The Sixth Sense. M. Night Shyamalan. 1999.

Yeah yeah yeah, I can see old movies.

In some ways it’s chill watching a twist movie that’s so well-known that I already know what the twist is. You can just sit back and relax and enjoy the chills. On the other hand, large parts of the movie turns rather tedious.

Shyamalan is great with the jump scares, but I think the actors aren’t particularly good. The whining from the kid is annoying and Bruce Willis is going through this movie as if he’s constantly slightly drunk. I know the detachment has a function in the movie, but it’s a turn-off.

And no matter how annoying the kid is, it’s not very convincing the way even the adults are unnerved by him and lash out. And how many times did Willis rewind to the “it’s cold in here” part of that tape? And and.

I’m disappointed that the mother didn’t hire a ghostbusters van at the end.

I’m totally open to the idea that this movie was brilliant in 1999.

Killer Diller. Josh Binney. 1948.

Oh, right, this is a public domain B movie from that box set I bought a couple of years ago. Most of these movies aren’t much to write home about, but some have real charm. This looks like it’s basically a variety show that’s been made into a movie (with the normal unpretentious framing story).

This one is different than most I’ve seen, because all (?) the actors are black. And it’s got tons of trick photography and kinda interesting cinematography and editing: It’s mostly filmed with a stationary camera, but some of the scenes are edited together with some verve and originality.

That said, this is not a good movie by any stretch of the imagination, even if some of the songs in the variety show are very good, especially the two by this woman:

I don’t know who she is, but she was funny and had great pipes. And these two did a great tap routine:

And is this Nat King Cole?

I think it is.

Once the framing sequence is over, the main portion of this movie is very enjoyable to watch indeed. It’s just a bunch of brilliant performers performing. Lot’s a great music, some great dancing and some fun skits.

Ghosts on the Loose. William Beaudine. 1943.

Some movies you see for kinda pedantic reasons? This is the final unseen DVD of a seven DVD box set, so if I see this I can pack the box set away. See, eh? S See? You mug!

This is a B-movie starring The East Side Kids. These movies were churned out on an assembly line and whatever enjoyment you get from these depend of how amusing you find it to watch a bunch of mooks running around causing catastrophes.

So I had very low expectations going in, and this one put all my expectations to shame. I mean, the opposite of shame. Pride? Anyway, this movie is weak weak stuff. It’s not completely charmless, though, but eminently missable.

I bailed after half an hour.