Ghidorah, the Three-Headed Monster (San Daikaiju: Chikyu Saidai No Kessen) (1964)
Runtime: 93 minutes
Directed by: Ishiro Honda
Starring: Yosuke Natsuki, Yuriko Hoshi, Hiroshi Koizumi, Akiki Wakabayashi
From: Toho
I figured it was time to watch another Godzilla film and this is the start of the franchise getting pretty wacky, as this was quite wacky. I'll return tomorrow afternoon, and I think I'll watch something else that is zany.
(Note: As there's a definite difference between the two, the version I saw was the original cut put out by Toho)
Last night I checked out this film and while some elements are starting to get old with the Toho kaiji formula of this franchise, they really went the wacky route here. Let me give some bullet point reasons as to why:
* Aliens from outer space; that's their introduction to the Godzilla universe. They are causing weird things on Earth and it leads to such things as possession and a three headed dragon to happen. Yes, a three headed dragon from space.
* Another plot revolves around a princess from a fictitious country and an insidious plot to assassinate her. That plot and those moments seem like straight out of a Seijun Suzuki film and it was just odd as those two did not always mesh well together.
* Other elements present include a variety show, monsters “talking” to each other, shock treatment, talk of alternate dimensions, a magnetic “meteorite” that's actually something else, Rodan and the larvae version of Mothra. I've never seen 1955's Rodan, as I've heard it's not good so chronologically this is the first I've seen the flying dinosaur... or if you want to call them that, a flying chicken.
It's all quite goofy and that helps in a first half that sets up the story and has basically zero monster action. By the end there's some quality action-and as always there is also quality miniature work-so overall I'll say this is a 3 star affair.
Thursday, April 30, 2015
Wednesday, April 29, 2015
A Wacky Movie
No I did not watch a wacky movie (or any for that matter; I was too tired last night) but I heard about one from a messageboard recently. It was one that was at only a few AMC Theatres last month for a week and I don't believe it came to any near me but if it is then I am disappointed I missed out on it.
It is a film released this year called Nightlight. It was talked about in this article. Pretty much it's a typical found footage horror movie set in the woods. Talk about a genre that's more than played out now and yet I am sure it'll continue on for a few more years before everyone finally gets the memo. From all descriptions this is different... in a way that's either brilliant, stupid, or both. Instead of it being from the point of view of a camera that is being carried around by someone, it's from the point of view of A FLASHLIGHT. Amazing. I will wait until it inevitably comes on Instant in the future before I watch it but I definitely will watch it for having such a loony premise.
I'll be back tomorrow night.
It is a film released this year called Nightlight. It was talked about in this article. Pretty much it's a typical found footage horror movie set in the woods. Talk about a genre that's more than played out now and yet I am sure it'll continue on for a few more years before everyone finally gets the memo. From all descriptions this is different... in a way that's either brilliant, stupid, or both. Instead of it being from the point of view of a camera that is being carried around by someone, it's from the point of view of A FLASHLIGHT. Amazing. I will wait until it inevitably comes on Instant in the future before I watch it but I definitely will watch it for having such a loony premise.
I'll be back tomorrow night.
Tuesday, April 28, 2015
Godzilla (Unfortunately, The 1998 Film)
Godzilla (1998)
Runtime: 139 agonizing minutes
Directed by: Roland Emmerich
Starring: Matthew Broderick, Jean Reno, Maria Pitillo, Hank Azaria, Kevin Dunn
From: Tri-Star
Yes, I finally watched this film again; the last viewing was oh so long ago. I didn't like it back then and now it's even worse. Besides the reasons I listed below in my Letterboxd review, there's also the stereotyping and sometimes racism that happens with several different ethnicities (Japanese, Italian, and French); oh, French people love their baked treats and coffee and Japanese people slurp noodles and watch sumo wrestling? Lord! I'll be back tomorrow and I plan on watching something better than this.
This is another case of me watching again something that I last saw many years ago. The first viewing was back on the big screen in May of '98, where me and many others watched it and ended up with the general consensus that it isn't too good. I am sure I saw it on VHS sometime after that but it has to be at least 15 years since the last viewing. After last night, don't expect me to ever see this again.
I don't really need to recap the story of how “Godzilla” (actually a bipedal dinosaur creature that sort of looks like a T-Rex) ends up in New York City but let me make clear that if this movie had no ties at all to the Toho franchise and instead was a random movie titled something like, “A Giant Dinosaur is on the Loose in New York City” it'd still be a lousy movie for the reasons I list below.
However, when you consider that the main filmmakers of this (Roland Emmerich and Dean Devlin) did not respect the original property and in fact hated it and thought those movies sucked, you get something that's a big slap in the face to all the Godzilla fans around the world, where you get an awful piece of crap worse than even Godzilla vs. Megalon and a monster that looks nothing like the original and it's quickly written crap which rips off such things as Star Wars and Jurassic Park (the latter to a far greater degree than I had remembered) and let me explain why below in a few bullet points why I only give this one star.
* The story is just not good. Nevermind how it was never adequately explained why 'Zilla decided to leave the South Pacific Ocean and ended up thousands of miles away in New York City, there are many things in the film that make zero sense; that big lizard being a burrower? No, just no. Also, if it was going to rain most of the time why wasn't this set in Seattle, where at least the stereotype is that it rains every day.
* Too much goofy humor, and most of it is not funny at all; it's more abrasive and obnoxious than anything else. The lead hero being known as “the worm guy”, and always having his Greek surname mispronounced... sigh. That leads to:
* Unappealing characters. They are either too stupid or come across as A-holes. The most blatant examples are “Mayor Ebert” and his assistant “Gene”. The filmmakers were so gravely offended Siskel & Ebert did not like their last film Independence Day that they created those two over-exaggerated buffoons and it was just so bad and petty... and they didn't even have 'Zilla kill the either of them! In terms of stupidity, a guy in a helicopter tries to avoid the dino... and never thought of flying up to get out of its reach.
* The CGI... yikes does most of it look pretty bad in 2015. I and others thought this was OK back then? I did not remember it being this bad in '98.
* This is a point brought up by someone I know who mentioned it in a review he posted last year about this film, but it's accurate: no one seems too concerned that their city just got trashed (seemingly half the damage done because of human stupidity) and suffered billions of dollars in damage. Real life events since this came out make it pretty clear they got it SO wrong here, and NYC people LOVE their city. If none of the characters care, why should I?
Like I said I don't plan on watching this ever again, as there's no need to. I could go on and on about the badness of this but I thought I summed up the biggest problems.
Runtime: 139 agonizing minutes
Directed by: Roland Emmerich
Starring: Matthew Broderick, Jean Reno, Maria Pitillo, Hank Azaria, Kevin Dunn
From: Tri-Star
Yes, I finally watched this film again; the last viewing was oh so long ago. I didn't like it back then and now it's even worse. Besides the reasons I listed below in my Letterboxd review, there's also the stereotyping and sometimes racism that happens with several different ethnicities (Japanese, Italian, and French); oh, French people love their baked treats and coffee and Japanese people slurp noodles and watch sumo wrestling? Lord! I'll be back tomorrow and I plan on watching something better than this.
This is another case of me watching again something that I last saw many years ago. The first viewing was back on the big screen in May of '98, where me and many others watched it and ended up with the general consensus that it isn't too good. I am sure I saw it on VHS sometime after that but it has to be at least 15 years since the last viewing. After last night, don't expect me to ever see this again.
I don't really need to recap the story of how “Godzilla” (actually a bipedal dinosaur creature that sort of looks like a T-Rex) ends up in New York City but let me make clear that if this movie had no ties at all to the Toho franchise and instead was a random movie titled something like, “A Giant Dinosaur is on the Loose in New York City” it'd still be a lousy movie for the reasons I list below.
However, when you consider that the main filmmakers of this (Roland Emmerich and Dean Devlin) did not respect the original property and in fact hated it and thought those movies sucked, you get something that's a big slap in the face to all the Godzilla fans around the world, where you get an awful piece of crap worse than even Godzilla vs. Megalon and a monster that looks nothing like the original and it's quickly written crap which rips off such things as Star Wars and Jurassic Park (the latter to a far greater degree than I had remembered) and let me explain why below in a few bullet points why I only give this one star.
* The story is just not good. Nevermind how it was never adequately explained why 'Zilla decided to leave the South Pacific Ocean and ended up thousands of miles away in New York City, there are many things in the film that make zero sense; that big lizard being a burrower? No, just no. Also, if it was going to rain most of the time why wasn't this set in Seattle, where at least the stereotype is that it rains every day.
* Too much goofy humor, and most of it is not funny at all; it's more abrasive and obnoxious than anything else. The lead hero being known as “the worm guy”, and always having his Greek surname mispronounced... sigh. That leads to:
* Unappealing characters. They are either too stupid or come across as A-holes. The most blatant examples are “Mayor Ebert” and his assistant “Gene”. The filmmakers were so gravely offended Siskel & Ebert did not like their last film Independence Day that they created those two over-exaggerated buffoons and it was just so bad and petty... and they didn't even have 'Zilla kill the either of them! In terms of stupidity, a guy in a helicopter tries to avoid the dino... and never thought of flying up to get out of its reach.
* The CGI... yikes does most of it look pretty bad in 2015. I and others thought this was OK back then? I did not remember it being this bad in '98.
* This is a point brought up by someone I know who mentioned it in a review he posted last year about this film, but it's accurate: no one seems too concerned that their city just got trashed (seemingly half the damage done because of human stupidity) and suffered billions of dollars in damage. Real life events since this came out make it pretty clear they got it SO wrong here, and NYC people LOVE their city. If none of the characters care, why should I?
Like I said I don't plan on watching this ever again, as there's no need to. I could go on and on about the badness of this but I thought I summed up the biggest problems.
Monday, April 27, 2015
Catching Up On Podcasts...
and relaxing last night/today due to being too tired is the explanation I have for saying now that you'll have to wait until tomorrow night for a proper review from me, but I do have more than one idea what to watch tonight, so I am set there.
Sunday, April 26, 2015
Metropolis
Metropolis (1927)
Runtime: 148 minutes
Directed by: Fritz Lang
Starring: Gustav Frohlich, Brigitte Helm, Alfred Abel, Rudolf Klein-Rogge, Fritz Rasp
From: UFA
Note that the first part of this review is me talking about the 2010 restored version, running 148 minutes long, then I talk about the 1984 version of the film done by Giorgio Moroder where he tried restoring it with what was available at the time and added some real 1980's touches to it. Both those Letterboxd reviews are below and I'll return tomorrow night.
"The Mediator Between Brain And Hands Must Be The Heart!"
Like many people, I did see one of the shorter versions of this legendary film that were floating about, aided by it becoming public domain. I thought it was great at the time. Despite that and being quite excited to hear that longer versions were discovered in Argentina then New Zealand and it would be released on disc, I waited until last night to finally watch that definitive version on Blu-ray. Even I can't quite adequately explained why I did this, but at least I finally gave it a viewing.
I don't want to say too much for those that haven't seen this classic yet, but it's set in a 2026 futuristic city and it is a real case of “the haves vs. the have nots” as the elite live in luxury in a lovely looking burgh while everyone else lives underground and they have to work to supply the power and electricity to those in power. The city is run by a Joh Fredersen; he has an adult son named Freder and he falls in love with an attractive blonde of “the lower class” named Maria and trouble happens when the lower class plans on an uprising. Also factoring into an equation is a mad scientist with the hilarious name of Rotwang and a human-like robot he created.
The reputation of this is well-deserved. Besides an epic story which touches on such things as the seven sins, romance, betrayal, oppression, madness, and greed, the effects/background/sets are all tremendous and even now they are quite impressive. You are immediately brought into that expressionistic universe and you're always engrossed throughout by this film that is filled to the brim with imagination, unforgettable expansive sets and big moments.
I do always think it's great whenever films that are considered “lost” can be rediscovered, which has sometimes happened in recent years. When a half hour of material thought gone forever has been added to an all-time great that influenced the likes of Star Wars (with C-3PO), Blade Runner, Dark City, The Fifth Element, the Burton Batman films, Superman, and others... it can be considered a miracle and it made a great film even better. If you have never watched this before, the 148 minute version is clearly the way to go.
Now, the Moroder version:
Earlier in the day I posted a review of the 2010 fully restored 148 minute version of Metropolis. To be brief, I gave it 5 stars and praised how great the movie is even in 2015. However, I had never seen this version of the film, released in 1984.
