Agent Carter “Bridge and Tunnel” #1.2 (2015)

“You're very fortunate that I ignored your instructions.”  19 March 2021

Agent Carter continues her investigations into the deadly weapons stolen from Howard Stark.  Her latest lead is a milk truck that may be filed with explosives.  Once again, Agent Carter will have to fight the baddies while staying one step ahead of her male co-workers.  

Bridge and Tunnel is a wonderful episode.  Compared with the first episode, it features a lot more action, a lot more fighting, a lot more story, a lot more Jarvis, and . . . well, a lot more of everything.  I’m sure most would agree with me, but the highlight has to be watching Agent Carter in an incredible fight atop a moving milk truck.  It’s good stuff!  

There’s a lot to like in this series, but it’s hard not be impressed with the look.  Everything has an amazing vintage feel to it.  There are bits that you’d swear are true 1940s-era relics.  Sets, costuming, and props all help to add an air of authenticity to the show.  And I especially like the way it’s lit. The sepia-like tone works.

Looking forward to episode 3.

8/10

Agent Carter “Now is Not the End” #1.1 (2015)

“The next time you approach a woman in a dark alley, you might want to introduce yourself.”  18 March 2021

It’s 1946 New York and Agent Peggy Carter (Hayley Atwell) is working at the Strategic Scientific Reserve, a government agency.  She might have “Agent” in her title, but the male agents treat her like a secretary, or worse.  She overhears a conversation about a case involving a stolen formula and decides to do some investigating on her own.  She soon discovers, however, that the formula has already been turned into a weapon.  

I'm so happy to discover that Agent Carter isn’t one of the shows where each episode is one and done.  Instead, I’m delighted at the prospect of a season long story arc.  And what a great beginning!  Dead bodies, undercover work, explosions, and Howard Stark’s butler, Jarvis - a nice start.  What little plot I have so far is interesting enough.  While a lot of the specifics aren’t yet clear, I consider that a good thing.  Also, as much as I enjoy watching Peggy get one over on the baddies, I equally enjoy watching her get one over on her chauvinistic co-workers - even if they don’t know it yet.  A lot of promise to the series.  

Looking forward to episode 2.

7/10

Captain America: The First Avenger (2011)

“I’m just a kid from Brooklyn.”  27 March 2021

Instead of the normal plot summary I try to include, I’ll just say that this film begins with the Captain America origin story and ends with his battle against legions of Hydra soldiers, including Red Skull.  Along the way, we are also introduced to Peggy Carter and Bucky Barnes - characters that would go on to have significant roles in the MCU.  

Also, instead of the normal thing I do when writing about a film (you can read all about Captain America all over the internet), I’ll limit this to some random thoughts I had while re-watching the movie last night.

1. I especially enjoy the first half of the movie.  I would have been perfectly happy had the film ended after Cap saves Bucky and the others from Hydra.  Cap’s triumphant march into camp would have been a fitting end to the Captain America origin story.  

2. The cast is perfect.  Chris Evans (I can’t imagine anyone doing a better job of bringing Captain America to life), Hayley Atwell, Tommy Lee Jones, Toby Jones, Neal McDonough (needed more screen time), Sebastian Stan, and Stanley Tucci are all amazing.  

3. I continue to be underwhelmed by Red Skull.  Other than making threats and looking menacing, he doesn’t do much.  And the final fight scene does nothing for me.

4. I never cared much for Captain America when I was reading comics while growing up.  HIs goody-goody persona didn’t do much for me.  I think this may help explain why I really didn’t enjoy this movie very much the first time through.  In fact, I found it boring.  After living with the MCU for the past several years, learning more about Bucky and Agent Carter, getting some insight on the Tesseract (which this movie does a poor job of explaining), and changing my preconceived ideas about Captain America, this movie has grown on me.  

5. Other than Vision and Wanda, I can’t think of a relationship in the MCU that works as well as Steve Rogers and Peggy Carter.  It doesn’t feel forced.  And I appreciate the way it’s left at the end.  Ridiculous pronouncements of love would have ruined it.  Re-watching their growing romance makes the end of Endgame even more special.

6. Finally, for the most part, I think the people responsible for the movie did a fantastic job with the period details.  The cars, the costuming, the lighting, the dialogue, and the sets all feel like a film much older than 2011 - and I mean that as a complement.  There are times when you really feel as if you’re watching a movie from the 40s..  

A few years ago, I would have probably rated Captain America: The First Avenger a 5/10.  After this re-watch, I appreciate the film so much more.  I still have some complaints, but a 7/10 feels about right.

7/10

The Invisible Woman (1940)

Enjoyable,  11 March 2021

A model named Kitty agrees to become a guinea pig for an eccentric scientist and his experiment.  He intends to use a machine he’s developed to make Kitty invisible.  It works, but the experiment draws the unfortunate attention of a mob boss who has nefarious notions for the professor and his machine.  

