes with a twist that spins the story in a new direction. Almost every scene, from the beachside interludes to the séance sessions, contributes to the ambience, thanks to John Alton’s crisp camerawork.

There are no Blu-ray extras.

Movie: ★★★

ERIN BROCKOVICH (2000). By Y2K, Julia Roberts was used to appearing in blockbusters — 1999 alone had produced two $100 million grossers in Notting Hill and Runaway Bride — but 2000 saw her headlining a commercial and critical smash, one that finally earned her a Best Actress Oscar. She’s sensational as the title character, an ill-educated, twice-divorced mother of three who bullies a rumpled attorney (Albert Finney, wonderful) into giving her a job. Working diligently, she eventually stumbles across a cover-up involving a local power plant, contaminated water, and lots of ailing residents. There’s really no reason this kind of conventional David-and-Goliath tale (based on a true story) should make for such a compelling motion picture, but director Steven Soderbergh and scripter Susannah Grant smartly mix plenty of humor and unflagging inspiration into the drama. In addition to Roberts’ victory, this scored four additional Oscar nominations for Best Picture, Director (Soderbergh won for his other 2000 triumph, Traffic), Supporting Actor (Finney), and Original Screenplay.

4K + Blu-ray extras include a half-hour of deleted scenes that help deepen the relationships between characters and fill in some plot jumps (that cold that Erin catches and loses in the blink of an eye in the theatrical version runs its full course here); a making-of featurette; and an interview with the real Erin Brockovich (who briefly appears in the movie as a waitress).

Movie: ★★★½

ERROL FLYNN 6-FILM COLLECTION (1938-1948). Time may have somewhat diminished his stature, but back in the day, Errol Flynn was as big a star as Humphrey Bogart, Bette Davis, James Cagney or any of the other formidable contract players at Warner Bros. This Blu-ray box set manages to corral several of his biggest hits, and, watching these pictures collectively, it’s easy to marvel once again at the efficiency with which Jack Warner repeatedly employed the same personnel without sacrificing any of the freshness (indeed, the old studio system begged comparison to a theatrical repertory company). Flynn could always count on strong back-up: He made 12 films with Casablanca director Michael Curtiz (including three in this set), seven with composer Erich Wolfgang Korngold, eight with leading lady Olivia de Havilland, and 13 with supporting actor Alan Hale. A rabble-rouser whose off-screen exploits proved almost as colorful as his on-screen adventures — the excesses of his lifestyle led to an early death in 1959, at the age of 50 — Flynn remains cinema’s definitive swashbuckler.

“Welcome to Sherwood, my lady!” Flynn’s best, Technicolor’s best, one of Warner’s best, and, heck, even one of Hollywood’s best — that’s the line on The Adventures of Robin Hood (1938), which also earns my vote as one of the best (or the best?) adventure movies ever made. When England’s King Richard (Ian Hunter) is captured while returning from the Crusades, his scheming brother Prince John (Claude Rains) takes charge, aided by the Sheriff of Nottingham (Melville Cooper) and Sir Guy of Gisbourne (Basil Rathbone). Determined to return the proper king to the throne, Sir Robin of Locksley (Flynn) escapes to Sherwood Forest, where, known as Robin Hood, he and his band of Merry Men proceed to make life unbearable for the usurpers. De Havilland is cast as Maid Marian, Hale co-stars as Little John, and Eugene Pallette is a temperamental Friar Tuck. The gorgeous color always reminds me of Mel Brooks’ line in History of the World: Part I — “Everything’s so green!” — and the climactic duel between Robin and Gisbourne is the stuff of movie legend. Nominated for four Academy Awards, including Best Picture, it won three: Best Film Editing, Original Score (an all-time great, courtesy of Korngold), and Art Direction. For his part, Curtiz nabbed two of the five Best Director slots that year (preceding Steven Soderbergh, as related above) for his other hits Angels With Dirty Faces and Four Daughters.