Legendary music producer Giorgio Moroder used some of his disco cash to try and restore the movie to the best he could with the footage and techniques available at the time. There are only a few interlaced titles, subtitles are used instead to show dialogue, the footage is shown at a faster rate (which is why this is 83 minutes long), the footage is tinted various colors but usually is subtle, there are added sound effects and the score is replaced with one Moroder did himself and includes 80's pop ditties done by the likes of Loverboy, Freddie Mercury, Billy Squier, Pat Benatar, and Bonnie Tyler.
Now, while the 2010 version is definitely the definitive version to watch, this is a rather interesting alternate version. I am not always sure if the music fits the scenes but the score itself is pretty great; then again I tend to dig Moroder's music a lot so I may be biased there. The added color and sound effects put a different spin on things and I was fine with it being shorter, but there was nothing wrong with the original length either.
Above all else, I commend Giorgio Moroder for trying to put together the best possible version of the film that he could at the time. How effective the 80's touches are... it can certainly be debated but I appreciate that he's a big fan of the movie and was able to put this project together to introduce it to a new generation.
Runtime: 148 minutes
Directed by: Fritz Lang
Starring: Gustav Frohlich, Brigitte Helm, Alfred Abel, Rudolf Klein-Rogge, Fritz Rasp
From: UFA
Note that the first part of this review is me talking about the 2010 restored version, running 148 minutes long, then I talk about the 1984 version of the film done by Giorgio Moroder where he tried restoring it with what was available at the time and added some real 1980's touches to it. Both those Letterboxd reviews are below and I'll return tomorrow night.
"The Mediator Between Brain And Hands Must Be The Heart!"
Like many people, I did see one of the shorter versions of this legendary film that were floating about, aided by it becoming public domain. I thought it was great at the time. Despite that and being quite excited to hear that longer versions were discovered in Argentina then New Zealand and it would be released on disc, I waited until last night to finally watch that definitive version on Blu-ray. Even I can't quite adequately explained why I did this, but at least I finally gave it a viewing.
I don't want to say too much for those that haven't seen this classic yet, but it's set in a 2026 futuristic city and it is a real case of “the haves vs. the have nots” as the elite live in luxury in a lovely looking burgh while everyone else lives underground and they have to work to supply the power and electricity to those in power. The city is run by a Joh Fredersen; he has an adult son named Freder and he falls in love with an attractive blonde of “the lower class” named Maria and trouble happens when the lower class plans on an uprising. Also factoring into an equation is a mad scientist with the hilarious name of Rotwang and a human-like robot he created.
The reputation of this is well-deserved. Besides an epic story which touches on such things as the seven sins, romance, betrayal, oppression, madness, and greed, the effects/background/sets are all tremendous and even now they are quite impressive. You are immediately brought into that expressionistic universe and you're always engrossed throughout by this film that is filled to the brim with imagination, unforgettable expansive sets and big moments.
I do always think it's great whenever films that are considered “lost” can be rediscovered, which has sometimes happened in recent years. When a half hour of material thought gone forever has been added to an all-time great that influenced the likes of Star Wars (with C-3PO), Blade Runner, Dark City, The Fifth Element, the Burton Batman films, Superman, and others... it can be considered a miracle and it made a great film even better. If you have never watched this before, the 148 minute version is clearly the way to go.
Now, the Moroder version:
Earlier in the day I posted a review of the 2010 fully restored 148 minute version of Metropolis. To be brief, I gave it 5 stars and praised how great the movie is even in 2015. However, I had never seen this version of the film, released in 1984.
Legendary music producer Giorgio Moroder used some of his disco cash to try and restore the movie to the best he could with the footage and techniques available at the time. There are only a few interlaced titles, subtitles are used instead to show dialogue, the footage is shown at a faster rate (which is why this is 83 minutes long), the footage is tinted various colors but usually is subtle, there are added sound effects and the score is replaced with one Moroder did himself and includes 80's pop ditties done by the likes of Loverboy, Freddie Mercury, Billy Squier, Pat Benatar, and Bonnie Tyler.
Now, while the 2010 version is definitely the definitive version to watch, this is a rather interesting alternate version. I am not always sure if the music fits the scenes but the score itself is pretty great; then again I tend to dig Moroder's music a lot so I may be biased there. The added color and sound effects put a different spin on things and I was fine with it being shorter, but there was nothing wrong with the original length either.
Above all else, I commend Giorgio Moroder for trying to put together the best possible version of the film that he could at the time. How effective the 80's touches are... it can certainly be debated but I appreciate that he's a big fan of the movie and was able to put this project together to introduce it to a new generation.
Saturday, April 25, 2015
Forbidden Planet
Forbidden Planet (1956)
Runtime: 98 minutes
Directed by: Fred M. Wilcox
Starring: Walter Pidgeon, Anne Francis, Leslie Nielsen, Warren Stevens, Jack Kelly
From: MGM
I saw this movie again on television last night. The first viewing was a long time ago. I am glad I finally saw it again after all of these years. The Letterboxd review is below and I will return tomorrow night.
This motion picture is another example of a film that I had seen before but that viewing was many years ago (in this case, around 20 or so); when I saw TCM was showing it last night I knew that was the right time to check out this sci-fi classic again.
This tale is basically Shakespeare's The Tempest. A ship goes into the far reaches of space to check on a colony that hasn't had any contact in the past 20 years. They land and discover a large building on an otherwise barren planet and the only occupants is an intelligent scientist (Walter Pidgeon), his daughter Altaira (Anne Francis), who the ship's crew immediately all drool over and make blunt comments about her physical beauty, and a charming robot known as Robbie the Robot. The crew is not wanted there, and not just because multiple men fall for Altaira. A mysterious force killed almost all the colony soon after they got there and it appears as if it's returned... oh, and a mysterious race known as the Krill used to live there long ago and their technology is still around.
The movie is not fast-paced and that's OK with me as it's an intelligent and mature sci-fi where philosophy is a key component in trying to figure out what's going on. Well, the views on women and how all those men acted as soon as they saw an attractive blonde was not mature, but other than that...I do enjoy science fiction and how it can be used to explore topics of a broad scope, such as what it means to be a human, a person's innermost struggles or using metaphors to address societal issues. I won't delve into details on what this film is really about in case someone hasn't seen it yet but wish to in the future.The 50's view of the future is quite pleasing and not only are the special effects still pretty cool, but the electronic score is really rad.
While I understand those who think this is “too dull” or “unexciting”, to me it's a very interesting and astute science fiction movie from the past. I was happy to finally see it again.
Runtime: 98 minutes
Directed by: Fred M. Wilcox
Starring: Walter Pidgeon, Anne Francis, Leslie Nielsen, Warren Stevens, Jack Kelly
From: MGM
I saw this movie again on television last night. The first viewing was a long time ago. I am glad I finally saw it again after all of these years. The Letterboxd review is below and I will return tomorrow night.
This motion picture is another example of a film that I had seen before but that viewing was many years ago (in this case, around 20 or so); when I saw TCM was showing it last night I knew that was the right time to check out this sci-fi classic again.
This tale is basically Shakespeare's The Tempest. A ship goes into the far reaches of space to check on a colony that hasn't had any contact in the past 20 years. They land and discover a large building on an otherwise barren planet and the only occupants is an intelligent scientist (Walter Pidgeon), his daughter Altaira (Anne Francis), who the ship's crew immediately all drool over and make blunt comments about her physical beauty, and a charming robot known as Robbie the Robot. The crew is not wanted there, and not just because multiple men fall for Altaira. A mysterious force killed almost all the colony soon after they got there and it appears as if it's returned... oh, and a mysterious race known as the Krill used to live there long ago and their technology is still around.
The movie is not fast-paced and that's OK with me as it's an intelligent and mature sci-fi where philosophy is a key component in trying to figure out what's going on. Well, the views on women and how all those men acted as soon as they saw an attractive blonde was not mature, but other than that...I do enjoy science fiction and how it can be used to explore topics of a broad scope, such as what it means to be a human, a person's innermost struggles or using metaphors to address societal issues. I won't delve into details on what this film is really about in case someone hasn't seen it yet but wish to in the future.The 50's view of the future is quite pleasing and not only are the special effects still pretty cool, but the electronic score is really rad.
While I understand those who think this is “too dull” or “unexciting”, to me it's a very interesting and astute science fiction movie from the past. I was happy to finally see it again.
Friday, April 24, 2015
Unfriended/It Follows
Unfriended (2015)
61% on Rotten Tomatoes (out of 85 reviews)
Runtime: 83 minutes
Directed by: Levan Gabriadze
Starring: Shelley Hennig, Moses Storm, Will Peltz, Matthew Bohrer, Renee Olstead
From: Universal
It Follows (2014)
96% on Rotten Tomatoes (out of 157 reviews)
Runtime: 100 minutes
Directed by: David Robert Mitchell
Starring: Maika Monroe, Keir Gilcrest, Olivia Luccardi, Lili Sepe, Daniel Zovatto
From: RADiUS/TWC
Yes, last night I watched both of these motion pictures on the big screen at the local cineplex, and even I am surprised that I rated the former 4 stars and the latter only 2 ½. I'll explain why below via my Letterboxd reviews, first with Unfriended then It Follows. I'll be back tomorrow night.
Early in the year when the first trailer for this film came out, while I was amused by all the buzz it created, I just presumed it'd be like Snakes on a Plane and it wouldn't necessarily mean it'd do well at the box office. Besides, I just presumed it'd be teenybopper crap so I didn't have to pay much attention to it. Then, I realized it would be rated R and I saw strong praise for it from here and elsewhere and I realized it was something I should probably actually see.
I am sure most know of the plot, so I won't say much about it except that it's about a teenaged girl (of course played by an actress who's actually in her late 20's now) who has an embarrassing drunken night and it goes viral and she experiences cyberbullying, which results in her suicide. A year later her ghost returns via an omnipotent online presence and only through the view of a computer screen of a young girl (with the quality name of Blaire) you see it do damage via not just more traditional supernatural horrors but also by such means as Skype, Facebook, Spotify (yes, really), and Instagram, among other services that I have not all used as a 34 year old man who thinks that most “young people these days” are the types of sh*theads you actually see in this movie. Understand this, the six people (it dwindles down as the film goes on) seem like normal kids but actually are awful people who are easy to turn on and yell at each other, engaging in some gross behavior. The deaths of these asstagonists wasn't too sad to me, for the most part.
I understand those that hate it and think it makes zero sense or find the characters we have to follow absolutely insufferable. Me, I viewed it as a parable against cyberbullying and being an awful teenager. The movie feels authentic in presenting how “the youth” interact with each other in these modern times and just from a night of a Skype conversation among a group of teens and Blaire using other services to communicate with the malevolent force and some of the group of of Skype, it's always interesting and to me it was more than just a new gimmick masking a bad story. To me it made this preposterous tale actually work and get across its message effectively. Lord knows if the audience will even understand what's being said, but I wish they did accept the idea to be nicer to each other and realize cyberbullying is now quite easy but still pretty awful and something with often tragic consequences.
Note that I can't explain away the LOL moment where a character states that they don't know what an Internet troll is! That was pretty dopey, but even with that and a film where you get a lot of yelling and screaming, I enjoyed this more than I could have ever predicted.
Now, It Follows.
I know I know, yet another review from me where I happen to go against the grain and I am unable (incapable?) of loving something that most people (whether just in the film world or in and out of it) think is the bee's knees. I was not expecting that to be the cast here, me seeing this on my own double bill, seeing this at the theatre right after watching Unfriended, and that being the film I thought was better and more entertaining to me.
To clarify, the way it was filmed was pretty good, with quality cinematography (if a little too show-off at times), nice performances from a young cast I did not recognize aside from lead Maika Monroe, some creepy moments and a weird & great synth score from a random dude calling themselves Disasterpiece. Unfortunately, when it comes to the story... it let me down. It's not the slow pacing or how many things aren't explained.
Basically, it's a movie trying SO hard to be something from the late 70's to early 80's (some technology is from that period but it's in a modern world) & an STD metaphor as after sex, a 19 year old girl called Jay (Monroe) is told a cockeyed story about being passed a curse and the cursee can see a slowly walking person-actually a visual representation of something from their lives-but no one else can, something we know far sooner than the characters do, leading to me twiddling my thumbs as I wait for them to catch up. Many contrivances happen and an original concept seems to get wasted. Also, there were too many “on the nose” moments, mainly coming from dialogue.
If the ending would have been bitchin' then maybe I'd be more forgiving of this. But, what we got in the final act instead was just flat out STUPID, so dumb that I just about howled with laughter at its dopiness, then how it plays out was bad, in my eyes. I am not sure why that was accepted by most people as I totally rejected it. I know that after the fact the filmmakers tried to explain that way; I didn't buy the explanations, personally.
