The Long Goodbye

During the last couple of years I have really learned to appreciate 70's cinema. So when the mood struck me again, I looked up a list of famous thrillers of the decade and found one I hadn't seen:

 

The Long Goodbye (1973).

 

This Robert Altman directed neo-noir is both a spoof of the old school, hard boiled noir detective and a film version of Raymond Chandler's book of the same name moved to the 70's instead of the 40's .

We meet Phillip Marlow (Elliot Gould), a down on his luck, chain smoking wise-ass private eye. He does a favor for an old friend which leads to Marlow getting arrested, and then threatened by a mob boss, while also searching for an alcoholic writer who' s gone missing. The movie throws things at you in a rapid succession which is a bit bewildering at times, but that is how the old noir movies worked. In fact, if you haven't seen any of the old Bogart classics, The Long Goodbye is going to be even more confusing.

What really stood out to me was the amazing cinematography. It is absolutely first class but at times so subtle that you can easily miss it if you don't pay attention to it, and in some ways that is the job of cinematography. I love the scene where a couple are arguing in a room, but the scene is shot through a window so you can follow Marlowe on the beach in the reflection at the same time. So beautifully shot.

A note about the music. The title song, The Long Goodbye was written for the movie by John Williams (yes, that John Williams) and Johnny Mercer. The song appears throughout the movie in many different styles and performances. A really clever way to keep it going without being repetitive. It even shows up at a funeral played by a Mexican band.

The actors are all great. From Elliot Gould whom I had only seen in the Oceans movies to Sterling Hayden who plays the Hemingway-esque drunken author, they are all superb. You will even find a very young Arnold Schwarzenegger in a non speaking role.

What did throw me off is the way the movie bounces from genuinely funny scenes to really dark moments. This was pretty jarring and left me momentarily wondering what I was watching. Don't worry though, it will make a sort of sense in the end.

Speaking of the end, I had to look up a synopsis to fully understand everything that happened. Everything does hang together, but things move so fast at times that it can be hard to follow. That is really my one and only complaint. The story could have been clearer, but again that is how the old noir stories were. You just have to roll with it.

So, do I recommend this movie? Absolutely. The Long Goodbye is not the easiest movie to watch, but it rewards you if you stick with it. Like so many films from that era, it was made to be watched, not as something to have on in the background while concentrating on your phone.

That's that and all that. Join me again next time and until then, have a great week!

 

They're everywhere!

 As a history lover I have often heard the name Habsburg, but beyond the fact that they were monarchs, I didn't pay too much attention to them. Until recently that is. I mean we're talking about a family who has at one time or another ruled most of Europe and beyond. Check out this list of their domains:

Central & Eastern Europe (Austrian Branch / Habsburg Monarchy)

Austria (Core hereditary lands)
Hungary
Czech Republic (Bohemia, Moravia, Silesia)
Slovakia
Slovenia (Carinthia, Carniola, Styria)
Croatia (Kingdom of Croatia, Slavonia, Dalmatia)
Bosnia and Herzegovina
Poland (Southeastern parts / Galicia-Lodomeria)
Ukraine (Southwestern parts)
Romania (Transylvania and northern regions)
Serbia (Vojvodina) 

 And: 

Western & Southern Europe (Spain, Italy, and Low Countries)

Spain (Spanish Empire)
Portugal (Ruled in a dynastic union from 1580 to 1640)
The Netherlands (Austrian/Spanish Netherlands, including modern Belgium and Luxembourg)
Italy (Parts including Milan, the Mezzogiorno/Kingdom of Naples, Sicily, Tuscany, Lombardy-Venetia, and Trieste)
Germany (The Holy Roman Empire)

With: 

Global / Overseas

Mexico (Briefly ruled by Emperor Maximilian I of the Habsburg-Lorraine line from 1864 to 1867)
Colonial territories across the Americas, Asia, and Africa tied to the Spanish and Austrian empires.