Rains, Hale, and several other Warner reliables joined Flynn for The Sea Hawk (1940), an oceanic epic that’s every bit as exciting as 1935’s Captain Blood, the movie that made the actor an overnight star (odd it’s not included in this collection). Flynn is in fine form as Geoffrey Thorpe, a British commander and leader of the patriotic “Sea Hawks” who tries to convince Queen Elizabeth (Flora Robson) that Spain has grand ambitions to conquer the entire globe — naturally enough, that would include England. Brenda Marshall pales in comparison to Flynn’s regular leading lady de Havilland, but Robson is magnificent as the Queen, rivaling Bette Davis’ spin in the role in the previous year’s The Private Lives of Elizabeth and Essex, which had co-starred — whaddaknow — Flynn as Robert Devereux, the Earl of Essex. This earned four Academy Award nominations in various technical categories, including one for Korngold’s typically robust score.

Santa Fe Trail (1940) rewrites history to an absurd degree, but what really sinks it is its standing as a racist document only slightly less offensive than The Birth of a Nation. Flynn and Ronald Reagan respectively play Jeb Stuart and George Custer, West Point buddies who spend their time wooing a railroad builder’s daughter (de Havilland) when they’re not busy pursuing abolitionist John Brown (Raymond Massey). Even contemporary scholars argue as to whether John Brown, who made it his mission to free blacks from slavery, was a saint or a madman, but this movie clearly paints him as a villain, so heinous that even his own son betrays him (not true). As for the issue of slavery, Jeb Stuart (still a hero to Southern yahoos) has a ridiculous speech where he states that it might be right and it might be wrong and who knows for sure. Because the town of Palmyra was the Western end of the Underground Railroad, it’s tagged as the “cancer of Kansas,” while the few black characters lament about how they preferred life as a slave as opposed to a free man. Considering how many Warner features from the era displayed a strong moral and social conscience, it’s somewhat startling that this came from their stable.

Despite star billing for Flynn and Ann Sheridan, the absorbing World War II drama Edge of Darkness (1943) operates like an ensemble piece, with the two performers enjoying no more screen time than many of their co-stars. It’s an atypical WWII film, unfolding as methodically as a good book while recounting the efforts of Norwegian villagers to strike back against the Nazis following the invasion of their country. The brave fisherman Gunnar Brogge (Flynn) fronts the underground movement; joining him is his girlfriend Karen (Sheridan), whose doctor father (Walter Huston) is reluctant to aid the cause, whose mother (Ruth Gordon) is clueless about what’s going on, and whose brother (John Beal) has already betrayed his countrymen once and therefore can’t be trusted. Characters move in and out of the proceedings, various subplots support the main narrative, and, until the exciting climax, the action comes in quick, short bursts.

Most of the World War II films that were produced and released during the conflict understandably leaned heavy on the propaganda. This makes Objective, Burma! (1945) seem all the more unusual and remarkable, as the jingoism is kept to a minimum in exchange for more time spent on the grueling horrors of war. Flynn delivers one of his strongest performances as Captain Nelson, who leads a group of paratroopers into Burma in order to destroy a strategically placed Japanese radio station. They succeed with no casualties, but after Japanese forces prevent them from flying out as planned, they must hoof it through hundreds of miles of enemy-infested terrain. The action is exciting, the suspense is palpable, and the story pulls no punches in depicting the brutality of war. A hit stateside, this was banned in England for seven years, as the British were outraged that the movie ignored their massive contributions during the Burma Campaign and made it seem as if the Americans were the only heroes to be found anywhere. This earned a trio of Oscar nominations, including one for Best Original Story (Alvah Bessie, later one of the blacklisted “Hollywood 10” during the HUAC / McCarthy era).

It’s not in the same league as The Adventures of Robin Hood or The Sea Hawk, but Adventures of Don Juan (1948) allowed an older Flynn to swash with buckler in hand one final time for Warner Bros. He plays Spaniard Don Juan de Maraña, whose womanizing ways are temporarily put on hold once he falls for his country’s Queen Margaret (Viveca Lindfors). She disapproves of his past scandalous behavior but changes her attitude toward him as he fights to save her crown from the treasonous Duke de Lorca (Robert Douglas). Flynn’s health was already in decline, although you wouldn’t know it from his dashing turn in this rousing period romp that paired him with Hale (cast, as usual, as his sidekick) for the 13th and final time. This earned the Best Color Costume Design Oscar, with an additional nomination for Best Color Art Direction-Set Decoration.