What a shame as I wanted to love this like so many do. It was just impossible for me to do so. And why was it so misogynistic with the frequent female nudity, look at pornographic magazines and how the camera leers at the female characters, all young adult women? What is the director saying there? “Disappointment” is my closing thought of this movie.
61% on Rotten Tomatoes (out of 85 reviews)
Runtime: 83 minutes
Directed by: Levan Gabriadze
Starring: Shelley Hennig, Moses Storm, Will Peltz, Matthew Bohrer, Renee Olstead
From: Universal
It Follows (2014)
96% on Rotten Tomatoes (out of 157 reviews)
Runtime: 100 minutes
Directed by: David Robert Mitchell
Starring: Maika Monroe, Keir Gilcrest, Olivia Luccardi, Lili Sepe, Daniel Zovatto
From: RADiUS/TWC
Yes, last night I watched both of these motion pictures on the big screen at the local cineplex, and even I am surprised that I rated the former 4 stars and the latter only 2 ½. I'll explain why below via my Letterboxd reviews, first with Unfriended then It Follows. I'll be back tomorrow night.
Early in the year when the first trailer for this film came out, while I was amused by all the buzz it created, I just presumed it'd be like Snakes on a Plane and it wouldn't necessarily mean it'd do well at the box office. Besides, I just presumed it'd be teenybopper crap so I didn't have to pay much attention to it. Then, I realized it would be rated R and I saw strong praise for it from here and elsewhere and I realized it was something I should probably actually see.
I am sure most know of the plot, so I won't say much about it except that it's about a teenaged girl (of course played by an actress who's actually in her late 20's now) who has an embarrassing drunken night and it goes viral and she experiences cyberbullying, which results in her suicide. A year later her ghost returns via an omnipotent online presence and only through the view of a computer screen of a young girl (with the quality name of Blaire) you see it do damage via not just more traditional supernatural horrors but also by such means as Skype, Facebook, Spotify (yes, really), and Instagram, among other services that I have not all used as a 34 year old man who thinks that most “young people these days” are the types of sh*theads you actually see in this movie. Understand this, the six people (it dwindles down as the film goes on) seem like normal kids but actually are awful people who are easy to turn on and yell at each other, engaging in some gross behavior. The deaths of these asstagonists wasn't too sad to me, for the most part.
I understand those that hate it and think it makes zero sense or find the characters we have to follow absolutely insufferable. Me, I viewed it as a parable against cyberbullying and being an awful teenager. The movie feels authentic in presenting how “the youth” interact with each other in these modern times and just from a night of a Skype conversation among a group of teens and Blaire using other services to communicate with the malevolent force and some of the group of of Skype, it's always interesting and to me it was more than just a new gimmick masking a bad story. To me it made this preposterous tale actually work and get across its message effectively. Lord knows if the audience will even understand what's being said, but I wish they did accept the idea to be nicer to each other and realize cyberbullying is now quite easy but still pretty awful and something with often tragic consequences.
Note that I can't explain away the LOL moment where a character states that they don't know what an Internet troll is! That was pretty dopey, but even with that and a film where you get a lot of yelling and screaming, I enjoyed this more than I could have ever predicted.
Now, It Follows.
I know I know, yet another review from me where I happen to go against the grain and I am unable (incapable?) of loving something that most people (whether just in the film world or in and out of it) think is the bee's knees. I was not expecting that to be the cast here, me seeing this on my own double bill, seeing this at the theatre right after watching Unfriended, and that being the film I thought was better and more entertaining to me.
To clarify, the way it was filmed was pretty good, with quality cinematography (if a little too show-off at times), nice performances from a young cast I did not recognize aside from lead Maika Monroe, some creepy moments and a weird & great synth score from a random dude calling themselves Disasterpiece. Unfortunately, when it comes to the story... it let me down. It's not the slow pacing or how many things aren't explained.
Basically, it's a movie trying SO hard to be something from the late 70's to early 80's (some technology is from that period but it's in a modern world) & an STD metaphor as after sex, a 19 year old girl called Jay (Monroe) is told a cockeyed story about being passed a curse and the cursee can see a slowly walking person-actually a visual representation of something from their lives-but no one else can, something we know far sooner than the characters do, leading to me twiddling my thumbs as I wait for them to catch up. Many contrivances happen and an original concept seems to get wasted. Also, there were too many “on the nose” moments, mainly coming from dialogue.
If the ending would have been bitchin' then maybe I'd be more forgiving of this. But, what we got in the final act instead was just flat out STUPID, so dumb that I just about howled with laughter at its dopiness, then how it plays out was bad, in my eyes. I am not sure why that was accepted by most people as I totally rejected it. I know that after the fact the filmmakers tried to explain that way; I didn't buy the explanations, personally.
What a shame as I wanted to love this like so many do. It was just impossible for me to do so. And why was it so misogynistic with the frequent female nudity, look at pornographic magazines and how the camera leers at the female characters, all young adult women? What is the director saying there? “Disappointment” is my closing thought of this movie.
Thursday, April 23, 2015
Mothra vs. Godzilla
Mothra vs. Godzilla (Mosura Tai Gojira) (1964)
Runtime: 89 minutes
Directed by: Ishiro Honda
Starring: Akira Takarada, Yuriko Hoshi, Hiroshi Koizumi, Yu Fujiki, Kenji Sahara
From: Toho
This is not a lengthy review from me tonight. That is OK as when I return tomorrow night I plan on talking about two films, and both are theatrical. I plan on seeing them tonight. For now, the Letterboxd review is below.
Last night I peeped this film, and as I have it on a Classic Media DVD, I was able to watch the original Toho version, and in Toho Scope. Once again it's a tale involving newspaper reporters (a common theme with kaiju films, I am starting to notice) and it's certainly wacky, but still engrossing.
Here, after a typhoon a giant egg is found and yeah, it's from Mothra. It's purchased via a contrived way and an amusement park is actually being built around it and incubation will make it hatch on opening day. Yes, pretty goofy. Some reporters and a scientist team up and they meet up with the Mothra Twins (that's what I'll call them, anyway) and they try to get the egg back from the greedy bastards who possess it... and Godzilla also shows up and further mucks up things. Needless to say the two monsters engage in battle.
While it's silly, I was engrossed the entire time. All the stuff with the humans I found to be entertaining and it actually got preachy at times, rallying against such things as greed/avarice and wishing for human beings to get along but it's done in a charming rather than an obnoxious way. Of course you get quality miniature effects (and dated yet pleasing optical effects too) and it was the right mix of story and kaiju goodness so that is why I can give this a nice rating, even if some of the humor is unintentional and Big G seems rather clumsy in this installment.
Runtime: 89 minutes
Directed by: Ishiro Honda
Starring: Akira Takarada, Yuriko Hoshi, Hiroshi Koizumi, Yu Fujiki, Kenji Sahara
From: Toho
This is not a lengthy review from me tonight. That is OK as when I return tomorrow night I plan on talking about two films, and both are theatrical. I plan on seeing them tonight. For now, the Letterboxd review is below.
Last night I peeped this film, and as I have it on a Classic Media DVD, I was able to watch the original Toho version, and in Toho Scope. Once again it's a tale involving newspaper reporters (a common theme with kaiju films, I am starting to notice) and it's certainly wacky, but still engrossing.
Here, after a typhoon a giant egg is found and yeah, it's from Mothra. It's purchased via a contrived way and an amusement park is actually being built around it and incubation will make it hatch on opening day. Yes, pretty goofy. Some reporters and a scientist team up and they meet up with the Mothra Twins (that's what I'll call them, anyway) and they try to get the egg back from the greedy bastards who possess it... and Godzilla also shows up and further mucks up things. Needless to say the two monsters engage in battle.
While it's silly, I was engrossed the entire time. All the stuff with the humans I found to be entertaining and it actually got preachy at times, rallying against such things as greed/avarice and wishing for human beings to get along but it's done in a charming rather than an obnoxious way. Of course you get quality miniature effects (and dated yet pleasing optical effects too) and it was the right mix of story and kaiju goodness so that is why I can give this a nice rating, even if some of the humor is unintentional and Big G seems rather clumsy in this installment.
Wednesday, April 22, 2015
Paradise, Hawaiian Style
Paradise, Hawaiian Style (1966)
Runtime: 91 minutes
Directed by: Michael D. Moore
Starring: Elvis, James Shigeta, Suzanna Leigh, Marianna Hill, Donna Butterworth
From: Paramount
After too long, I finally returned to watching an Elvis film, and one that happened to be on TV. It's not as wacky as the other two I saw early this year, but it doesn't mean I wasted my time watching it. The Letterboxd review is below and I'll return tomorrow night.
Early in the year I saw the Elvis films Kissin' Cousins and Tickle Me, but after that I got away from watching them. Well, this film was on an Encore channel last night so I decided to check it out.
The hilarity started even before I saw this when I saw on the IMDb that Elvis's name in the film was Rick Richards. Yes, Richard Richards. He's a pilot who's a womanizer (and demonstrates this often during the movie) and he gets into trouble on the mainland so he returns home to Hawaii where he drags his fellow pilot friend Danny (the late James Shigeta; as a huge Die Hard fan it was nice to see him as a younger man) into a new business where they fly private flights via plane and helicopter. Contrivances happen and the business experience trouble.
Rick seems more preoccupied with trying to bed various women and he even wants attractive ladies to work at the business “for the customers” and prefers said girls to be single. Yes, 60's sexism is rampant here and that's not the only example. A woman wishes to fly for the company but she has to be the secretary instead and there's little opportunity wasted to have women in bikinis. At least they cast an actual Hawaiian in Shigeta to play someone who is a native to the area and he had a Caucasian wife and multiple kids who at least looked like they could be the product of those two. Also, Rick does get accurately called out for how he acts like a cad and him being a hound dog does figure into the final act.
The movie is helped out by shooting on location in Hawaii and there are many opportunities to look at the beautiful Hawaiian scenery. I am sure Elvis did not mind filming several movies there, and neither did the crew there. One of Danny's daughters (who is like 10) does some singing too and she and Elvis have a nice relationship. As for the music, it's enjoyable to hear native Polynesian tunes but none of the songs Elvis sings are the best, unless you are dying to hear him sing a tune called Queen Wahine's Papaya-I presume the song is innocuous but it could certainly be interpreted in a very vulgar way and I'll leave it at that-or warble about sand castles or in one case, about dogs while dogs are barking/howling in the background.
The movie's definitely not as wacky as the other two from Elvis I've seen but I can still say it's an alright watch.
Runtime: 91 minutes
Directed by: Michael D. Moore
Starring: Elvis, James Shigeta, Suzanna Leigh, Marianna Hill, Donna Butterworth
From: Paramount
After too long, I finally returned to watching an Elvis film, and one that happened to be on TV. It's not as wacky as the other two I saw early this year, but it doesn't mean I wasted my time watching it. The Letterboxd review is below and I'll return tomorrow night.
Early in the year I saw the Elvis films Kissin' Cousins and Tickle Me, but after that I got away from watching them. Well, this film was on an Encore channel last night so I decided to check it out.
The hilarity started even before I saw this when I saw on the IMDb that Elvis's name in the film was Rick Richards. Yes, Richard Richards. He's a pilot who's a womanizer (and demonstrates this often during the movie) and he gets into trouble on the mainland so he returns home to Hawaii where he drags his fellow pilot friend Danny (the late James Shigeta; as a huge Die Hard fan it was nice to see him as a younger man) into a new business where they fly private flights via plane and helicopter. Contrivances happen and the business experience trouble.
Rick seems more preoccupied with trying to bed various women and he even wants attractive ladies to work at the business “for the customers” and prefers said girls to be single. Yes, 60's sexism is rampant here and that's not the only example. A woman wishes to fly for the company but she has to be the secretary instead and there's little opportunity wasted to have women in bikinis. At least they cast an actual Hawaiian in Shigeta to play someone who is a native to the area and he had a Caucasian wife and multiple kids who at least looked like they could be the product of those two. Also, Rick does get accurately called out for how he acts like a cad and him being a hound dog does figure into the final act.
The movie is helped out by shooting on location in Hawaii and there are many opportunities to look at the beautiful Hawaiian scenery. I am sure Elvis did not mind filming several movies there, and neither did the crew there. One of Danny's daughters (who is like 10) does some singing too and she and Elvis have a nice relationship. As for the music, it's enjoyable to hear native Polynesian tunes but none of the songs Elvis sings are the best, unless you are dying to hear him sing a tune called Queen Wahine's Papaya-I presume the song is innocuous but it could certainly be interpreted in a very vulgar way and I'll leave it at that-or warble about sand castles or in one case, about dogs while dogs are barking/howling in the background.
