I've still got 8 movies to tell you about from April. Here are four of them:

51. (1110.) The Gazebo (1959)
I could not figure out how this black comedy was going to end. According to the Hays Code, which was losing power by the time this film was made, the perpetrator of a crime couldn't get away with his nefarious deed. Was the sympathetic protagonist really going to be punished? The twist ending was exactly what this film needed.

52. (1111.) Captain Phillips (2013)
This thing was nominated for a Best Picture Academy Award? What in hell for? I don't mean to suggest that it is bad; it's just thin. There are no great lessons to be learned, no stellar cinematography. It's just a suspense film with Tom Hanks. Go watch a Hitchcock film with Jimmy Stewart instead. (I recommend Rope or Rear Window.)

53. (1112.) The Sundowners (1960)
I really wanted to hate this, but Robert Mitchum is too damn good. He even manages to get away with an Australian accent for the whole thing. Surprisingly engrossing.

54. (1113.) Death Watch (1980)
Hard science fiction is underrepresented in cinema, mostly because the genre is about exploring concepts exploring the human condition (2001: A Space Odyssey) and not just fantasy adventure with futuristic visuals (Star Wars). This film qualifies as the real thing, as it presents many disturbing concepts about a near future world where death is a reality television show broadcast to the masses via cameramen with electronic eyes. Good stuff.

More to come.

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