The Blu-ray extras for The Adventures of Robin Hood, The Sea Hawk, and Adventures of Don Juan offer “Warner Night at the Movies,” which, emulating the moviegoing experience from decades past, includes a newsreel, a short film, a cartoon, and a trailer for a different movie before the main attraction. Other extras on The Adventures of Robin Hood include film historian audio commentary; a retrospective making-of featurette; and a piece on Technicolor. Other extras on The Sea Hawk include a retrospective making-of featurette and the theatrical trailer. The only extra on Santa Fe Trail is the theatrical trailer. Extras on Edge of Darkness include the 1944 live-action Western short Gun to Gun and the 1943 Daffy Duck cartoon To Duck… or Not to Duck. Extras on Objective, Burma! include 1941’s The Tanks Are Coming, an Oscar nominee for Best Short Subject and starring George Tobias (also in Objective, Burma!) and Gig Young, and the 1943 live-action short The Rear Gunner, starring Burgess Meredith and Reagan. Other extras on Adventures of Don Juan include archival audio commentary by director Vincent Sherman and film historian Rudy Behlmer, and the theatrical trailer.

The Adventures of Robin Hood: ★★★★

The Sea Hawk: ★★★½

Santa Fe Trail: ★★

Edge of Darkness: ★★★½

Objective, Burma!: ★★★½

Adventures of Don Juan: ★★★

FRIENDSHIP (2025). Here’s an example of what’s often called “cringe comedy,” featuring a character so socially awkward that you almost can’t bear to watch. That would be Craig Waterman (Tim Robinson), who has a wife (Kate Mara) who clearly considers him a clueless clod and co-workers who mock him at every opportunity. So when local TV meteorologist Austin Carmichael (Paul Rudd) moves into the neighborhood and invites Craig to hang out with him, Craig is thrilled and they seem to bond. But when Austin later invites Craig to hang out with him and his buddies, Craig behaves in a manner that alienates everyone, including Austin. As Craig attempts to get back in Austin’s good graces, he only succeeds in making matters worse for everyone, including himself and including his piteous wife. Reminiscent of the more benign 2009 comedy I Love You, Man (also starring Rudd), Friendship examines a peculiar strain of toxic masculinity and notes how it can negatively affect other men as well as women. There’s nothing particularly deep in its observations, but the movie is packed with amusing and offbeat interludes and anchored by a fearless performance from Robinson.

Blu-ray extras include audio commentary by writer-director Andrew DeYoung, director of photographer Andy Rydzewski, and comedian Conner O’Malley (who appears in a small role); a Q&A session with DeYoung, Robinson, Rudd, and supporting player Eric Rahill; and deleted scenes.

Movie: ★★★

INVASION, U.S.A. (1952) / ROCKET ATTACK, U.S.A. (1960). Given the attentiveness of Hollywood when it came to Communism in the 1950s — the blacklisting of performers and filmmakers, HUAC cooperation by the studios — it’s perhaps surprising that the film capital didn’t make (and wasn’t forced to make) more A-list projects featuring Cold War hysteria. To be sure, plenty of Russkie-bashing films were released by the majors, but while some were merely exploitative junk, most tended to be measured and intelligent. The ones that were packed with sensationalistic scenarios were left to the minors, smaller studios that generally specialized in genre fare. This double feature from Film Masters offers two examples of Commie-fearing cheapies, although one did manage to snag a distribution deal with a major studio.

Distributed by Columbia Pictures, Invasion, U.S.A. centers on a group of ordinary citizens gathered at an NYC bar. These include a television newsman (Gerald Mohr), a businessman (Robert Bice), a farmer (Erik Blythe), a well-to-do woman (Peggie Castle), and a mysterious gentleman (Dan O’Herlihy) who mainly observes the others. Their conversations reveal a general sort of conservative selfishness and anti-government sentiments, but once the news on the TV informs them that enemy bombs are obliterating major cities and foreign troops are taking over the nation, they all realize they must support — and fight for — their country. Stuffed with stiff performances and stock footage, Invasion, U.S.A. is pretty bad, and yet it still manages to be better (and no more jingoistic) than the 1985 Chuck Norris turkey Invasion U.S.A.