The movie's definitely not as wacky as the other two from Elvis I've seen but I can still say it's an alright watch.
Tuesday, April 21, 2015
Friday
Friday (1995)
Runtime: I saw the Director's Cut and that's 97 minutes long
Directed by: F. Gary Gray
Starring: Ice Cube, Chris Tucker, Nia Long, Tiny Lister, Jr., John Witherspoon
From: New Line Cinema
Last night I watched this comedy on the favorite day of the year for marijuana smokers. This was not a coincidence and no I am not someone who enjoys the ganja myself. I explain why below in my Letterboxd review and I'll return tomorrow night.
I had seen this film several times before but last night was the first time I had watched it on the big screen, and it was the Director's Cut; it was presented by Fathom Events and it was not a coincidence this was done on April 20. In fact, several people in the audience sounded like they happily partook in the 4/20 festivities before making it there! I was happy to see it in such a manner.
This is still a popular cult hit and I've always enjoyed this “day in the life” comedy, despite how I am far removed from the movie's South Central LA setting; I grew up in a town in Illinois, not poor and it was a community with a number of farms. While there are many funny moments in this tale of Craig (Ice Cube) and his wacky pot-loving friend Smokey (Chris Tucker; as always a little of him goes a long way) experiencing a random Friday with all the wacky characters that live and congregate on and around their block, there are also serious moments, such as drug dealer Big Worm (Faizon Love) looking for revenge against Smokey for smoking his weed instead of selling it and the presence of hulking neighborhood bully Deebo (Tiny Lister, Jr.).
Even though a lot of it is a silly stoner comedy made for the African-American audience, you can actually relate to the plot and such things as young adults dealing with their family, worrying about having and keeping a job, romantic relationships and thinking about having a new girlfriend, and having a loyal friend you love hanging out with even if sometimes you want to kick their ass because they are annoying or do stupid things. The movie is quite entertaining not just because of the humor that is still amusing today but because of the subtext and the more serious aspects.
Besides finally figuring out where the dopey yet popular current phrase “Bye, Felicia” came from (it's from this film, and why that random line is now popular “among the youth” is beyond my comprehension; not to sound like John Witherspoon's character of Craig's father here but I don't get it), which does show that the movie still has staying power today, I had forgotten how quality the soundtrack is, from then-popular rap tunes and all that G-funk to classic R&B and funk from the likes of Zapp & Roger and Rick James. I was happy to see the movie again as it had been a long while since the last viewing.
Runtime: I saw the Director's Cut and that's 97 minutes long
Directed by: F. Gary Gray
Starring: Ice Cube, Chris Tucker, Nia Long, Tiny Lister, Jr., John Witherspoon
From: New Line Cinema
Last night I watched this comedy on the favorite day of the year for marijuana smokers. This was not a coincidence and no I am not someone who enjoys the ganja myself. I explain why below in my Letterboxd review and I'll return tomorrow night.
I had seen this film several times before but last night was the first time I had watched it on the big screen, and it was the Director's Cut; it was presented by Fathom Events and it was not a coincidence this was done on April 20. In fact, several people in the audience sounded like they happily partook in the 4/20 festivities before making it there! I was happy to see it in such a manner.
This is still a popular cult hit and I've always enjoyed this “day in the life” comedy, despite how I am far removed from the movie's South Central LA setting; I grew up in a town in Illinois, not poor and it was a community with a number of farms. While there are many funny moments in this tale of Craig (Ice Cube) and his wacky pot-loving friend Smokey (Chris Tucker; as always a little of him goes a long way) experiencing a random Friday with all the wacky characters that live and congregate on and around their block, there are also serious moments, such as drug dealer Big Worm (Faizon Love) looking for revenge against Smokey for smoking his weed instead of selling it and the presence of hulking neighborhood bully Deebo (Tiny Lister, Jr.).
Even though a lot of it is a silly stoner comedy made for the African-American audience, you can actually relate to the plot and such things as young adults dealing with their family, worrying about having and keeping a job, romantic relationships and thinking about having a new girlfriend, and having a loyal friend you love hanging out with even if sometimes you want to kick their ass because they are annoying or do stupid things. The movie is quite entertaining not just because of the humor that is still amusing today but because of the subtext and the more serious aspects.
Besides finally figuring out where the dopey yet popular current phrase “Bye, Felicia” came from (it's from this film, and why that random line is now popular “among the youth” is beyond my comprehension; not to sound like John Witherspoon's character of Craig's father here but I don't get it), which does show that the movie still has staying power today, I had forgotten how quality the soundtrack is, from then-popular rap tunes and all that G-funk to classic R&B and funk from the likes of Zapp & Roger and Rick James. I was happy to see the movie again as it had been a long while since the last viewing.
Monday, April 20, 2015
My Schedule For This Week
I only have the time to write a few words but my plans for this week (always subject to change) are me going to the theatre more than once to see films on the big screen and I'll likely watch another Godzilla movie or three. I'll be back tomorrow night.
Sunday, April 19, 2015
Oh Yeah, And...
I was in a hurry to post so in the post directly below I did not mention that I'll be back tomorrow afternoon or that I wanted to review a pair of movies for tonight but because the power went out for almost an hour and a half late last night, that screwed up my plans. I am still not happy about that.
Mothra
Mothra (Mosura) (1961)
Runtime: 91 minutes (that's the American cut I saw)
Directed by: Ishiro Honda
Starring: Furanki Sakai, Hiroshi Koizumi, Kyoko Kagawa, Yumi &Emi Ito
From: Toho/Columbia
(Note: The version of the film I saw was the one released in North America by Columbia, meaning the dubbed version that's about 10 minutes shorter. It was the only copy I could find online so that's what I went with.)
I was not originally going to watch this film, the introduction of the wildly popular kaiju known as Mothra, but then I remember that someone I know rates this film highly so I figured I should watch this wackiness first then check out Godzilla vs. Mothra. I knew this was going to be wacky going in and that certainly was true.
The plot: a group of men (including a real bastard from a fictitious country that only coincidentally looks like the United States... yeah I am sure it was just happenstance) end up investigating an island that recently had atomic weapons tested on it. Turns out, more Japanese people in blackface (um, I mean “natives”) lived on that piece of land deemed uninhabited. Whoops. Odd things are on the island, such as a pair of fairy twins, which are twin adult Japanese women who happen to be only a foot tall. They are taken and the villain uses them as a novelty singing act. The natives summon the title creature, which is a giant larvae that hatches from an egg, swims to Japan, and after rampaging through the countryside, becomes a giant colorful moth. Telepathy is involved and the fairies are unable to tell her (Mothra is a female) to not wreck the hell out of Tokyo, so there's room for debate on just how much of a villain the title creature really is; to me it's rather clear it's the A-hole who sort of looks like Chris Kattan that is the sh*theel of the picture.
The story is well-done and so are the quality miniature effects... and there's goofiness to go along with it. It wasn't as strange as I first thought when I heard that Columbia put this on a double bill with The Three Stooges in Orbit, of all things. There's some slapstick, the heroes include a chubby newspaper reporter, you get an Austin Powers-like bit of maniacal laughter from the bad guys and yeah, all the damage that can happen simply from a giant creature flapping its wings. It's all fun though so I did enjoy this vivid tale with good moments and a great score.
Runtime: 91 minutes (that's the American cut I saw)
Directed by: Ishiro Honda
Starring: Furanki Sakai, Hiroshi Koizumi, Kyoko Kagawa, Yumi &Emi Ito
From: Toho/Columbia
(Note: The version of the film I saw was the one released in North America by Columbia, meaning the dubbed version that's about 10 minutes shorter. It was the only copy I could find online so that's what I went with.)
I was not originally going to watch this film, the introduction of the wildly popular kaiju known as Mothra, but then I remember that someone I know rates this film highly so I figured I should watch this wackiness first then check out Godzilla vs. Mothra. I knew this was going to be wacky going in and that certainly was true.
The plot: a group of men (including a real bastard from a fictitious country that only coincidentally looks like the United States... yeah I am sure it was just happenstance) end up investigating an island that recently had atomic weapons tested on it. Turns out, more Japanese people in blackface (um, I mean “natives”) lived on that piece of land deemed uninhabited. Whoops. Odd things are on the island, such as a pair of fairy twins, which are twin adult Japanese women who happen to be only a foot tall. They are taken and the villain uses them as a novelty singing act. The natives summon the title creature, which is a giant larvae that hatches from an egg, swims to Japan, and after rampaging through the countryside, becomes a giant colorful moth. Telepathy is involved and the fairies are unable to tell her (Mothra is a female) to not wreck the hell out of Tokyo, so there's room for debate on just how much of a villain the title creature really is; to me it's rather clear it's the A-hole who sort of looks like Chris Kattan that is the sh*theel of the picture.
The story is well-done and so are the quality miniature effects... and there's goofiness to go along with it. It wasn't as strange as I first thought when I heard that Columbia put this on a double bill with The Three Stooges in Orbit, of all things. There's some slapstick, the heroes include a chubby newspaper reporter, you get an Austin Powers-like bit of maniacal laughter from the bad guys and yeah, all the damage that can happen simply from a giant creature flapping its wings. It's all fun though so I did enjoy this vivid tale with good moments and a great score.
Friday, April 17, 2015
King Kong vs. Godzilla
King Kong vs. Godzilla (I am talking about the American version from 1963)
Runtime: 90 minutes
Directed by: Ishiro Honda, Thomas Montgomery
Starring: Tadao Takashima, Kenji Sahara, Yu Fujiki, Michael Keith, Harry Holcombe
From: Toho/Universal
Yeah, I do wish I could have seen the original version along with the American one, but only the latter could I find so that is what I had to work with. Sure, the American dub likely is the source of the muscle relaxing drug Soma having that name in the United States, but other than that legacy, it's mainly the cheese factor here, which it does deliver on. I will return Sunday night.
(Note: The cut of this movie I am reviewing is of the American version, put out by Universal in 1963 and released on Blu-ray by Universal last year. I haven't ever seen the original Toho version so I can't compare the two; I just understand the different versions are, well, pretty different. It's not ideal but I've never seen that so I can only talk about what is easy for me to track down, which is the Universal edit.)
I wasn't planning on watching this last night; it just came to me that I should check it out. I figured this would be a campy good time and at least with what Universal put out-with the American bits being a “United Nations” reporter named Eric Carter who narrates things and tries to tie it all together and the dubbed dialogue-it is campy and goofy. In short, while Godzilla escapes from the iceberg he ended up in at the end of Godzilla Raids Again, a pharmaceutical company (run by a guy named TACO... I mean TAKO) discovers that a monster lives on Faro Island and for ratings, wants it brought back to Japan. Wacky, but then again it sort of mirrors what happens in the 1976 remake of King Kong and of course, that's what the Faro Island monster is. After fighting a giant octopus, he's captured and the two giants end up brawling with each other, after Kong is not allowed into the country, which actually does make sense... and both creatures wreck other things before wrecking each other.
Like I said I wish I could see the original Toho cut. I mean, the American scenes were fine to me and all but the original is typically the preferred way I would like to go, usually. The matte lines can be rather noticeable here and that wasn't the case in the Japanese cut. I also understand you don't have a character complaining about the corns on his feet in the primary language! But the biggest crime is that the score from Akira Ifukube is replaced with old music from other movies so “it'd be more American”. As he's a great composer and from listening to some of the songs on YouTube (where you can find the entire score) it's an epic soundtrack he did and I wish I could have been able to hear it while watching the Blu-ray.
Even with all that, I can still rate it as 3 stars. Just looking at the Japanese scenes there are a number of goofy moments, which I won't spoil... except that the part on Faro Island is Japanese people in blackface as “natives” who are transfixed with cigarettes and a Japanese song on a portable radio... I thought that I'd get enough racism for awhile when I watched The Birth of a Nation the night before I saw this, but I was wrong! That was quite unfortunate and is not what I am putting in the “goofy” category.
Oh, and as it was at least (and still may be) a popular rumor, the endings to both the Universal and Toho versions of the film are the same; the two do NOT differ in which kaiju wins the epic battle that closes the movie. I even remember back in the late 90's before such things as Wikipedia, IMDb or even Google where that false rumor was discussed with some people I knew in a class one day at school. In case anyone reading this is still confused about the matter, that's the truth.