I think anyone who’s written about The Invisible Woman begins by pointing out the obvious - it’s a comedy - actually, a screwball comedy.  There’s not a single element of horror to be found.  Other than the fact that The Invisible Woman was made by Universal, includes some nice special effects, and has the word “Invisible” in the title, this movie has nothing at all in common with its predecessor, The Invisible Man.  Instead, The Invisible Woman features a light, engaging, breezy tone that worked on me.  Thanks in large part to a fantastic cast (including John Barrymore, Virginia Bruce, Shemp Howard, Margaret Hamilton, and plethora of other familiar faces) most of the comedy works - highlighted by Kitty’s revenge on her boss.  I might not have laughed out loud, but I had a smile on my face the whole time.  The film’s pacing is also a plus.  The 72 minute runtime flies by.  And while this may have been a “B” film with a “B” budget, you’d never guess by looking at it.  Like a lot of Universal’s output from this period, The Invisible Woman looks far better than it has any right.  The cinematography is on point.

So, comedy that works, solid acting, snappy direction, nice cinematography - sounds like a winner.  If the film were a bit less predictable, I’d easily rate it higher.  Still, a 6/10 from me.

6/10

Jennifer (1953)

So much promise,  10 March 2021

Needing employment, Agnes Langley (Ida Lupino) agrees to take a job as caretaker for an otherwise abandoned estate.  She is told the previous caretaker, the titular Jennifer, went “missing”.  After discovering Jennifer’s diary, Agnes becomes obsessed with unraveling the mystery.  

On the whole, Jennifer left me terribly unsatisfied.  While I love the film’s set-up, I don’t feel the promise of Jennifer is ever realized.  There’s a reasonably interesting mystery, a big old house, and plenty of bumps in the night, but not much else.  If the other characters had just been honest and forthcoming with Agnes from the beginning, there wouldn’t have even been a mystery.  It’s disappointing to discover that, after 73 minutes, Jennifer isn’t really missing, just somewhere else.  

Despite my issues with the plot, I always love seeing Ida Lupino in just about anything she did. She was an amazing, talented woman.  You can see that in Jennifer.  She does so much with such a nothing plot and almost saves the film single handed.  I don’t know why, but I had no idea she was married to Howard Duff.  The pair have some nice chemistry here - another of the film’s highlights.  

4/10

The Hired Gun (1957)

A little dull and predictable,  24 December 2020

Ellen Belden (Anne Francis) is set to be hanged for her husband’s murder in Texas.  Ellen’s uncle has one of his ranch hands bust her out of jail and escort across the New Mexico border.  The father of the dead man hires a gunman named Gil McCord (Rory Calhoun) to go into New Mexico and bring Ellen back to face her sentence.  But is Ellen really guilty or is someone else responsible for the murder?

Overall, I’d call this MGM programmer a bit dull.  One of my main issues is that The Hired Gun’s plot offers few, if any, surprises.  Almost everything is predictable after about 15 minutes.  Things like:  Is Ellen guilty?  Who really killed Ellen’s husband?  What will happen with Ellen and McCord?  It doesn’t take a fortune teller to predict the answers to these questions.  

In addition, try as it might, The Hired Gun never has an appropriate Western feel to it.  The sets don’t seem authentic,  the wardrobe looks too modern, and Anne Francis is more Honey West than Old West.   I know budget constraints probably played a role in this, but the lack of a Western feel really took me out of the movie.

I suppose of all the cast, I enjoyed Chuck Connors as Judd Farrow, the ranch hand, as much as anyone.  I felt for the man as time-after-time Ellen rebuffed his advances, yet he kept coming back for more. 

4/10

The Big Steal (1949)

“I’ll tell you what, Chiquita, you believe me, and I’ll believe you.”  24 December 2020

Lt Duke Halliday (Robert Mitchum) is in Mexico trying to catch a man who stole an Army payroll that Halliday’s been wrongly accused of.  Halliday meets Joan Graham (Jane Greer).  She’s after the same con-man as he stole money from her.  Hot on their heels is Capt Vincent Blake (William Bendix).  He’s out to catch Halliday and recover the missing money.  

Good, witty dialogue mixed with plenty of action - that’s what you’ll find in The Big Steal.  It may not be one of those uber-dark noirs, but the light tone works well.  There’s a nice twist at the end that caught me off guard - even though this was a second time viewing for me.  It’s hard to believe that The Big Steal was one of Don Siegel’s first directorial efforts.  He does a fantastic job of keeping things moving and giving the film a nice pace.  But in all honesty, with a veteran, capable cast like that in The Big Steal, I would expect nothing less.  Mitchum and Greer have a nice rapport.  I’ve read the stories about Hughes originally wanting Jane Russell in the female lead but he was afraid Mitchum’s recent marijuana conviction might hurt her career.  I’m glad he made the decision to go with Greer.  MItchum and Greer work together effortlessly.  One thing that bugged me though, and this holds true for many film noirs, is the familiarity characters seem to have with each other on their initial meeting.  I can’t imagine that people in 1949 actually spoke to strangers like that.  Minor quibble, but it always bothers me.  I've never been much of a fan of William Bendix’s brash style, but I quite enjoyed him here.  In general, the acting from the entire cast is first rate throughout.  Finally, the film features some nice shots of the Mexican countryside.  And I appreciate the way the Mexican people are presented.  Too often, a Mexican police officer would be portrayed as either a buffoon or a crook.  Instead, Inspector General Ortega comes across as the smartest person in the whole film.  Highly recommended.

8/10