It’s also a better bet than Rocket Attack, U.S.A., a truly abysmal work from the little-known Exploit Films. Peopled by actors who couldn’t even pass muster in a kindergarten play and made by filmmakers who barely know which end of the camera holds the lens, this finds a macho spy (John McKay) heading to the Soviet Union to stop the Commies from nuking America. He fails — presumably because he spends most of his time flirting with a fellow agent (Monica Davis) — so the Commies nuke America and viewers are urged to watch the skies or hug their kids or something like that.

Blu-ray extras include film historian audio commentary on both films; the 1951 short And a Voice Shall Be Heard, originally shown with Invasion, U.S.A. in some theaters and illustrating the usefulness of General Electric radios during a nuclear attack; the featurette Better Dead Than Red: Hollywood vs. Communism in the 1950’s; eight propaganda shorts from the era; and the 1990 Mystery Science Theater 3000 episode of Rocket Attack, U.S.A. (but oddly not the 1994 MST3K episode of Invasion, U.S.A.).

Invasion, U.S.A.: ★½

Rocket Attack, U.S.A.: ★

LOCKED (2025). With his lack of finances affecting both his job and quality time with his young daughter (Ashley Cartwright), small-time crook Eddie Barrish (Bill Skarsgård) decides to break into an expensive SUV he notices in a parking lot. Once inside, he finds he cannot get out, as the vehicle is being controlled remotely by William (Anthony Hopkins), a one-percenter who desires to kill a criminal as a form of catharsis. Depriving Eddie of food and water and periodically shocking him with the electrically charged seats, William rambles on while his captive audience drinks his own urine and looks for a way to break out. Beyond its thriller elements, Locked is essentially an examination of the clash between the classes, but its angle on social warfare is muddled and unconvincing, with Eddie not a very interesting protagonist and William so poorly conceived that he’s painted as a one-note villain even though a tragedy from his past should have manufactured at least a smidgen of sympathy for him. For a superior minimalist experience involving a single person spending a lengthy period of time in a car, drop the “d” and instead check out Locke (reviewed in From Screen To Stream below).

There are no DVD extras.

Movie: ★½

THE RAGE: CARRIE 2 (1999). There’s no pig’s blood, but everything else is pretty much par for the course in this unnecessary sequel to Brian De Palma’s Carrie. The 1976 original, based on the Stephen King bestseller, remains one of the great horror and great teen films of the past half-century. This mediocre follow-up is merely a pale imitation, with a strong central performance serving as scant compensation for a shriveled screenplay. Emily Bergl is fine as Rachel, a high school outcast who begins dating a sensitive jock (Jason London); his disapproving friends hatch a scheme to humiliate her, not realizing that hell hath no fury like a telekinetic woman scorned. Male viewers will collectively wince when they see the damage that a spear gun does to one guy’s nether region, but that’s about the only jolt provided by this wholly derivative film that was filmed here in Charlotte as well as at North Gaston High School in next-door Gastonia. Amy Irving returns from the 1976 original, only to be completely wasted and given a depressing send-off.

Extras in the 4K + Blu-ray edition include audio commentary by director Katt Shea; audio commentary by Shea and cinematographer Donald M. Morgan; deleted scenes; and an alternate ending.