Runtime: 90 minutes
Directed by: Ishiro Honda, Thomas Montgomery
Starring: Tadao Takashima, Kenji Sahara, Yu Fujiki, Michael Keith, Harry Holcombe
From: Toho/Universal
Yeah, I do wish I could have seen the original version along with the American one, but only the latter could I find so that is what I had to work with. Sure, the American dub likely is the source of the muscle relaxing drug Soma having that name in the United States, but other than that legacy, it's mainly the cheese factor here, which it does deliver on. I will return Sunday night.
(Note: The cut of this movie I am reviewing is of the American version, put out by Universal in 1963 and released on Blu-ray by Universal last year. I haven't ever seen the original Toho version so I can't compare the two; I just understand the different versions are, well, pretty different. It's not ideal but I've never seen that so I can only talk about what is easy for me to track down, which is the Universal edit.)
I wasn't planning on watching this last night; it just came to me that I should check it out. I figured this would be a campy good time and at least with what Universal put out-with the American bits being a “United Nations” reporter named Eric Carter who narrates things and tries to tie it all together and the dubbed dialogue-it is campy and goofy. In short, while Godzilla escapes from the iceberg he ended up in at the end of Godzilla Raids Again, a pharmaceutical company (run by a guy named TACO... I mean TAKO) discovers that a monster lives on Faro Island and for ratings, wants it brought back to Japan. Wacky, but then again it sort of mirrors what happens in the 1976 remake of King Kong and of course, that's what the Faro Island monster is. After fighting a giant octopus, he's captured and the two giants end up brawling with each other, after Kong is not allowed into the country, which actually does make sense... and both creatures wreck other things before wrecking each other.
Like I said I wish I could see the original Toho cut. I mean, the American scenes were fine to me and all but the original is typically the preferred way I would like to go, usually. The matte lines can be rather noticeable here and that wasn't the case in the Japanese cut. I also understand you don't have a character complaining about the corns on his feet in the primary language! But the biggest crime is that the score from Akira Ifukube is replaced with old music from other movies so “it'd be more American”. As he's a great composer and from listening to some of the songs on YouTube (where you can find the entire score) it's an epic soundtrack he did and I wish I could have been able to hear it while watching the Blu-ray.
Even with all that, I can still rate it as 3 stars. Just looking at the Japanese scenes there are a number of goofy moments, which I won't spoil... except that the part on Faro Island is Japanese people in blackface as “natives” who are transfixed with cigarettes and a Japanese song on a portable radio... I thought that I'd get enough racism for awhile when I watched The Birth of a Nation the night before I saw this, but I was wrong! That was quite unfortunate and is not what I am putting in the “goofy” category.
Oh, and as it was at least (and still may be) a popular rumor, the endings to both the Universal and Toho versions of the film are the same; the two do NOT differ in which kaiju wins the epic battle that closes the movie. I even remember back in the late 90's before such things as Wikipedia, IMDb or even Google where that false rumor was discussed with some people I knew in a class one day at school. In case anyone reading this is still confused about the matter, that's the truth.
Thursday, April 16, 2015
The Birth Of A Nation
The Birth of a Nation (1915)
Runtime: I saw the version that's 187 minutes long
Directed by: D.W. Griffith
Starring: Lillian Gish, Mae Marsh, Henry B. Walthall, Miriam Cooper, Ralph Lewis
From: David W. Griffith Corporation
Yep, I watched this, one of the most controversial movies ever made. I could have written a whole lot about many different facets concerning this but I decided to try and be concise and my Letterboxd review is below. I'll return tomorrow night.
I have to note first that in the review I'll explain why I rated this the way I did. Second, I saw the 187 minute Kino Restored Edition. I figured I should clarify as there are multiple versions of this floating out there. Now with that out of the way...
I figured this was the proper year for me to watch then talk about the movie then never have to watch it ever again, considering it came out 100 years ago and all. What an unfortunate moment in film history that a critical motion picture which revolutionized movie-making* and contained such firsts as an original score, the usage of multiple angles per scene, authentic costuming in a period piece, editing and dissolves is for an epic film about two families (one from the North and the other from the South) that are friends and how things change once the Civil War starts... then deals with the aftermath and is so disgustingly racist throughout in its viewpoints and its portrayal of the Ku Klux Klan as heroes and “negroes” as sub-human white women loving monsters, that the KKK still uses it as a recruitment tool and the film caused an uprising in that gross organization's popularity right after it was first released.
Considering this was made only a half century after the Civil War ended, it does feel pretty authentic to how the war was actually like, and it was interesting to see how life was back then, how the battles were fought, how people felt about this crises, etc. There's some racism in the first part (throughout you see people in blackface), but once you see old Abe Lincoln assassinated at Ford's Theatre the floodgates are opened and the bigotry is in full force as you see the Reconstruction part of the movie, which is the second half. What a shame that a well-filmed movie like this-even 100 years later-has such a loathsome/perverted view of such things as race.
How a person here (or elsewhere) rates this is totally up to them and I'll understand just about any opinion given to it. Personally, I'll rate it as 2 ½ stars, mainly for all the innovations introduced here and still a part of film language today, and for the parts of the story that aren't drenched in bigotry. I mean, the battle scenes are still interesting due to the unique color and other effects used, and you know what's going on and what characters are feelings, and not just because there are title cards which explain things and there are few cards that contain dialogue. Such things as facial expressions and movements help tell the tale. I can't go above that due to the abominable viewpoints presented. It ruins you trying to enjoy the historical story being presented and especially in 2015 there are many moments that are just shocking and appalling today. Like I said, I now never have to see it again and if you're a film fan you should probably see it once... and that should be enough for you.
* I won't copy and paste so you can just look at this Filmsite article about the film which details all the innovations this motion picture brought us.
Runtime: I saw the version that's 187 minutes long
Directed by: D.W. Griffith
Starring: Lillian Gish, Mae Marsh, Henry B. Walthall, Miriam Cooper, Ralph Lewis
From: David W. Griffith Corporation
Yep, I watched this, one of the most controversial movies ever made. I could have written a whole lot about many different facets concerning this but I decided to try and be concise and my Letterboxd review is below. I'll return tomorrow night.
I have to note first that in the review I'll explain why I rated this the way I did. Second, I saw the 187 minute Kino Restored Edition. I figured I should clarify as there are multiple versions of this floating out there. Now with that out of the way...
I figured this was the proper year for me to watch then talk about the movie then never have to watch it ever again, considering it came out 100 years ago and all. What an unfortunate moment in film history that a critical motion picture which revolutionized movie-making* and contained such firsts as an original score, the usage of multiple angles per scene, authentic costuming in a period piece, editing and dissolves is for an epic film about two families (one from the North and the other from the South) that are friends and how things change once the Civil War starts... then deals with the aftermath and is so disgustingly racist throughout in its viewpoints and its portrayal of the Ku Klux Klan as heroes and “negroes” as sub-human white women loving monsters, that the KKK still uses it as a recruitment tool and the film caused an uprising in that gross organization's popularity right after it was first released.
Considering this was made only a half century after the Civil War ended, it does feel pretty authentic to how the war was actually like, and it was interesting to see how life was back then, how the battles were fought, how people felt about this crises, etc. There's some racism in the first part (throughout you see people in blackface), but once you see old Abe Lincoln assassinated at Ford's Theatre the floodgates are opened and the bigotry is in full force as you see the Reconstruction part of the movie, which is the second half. What a shame that a well-filmed movie like this-even 100 years later-has such a loathsome/perverted view of such things as race.
How a person here (or elsewhere) rates this is totally up to them and I'll understand just about any opinion given to it. Personally, I'll rate it as 2 ½ stars, mainly for all the innovations introduced here and still a part of film language today, and for the parts of the story that aren't drenched in bigotry. I mean, the battle scenes are still interesting due to the unique color and other effects used, and you know what's going on and what characters are feelings, and not just because there are title cards which explain things and there are few cards that contain dialogue. Such things as facial expressions and movements help tell the tale. I can't go above that due to the abominable viewpoints presented. It ruins you trying to enjoy the historical story being presented and especially in 2015 there are many moments that are just shocking and appalling today. Like I said, I now never have to see it again and if you're a film fan you should probably see it once... and that should be enough for you.
* I won't copy and paste so you can just look at this Filmsite article about the film which details all the innovations this motion picture brought us.
Wednesday, April 15, 2015
Indiana Jones And The Last Crusade
Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade (1989)
Eh, you should know all of the details.
This is a short entry from me tonight. I do not have much time to write as I went out earlier and I am about to watch something. The Letterboxd review is below and I will return tomorrow night with something I am expecting will be pretty interesting.
Last night via the Amstar/The Grand Theatre chain located in the American Southeast I was able to see this 80's action-adventure classic on the big screen again; I distinctly remember being taken to it by a parent when it first debuted in the summer of '89. I know I watched it on VHS after the fact but I have no clue when the last full viewing before last night was, except that it was years ago. Thus, I figured the best way of seeing it again was in a theatre with a small but enthusiastic crowd.
While this follows the template of Raiders of the Lost Ark rather closely at times, this is still a grand adventure where after you see Indy as a teen (he isn't too different from his adult days) the crux of the plot is that his father (a great Sean Connery) is missing while working on trying to discover The Holy Grail; he made a breakthrough but that damned Nazi Party are also interested in this.
From there you have double-crosses, tremendous action scenes (which actually aren't cut to hell by editing or have needless shaky-cam garbage; you can make out what's going on at all times, and that sadly is considered rare in today's action cinema), humorous moments, intrigue, and the dynamic of father & son where there's years of resentment due to dad's obsession over his quest and now I wish I would have revisited this far sooner, but alas...
It should be no surprise that with the great talent involved and the period of time this was filmed (meaning those individuals had not dipped in quality yet), that this would be tremendous and it is. I am glad I got to see these movies as a kid; eventually I need to give longer reviews to Raiders and Temple, and I need to see Crystal Skull again. I don't hate it like many others do-those that would like to ignore it was ever made, I do understand-but I may be generous in saying it's an average movie, and another viewing will help clear that up. I'll just say that this is the second best of the Indiana Jones motion pictures.
Eh, you should know all of the details.
This is a short entry from me tonight. I do not have much time to write as I went out earlier and I am about to watch something. The Letterboxd review is below and I will return tomorrow night with something I am expecting will be pretty interesting.
Last night via the Amstar/The Grand Theatre chain located in the American Southeast I was able to see this 80's action-adventure classic on the big screen again; I distinctly remember being taken to it by a parent when it first debuted in the summer of '89. I know I watched it on VHS after the fact but I have no clue when the last full viewing before last night was, except that it was years ago. Thus, I figured the best way of seeing it again was in a theatre with a small but enthusiastic crowd.
While this follows the template of Raiders of the Lost Ark rather closely at times, this is still a grand adventure where after you see Indy as a teen (he isn't too different from his adult days) the crux of the plot is that his father (a great Sean Connery) is missing while working on trying to discover The Holy Grail; he made a breakthrough but that damned Nazi Party are also interested in this.
From there you have double-crosses, tremendous action scenes (which actually aren't cut to hell by editing or have needless shaky-cam garbage; you can make out what's going on at all times, and that sadly is considered rare in today's action cinema), humorous moments, intrigue, and the dynamic of father & son where there's years of resentment due to dad's obsession over his quest and now I wish I would have revisited this far sooner, but alas...
It should be no surprise that with the great talent involved and the period of time this was filmed (meaning those individuals had not dipped in quality yet), that this would be tremendous and it is. I am glad I got to see these movies as a kid; eventually I need to give longer reviews to Raiders and Temple, and I need to see Crystal Skull again. I don't hate it like many others do-those that would like to ignore it was ever made, I do understand-but I may be generous in saying it's an average movie, and another viewing will help clear that up. I'll just say that this is the second best of the Indiana Jones motion pictures.
Tuesday, April 14, 2015
The Godzilla From The Mid 1980's
Godzilla (the one from 1984... also released in 1985 in a much poorer version with Raymond Burr)
Runtime: The original's 104 minutes
Directed by: Koji Hashimoto
Starring: Ken Tanaka, Yasuko Sawaguchi, Yosuke Natsuki, Keiji Kobayashi
From: Toho
Yes, I saw both the original from Japan and Godzilla 1985, and none of those versions can legally be found in North America. I'll be honest and say I found it at the Megacon convention I went to last weekend. Before I get to the Letterboxd review below where I talk about both cuts, let me bring up the YouTube video to the end credits song you only get in the OG Toho version. It's a LOVE song about Godzilla, sung by a trio of Dutch women in English for a Japanese film. I have no idea why either, but it's hilarious. I'll be back tomorrow night.
