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Magnum Force (1973) Directed by Ted Post



It was quite surprising to find that this second Dirty Harry movie even beats the original. It's better written and even uses- and handles its main character in a better and more intriguing way.

At first it really looks as if this movie is going to be nothing more but just another rehash of the first movie. It seemed to feature a similar type of plot and progressed in almost the exact same manner. However, the further the movie progresses, the more starts to become clear about the story and the direction it's heading at. You think this is going to be yet another movie about a serial killer but there really is far more to the story, as you'll find out.

I won't spoil anything but there are some nice twists and turns in the movie, that shake things up. It even makes this a somewhat surprising and also original genre movie.

It's really not necessary either to watch the first "Dirty Harry" movie before you go and see this one. It's really a movie on its own, with a new story and also mostly new characters in it. All of the events that happened in the first movie are mostly irrelevant for this one and you'll get into this movie and its main characters just as easily as you would when you have already seen the first movie.

Compared to the first movie, which was great as well by the way, they had improved on certain things. The character of Harry himself for instance is given some depth and background this time around, making him even more human like and likable. You get a better sense of the character so to speak.

The movie also still feels very raw and straightforward. There is some pretty graphic violence in the movie and the Clint Eastwood character Harry Callahan of course isn't afraid to use his Magnum more than once throughout the movie. There is some real good action and some nice thrills in this movie, that all look and feel very typical for an '70's genre production, which is a big compliment of course.

There really wasn't much that I didn't liked about the movie. It did everything right, had a great genre story in and of course one iconic main character, who lifts the movie even up to greater heights, also mainly thanks to Eastwood's performance.

An absolute must see for the lovers of crime/cop movies.

9/10

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Salem's Lot (1979) (TV) Directed by Tobe Hooper

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(Review originally written at 5 November 2008)

This review is of the longest available 184 minutes uncut version.


Being not the biggest fan of movies based on Stephen King novels, I must say that this movie was a rather good one within its genre. Especially when considering that this movie got made as a made for TV mini-series. This means that the movie is not as gory as other genre movies from the same time period but this doesn't mean that the movie isn't just as atmospheric and scary than any other movie.


The movie has a great atmosphere that is both mysterious and scary. Even though not a whole lot is happening within the movie, it still knows to be constantly perfectly atmospheric. Tobe Hooper is of course really a director who understand the genre (at least in the '70's he still did) and he directs the movie with lots of class and knowhow.


It's a quite original vampire movie. To be honest, in advance I even had no idea that this movie was going to be a vampire movie, while first watching it. I had heard about the title "Salem's Lot" and also about the Stephen King novel but in all honesty I had no idea what it was all about. In that regard the movie pleasantly surprised me with its concept and the overall handling of it.


But also it needs to be said that the movie isn't exactly the genre masterpiece some people make it out to be. It's way too flawed for that. For instance the pace. Well, I've watched the longest available 3 hour+ version, so perhaps it has something to do with that but the movie has a bit of a slow pace and has lots of points within the movie in which just basically nothing is ever happening. Also when looking back at it, the first hour of the movie or so seems pretty pointless afterward. Also some characters just come and go within the movie. The first halve of the movie is still mostly about the citizens of Salem's Lot, while the second halve is only mainly about the main character Ben Mears. Seems like all other characters are just simply being forgotten and abandoned within the script, without reaching a satisfying conclusion for them. A shame really, also since a lot of characters showed some good potential. Some characters are some typical good trademark quirky Stephen King type of character.


You could say that the movie is only truly good once the horror starts to kick in. The movie is effective with its horror and has a couple of memorable moments in it.


It's also made great by the musical score from Harry Sukman. It's a real great genre score and also quite well known in the horror circles, which is of course quite an accomplishment for a score composed for a TV mini-series. It was the last musical score he ever composed as well. He didn't died until 5 years later, so I guess he thought it was time to enjoy his retirement after finishing the score for this production. A great way to end his career!


A surprising good genre movie, once its horror kicks in, that also deserves some more recognition.


7/10


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