Movie: ★½

SAVE THE TIGER (1973). Jack Lemmon won an Oscar almost right off the bat when he nabbed Best Supporting Actor for 1955’s Mister Roberts, but as he soon graduated to leading roles and created quite the portfolio, it became clear that he was too good to only have a Supporting statue on his mantle. Despite the likes of 1959’s Some Like It Hot and 1960’s The Apartment, he would have to wait until 1973’s Save the Tiger for that Best Actor victory — clearly, most voters felt he was past due, particularly since he beat iconic and enduring performances by Al Pacino (Serpico), Robert Redford (The Sting), Jack Nicholson (The Last Detail), and Marlon Brando (Last Tango in Paris). Yet while Lemmon may not have deserved the honor against such a formidable slate, he’s nevertheless commanding in a decent drama about one man’s realization that his American dream has slowly turned into an existential nightmare. Harry Stoner owns an L.A. garment company with his partner Phil Greene (Jack Gilford), but faced with a financial crisis, he considers hiring a skilled arsonist (Thayer David) to torch their warehouse for the insurance money. While he’s warming to this idea (much to the chagrin of Phil), he’s also setting up a client (Norman Burton) with an overbooked prostitute (Lara Parker) and taking time out to dally with a cheerful hippie (Laurie Heineman). In addition to Lemmon’s win, this also earned Oscar nominations for Best Supporting Actor (Gilford) and Best Original Screenplay (Steve Shagan).

Blu-ray extras include audio commentary by director John G. Avildsen and Shagan, and the theatrical trailer.

Movie: ★★★

SMOKE (1995) / BLUE IN THE FACE (1995). An important indie effort from the mid-1990s, Smoke proved to be a critical darling and, more surprisingly, a box office success (especially on the international front). Directed by Wayne Wang and written by Paul Auster, it was followed later in the year by Blue in the Face. Kino is offering both films individually or as a double feature.

The setting is 1990 Brooklyn. Cigar-store owner Auggie Wren (Harvey Keitel) is shocked to learn from a former girlfriend (Stockard Channing) that he has a now-grown daughter (Ashley Judd) who’s a foul-mouthed crackhead. Writer Paul Benjamin (William Hurt), still reeling from the murder of his wife, befriends a crafty young man (Harold Perrineau Jr.) who in turn is planning to visit a father (Forest Whitaker) he has not seen in over a decade. Like Robert Altman’s 1993 Short Cuts, Smoke uses its interlocking storylines to depict modern America as a place where it’s imperative that people tear through their veils of loneliness in an effort to make meaningful connections. And like Short Cuts, it’s a work with considerable staying power, thanks to the actors’ intuitive performances and the script’s moments of raw insight. Keitel’s superb turn dominates the proceedings, although Judd scores highly in her solo scene.

Blue in the Face was shot on the same set and at the same time as Smoke, mainly using improvisational material that was stitched together for this release. Unfortunately, it’s a massive disappointment, as inconsequential and forgettable as Smoke was influential and memorable. Keitel again plays the often curt, often philosophical Auggie, and the film is basically an experimental piece that intersperses various vignettes set in and around his shop. The haphazard approach leads to stories of varying quality, but the good bits (for instance, Auggie’s apprehension of a purse snatcher) are far outnumbered by ones that quickly wear out their welcome (e.g. a character played by Roseanne Barr complaining about her floundering marriage). The eclectic cast includes some Smoke co-stars (Giancarlo Esposito, Jared Harris, Victor Argo) as well as some newcomers (Michael J. Fox, Lily Tomlin, Madonna), but nobody makes much of an impression. As for the filmmakers’ boast that this was shot in five days, big deal — Roger Corman made The Little Shop of Horrors in two days, while the international production Russian Ark (see From Screen To Stream below) only took one day.

Extras on the Smoke / Blue in the Face double feature Blu-ray include an interview with Wang; an interview with Auster, excerpted from the 2022 film Running Away to the Circus: Paul Auster on Film; a behind-the-scenes featurette on Smoke; and an archival interview with Blue in the Face cast member Lou Reed.

