“The Passenger.” / “The Taking of Pelham 1 2 3” (3 versions).

“The Passenger” (1975, Tubi) drama thriller film directed by Michelangelo Antonioni. A disillusioned Anglo-American journalist, David Locke (Jack Nicholson) assumes the identity of a dead businessman while working on a documentary in Chad, unaware that he is impersonating an arms dealer with connections to the rebels in the civil war. Along the way, he is accompanied by an unnamed young woman (Maria Schneider).

       Michelangelo Antonioni (d. 2007) was a hot property then after his globally popular “Blowup” (1962). His films substantially influenced subsequent world art cinema. But I am not very impressed with “The Passenger,” although it had a compelling and seemingly exciting plotline. 

       Jack Nicholson and Maria Schneider had magnetic chemistry but I find the pacing lumbering and the pursuit of the otherwise thrilling premise lost somewhere. 🎥💻📽

“The Taking of Pelham One Two Three” (also known as The Taking of Pelham 1 2 3) crime drama, follows a group of criminals who hijack a New York City Subway car and hold the passengers for ransom. Adapted from the 1973 novel of the same name written by Morton Freedgood under the pen name John Godey. This original version starred Robert Shaw, Martin Balsam and Hector Elizondo as the bad guys; Walter Matthau as the cop. There was a 1998 television version, which was closer to the 1973 version, but the 2009 thriller, with Denzel Washington and John Travolta and directed by Tony Scott, had a different plot point.

       Anyhow, the 1973 version had more drama; the 2009 film, more thrills. I can't tell which was better though. Seemed like two different movies. Meanwhile, the 1998 TV movie version (Tubi) is neither. I can't really tell if this is an awful movie by itself though. With Edward James Olmos as the cop and Vincent D'Onofrio, Richard Schiff and Donnie Wahlberg as the bad guys, acting is a-okay. But I was bored with this version. No drama, no thrills. 🎥💻📽

GAVE UP: <>“Planet Terror” (2007, Plex) action comedy horror film written and directed by Robert Rodriguez. Set in Texas, the film follows the survivors of a biochemical outbreak as they battle zombie-like creatures and a rogue military unit. <>“Death Proof” (2007, Plex) slasher film written and directed by Quentin Tarantino. It stars Kurt Russell as a stuntman who murders young women with modified cars he says are "death-proof.”