Sure they were also at times stark raving mad, horribly inbred and completely out of control, but I can't simply ignore them anymore. I found a documentary that serves as a good first step to give an overview of this immense family, and although I believe it's AI voiced, it is still a good start. You can't just sit down and absorb this much history in one go. I liked it and I hope you will too.

That's that and all that. Join me again next time and until then, have a great week!  

 

Cyberpunk 2077 2.5.

Cyberpunk 2077 just got a massive new update. Lets talk about it.

This happened really quickly. Last Tuesday I saw a Youtube video that stated that CDProjectRed was about to drop update 2.5. The video, I sadly can't remember whose it was, also stated that there would be an official livestream the following day on Wednesday, and there was.

The patch then dropped on Thursday and I want to go over what it is about and my opinion of it.

Patch 2.5 which is a celebration of Edgerunners season 2, is a very fun patch. In no particular order it includes:

• Previously unavailable hairstyles that have been present in the game, like El Capitan's hairstyle.

• Several new outfits available in a few different stores amongst other sources. Check around because they are not all available in the same places.

• Two new missions, I'll go more into them below. Not that much there at the moment, but I'm sure more will come. 

• Mod support for consoles, available in the main menu. This also works on PC.

• A plethora of new graphical settings, which to me are pretty confusing, but options are always nice.

• Cosmetic options for arm cyberware available from glamdocs. The glamdocs are near ripperdocs and sell colorful (or not) modifications for your arm weapons like gorilla arms and mantis blades. Sadly no other cosmetic options for V. A lot of people want the option to go further and replace an arm for example, but maybe that can come later. Who knows?

• The big one, dual wielding pistols! This applies only to power handguns, so no smart guns or tech pistols.

The dual wielding is amazing, it is so much fun. I will say that you do need powerful pistols, but once you do, you cut down enemies really fast. They also stagger enemies which is a fun bonus.

The missions. Unfortunately, I've only had time to do one, Welcome to Paradise. This mission is a well told story that takes you across most of Night City and is really good for new and returning players. It starts at some point after you hit Street Cred 15.

The other mission, Clampdown, is available from the fixer Wakako once you've done at least two jobs for her. Both missions also require you to have done The Heist, which his understandable since most of Night City is unavailable until The Heist is over.

You don't need to worry about finding either mission, since both come to you over the phone which is handy.

Considering that the developers, CDPR, are working on Cyberpunk 2 I am amazed that they continue to drop these massive updates on us. They show up out of nowhere and contain so much good stuff! I will say that the game has been a bit glitchy since 2.5 dropped. My PC is by no means weak and it still sometimes struggles to draw the world in time and I have even gotten load times in menus. There was a small patch on Friday which has helped, but I'm sure it'll get ironed out. Even so the new stuff is well worth a glitch or two.

If you haven't played in a while this is a great time to try Cyberpunk 2077 again, it really is preem my chooms.

That's that and all that. Join me again next time and until then, have a great week!

Colt 38 Special Squad

Last night I watched:

Colt 38 Special Squad (1976).

This Italian poliziotteschi crime thriller is directed by Massimo Dallamano, whose movie What Have You Done To Solange (1972) I wrote about a few weeks ago. He was also the cinematographer on A Fistful of Dollars (1964) and For a Few Dollars More (1965) amongst others. This explains a bit about Colt 38 Special Squad because the cinematography in this movie is excellent.

The story in a nutshell is this; Marsigliese (Ivan Rassimov) is a criminal mastermind who has a plan to hold the city of Turin hostage for a lot of money. In his way stands his arch enemy Inspector Vanni (Marcel Bozzuffi) and his bike riding, revolver toting special squad. That's what you need to know about the plot.

Not only is Colt 38 Special Squad beautifully filmed, it is well directed and wonderfully suspenseful. The chases are excellent and easy to follow, nor do they last too long. A good chase has to be just long enough to be meaningful but not so long as to become tedious.

