Thanks, chaps.

That’s the one I watched last night. I thought it was exceedingly mediocre, but yes, Sam Jackson and the cat elicited a couple of laughs. Got a day nothing tomorrow, so might do a double bill of Infinity War, which I’ve seen once and quite enjoyed, and Endgame, which I’ve not yet seen.

The real star of Parasite is that fucking house. Woof, what a set! T2he way it allows the film to almost change ratio from the weird sized basement living to the wide shot high ceiling beauty.  There’s some real clever stuff going on there and it’s all played out through the architecture.

Cheers pop. I’ll give that a read in a bit.

An Introduction To:

HUMPHREY BOGART

Humphrey Bogart is one of my very favourite actors, so here is a brief introduction to his best movies! 

Getting Started

1. The Big Sleep - Directed by Howard Hawks

Tied with Altman's The Long Goodbye for my favourite adaptation of a Raymond Chandler book, this is considered by many to be one of the definitive Film Noirs, and for damn good reason. Hawks' iconic direction is overflowing with atmosphere and charm, seeing Bogart and Lauren Bacall having incredible on screen chemistry together, and a story that while convoluted and very possibly ultimately making no sense, is thrilling from start to finish. Bogart's Phillip Marlowe is so on point that no-one, not even great actors like Elliot Gould and Robert Mitchum can compare with it. Essential viewing.

2. The Maltese Falcon - Directed by John Huston.

It is appropriate that Bogart would deliver two defining turns as Noir Private Detectives, this time as Daschiell Hammett's Sam Spade. The cast here is a blast, especially two of kind of, though undoubtedly charming, villains played by Peter Lorre and Sydney Greenstreet. I love Bogart's handling of Mary Astor's character here, and the ending hits hard with great satisfaction for the viewer. 

3. Casablanca - Directed by Michael Curtiz. 

Though the reputation of this war-time drama is formidable, it lives up to it, every time I watch it. A stirring film about the resistance against the Nazis, with a classic love story running through it, Casablanca was a film that had little buzz about it prior to release but went on to endure for many decades as one of the great films of the 20th Century. The cameos by Greenstreet and Lorre are the icing on a very delicious cake. 

Bogart's Best

1. In a Lonely Place - Directed by Nicholas Ray.

Neck and neck with Billy Wilder's Sunset Boulevard for my pick of greatest Film Noir, this is a dark as midnight on a moonless night story of how suspicion can destroy everything around it. Bogart plays an ill tempered, potentially murderous man. The ending is a work of great art. The relationship between Bogart and Gloria Grahame is the heart of the piece. Bogart's greatest performance tied with the following film.

2. The Treasure of the Sierra Madre - Directed by John Huston. 

This Western is a film about the toxic effect of greed, and it allows Bogart to prove that he was so much more than charm and style. Seeing his character's descent into madness and evil is one of the most powerful cinematic experiences that one can have. He is so, so damn good here, as is the entire cast. A rare kind of Western that is so much more than its parts, raising the genre high above admittedly good entertainments into high art. 

3. The African Queen - Directed by John Huston. 

The film that won Bogart his long deserved Academy Award for Best Actor, and it's not hard to see why. This is a rip-roaring adventure that even while seeming inevitable at its conclusion, feels surprising on the journey, fooling the viewer every step of the way. The chemistry between Bogart and Katherine Hepburn marks this as an all timer, up there with he and Bacall and Bergman. Just a whole mess of fun. 

4. Sabrina - Directed by Billy Wilder. 

Humphrey Bogart, Audrey Hepburn and William Holden. This is an all time great cast, with one of the funniest, most romantic and charming stories of how love will find you in expected ways. Billy Wilder's touch is dead on perfect here, marking him as the genius tier filmmaker that he was. Hepburn and Bogart are so good together, and I believed that they belonged together, even given the somewhat unlikely age difference. Remade quite well a few decades later with Harrison Ford in Bogart's role. This is however the one to beat. 

Under-appreciated Pictures

1. Deadline - U.S.A. - Directed by Richard Brooks. 

A film Noir, but one that recalls in part Citizen Kane. While certainly not in that same league as Orson Welles' masterpiece, this is a very entertaining picture that sees Bogart as a crusading newspaperman battling with a notorious criminal. Fun with some nice insights into journalism as a profession. 

2. Beat the Devil - Directed by John Huston. 

Co-written by Truman Capote, this is an odd film, and one of Huston's few failures, parodying The Maltese Falcon and Noir in general. The viewer is advised to be well acquainted with the genre before watching, but when one makes themselves ready in this fashion, there is a considerable amount of entertainment to be had here. Freely available everywhere as the copyright was never renewed. Well worth a watch.

@XOMuggins

I never liked Bogart much and I don't know why. I think his problem is that he set a template for many of the roles he played that others copied so retrospectively he looks hackneyed to the uninitiated (i.e. me).

I've always found him "acty" - he doesn't feel real to me. His style seems a bit too broody to me and that fast talking staccato delivery never matched the content of what he was saying to my mind. I could never really buy him in a romantic lead either. Just seemed to be angry all the time.

I have since learned more about him; his intelligence, loyalty and humour have warmed me to him. What changed my attitude to his acting was Treasure of the Sierra Madre though. He is brilliant in that. The African Queen is another great turn but that film suffers from being almost too iconic and that probably detracts from the performances.

Maybe I should have look at those other films.

Genius Sparkles, you made my day. They said everything I’ve ever thought about these films. Scott is the director equivalent of an ageing Brexit voter. Neither should be allowed to make any important decisions as they no longer have a fucking clue.

Oh god no!!

It's a classic example of

Yeah, it’s a classic example of cognitive dissonance to deliberately annoy ‘serious fans’. Just a daft meme printed on a T-shirt. Nothing particularly clever.

I think you can read into it further if you want to though, and I did. Art is in the eye of the beholder, etc etc. I imagined it as a comment on Hollywood attitudes. If you hired Tarantino to make a film on the themes of Parasite, you’d probably get Joker.

Yes. It was.

Over-egging it, but anyway

I was just looking for that pic. You beat me to it, Nick.