The Thin Man = 6.5/10
Old 1934 detective movie. The difference is that unlike a lot of noir thrillers or detective mysteries during this time, this one is given more humor. The mystery itself is alright but watching this movie, the mystery is just there to give us a purpose so we can watch the detective and his wife and glimps the great banter between them. It's hard to figure out how best to describe the characters. The detective, Nick Charles, is a man who seems bored with all detective work as though he's seen it all. In fact, he hasn't even done detective work in 4 years. He loves alcohol and parties. But most especially, he seems to love being around his wife as they give each other a hard time. Nora Charles, the wife, wants to see her husband actually take on a case for once. She is able to hold her own with Nick and loves the unrespectability Nick brings into their life. You see, she comes from a rich family and is respectable wheres Nick comes from a background of being a detective and meeting all kinds of unscrupulous people.
I feel that I haven't done this film enough justice in reviewing it which is a shame. This movie was so good, it inspired 5 more sequels creating the "Thin Man" series. This movie itself was nominated for a best picture back in 1934. I have to say, I've seen a lot of older films from the 30's and 40's and this one holds up remarkably well. The characters of Nick and Nora I think would be welcomed by a movie audience today. The actors who played them did a great job and the reason you watch this movie is to be in their company really. The only problem with this movie is that they spend too much time with other characters and trying to build a mystery when I'd rather just watch Nick and Nora interact. Plus, the mystery is rather lackluster in the end. For that, I feel this movie ends up being rather average. It's like The Pink Panther. The movie is ok but you'd rather it focused more on Inspecter Clouseau which is what the sequels did making them better than the original. Speaking of which:
Another Thin Man - 9/10
The first sequel in the series. This movie starts up right where the first movie left off. In fact, the first movie had the mystery being solved around Christmas time and this one is solved around New Years. It also more funny than the first movie. There are a lot of great laughs in this movie. One of the best comes from when they couple finally get home and their pet dog Asta goes to see his wife, Mrs. Asta. That reunion scene is hilarious and my brother and I couldn't believe that they were making such a joke back in 1936. This movie even has a young James Stewart. I can never get enough of that accent.
In this movie, less time is spent with the mystery than the first one which is great. In fact, one isn't even sure what the mystery is at first. It appears it might have something to do with a disappearance but that is wrapped up fast. There is some kind of a job being pulled but one isn't sure what it is. It isn't until a character is killed that we finally get the mystery underway. And unlike the first movie, this mystery has a few twists to it to keep me guessing until the very end. My only problem is the actual solution of the mystery but I'll let you see it for yourself. While you probably don't have to see the first movie to enjoy this film, I will admit that having seen the first movie did help add a bit more to the enjoyment of this film, so you may want to make it a two-parter.
One last thing I want to mention about these two films is how they hilariously blow your suspension of disbelief at the end. In both movies, all the suspects are gathered in a room where the killer is at last identified. But there is absolutely no way such an event could take place in real life. If you watch the films, you'll know what I mean. Both times this happened at the end, I just shook my head as all kinds of different reasons came into my head as to why this could never occur. I will also admit that the first movie did the gathering of suspects in a much funnier way than the second movie. That might be the one case where the sequel didn't match the original.
Now I want to seek out the rest of the movies in this series. Great, great stuff.
Topic: Rate the last movie you've seen (Read 1545471 times)