The actors are competent but nothing really stands out. I do like the villain Marsigliese, he is completely ruthless and very cunning. In a movie like this everything stands on the quality of the villain. If he's weak, the hero can't shine and the whole plot falls apart. Not so here, Marsigliese is believable and terrifying. Some poliziotteschi villains are pretty cartoonish but this is first rate villainy. Opposite him is Vanni and they really hate each other. What I do like is that neither criminal nor cop lose their professionalism just to get the other. Good solid writing.

Overall the story is good, with a couple of minor plot-holes that basically don't even matter. Though a special mention must be made for the stunts. There are a couple of very good car stunts that are worth mentioning even on an international level. Driving a car down the length of a moving train is awesome! Sure the train cars are for car transports and the surface was covered to allow a smooth ride but still... That was something else!

So, do I recommend this movie? Absolutely! Colt 38 Special Squad is quality from beginning to end, whether you like 70's Italian cinema or not. I want to say more but that would be spoilers. I will say the movie surprised me more than once in the best ways possible. Do yourself a favor and watch this wonderful crime action drama.

That's that and all that. Join me again next time and until then, have a great week!

 

Armstrong and Miller

Today I want to highlight the British comedy duo; Armstrong and Miller.

They have a lot of sketches, so I chose the WWII British pilots who speak and act like petulant modern teenagers, as well as the kid's show hosts apologizing. Then further below, I'll link a longer list of their work.

That's that and all that. Join me again next time and until then, have a great week! 

 EDIT: When I posted this entry, all the videos broke, so I'll have to link them instead. 

WWII Pilots: 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RgcwyI-NlvI

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c1S4eoIBOfU 

Apology:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7mVvRluNJpM 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QIqkP8GDLNU 

 

 Longer list: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c2fLw7fLMrE&list=PLQTAXw5ECeFJxMoha6GjO6mcGkw3Mh_Ie 

Masters of Rome

It's been a long journey but I have finally finished

Masters of Rome by Australian author Colleen McCullough.

I started the first book on December 23^rd 2025 and finished the seventh and last book on September 29^th this year. It took time because I mostly read in the evening when I go to bed, and the seven books have an average total page count of 5500 pages. This depends of course a bit on editions etc.

So what are the books about? The late Roman republic is the short answer. The long answer is the entirety of Rome at that time. The series starts in 110 BCE and ends in 27 BCE. We start with the Rise of Gaius Marius and Lucius Cornelius Sulla, see the birth of Gaius Julius Caesar, his invasion of Gaul, his murder and the rise of and struggle between Marc Antony and Gaius Octavian Caesar.

I have learned more about Roman customs, laws, religious rites, military and more than I ever thought I would. McCullough did over ten years of research before writing the first book and it shows. Historians have praised the books for their authenticity and attention to detail. McCullough herself admitted that she stuck to history where she could and filled in the gaps with measured imagination where necessary. At the end of the day, these books are fiction and an entertaining story has to come first, but she respects the history. I only found two instances where she changed established details, and in the end that doesn't matter too much.

Critics have pointed out that McCullough was a massive Caesar fan, and they are right. She does portray him as almost perfect, but I can't blame her too much. If there is one ancient Roman almost everyone can name it is Caesar. Her idolization also makes it easier to hate on his enemies both political and military, which again makes the fiction more compelling.

The ongoing thread in the background is the fall of the republic. The inflexibility and sheer stubbornness of the conservatives, the rise of political violence and demagogues together with the growth of Rome from a small city state to an massive empire puts the republic on a slippery slope it never got away from. The last book, Anthony and Cleopatra (2007) ends with the senate hailing Octavian as Caesar Augustus, essentially confirming him as emperor in all but name.

Something I found very compelling was seeing people be born and then suddenly realize who they would grow up to be. Names like Octavian, Brutus, Marc Anthony, Cicero, Cato the Younger and more stand tall in Roman history, and you meet them all as children. See them grow and become the famous adults they were. All super fascinating stuff.