Runtime: The original's 104 minutes
Directed by: Koji Hashimoto
Starring: Ken Tanaka, Yasuko Sawaguchi, Yosuke Natsuki, Keiji Kobayashi
From: Toho
Yes, I saw both the original from Japan and Godzilla 1985, and none of those versions can legally be found in North America. I'll be honest and say I found it at the Megacon convention I went to last weekend. Before I get to the Letterboxd review below where I talk about both cuts, let me bring up the YouTube video to the end credits song you only get in the OG Toho version. It's a LOVE song about Godzilla, sung by a trio of Dutch women in English for a Japanese film. I have no idea why either, but it's hilarious. I'll be back tomorrow night.
As this site unfortunately doesn't split the original from the Raymond Burr version like they do with Godzilla 1954 and Godzilla: King of the Monsters let me clarify that the rating applies to the original Japanese version of this film, known as either Godzilla or The Return of Godzilla. After I talk about that I'll say a few words about Godzilla 1985, put out in the United States by New World Pictures and featuring new scenes with Raymond Burr... and Dr. Pepper.
If you're wondering how I saw both versions when it's never officially received a Region 1 release, I'll be honest and say that at a convention last weekend I purchased a fan-made comp which has those two versions and the international English dubbed cut. As it's unknown when it will get an official Region 1 release (I heard a rumor that it's because of Dr. Pepper owning at least part of the rights over here that's why it hasn't come out; I don't know if it's true or just someone coming up with a somewhat plausible reason to explain it) that is why I made such a purchase. I wanted to see the franchise in order but as this ignores all the sequels that gives me the cheat to see it now... plus, someone I know wanted to hear my opinion of the film. Also, I know I have only seen the first two Japanese films and Godzilla: King of the Monsters then the film from last year in my list of watching/rewatching the series before stopping. From now on I'll try to be more frequent in going through them all and I won't go months before seeing another one. First, the original version from Toho, which I saw subtitled:
While there are some goofy moments (such as giant lice running around, or that one zany homeless guy you see a few times) this is a serious look at how a giant monster attacking Tokyo would be catastrophic not just in physical damage but also in such things as the world economy, and how Japan can be affected by nuclear weapons even if they don't have them, in that the United States and the Soviet Union do (w/ the Americans being more gung-ho in using them, something that was changed in the New World version, as I'll get to in a bit) and accidents can happen and they can have dire consequences for such countries as Japan. All that was interesting along with the expected of seeing a man in a rubber suit trample over a nicely constructed miniature version of Tokyo. I feel that a 3 ½ star rating is appropriate for this. It's both thoughtful and entertaining, with some thrilling scenes.
As for Godzilla 1985... whoo boy. New World Pictures did not do the best with this. Let's talk about the American segments, which are pretty much superfluous and have no impact on the Japanese story... I mean, here the Americans were happy to stop the A-hole Soviets who stupidly set off a nuke when in the original Toho version the Soviets aren't made out to be the enemy and in fact the captain of the ship was trying to STOP it from going off when in '85 the captain wanted to set it off and you see a random hand press a random button to do it; English dubbing and the removal of the dialogue where it's explained that “the Americans” will stop the nuke changed that...
New World did no one any favors, as much of the seriousness was taken out so it just became another giant monster film, the heroes came off as not so heroic and in fact ruder and dumber, the Soviets were made to be war-mongering sapheads who are eager to destroy the world, and for some reason the Americans aside from Raymond Burr are incompetent jackasses who are supposed to be military people but they're imbeciles who call Godzilla “Wonder Lizard” and make jokes about a major world city getting leveled. The white actors aside from Burr are no one anyone has heard of, for good reason. Even old Raymond at times looks regretful he volunteered to return; I hear if it wasn't for him and his advice/suggestions these bits would have been WORSE and that makes me shudder as with him they are low-rent and awful. It's pretty much a one set thing where you get some brief interludes and a few people are either standing or sitting and there's only a few seconds of walking. I think the second best performance in the American segments filmed by the director of Hell Comes to Frogtown (really, he later did that) was the conspicuous Dr. Pepper vending machine you see in one scene!
As if that's not bad enough they really trimmed the original Toho footage and besides taking out many of the thoughtful moments, dialogue is changed and it's just made to be lesser than what it was. Even the homeless guy is more annoying. Both do have the hilarious moment of him “running” away from The Big G; it just looks so hokey. I'd probably rate Godzilla 1985 as 2 stars at best. I you are able to watch a version of this movie, find the OG Toho cut with subtitles, if possible.
Sunday, April 12, 2015
Knell The Bloody Avenger
Knell the Bloody Avenger (Sangue Di Sbirro) (1976)
Runtime: 100 minutes
Directed by: Alfonso Brescia
Starring: George Eastman, Jack Palance, Jenny Tamburi, Roberto Giraudo, Ugo Bologna
From: Cinematografia Internazionali Associate
I'll start this off by posting a video here, and it's of this film's theme song, from Alessandro Alessandroni, someone who worked with Morricone often. To say it was inspired by Theme from Shaft by Isaac Hayes is putting it mildly. It's a real close copy of that song so it makes me laugh how bold the ripoff is and yet the song is as great as the original. After the video is the Letterboxd review and I'll be back Tuesday night.
The first poliziotteschi I watched in months is a rather obscure one, a film I only know about as someone I follow/follows me watched and reviewed it late last year and while he wasn't a fan I was still interested as this film of many titles is on YouTube (under the name Knell the Bloody Avenger; it's also known as Bloody Avenger, For a Silver Dollar, Cop's Blood, Policeman's Blood, and a few others), it is set in Philadelphia-where some exteriors were shot but most of it was filmed in Rome-and it stars a pair of familiar leads in star George Eastman and in a small supporting role, Jack Palance.
The plot isn't complex as Knell has to return home to Philadelphia to investigate the death of his police officer father and he has to deal with various factions (from criminals to the police chief) and he's constantly targeted as he meets up with an old girlfriend (Jenny Tamburi) and he meets up with Palance, who he and you aren't sure if he's to be trusted or not.
There are some things you expect from the genre, such as sleaze, gunfights, a car chase, and wackiness (the way that a wooden Mickey Mouse wind-up toy is used is hilarious) but there are also some slow and long stretches and I had to power through that to get to the good parts, such as Palance firing a machine gun or the opening where several criminals are dressed up in Philadelphia Flyers stocking caps and hockey masks. It's not bad but it's not great either and there definitely are wilder and better entries in the genre to see first.
Runtime: 100 minutes
Directed by: Alfonso Brescia
Starring: George Eastman, Jack Palance, Jenny Tamburi, Roberto Giraudo, Ugo Bologna
From: Cinematografia Internazionali Associate
I'll start this off by posting a video here, and it's of this film's theme song, from Alessandro Alessandroni, someone who worked with Morricone often. To say it was inspired by Theme from Shaft by Isaac Hayes is putting it mildly. It's a real close copy of that song so it makes me laugh how bold the ripoff is and yet the song is as great as the original. After the video is the Letterboxd review and I'll be back Tuesday night.
The first poliziotteschi I watched in months is a rather obscure one, a film I only know about as someone I follow/follows me watched and reviewed it late last year and while he wasn't a fan I was still interested as this film of many titles is on YouTube (under the name Knell the Bloody Avenger; it's also known as Bloody Avenger, For a Silver Dollar, Cop's Blood, Policeman's Blood, and a few others), it is set in Philadelphia-where some exteriors were shot but most of it was filmed in Rome-and it stars a pair of familiar leads in star George Eastman and in a small supporting role, Jack Palance.
The plot isn't complex as Knell has to return home to Philadelphia to investigate the death of his police officer father and he has to deal with various factions (from criminals to the police chief) and he's constantly targeted as he meets up with an old girlfriend (Jenny Tamburi) and he meets up with Palance, who he and you aren't sure if he's to be trusted or not.
There are some things you expect from the genre, such as sleaze, gunfights, a car chase, and wackiness (the way that a wooden Mickey Mouse wind-up toy is used is hilarious) but there are also some slow and long stretches and I had to power through that to get to the good parts, such as Palance firing a machine gun or the opening where several criminals are dressed up in Philadelphia Flyers stocking caps and hockey masks. It's not bad but it's not great either and there definitely are wilder and better entries in the genre to see first.
Friday, April 10, 2015
Rolling Thunder
Rolling Thunder (1977)
Runtime: 99 minutes
Directed by: John Flynn
Starring: William Devane, Linda Haynes, Tommy Lee Jones, James Best (RIP)
From: AIP
In the past, I talked about the movie in an entry but I only mentioned that I had seen it on MGMHD and I enjoyed what I saw. I spotted the Blu last night and I figured by watching it I could pay tribute to the late James Best. The Letterboxd review is below and I will return Sunday night.
As a kid I used to watch The Dukes of Hazzard so I was familiar with James Best and his most famous role of bumbling sheriff Rosco P. Coltrane. It wasn't until later that I saw him in some random movie roles and realized he was a talented actor capable of far more than being a goofy comedy character on a goofy show. For example, in this classic revenge film he is simply known as Texan and while his role is small, it's certainly memorable as he plays a real evil SOB (real sweaty, too, although he isn't even the sweatiest person you encounter in this motion picture set and filmed during a hot southern Texas summer) and I figured I should watch this again so I could tip my hat towards him and rewatch a great film also, featuring quality talent in front of the camera (William Devane and Tommy Lee Jones) and behind it (director John Flynn, screenwriter Paul Schrader.
I presume many are familiar with this Tarantino favorite, but in case you need the details on the film that was hard to find for years until Shout Factory put it out on Blu two years ago, here you go: Charles Rane (Devane) and Johnny Vohden (Jones) return to southern Texas after years away as POW's in Vietnam. Understandably both men have trouble re-adjusting back to normal lives with their families. Several bad men-led by Texan-pay a visit to Rane's house to rob him and tragedy happens; as it's on the poster I'll reveal that he now has a hook for a right hand and he drags along self-professed groupie Linda on his ride for revenge in his 1973 Cadillac convertible.
The movie is not just a simple revenge tale with a bloody finale; it's a lot more than that. You get to see Rane and also Vohden struggle with civilian life after all the horrors they dealt with in Vietnam, and with the added awfulness Charles experienced, it's real tough for him; he begins thinking that he's pretty much dead, nothing left in his soul anymore, so he has nothing to lose by going for revenge and reverting back to his This is a serious film but not one so overwhelmingly depressing or sad it's ugly. While greatly exaggerated I imagine that many soldiers who served in Vietnam had difficulties after returning home, having to get back to routine and dealing with what is now known as Post Traumatic Stress Disorder.
I think the cast as a whole does well, but besides the great performances from the two highest billed people, I also have to make note of Linda Haynes as the aforementioned groupie; she has to go through a range of emotions, from love and adulation to frustration and fear. She didn't have many film roles but she did quite dandy here. If you've never seen this cult classic and revenge films are up your alley, you should definitely check this out.
Runtime: 99 minutes
Directed by: John Flynn
Starring: William Devane, Linda Haynes, Tommy Lee Jones, James Best (RIP)
From: AIP
In the past, I talked about the movie in an entry but I only mentioned that I had seen it on MGMHD and I enjoyed what I saw. I spotted the Blu last night and I figured by watching it I could pay tribute to the late James Best. The Letterboxd review is below and I will return Sunday night.
As a kid I used to watch The Dukes of Hazzard so I was familiar with James Best and his most famous role of bumbling sheriff Rosco P. Coltrane. It wasn't until later that I saw him in some random movie roles and realized he was a talented actor capable of far more than being a goofy comedy character on a goofy show. For example, in this classic revenge film he is simply known as Texan and while his role is small, it's certainly memorable as he plays a real evil SOB (real sweaty, too, although he isn't even the sweatiest person you encounter in this motion picture set and filmed during a hot southern Texas summer) and I figured I should watch this again so I could tip my hat towards him and rewatch a great film also, featuring quality talent in front of the camera (William Devane and Tommy Lee Jones) and behind it (director John Flynn, screenwriter Paul Schrader.
I presume many are familiar with this Tarantino favorite, but in case you need the details on the film that was hard to find for years until Shout Factory put it out on Blu two years ago, here you go: Charles Rane (Devane) and Johnny Vohden (Jones) return to southern Texas after years away as POW's in Vietnam. Understandably both men have trouble re-adjusting back to normal lives with their families. Several bad men-led by Texan-pay a visit to Rane's house to rob him and tragedy happens; as it's on the poster I'll reveal that he now has a hook for a right hand and he drags along self-professed groupie Linda on his ride for revenge in his 1973 Cadillac convertible.