Smoke: ★★★½

Blue in the Face: ★★

SUNSET BOULEVARD (1950). The best movie ever made about the film industry, Billy Wilder’s Sunset Boulevard is a dark masterpiece that’s as bilious as it is brilliant. Its opening automatically makes it legendary, as a dead body is shown floating in a swimming pool — it’s not long before it’s revealed that the corpse is that of protagonist Joe Gillis (William Holden), and that he’ll be narrating the proceedings from beyond the grave! Gloria Swanson delivers the performance of her career as Norma Desmond, a forgotten silent-cinema star living in a dilapidated mansion with her faithful butler, Max (Erich von Stroheim). Joe (Holden), a struggling screenwriter, inadvertently ends up at her home, where he goes from being the writer of her perceived comeback vehicle to serving as her kept man. Packed with classic set-pieces and shot in the shadowy style of a film noir, this is a genuine staple of cinema that still retains its freshness 75 years later. Nominated for 11 Academy Awards, including Best Picture, Actor (Holden), Actress (Swanson), Supporting Actor (von Stroheim), Supporting Actress (Nancy Olsen as Joe’s love interest), and Director, it won three: Best Story & Screenplay (Wilder, Charles Brackett, and D.M. Marshman Jr.), Original Score (Franz Waxman), and Black-and-White Art Direction-Set Decoration.

Extras in the 4K + Blu-ray + Digital Code edition include audio commentary by author Ed Sikov (On Sunset Boulevard: The Life and Times of Billy Wilder); several retrospective making-of featurettes; pieces on Swanson and Holden; and a deleted scene.

Movie: ★★★★

THE TWO JAKES (1990). “Forget it, Jake, it’s Chinatown.” This immortal line is enough to make any movie lover swoon, yet it’s just one of the countless classic bits of dialogue scripted by Oscar-winning Robert Towne for director Roman Polanski’s 1974 film noir homage Chinatown, an enduring masterpiece that has moved beyond being regarded as one of the best films of the 1970s to being hailed as one of the best films Hollywood has ever produced. Jack Nicholson, in what ranks as one of his four or five greatest performances (and that’s saying something), stars as J.J. Gittes, a private eye in 1930s Los Angeles who becomes involved in a labyrinthine plot involving murder and political corruption. Sixteen years later, Nicholson, this time as both director and star, reunited with Towne for the unjustly overlooked sequel The Two Jakes, which finds Gittes drawn into a mystery that shrewdly connects back to the events from the first picture. The link to the original film can be deduced rather easily, and by this point, Nicholson had begun slipping into the “hammy Jack” persona that would eventually inform too many of his performances — his turn as Gittes in The Two Jakes is enjoyable, but it never quite feels like the same man from Chinatown. Yet this follow-up is admirably dense in a manner that’s satisfying rather than frustrating, and co-stars Harvey Keitel and Meg Tilly are both memorable, especially in the picture’s later scenes.

Extras in the 4K + Blu-ray edition include film historian audio commentary and interviews with Nicholson and co-star David Keith.

Movie: ★★★

FROM SCREEN TO STREAM

BIG HOUSE, U.S.A. (1955). An unusual structure and an impressive cast are the key components that allow this prison flick to stand out. Boasting a screenplay by film noir vet John C. Higgins, this begins as a kidnap yarn, with ruthless small-time hood Jerry Barker (Ralph Meeker) snatching an asthmatic boy lost in a Colorado national park, knowing that the lad is the son of a wealthy industrialist (Willis B. Bouchey). The FBI in the form of Agent James Madden (Reed Hadley) takes charge of the investigation, and the action eventually switches to a prison housing hardened convicts Rollo Lamar (Broderick Crawford), Benny Kelly (Charles Bronson), Alamo Smith (Lon Chaney Jr.), and “Machine Gun” Mason (William Talman). The manner in which the movie toggles between various characters and incidents is inspired, with the park material proving to be more original than the prison escapades. The film pulls no punches in depicting the viciousness of its characters, with a couple of crimes — one performed by Jerry, the other orchestrated by Rollo — still retaining their ability to shock. Chaney was as much an underrated character actor as a major horror star, and it’s nice to see him in this picture; ditto Bronson, who had recently stopped using his birth name (Charles Buchinsky) and was beginning to rack up supporting credits on his way to international stardom. And if Talman looks familiar, he played district attorney Hamilton Burger, the perpetual adversary of Raymond Burr’s Perry Mason, on the long-running television series.

