February's Best & Worst

February's Best & Worst

Hello and welcome to Cinema Wellman. I am your host, David, and today we’re going to break down the Best & Worst of the “shorty month” that has just concluded.

Twenty-eight days and what seemed like 28 inches of snow. 

We ended up screening 56 films during the month of February, and we’re going to trash three and praise five of those today. Not quite a “Top 10/Bottom 5,” but good enough, especially for a February. 

Thanks for making a mockery of the calendar Roman Emperor Numa Pompilius!

We will begin as we always do, and that’s in the trash bin.

The Big Cube (1968)

M/98 min./IMDb: 4.3/directed by Tito Davison

IMDb: “A former actress clashes with her wealthy and spoiled stepdaughter over their inheritance after the death of their protector.”

I’m sure Chilean director Tito Davison made better films during his career.

From what I can tell, The Big Cube is one of only a handful of English language films he directed, so I’m going to give him the benefit of the doubt as a filmmaker.

I’m also going to say that The Big Cube was a big mess.

I know I was only six when this movie came out, but I would have understood it just as much if Jean and Ray showed me it when I was in first grade.

The star of this movie was Lana Turner.

If you want to read something involving Lana Turner that’s way more interesting than this movie, read all about her 14-year-old-daughter who stabbed Lana’s bodyguard boyfriend to death. 

Johnny Stompanato killed by a teenage girl.

Much more compelling than The Big Cube.

Sphinx (1981)

PG/118 min./IMDb: 5.2/directed by Franklin J. Schaffner

IMDb: “Egyptologist Erica Baron finds more than she bargained for during her long-planned trip to The Land of the Pharaohs; murder, theft, betrayal, love, and a mummy’s curse.”

I’m going to be totally honest with you, as I always am, and tell you that the ONLY thing I remember about this is that it was, at best, a cut-rate Raiders of the Lost Ark, also released in 1981.

Sphinx was a boring “adventure” that had me losing more and more interest at each and every turn.

Star Lesley-Anne Down married the assistant director during filming.

No big deal, that happened all the time, but it was only a 13-week shoot! What’s the rush?!?

That tidbit I just shared was more interesting than the entire movie.

And “Worst of Show” in February belongs to Marky Mark (sans Funky Bunch) and Topher Grace who was easily the worst part of “That 70s Show.”

Flight Risk (2025)

R/91 min./IMDb: 5.2/directed by Mel Gibson

IMDb: “A pilot transports an Air Marshall accompanying a fugitive to trial. As they cross the Alaskan wilderness, tensions soar and trust is tested, as not everyone on board is who they seem.”

I remember seeing the trailer for this by accident one day and wondering why Wahlberg and Grace were still acting and then being distracted by the obvious skullcap bald wig that Marky Mark was sporting.

Then I read that he actually shaved that part of his head for this role and thought, If that’s not a crappy skullcap bald wig, why does it look like a crappy skullcap bald wig?!?!

It was the ONLY reason I watched this, and this was so uninteresting that I honestly can’t tell you how it ended. I think the woman on the plane (played by Michelle Dockery, not her fault) is okay in the end, so that’s fine?

And…directed by Mel Gibson…so, what the hell was I thinking…

Okay, enough of the junk, let’s talk about some worthwhile films we ran across in the past 28 days starting with a little double feature.

Dr. Who and the Daleks (1965)

NR/82 min./IMDb: 5.6/directed by Gordon Flemyng

IMDb: “An eccentric inventor and his companions travel in his TARDIS to the Planet Skaro and battle the evil menace of the Daleks.”

Daleks’ Invasion Earth 2150 A.D. (1966)

NR/84 min./IMDb: 5.9/directed by Gordon Flemyng

IMDb: “Dr. Who and his companions arrive on Earth in the year 2150 A.D., only to discover that the planet has been invaded and its population enslaved by the dreaded Daleks.”

These two films represent my very first foray into the Dr. Who Universe, and I have a feeling I’ll be going back at some point.

“Doctor Who” is a British science fiction series that ran, in some form, from 1963 to…well…it’s still running!

The wildest thing about this franchise is that there have been 15 different people playing the good doctor, and not all of them are white men!

Take that, 007!

These two films star Peter Cushing as Dr. Who, which is what made me commit to them as my first trip in the TARDIS.

Cushing was never Dr. Who in the television series, but he did wear the scarf in these movies.

I found both movies to be great fun. The sets were cheesy, as were some of the effects, and it was all good!

