Frank's Movie Log

In 1920 Dublin, during the Irish War of Independence, Colin Clive plays a British Army Intelligence Officer whose outwardly happy marriage is crumbling. Edna Best plays his wife, who still carries a torch for a man she had a brief affair with in England before marrying Clive a few years earlier. These unresolved feelings stand poised to drive the couple apart.

Enter William Powell as a Canadian expat serving in the British Army. He arrives in Dublin with a history of womanizing scandals smoothed over by battlefield heroics. His assigned apartment sits one floor below Clive and Best’s. Clive recognizes Powell and invites him upstairs, where he meets Best. Clive proves oblivious to the tension between the two and when he leaves, we learn Powell is the man Best has yearned for all these years. To Powell’s surprise, he realizes he still loves her too. Continue reading...

In turn of the century Utah, a mute gunfighter aids the desperate residents of a snow-bound mining town in their struggle with a corrupt businessman and his gang of bounty killers led by Klaus Kinski. Spoilers follow. Continue reading...

In 1932 England, Sir William McCordle hosts a hunting party at his palatial country estate, the titular Gosford Park. Assorted secrets and betrayals emerge among the upstairs gentry and downstairs help. When someone falls victim to an unseen killer, almost everyone has a motive. Continue reading...

In this adaptation of Ira Levin’s long-running Broadway hit, Michael Caine plays a once prominent playwright staring down his fourth straight flop. Needing a hit, he hatches a plot to steal a dazzling manuscript from a former student played by Christopher Reeve. Complications ensue and spoilers follow. Continue reading...

Jennifer Connelly plays a teenage girl who must traverse a large maze in a magical world to rescue her infant brother after wishing him away to the Goblin King, played by David Bowie. Continue reading...

William Powell plays an American agent operating in Paris. An exfiltration mission goes awry, resulting in his apprehension and deportation. But just as his ship reaches New York harbor, the captain receives word to return Powell to France. Powell jumps ship and swims ashore. Disavowed by the government and unable to find work, he finagles his way into a private investigator job, only to fall for a gambler played by Margaret Lindsay, who’s targeted for a frame up job by a crooked casino operator. Continue reading...

William Powell plays a womanizing Lower East Side lawyer who joins a prestigious uptown firm. His rising star attracts the attention of local political boss John Gilmurry. Powell rebuffs Gilmurry’s advances but loses the moral high ground when he accepts a breach of promise case from a seductive actress. Ignoring advice to drop the suit, Powell becomes entangled in a manufactured scandal, leading to his ruin. Vowing to fight back, Powell promises to “fight dirty” to take down those who wronged him. Continue reading...

Detective Takabe investigates a growing series of murders where the perpetrators carve a large “X” into their victim’s throats. Though they admit guilt, the perpetrators cannot explain their motives, just that the urge to kill felt as matter-of-fact as turning on the lights in a dark room. The trail leads Takabe to a mysterious young man named Mamiya who claims amnesia and displays an inability to form fresh memories, but harbors a dark secret. Spoilers follow. Continue reading...

Jack Nicholson plays a mobster who falls into a chemical vat and emerges with white skin, green hair, and a rictus grin. Renaming himself Joker, he sets out to remake Gotham City in his image, but encounters resistance from Batman, played by Michael Keaton. Continue reading...

Christopher Reeve returns as Superman, who forsakes his powers for a human life with Lois, played again by Margot Kidder, only to face a threat from three Kryptonian criminals led by Terrance Stamp as the menacing General Zod. Continue reading...