Final list of April movies.

83. (830.) The Story of Mankind (1957)
Did the screenwriter of this historical survey of human civilization spend no time researching his facts, or was the studio determined to rely on old wives tales and misinformation? Worse, it's boring despite the star power involved. (Dennis Hopper should probably never be cast as Napoleon.) Vincent Price is a rare spot of enjoyment in this otherwise dull waste of time.

84. (831.) After the Fox (1966)
The first half of this movie is a sparkling triumph of Peter Sellers' comedic strengths. Then, like a car whose driver is having too much fun to pay attention to staying on the road, the movie finds itself stuck in a ditch it just can't manage to drive itself out of. My recommendation: watch the first half of this movie then grab the remote control. If you're lucky, Dr. Strangelove might be starting on another channel.

85. (832.) The Great Train Robbery (1978)
Michael Crichton was his own cottage industry. He wrote and directed this, and while it isn't great (it wallows in its own cleverness or bogs down in weakly directed action on too many occasions), it's still plenty enjoyable.

86. (833.) The Hunger (1983)
Ok. How to put this? All 832 movies I've watched immediately before this one were well thought-out by comparison. David Bowie, Catherine Deneuve, and Susan Sarandon are wasted in this triumph of style over substance erotic horror shambles. Definitely NOT a masterpiece.

87. (834.) His Kind of Woman (1951)
Robert Mitchum owns the screen in this noir thriller (which also features another Vincent Price performance — in short, if Vincent Price is in it, you should watch it). The action flags slightly when comic elements get in the way of the movie's climax, but I would still recommend this movie highly.

88. (835.) Joe Kidd (1972)
Sadly, this movie proves that not all Clint Eastwood westerns are winners.

89. (836.) Chronicle (2012)
I was expecting to hate this "found footage" film, but to my surprise I discovered it's actually a pretty good live-action telling of a comic book superhero origin. Like Unbreakable before it, there is a heavy emphasis on the villain ultimately responsible for forcing the hero to accept his responsibility. I very much enjoyed it.

That's it for April. I'll get to May sometime in June.

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To be continued...

 

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