‘Movie Corner’ Archives
Movie corner Bold whodunit from Denmark
By HOWARD McQUITTER II oldschoolmovies.wordpress.com howardmcquitter68@gmail.com “The Purity of Vengeance” (2019) ***** 5 of 5 stars  This month I”'m attending the 38th Minneapolis- St. Paul International Film Festival for about the 14th year (not necessarily in consecutive order) and for the third year (consecutively) as press (once I did press back in the days of Oak Street Cinema). This year the festival has brought to the Twin Cities more than 250 films from 75 countries. One of the films that catches my eye is a brilliant thriller/crime/ drama from Denmark called “The Purity of Vengeance” directed by Christopher Boe. Simply put, the film is as bold as it is smart marked by whodunit and why. To date, “The Purity of Vengeance” is the highest- grossing film in Denmark, but unlike so many American films of similar genre that put too much heat in the violence blocking out any feasible plot(s) the movie just [...]
Movie corner Rewatch Bogart”'s last movie
By HOWARD McQUITTER II oldschoolmovies.wordpress.com howardmcquitter68@gmail.com “The Harder They Fall” (1956)  **** Columbia Pictures A hard-hitting boxing movie where the mob has an iron-grip on the boxing business and like another film of the same era called “Set-Up”(1949), it features much reality about who controls boxing in the 1930s-1950s. At the time, boxing along with baseball, is America”'s most popular sport. “The Harder They Fall” is Humphrey Bogart”'s last film (he died on Jan. 14, 1957, from esophageal cancer) but he is still on top of his game as an actor. I saw this movie when I was a boy, and have seen it several times since then, most recently three weeks ago. The director Mark Robson (“The Seventh Victim” 1943, “Peyton Place” 1957, “Valley of the Dolls” 1967) is joined by Philip Yordan who writes the screenplay and also produces Bogart”'s last [...]
Movie corner ”˜Stan and Ollie”' delightful
By HOWARD McQUITTER II oldschoolmovies.wordpress.com howardmcquitter68@gmail.com 2019, Sony Pictures 4.5 out of 5 A delightful, modest biopic about Stan Laurel (Steve Coogan) and Oliver Hardy (John C. Reilly), the best comedy duo in Hollywood at its golden age. Director Jon S. Baird (“Filth” 2014, “Cass” 2008) and writer Jeff Pope put together a very fine biopic about Stan and Ollie in phases of their careers. The first is when both comedians worked for Hal Roach Studios in 1937, at the height of their careers; the second phase, fast-forward to 1953, their popularity and money has greatly waned. The lion”'s share of the film is spent in the latter period. Stan and Ollie (nicknamed “Babe”) go on tour in Great Britain attempting to rekindle their fame even after the two men split for many years. They start in Newcastle before bouncing around in Bristol, Birmingham, Manchester, Nottingham, England; then to Glasgow, [...]
