Watched Journal: February 2024

Gene Hackman in 'Night Moves' is my vibe.

Arthur Penn's 1975 neo-noir is one of my favorite go-to movies in those chilltime evenings, where I can pop in Warner Archive's pristine Blu-ray and hang with Harry Moseby (Hackman), a former pro footballer turned down and out Los Angeles private investigator. 

Moseby's latest case is locating teenage runaway Delly Grastner (Melanie Griffith), daughter of fading Hollywood actress Arlene Iverson. Arlene only wants Delly back so she can siphon money from her trust fund. Moseby tracks Delly down in the Florida Keys, where she's staying with her stepfather, and convinces her to come back to California, where she subsequently dies in a car accident on a movie set. Moseby suspects foul play and investigates the case, uncovering more intrigue, another murder and a smuggling operation. 

'Night Moves' is a low-key affair, with Michael Small's minimal jazz score humming in the background as Moseby prowls around the nocturnal life of California and Florida. It could've been expanded into a series à la 'Columbo' or 'The Rockford Files', with a new mystery for Moseby to solve every week. Instead, I'll have to settle for repeating the same episode over and over.

 

What I watched in February: 


2-2: Cabo Blanco [Kino Blu-ray]

2-4: Elemental [Disney+], NYAD [Netflix], Blast of Silence [Criterion]

2-6: Rustin [Netflix]

2-9: The Capote Tapes [Hulu], After Hours [Criterion 4K UHD]

2-10: Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse [FX], Shane Gillis: Beautiful Dogs [Netflix], Double Indemnity [Criterion 4K UHD] 

2-12: Telefon [Shout Factory Blu-ray]

2-13: The Champagne Murders [Kino Blu-ray]

2-14: Bottoms [Prime]

2-16: The Best Years of Our Lives (1946, Wyler) [TCM], Kaleidoscope (Smight, 1966) [TCM]

2-17: The Zone of Interest [AMC Phipps], Night Moves (Penn, 1975) [Warner Archive Blu-ray)

2-18: Strays (Greenbaum, 2023) [Prime]

2-19: Solaris (Soderbergh, 2002) [Criterion]

2-20: Topaz [4K UHD]

2-22: The Man Who Knew Too Much (Hitchcock, 1956) [4K UHD]

2-24: You Hurt My Feelings [A24 Blu-ray]

2-25: The Good German [DVD], Adaptation. [TCM]

2-28: Drive-Away Dolls [AMC Madison Yards]

2-29: BlackBerry [Hulu]

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