Movie: ★★★

DEADLINE – U.S.A. (1952). Although it was made nearly three-quarters of a century ago, expect to find plenty of topicality in Deadline – U.S.A., a sturdy drama about life at a big-city newspaper. From its examination of a publication that seeks to deliver relevant and hard-hitting news in the face of sensationalistic competitors to its knowing aside of how honest editors are often at odds with salesmen worried about losing advertising clients due to unfavorable coverage, the picture benefits from the experiences of writer-director Richard Brooks, who had been a New York reporter before becoming a successful filmmaker (he won an Oscar for adapting Elmer Gantry and was also behind the excellent screen versions of In Cold Blood and Cat on a Hot Tin Roof. A typically terrific Humphrey Bogart stars as Ed Hutcheson, the embattled editor of the metropolitan rag The Day. In addition to having to contend with the shocking news that the newspaper is being sold to a rival outfit (which, of course, plans to shutter its doors), he’s also urging his reporters to uncover solid evidence involving the activities of a murderous mob boss (Martin Gabel) while, on the personal front, simultaneously trying to win back the affection of his ex-wife (Kim Hunter). Bogie delivers several speeches about journalistic responsibility and integrity, although, as usual with this actor, it’s the zingers that stick in the memory (“I don’t like him. I’ll think of a reason later.”).

Movie: ★★★

GRANDVIEW, U.S.A. (1984). This theatrical flop casts C. Thomas Howell as Tim Pearson, a high school senior who develops a crush on the older Mike Cody (Jamie Lee Curtis), the owner of a local speedway where demolition derby smashups take place. The best driver competing in these events is Slam Webster (Patrick Swayze), who’s married to the unfaithful Candy (Jennifer Jason Leigh) and still yearns for Mike after all these years. In addition to her guy problems, Mike also has to contend with the fact that Tim’s father (Ramon Bieri), a local businessman and county commissioner, wants to swipe her land for his own capitalist ventures. Swayze manages to create some sympathy for his character, a hick struggling with marital and alcoholic woes, but everything else about this picture, from the tepid romantic triangle to the awkward music-video segments, barely rises above silly. Real-life siblings Joan and John Cusack appear as reel-life siblings, while former heartthrob Troy Donahue turns up as Candy’s obnoxious lover.

Movie: ★★

LOCKE (2014). Adapting such films as The Lion King, Titanic, and Ghost for the stage took some mental gymnastics, but if anyone ever elects to do likewise with Locke, the task won’t be nearly as taxing. This is basically a one-man show set within the confines of a BMW, as Tom Hardy is the only performer who merits screen time (others can be heard, playing characters on the phone). He’s Ivan Locke, a Welsh construction manager who has just left his work site late at night and is driving to London for a reason I won’t reveal here. Suffice it to say, it’s a reason that threatens to destroy everything important he has achieved in his life, from his job to his seemingly stable home life with his wife and two sons. As Locke drives as fast as he can (but ever mindful of the speed limit), he spends much of the time on the phone, whether to his spouse (voiced by Ruth Wilson), his second-in-command (Andrew Scott), or various other important people. Locke runs an efficient 85 minutes, and it’s a testament to writer-director Steven Knight’s skills that we feel we learn a lot about the characters in what out of necessity are pretty broad brushstrokes. Hardy is excellent, delivering a tightly controlled performance in this minimalist movie experience.

Movie: ★★★

RUSSIAN ARK (2002). Orson Welles’ Touch of Evil and Robert Altman’s The Player are both celebrated for lengthy opening sequences that were filmed with one continuous tracking shot, while Alfred Hitchcock’s Rope was filmed in 10-minute increments in which the camera never cuts away from the action. The limitations of the era’s equipment prevented Hitchcock from shooting the entire movie in one single take, but that stunt was finally accomplished by Russian Ark, an international production (Russia, Germany, Denmark, Canada, and Japan all lent a hand) co-written and directed by Aleksandr Sokurov. Part experimental exercise, part history lesson, this unique achievement follows an unseen narrator (Sokurov himself) who, unstuck in time, wanders around St. Petersburg’s Hermitage Museum as centuries of significant events are discussed and/or dramatized in front of him. Not for all tastes — fidgety viewers will quickly grow bored, while even its supporters may feel the oppressive weight of its voluminous fact-finding — Russian Ark works best as an exercise in sheer cinematic gumption.

Movie: ★★★