It was what I expected and what I wanted it to be.

I also love the whole idea of that TARDIS. 

I want one here at Cinema Wellman.

Next up is a film from the 50s because you can’t have a Best of list here without some film noir!

Vice Squad (1953)

AP/88 min./IMDb: 6.7/directed by Arnold Laven

IMDb: “A tough captain investigates a cop shooting and stumbles upon a bank robbery plot. He’s not afraid to bend rules to get results, using questionable tactics on witnesses and informants while balancing routine police work with major cases.”

This is NOT 1982’s Vice Squad starring Season Hubley as Princess and Wings Hauser a.k.a. Wings Livinryte as Ramrod. 

That was something, if you haven’t seen it.

This Vice Squad stars friend of Cinema Wellman Edward G. Robinson as Captain Barney Barnaby, the captain referred to in the IMDb synopsis.

“He’s not afraid to bend rules to get results,” but he’s not Dirty Harry, by any means.

He does harass a witness, played by film noir staple Porter Hall, by having him repeatedly arrested and kept in jail on a variety of trumped-up charges in order to get him to confess to a shooting he witnessed, but he would never bend the rules like Harry Callahan.

One of the things I liked about this Vice Squad is how the film shows a “routine” day for Captain Barnaby; some cases are very big and high profile while others are relatively mundane.

Robinson’s Barnaby even has an interaction with an older gentleman who is obviously having mental health issues, and it was treated in a compassionate way which actually surprised me for a film made in 1953.

I was expecting mental illness to be played for laughs, as it has historically been in many films, but it was handled with class.

If you’re a fan of the film noir genre, seek this one out. Especially if you can find it on TCM with the intro by Eddie Muller.

Two movies to go, and they’re both movies about movies, and you know how we love those here at Cinema Wellman!

Blow Up of Blow-Up (2016)

NR/54 min./IMDb: 6.2/directed by Valentina Agostinis

IMDb: “This documentary returns to a few key locations and explores director Michelangelo Antonioni’s meticulous approach to art and photography.”

In 1966, director Michelangelo Antonioni made Blow-Up, a classic psychological thriller about a fashion photographer who unknowingly captures a death on film after following two lovers in a park. 

Blow-Up was nominated for two Oscars, including one for Antonioni as Best Director, and the film was remade in 1981 by Brian De Palma starring John Travolta as a movie sound engineer accidentally recording evidence proving a murder.

This documentary gives viewers a behind the scenes look into Blow-Up and brings some cast and crew back to the locations where Antonioni’s iconic film was shot back in 1966.

My favorite anecdote was about Antonioni delaying a scene even though everything was ready to go.

After several minutes he was asked what he was waiting for. 

“Are you waiting for the clouds?”

Antonioni’s response, as he pointed skyward, was, “No. I’m waiting for that cloud.”

Insert my usual “They don’t make movies like that anymore” line here.

It certainly fits. 

Seeing people return to locations 50 years after the shoot and hearing them candidly describe what it was like in the moment was pure film geek catnip.

One film to go, and this one is definitely for film geeks!

Song of My City (2025)

NR/16 min./IMDb: 7.4/directed by David C. Roberts

IMDb: “A city symphony of 1970s New York City as it exists in movies that mythologized it.”

This amazing snapshot of film history is made up entirely of clips from films shot in New York City during the 70s.

Some films included are Cinema Wellman favorites Taxi Driver, The Taking of Pelham 123, The Warriors, All That Jazz, and Death Wish.

What I found fascinating about this short is that NONE of the footage contains any of the stars of any of the movies.

When Taxi Driver footage is shown, we don’t see Robert DeNiro or Jodie Foster, just the streets of NYC.

Same goes for the rest of the clips.

I found myself totally absorbed in this film and repeatedly forgot that I was watching footage from movies as opposed to documentary footage about New York.

The original sound from these 40 films is not heard. Instead, we are treated to music by Phillip Glass, the Velvet Underground, and Gene Krupa.

As a native New Yorker and film geek, this was spellbinding.

Well, that’s a wrap from Cinema Wellman as we broke down the Best & Worst of the month of February.

We hope you’ll join us TOMORROW for an episode I shot with Dakota during her recent visit.

Dakota was given an assignment to come up with a list of movies that she considers “ours,” and we’ll have half a dozen to discuss in an episode I’m calling “Pick Six with Dakota!”

Until then, take care.