RIFLE RANGE BOY

Plein Soleil (Purple Noon, French; 1960) Director: René Clément Malaysians are more familiar with Alain Delon as a stylish clothing brand than as an accomplished actor. He was definitely an accomplished person, and he is synonymous with French cinema in the vein of Gérard Depardieu and Bridgette Bardot. Like his career, his personal life was colourful, with criminal investigations, multiple affairs, and offspring. He died at the age of 88 in 2024. In his heyday, he was a prolific actor with sex appeal who toured between French cinema and Hollywood.  This is one of his early movies, which launched his career. It is a dark tale about two buddies who have a strange relationship. Delon, the poorer of the duo, is constantly bullied and ridiculed by his wealthy friend. Actually, they are not friends at all. Delon is just a messenger passing a message from his father for a fee. The rich guy has a yacht and a pretty girlfriend.  Long story short, Delon kills the rich guy and assumes h...

Le Cercle Rouge (French, The Red Circle; 1970) Written & Directed by: Jean-Pierre Melville The 'Red Circle' referenced in the title is from a fabricated quotation allegedly uttered by Siddhartha Gautama. The Buddha had apparently  drawn a circle with a piece of red chalk and said: "When men, even unknowingly, are to meet one day, whatever may befall each, whatever the diverging paths, on the said day, they will inevitably come together in the red circle."  That red circle is where we will all converge to be judged after all our shenanigans here on Earth. We can aggrandise ourselves all we want, follow the path that we think is true, pray to the God we believe is the true God, and label others as lost causes. When we reach the end of the line, it will all be the same. This French heist film is set in Paris and boasts an intense, suspense-filled,  nearly 30-minute silent heist sequence   that is the climax. S ilence and intense focus  create a riveting experie...