What I found hardest to deal with in these volumes are the names. Early on there are so many families, and they all give their children the same names over and over. Take the Julii family. Almost all the boys are called Gaius Julius, and all the girls are called Julia. The Gaius Julius Caesar's father was Sextus Julius Caesar, his uncle and grandfather were Gaius Julius, his aunt was Julia and so was his other aunt but she at least was called Julilla. Now do this with more than a dozen families and it is hard to keep track of. By the mid part of book two I was somewhat familiar with them and by the end of book three it wasn't a problem any more. Handily McCullough added a long list of persons and terminology in every book, so you can check there to help you stay on track.

So, do I recommend these books? Oh yes!! They are magnificent. I learned so much and had such a great time learning. There are also many similarities with modern politics and can help the reader understand why some things are being said and done today. A massive seven part masterpiece you'd do well to read if you like ancient Rome.

That's that and all that. Join me again next time and until then, have a great week!

 

Madness

This week I went obscure, really obscure. I watched:

Madness, aka Gli occhi della luna, or The eyes of the moon. (1971).

Three madmen escape from the asylum using the oldest trick in the book. Two are irrelevant, it's the third one, Paolo Lupi (Thomas Hunter) that is important. He is tall and handsome but unfortunately also a deranged and violent sex maniac. Eventually, desperate for shelter and food, he makes his way to an empty villa somewhere in the Roman countryside. At the same time we meet a group of young party animals. They are planning a party in a villa owned by the family of one of the girls. Once there, they want to party and experiment with LSD. Yes, obviously it is the same villa.

Alright, so Madness is considered a “lost Giallo” since it vanished shortly after its theatrical release in 1971. One rough copy was discovered in 2007, and I do mean rough. The reason for its disappearance isn't known, but it is the only movie the director, Cesare Rau made. He also has two second unit or assistant director credits and that's it.

The movie isn't badly shot at all, and the actors are decent. The music is unusually good, but very repetitive. Besides a couple of pieces of soundtrack, Madness features “She's a Stranger” by the Italian band Capsicum Red, which is a good song, but they play I over and over and over. I mean a group of cool kids go partying in a villa and they bring one song? The story is good, but I don't think the scriptwriters or the director were really up to the task.

The movie wastes so much time, its almost criminal. The beginning especially is rough, spending so much time in a club with people dancing and then after a bit, it goes back just to show more people dancing. Lupi's escape is fine, but there as well the balance is pretty off. He meets a middle aged man and helps him with his car, a scene that sort of does nothing. I say sort of, because you can argue it illustrates Lupi's attitude towards men vs how he sees women. Still it drags pretty badly. Overall, I think the editing is the problem. The movie jumps back and forth, repeats itself and spends time on scenes that are completely irrelevant, and no one needs that. I have in fact left a lot unsaid, because I don't want to be too negative.

Overall, it is easy to dismiss this movie as cheap sleazy trash, but I don't think that is fair. For all its problems they tried really hard, and I think that shows. There is real effort here but everyone can't be Dario Argento, who's directorial debut was the celebrated The Bird with the Crystal Plumage.

Once I was done watching, two things struck me. Minor Spoilers Ahead. Lupi has moments of clarity, and once another murder happens he is horrified and begs God to cure him. He doesn't want to be a killer, but he is and soon loses control again. At the end we realize that one of the party kids who can't keep his hands of girls starts giggling in the same way Lupi did after a murder. It is subtle but really nicely done. I don't think its meant to be a passing of the torch type thing, but rather an illustration of how certain types can easily go too far and become something dangerous. A slippery slope.

So, do I recommend this movie? Not really. Madness isn't even really a Giallo, if that matters to you, but genre adjacent. What I have been trying to say is that there is a good story hiding in a clumsily made movie and that is frustrating. I don't dislike Madness, but there isn't all that much to like either. That said, you should make up your own mind, but there are so many better movies out there.

That's that and all that. Join me again next time and until then, have a great week!