The movie is not just a simple revenge tale with a bloody finale; it's a lot more than that. You get to see Rane and also Vohden struggle with civilian life after all the horrors they dealt with in Vietnam, and with the added awfulness Charles experienced, it's real tough for him; he begins thinking that he's pretty much dead, nothing left in his soul anymore, so he has nothing to lose by going for revenge and reverting back to his This is a serious film but not one so overwhelmingly depressing or sad it's ugly. While greatly exaggerated I imagine that many soldiers who served in Vietnam had difficulties after returning home, having to get back to routine and dealing with what is now known as Post Traumatic Stress Disorder.
I think the cast as a whole does well, but besides the great performances from the two highest billed people, I also have to make note of Linda Haynes as the aforementioned groupie; she has to go through a range of emotions, from love and adulation to frustration and fear. She didn't have many film roles but she did quite dandy here. If you've never seen this cult classic and revenge films are up your alley, you should definitely check this out.
Thursday, April 9, 2015
The Man From Nowhere
The Man From Nowhere (Ajeossi) (2010)
Runtime: 119 minutes
Directed by: Lee Jeong-Beom
Starring: Won Bin, Kim Sae-Ron, Kim Tae-Hoon, Kim Hee-Won, Kim Seong-Oh
From: Cinema Service/Opus Pictures/United Pictures
This is another Korean film for me and thankfully this was a far better experience for me than the last one I saw. This was a simple yet effective tale. I explain why below and I'll return tomorrow night.
Recently I watched Sympathy for Mr. Vengeance and my opinion on it was against the grain of most; I thought it was too ugly and mean-spirited. However, I saw that come tomorrow this movie would be gone from Netflix Instant and maybe also Hulu, so I figured I shouldn't take any chances and I should watch it while I could. I heard good things about this too and the plot was of interest to me.
Basically, a John Wick-like badass who is a loner associates with a young girl but she likes him more than the vice versa. He finally realizes that the little girl has a pretty rotten life, including a drug-addicted mother. Shortly thereafter, she is kidnapped and he snaps; you don't see it right away but eventually you do find out he is great at kicking ass and he does lay waste to many SOB's as he tries to rescue the kid.
Early on you're introduced to many characters and it may seem confusing at first but you'll figure it out and when they are whittled down it's all good. Besides the glorious violence those horrible people suffer (they are also organ harvesters; is this a common problem or at least fear in South Korea?) it's also filmed well; most of the action is at night or during rainy days. When you're in the city it also looks rather nice. I was entertained throughout-I do understand those that think the lead character is flat because you don't know much about him and he's mostly sullen; however, I was fine with that and I didn't think he was boring-but the final 30 minutes or so before the end credits are an orgy of graphic violence and emotion. There are some tremendous moments throughout before that; the last act will stick with you the most.
While this is a dark film it's not so unpleasant it's a turn-off for me. This is not just because there's a little girl and you get to see her interact with the hero and he finally shows emotion years after a tragic event ruined his life; their relationship will tug at your heartstrings. If you enjoy the films of the Korean New Wave in general and you haven't seen this, you really should. It's not the best... it's just an entertaining movie with nice moments, whether they be heartfelt or vicious.
Runtime: 119 minutes
Directed by: Lee Jeong-Beom
Starring: Won Bin, Kim Sae-Ron, Kim Tae-Hoon, Kim Hee-Won, Kim Seong-Oh
From: Cinema Service/Opus Pictures/United Pictures
This is another Korean film for me and thankfully this was a far better experience for me than the last one I saw. This was a simple yet effective tale. I explain why below and I'll return tomorrow night.
Recently I watched Sympathy for Mr. Vengeance and my opinion on it was against the grain of most; I thought it was too ugly and mean-spirited. However, I saw that come tomorrow this movie would be gone from Netflix Instant and maybe also Hulu, so I figured I shouldn't take any chances and I should watch it while I could. I heard good things about this too and the plot was of interest to me.
Basically, a John Wick-like badass who is a loner associates with a young girl but she likes him more than the vice versa. He finally realizes that the little girl has a pretty rotten life, including a drug-addicted mother. Shortly thereafter, she is kidnapped and he snaps; you don't see it right away but eventually you do find out he is great at kicking ass and he does lay waste to many SOB's as he tries to rescue the kid.
Early on you're introduced to many characters and it may seem confusing at first but you'll figure it out and when they are whittled down it's all good. Besides the glorious violence those horrible people suffer (they are also organ harvesters; is this a common problem or at least fear in South Korea?) it's also filmed well; most of the action is at night or during rainy days. When you're in the city it also looks rather nice. I was entertained throughout-I do understand those that think the lead character is flat because you don't know much about him and he's mostly sullen; however, I was fine with that and I didn't think he was boring-but the final 30 minutes or so before the end credits are an orgy of graphic violence and emotion. There are some tremendous moments throughout before that; the last act will stick with you the most.
While this is a dark film it's not so unpleasant it's a turn-off for me. This is not just because there's a little girl and you get to see her interact with the hero and he finally shows emotion years after a tragic event ruined his life; their relationship will tug at your heartstrings. If you enjoy the films of the Korean New Wave in general and you haven't seen this, you really should. It's not the best... it's just an entertaining movie with nice moments, whether they be heartfelt or vicious.
Wednesday, April 8, 2015
Eurocrime! The Italian Cop And Gangster Films That Ruled The 70's
Eurocrime! The Italian Cop and Gangster Films That Ruled the 70's (2012)
Runtime: 128 minutes
Directed by: Mike Malloy
Starring: This is a documentary
From: Subgenre Entertainment
I was quite happy to finally check out this documentary as I've been wanting to watch this for a long while now. I am now glad I was able to see it. Besides what I say about it below in my Letterboxd review, it also has a quality score from several musicians. I'll return tomorrow night.
While I haven't seen one in months (something I'll try and rectify soon) I do love me some poliziotteschi films; thus, I've been real interested in watching this documentary since I first heard about it. I had to wait a few years but I finally watched it last night via Amazon.
This slick documentary (at times maybe a little too slick) explains what poliziotteschi films are (Italian crime dramas made on the cheap/made fast with a lot of sex, violence and action, usually over the top; those are rough and hard-boiled movies) and how Hollywood and life in Italy had a big influence on the genre and made them so popular over there. Various figures are interviewed, including Franco Nero, Henry Silva, Antonio Sabato Sr. (wearing an amazing outfit of pink shirt, pink vest and tan shorts), Fred Williamson, Christopher Mitchum, John Saxon and Enzo G. Castellari. Also, you Troll 2 fans will laugh that another person interviewed is Claudio Fragasso.
While I tend to rate those films pretty high (albeit acknowledging that many of the ones I've seen are the classics of the genre) I realized after watching this I knew precious little about the genre. I am a nerd so I enjoy learning new information in general and I loved greatly expanding my knowledge of these films. I won't reveal what sort of content this has, except that Italy sounded pretty crazy back then and organized crime had a direct influence on those movies, in that they got involved.
If you've ever watched some of those motion pictures or even if the genre sounds interesting to you, this is a must-see and I am happy that this was made as it brought more attention on a subject that precious too few are familiar with. For me, it gave me many more recommendations for motion pictures to track down and add to my poliziotteschi watch list.
Runtime: 128 minutes
Directed by: Mike Malloy
Starring: This is a documentary
From: Subgenre Entertainment
I was quite happy to finally check out this documentary as I've been wanting to watch this for a long while now. I am now glad I was able to see it. Besides what I say about it below in my Letterboxd review, it also has a quality score from several musicians. I'll return tomorrow night.
While I haven't seen one in months (something I'll try and rectify soon) I do love me some poliziotteschi films; thus, I've been real interested in watching this documentary since I first heard about it. I had to wait a few years but I finally watched it last night via Amazon.
This slick documentary (at times maybe a little too slick) explains what poliziotteschi films are (Italian crime dramas made on the cheap/made fast with a lot of sex, violence and action, usually over the top; those are rough and hard-boiled movies) and how Hollywood and life in Italy had a big influence on the genre and made them so popular over there. Various figures are interviewed, including Franco Nero, Henry Silva, Antonio Sabato Sr. (wearing an amazing outfit of pink shirt, pink vest and tan shorts), Fred Williamson, Christopher Mitchum, John Saxon and Enzo G. Castellari. Also, you Troll 2 fans will laugh that another person interviewed is Claudio Fragasso.
While I tend to rate those films pretty high (albeit acknowledging that many of the ones I've seen are the classics of the genre) I realized after watching this I knew precious little about the genre. I am a nerd so I enjoy learning new information in general and I loved greatly expanding my knowledge of these films. I won't reveal what sort of content this has, except that Italy sounded pretty crazy back then and organized crime had a direct influence on those movies, in that they got involved.
If you've ever watched some of those motion pictures or even if the genre sounds interesting to you, this is a must-see and I am happy that this was made as it brought more attention on a subject that precious too few are familiar with. For me, it gave me many more recommendations for motion pictures to track down and add to my poliziotteschi watch list.
Tuesday, April 7, 2015
RIP James Best
I haven't felt like watching anything these past few days but I wanted to mention that I am sad about him passing away. As a kid I watched The Dukes of Hazzard on TV but as an adult I've seen some of his movie roles, the most memorable being his incredibly sweaty villain turn in Rolling Thunder, a film I mentioned here before but I never officially reviewed... I'll try to change that later this month. I will be back tomorrow night and this time it'll be back to normal for me.
Sunday, April 5, 2015
Furious 7
Furious 7 (2015)
83% on Rotten Tomatoes (out of 172 reviews)
Runtime: 137 minutes
Directed by: James Wan
Starring: The usual crew plus such people as Jason Statham, Kurt Russell, Nathalie Emmanuel, and Tony Jaa
From: Universal
Yesterday I was finally able to see this; I shouldn't use that term as it just came out Thursday night but by the time I saw it many people I know (whether casually or otherwise) had already checked it out. Generally it's rated pretty highly but sad to say, I don't feel the same way about it, aside from a great ending. The Letterboxd review is below and I'll return Tuesday night.
Eventually I'll likely put together a list which will contain my reviews and ratings of all 7 movies in this franchise. Most of the reviews are on the short side (I may watch some of them again before I compile such a list) but at least you can still follow the ratings and see that I thought the 1st and 4th were a little better than fine, 2 and 3 were bad, and 5 & 6 I rate quite highly as even though they were dopey movies they were SO entertaining. Thus, I had high hopes for 7 and even with the unspeakable tragedy that hit during production I was still hoping for the best.
Well... I certainly understand why there are many that love this. My issues with this are a matter of opinion; like I said the last two were pretty stupid when it comes to things like logic. But, I was able to ignore such things and enjoy the ride. Here, it broke for me and it was just too dumb. I realize how difficult it was to complete this considering the aforementioned tragedy and such things as certain actors not having much time for their roles.
With this, though, it seemed like they were more concerned about topping what they had done previously rather than writing a story that makes sense or making sure that characters don't just pop up out of nowhere as if they read ahead in the script and knew they had to be at a city hours away as their opponents were there... also, what a waste of Ronda Rousey in what was a small role; Iggy Azalea, thank Christ her role was only like 10 seconds long! Boy, did people turn against her-for good reason, as she's racist trash-between the start of filming and when this came out.
What is a bigger sin in my eyes is the way that this was shot. The first two Insidious movies and The Conjuring are good to great but James Wan deciding that this movie needed to have shaky cam and rapid fire editing during the action scenes... I had heard beforehand this would be the case but even if it didn't I would have realized it while watching the film. I usually don't like such things so that was disappointing. There's still some great action scenes; I just couldn't always make out what was even going on. It makes me sad that is still a common trend in modern action cinema.
Despite what I said I did not hate this movie. Like I said there's still some memorable action scenes, funny moments throughout and the contributions of people like Kurt Russell and Tony Jaa were pretty nice. I just wish I could have had a blast with this like I did 5 and 6. To be honest, the reason why I have it even at 3 stars is the ending, which was as emotional as I had heard and some in the audience were teary-eyed. It was a great way to say goodbye to a friend and to write off that character in a great way. I do not have any complaints there.
I just hope that when the 8th film comes out (this has already made at least 380 million dollars worldwide at the time I am reviewing this! More sequels is a no-brainer) there will be less of what I thought were the mistakes made here... although the large crowd I saw this with seemed to love it so maybe I am in the wrong here.
83% on Rotten Tomatoes (out of 172 reviews)
Runtime: 137 minutes
Directed by: James Wan
Starring: The usual crew plus such people as Jason Statham, Kurt Russell, Nathalie Emmanuel, and Tony Jaa
From: Universal
Yesterday I was finally able to see this; I shouldn't use that term as it just came out Thursday night but by the time I saw it many people I know (whether casually or otherwise) had already checked it out. Generally it's rated pretty highly but sad to say, I don't feel the same way about it, aside from a great ending. The Letterboxd review is below and I'll return Tuesday night.
Eventually I'll likely put together a list which will contain my reviews and ratings of all 7 movies in this franchise. Most of the reviews are on the short side (I may watch some of them again before I compile such a list) but at least you can still follow the ratings and see that I thought the 1st and 4th were a little better than fine, 2 and 3 were bad, and 5 & 6 I rate quite highly as even though they were dopey movies they were SO entertaining. Thus, I had high hopes for 7 and even with the unspeakable tragedy that hit during production I was still hoping for the best.
Well... I certainly understand why there are many that love this. My issues with this are a matter of opinion; like I said the last two were pretty stupid when it comes to things like logic. But, I was able to ignore such things and enjoy the ride. Here, it broke for me and it was just too dumb. I realize how difficult it was to complete this considering the aforementioned tragedy and such things as certain actors not having much time for their roles.
With this, though, it seemed like they were more concerned about topping what they had done previously rather than writing a story that makes sense or making sure that characters don't just pop up out of nowhere as if they read ahead in the script and knew they had to be at a city hours away as their opponents were there... also, what a waste of Ronda Rousey in what was a small role; Iggy Azalea, thank Christ her role was only like 10 seconds long! Boy, did people turn against her-for good reason, as she's racist trash-between the start of filming and when this came out.
What is a bigger sin in my eyes is the way that this was shot. The first two Insidious movies and The Conjuring are good to great but James Wan deciding that this movie needed to have shaky cam and rapid fire editing during the action scenes... I had heard beforehand this would be the case but even if it didn't I would have realized it while watching the film. I usually don't like such things so that was disappointing. There's still some great action scenes; I just couldn't always make out what was even going on. It makes me sad that is still a common trend in modern action cinema.
Despite what I said I did not hate this movie. Like I said there's still some memorable action scenes, funny moments throughout and the contributions of people like Kurt Russell and Tony Jaa were pretty nice. I just wish I could have had a blast with this like I did 5 and 6. To be honest, the reason why I have it even at 3 stars is the ending, which was as emotional as I had heard and some in the audience were teary-eyed. It was a great way to say goodbye to a friend and to write off that character in a great way. I do not have any complaints there.
I just hope that when the 8th film comes out (this has already made at least 380 million dollars worldwide at the time I am reviewing this! More sequels is a no-brainer) there will be less of what I thought were the mistakes made here... although the large crowd I saw this with seemed to love it so maybe I am in the wrong here.
Friday, April 3, 2015
The Fast & The Furious: Tokyo Drift
The Fast & The Furious: Tokyo Drift (2006)
Runtime: 104 minutes
Directed by: Justin Lin
Starring: Lucas Black, Bow Wow, Sung Kang, Brian Tee, Nathalie Kelley
From: Universal
As I figured this movie would tie into Furious 7 (I understand that it does aside from the obvious death of Han and its repercussions) I figured it was about time I saw this. It has its fans and I do not understand why. I explain my feelinngs below in my review copied over from Letterboxd and I'll return Sunday afternoon with a new review; maybe it'll be of Furious 7 and maybe it won't; I've heard some things about it that are cause for concern so maybe I'll wait a few days to see it.
Even though I rate the last two films in the F&F franchise rather highly, last night was the first time I had seen this motion picture, despite it having plenty of fans all over the Internet. With the strange chronology of this franchise this actually comes after Fast & Furious 6 so maybe it's appropriate that I waited to see this until now.
In short, I didn't hate this because this is the outlier of the franchise, something barely related to the rest of the films. I hate it because it's an awful motion picture. Lucas Black plays Sean, a 17 year old who's an asshat that always gets into trouble due to racing. After getting into trouble dueling with the oldest kid from Home Improvement (that guy being a jock quarterback, I found it quite amusing), he gets sent to Japan to love with his military father, where... he continues racing and he never learns any valuable lessons or changes his ways. Despite being a racer he has no idea what drifting is; he tries to do it and eventually becomes a drifting king.
While there's some interesting racing scenes this was pretty difficult for me to get through. There's barely a plot, and what you see is a rehash of The Karate Kid Part II. A bunch of stuff happens, there's of course a romance, a final race, the end. Sonny Chiba is barely in it so that was lame and so was the CGI, but its biggest sin is that I hated most of the characters; they were just awful at worst and lousy at best. Our alleged “heroes” are actually asstagonists who I usually couldn't stand. I certainly didn't like the lead who constantly disobeyed his dad and barely gets punished for doing so.
The character named TWINKIE (played by Bow Wow!) is a punk who illegally sells items and even franchise favorite Han is an ass as he rips off his partner. I have no idea why Han became popular due to this role. It has nothing to do with the performance of Sung Kang and everything to do with Han being a blank character who sometimes utters phrases that are supposed to be wise but are actually hackneyed nonsense. I just don't get it...
At least the later films did try to tie their plots to this and that was successful. This actual movie was not a success at all, aside from the racing and the ability to look at the Tokyo scenery, which I like doing but there are many better ways for me to do that. If others love this that is OK; at least now I can say I've seen it... and never need to see it ever again.
Runtime: 104 minutes
Directed by: Justin Lin
Starring: Lucas Black, Bow Wow, Sung Kang, Brian Tee, Nathalie Kelley
From: Universal
As I figured this movie would tie into Furious 7 (I understand that it does aside from the obvious death of Han and its repercussions) I figured it was about time I saw this. It has its fans and I do not understand why. I explain my feelinngs below in my review copied over from Letterboxd and I'll return Sunday afternoon with a new review; maybe it'll be of Furious 7 and maybe it won't; I've heard some things about it that are cause for concern so maybe I'll wait a few days to see it.
Even though I rate the last two films in the F&F franchise rather highly, last night was the first time I had seen this motion picture, despite it having plenty of fans all over the Internet. With the strange chronology of this franchise this actually comes after Fast & Furious 6 so maybe it's appropriate that I waited to see this until now.
In short, I didn't hate this because this is the outlier of the franchise, something barely related to the rest of the films. I hate it because it's an awful motion picture. Lucas Black plays Sean, a 17 year old who's an asshat that always gets into trouble due to racing. After getting into trouble dueling with the oldest kid from Home Improvement (that guy being a jock quarterback, I found it quite amusing), he gets sent to Japan to love with his military father, where... he continues racing and he never learns any valuable lessons or changes his ways. Despite being a racer he has no idea what drifting is; he tries to do it and eventually becomes a drifting king.
While there's some interesting racing scenes this was pretty difficult for me to get through. There's barely a plot, and what you see is a rehash of The Karate Kid Part II. A bunch of stuff happens, there's of course a romance, a final race, the end. Sonny Chiba is barely in it so that was lame and so was the CGI, but its biggest sin is that I hated most of the characters; they were just awful at worst and lousy at best. Our alleged “heroes” are actually asstagonists who I usually couldn't stand. I certainly didn't like the lead who constantly disobeyed his dad and barely gets punished for doing so.
The character named TWINKIE (played by Bow Wow!) is a punk who illegally sells items and even franchise favorite Han is an ass as he rips off his partner. I have no idea why Han became popular due to this role. It has nothing to do with the performance of Sung Kang and everything to do with Han being a blank character who sometimes utters phrases that are supposed to be wise but are actually hackneyed nonsense. I just don't get it...
At least the later films did try to tie their plots to this and that was successful. This actual movie was not a success at all, aside from the racing and the ability to look at the Tokyo scenery, which I like doing but there are many better ways for me to do that. If others love this that is OK; at least now I can say I've seen it... and never need to see it ever again.
Thursday, April 2, 2015
My Schedule For April
I was too tired to watch anything last night so let me mention that this month I'll go back to watching a hodgepodge of things; tonight I'll finally see The Fast and the Furious: Tokyo Drift as tomorrow I hope to see Furious 7 (if not I'll see it within the next week) and I'll also catch up on a few movies people have wanted me to see but I've been putting off for too long.
I'll be back by tomorrow night (it may be the afternoon) with a review of Tokyo Drift, barring Internet issues as I'll have to stream it.
I'll be back by tomorrow night (it may be the afternoon) with a review of Tokyo Drift, barring Internet issues as I'll have to stream it.
Wednesday, April 1, 2015
Diggstown
Diggstown (1992)
Runtime: 98 minutes
Directed by: Michael Ritchie
Starring: James Woods, Louis Gossett, Jr., Oliver Platt, Bruce Dern, Heather Graham
From: MGM
I saw this film late Monday night, as by the time I am posting this now on this site it is gone from Netflix Instant and due to high praise from several different people I figured it was about time I saw it, and now I am glad I did. Besides what I mentioned below in my Letterboxd review it also has a quality score from James Newton Howard. I will return tomorrow night.
In a matter of a few hours this film is going to disappear from Netflix Instant; I know it's still available at places like Amazon Instant Video but I wanted to see it for free so that's what I did last night. At least I did hear it's getting a new DVD and Blu release late this summer. It was the motivation from someone I know on a messageboard and some strong tweets from a few people independent from each other inspired me to check it out; I saw the trailer as a kid but last night was the first time I saw it in full.
This is not complex but it works: conman Gabriel Caine (James Woods) is released from prison and with pal Fitz (Oliver Platt) they seek to pull a big con in the title town, a small place in the middle of nowhere Georgia. While they're charming you'll want to root for them as they go against John Gillon (Bruce Dern), a real SOB who is a hustler himself and owns most of the land in town. The deal is that boxer “Honey” Roy Palmer (Louis Gossett, Jr.) has to defeat ten boxers in a 24 hour period. It sounds a little far fetched but you're still interested in seeing if it could actually happen.
I am not even a boxing fan and it's still a film I really do enjoy. It isn't really about the fights and it's more about the characters and how entertaining they all are, even the villain Gillon and some of the harsh things that happen in the film; you are interested in seeing him and Caine try to outwit each other through various machinations, and there's plenty of comedy to go alongside the drama of the con and several characters ending up in dire straits.
There are some familiar faces in supporting roles, from Marshall Bell and Randall “Tex” Cobb to Jim Caviezel and as the referee, martial artist/actor Benny “The Jet” Urquidez. Heather Graham is also present and she isn't a dumb love interest; rather, she's a sharp lady who does contribute to the plot. I appreciate such nuances.
If you want to see an entertaining con movie/feel good story with a very charming person in Roy Palmer to root for with many funny bits, then this cult film is a must-see.
Runtime: 98 minutes
Directed by: Michael Ritchie
Starring: James Woods, Louis Gossett, Jr., Oliver Platt, Bruce Dern, Heather Graham
From: MGM
I saw this film late Monday night, as by the time I am posting this now on this site it is gone from Netflix Instant and due to high praise from several different people I figured it was about time I saw it, and now I am glad I did. Besides what I mentioned below in my Letterboxd review it also has a quality score from James Newton Howard. I will return tomorrow night.
In a matter of a few hours this film is going to disappear from Netflix Instant; I know it's still available at places like Amazon Instant Video but I wanted to see it for free so that's what I did last night. At least I did hear it's getting a new DVD and Blu release late this summer. It was the motivation from someone I know on a messageboard and some strong tweets from a few people independent from each other inspired me to check it out; I saw the trailer as a kid but last night was the first time I saw it in full.
This is not complex but it works: conman Gabriel Caine (James Woods) is released from prison and with pal Fitz (Oliver Platt) they seek to pull a big con in the title town, a small place in the middle of nowhere Georgia. While they're charming you'll want to root for them as they go against John Gillon (Bruce Dern), a real SOB who is a hustler himself and owns most of the land in town. The deal is that boxer “Honey” Roy Palmer (Louis Gossett, Jr.) has to defeat ten boxers in a 24 hour period. It sounds a little far fetched but you're still interested in seeing if it could actually happen.
I am not even a boxing fan and it's still a film I really do enjoy. It isn't really about the fights and it's more about the characters and how entertaining they all are, even the villain Gillon and some of the harsh things that happen in the film; you are interested in seeing him and Caine try to outwit each other through various machinations, and there's plenty of comedy to go alongside the drama of the con and several characters ending up in dire straits.
There are some familiar faces in supporting roles, from Marshall Bell and Randall “Tex” Cobb to Jim Caviezel and as the referee, martial artist/actor Benny “The Jet” Urquidez. Heather Graham is also present and she isn't a dumb love interest; rather, she's a sharp lady who does contribute to the plot. I appreciate such nuances.
If you want to see an entertaining con movie/feel good story with a very charming person in Roy Palmer to root for with many funny bits, then this cult film is a must-see.
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