Night of the Creeps (1986)
Runtime: 88 minutes
Directed by: Fred Dekker
Starring: Jason Lively, Tom Atkins, Jill Whitlow, Steve Marshall, Allan Kayser
From: Tri-Star
Now here's a movie I was happy to revisit... as it was Miller Time:
Well, at least this month I got to see one funny Black & Dekker movie... I had seen this one before, but that was years ago so this seemed like the best time for me to discuss this cult film. Shane Black did uncredited work on Fred Dekker's screenplay and unlike with The Predator the comedy was usually pretty amusing and did not feel out of place with the story; this is both a send-up and a tribute to the B-movies of old where many horror directors are boldly referenced so much of the jokes at least made me chuckle.
The first few minutes of the movies are set in 1959 and that entire aesthetic was presented very well, to the point that I wouldn't have minded the entire motion picture be set in that world. Space slugs end up in Southern California and one goes in the mouth of a dude who is then cryogenically frozen, because why not? 27 years later, a fraternity prank gone wrong results in many space slugs being released and there's a lot of havoc. Among the people who try to stop this are two dorky loser college kids at Corman University and Tom Atkins, a cop forever haunted by his past.
It is a silly yet fun tale which has some surprisingly poignant moments and it is easy to root for both the hard-nosed cop played by Atkins (named Cameron, which is one of the many horror nods) and the two dorky college kids who perhaps have a homoerotic relationship but for sure Jason Lively's character-Romero-wishes to have a girlfriend... he is tremendously awkward around the opposite sex. There are some nice horror moments and gory moments to go along with the laughs and if you don't like the stereotypical D-bag fratboy tool type, then you will love the ultimate fate of the ones you see in Night of the Creeps. The leader of that troop is known as The Bradster, which is all you need to know about his loathsome nature. At least for me, I was greatly amused he was played by the guy who brought us Bubba from the syndicated version of Mama's Family.
Mix in effects that are all practical and look fine or better, and no surprise that while this unfortunately flopped, this naturally became a cult favorite with the passage of time. Note that the version I saw was the Director's Cut (it's available for rental on Amazon) which has the alternate ending that hinted at a sequel we'll sadly never get.
Friday, September 28, 2018
Wednesday, September 26, 2018
Mandy
Runtime:
What seemed like an interminable two hours long
Directed
by: Panos “I'll probably never see another one of his movie”
Cosmatos
Starring:
Nicolas Cage, Andrea Riseborough, and a bunch of actors not as good,
except for Bill Duke and Richard Brake, but they are only in one
scene each
From:
A bunch of small studios
A lot of people are already loving this movie-I was not one of those people:
I should have known this wouldn't be a movie for me once I heard
there was not only Cenobite bikers, but also something known as THE
CHEDDAR GOBLIN. Turns out, that goblin was something pretty pointless...
as were the Cenobite bikers from hell or whatever they were supposed to
be. It's nice that many people love this movie; for me, talk about
trying WAY too hard to be “cool” or “hip” or a “cult classic” and at
least for me, it was grating and tiresome and ponderous instead of fun
or a blast of a thrill ride. As I've said before, you can't just try to
make a cult classic; those happen organically.
At first, things seemed fine as we got to know our leads, Red and Mandy. Then those stupid religious villains showed up, and that's when things fall apart. Talk about faux-deep, thoughtful dialogue that was actually dopey and tedious. Then those bikers show up, and what purpose did they ever serve to the main plot? They were pretty inconsequential. Then a 10 minute drug scene happens and that was just awful in a number of ways and I don't want to get into that as it'd be spoilers but the movie officially lost me there. Then something happens and Red is looking for revenge, which makes up the second half of the movie.
And that second half, to describe it in brief: Nic Cage does a bunch of things that probably have already become memes, along with more babbling, ultraviolence, and general nonsense. Really, too much of it is like a sizzle reel of wacky Nicolas Cage (including a few eye-rolling one-liners) with little to nothing to connect it all together; I mean, an epic fight between Red and someone else literally comes out of nowhere w/ no setup in the least. It was nice seeing Bill Duke in a movie again and his one scene was relatively straightforward; Richard Brake's one scene... the opposite: utter stupidity and what exactly was the scene's purpose? This was one of many examples I think of when I think of the phrase "style over substance", which Mandy is all about and it's a thing that is like black licorice to me-which is not a compliment.
I can say that the synth score from the late Johann Johannsson was aces, and I can't complain about the performances from Cage or Andrea Riseborough-at times, she reminded me of Shelley Duvall. However, that and there being some very pretty images does not a good movie make on its own. The movie just rubbed me the wrong way with its self-important nature and poorly tarted up revenge story. Those positive elements are the only reasons why I am not rating this even lower. I've never seen Beyond the Black Rainbow and now I have no desire to ever waste my time with that or any movie the director does in the future.
At first, things seemed fine as we got to know our leads, Red and Mandy. Then those stupid religious villains showed up, and that's when things fall apart. Talk about faux-deep, thoughtful dialogue that was actually dopey and tedious. Then those bikers show up, and what purpose did they ever serve to the main plot? They were pretty inconsequential. Then a 10 minute drug scene happens and that was just awful in a number of ways and I don't want to get into that as it'd be spoilers but the movie officially lost me there. Then something happens and Red is looking for revenge, which makes up the second half of the movie.
And that second half, to describe it in brief: Nic Cage does a bunch of things that probably have already become memes, along with more babbling, ultraviolence, and general nonsense. Really, too much of it is like a sizzle reel of wacky Nicolas Cage (including a few eye-rolling one-liners) with little to nothing to connect it all together; I mean, an epic fight between Red and someone else literally comes out of nowhere w/ no setup in the least. It was nice seeing Bill Duke in a movie again and his one scene was relatively straightforward; Richard Brake's one scene... the opposite: utter stupidity and what exactly was the scene's purpose? This was one of many examples I think of when I think of the phrase "style over substance", which Mandy is all about and it's a thing that is like black licorice to me-which is not a compliment.
I can say that the synth score from the late Johann Johannsson was aces, and I can't complain about the performances from Cage or Andrea Riseborough-at times, she reminded me of Shelley Duvall. However, that and there being some very pretty images does not a good movie make on its own. The movie just rubbed me the wrong way with its self-important nature and poorly tarted up revenge story. Those positive elements are the only reasons why I am not rating this even lower. I've never seen Beyond the Black Rainbow and now I have no desire to ever waste my time with that or any movie the director does in the future.
Tuesday, September 25, 2018
Fear Chamber
Runtime:
86 minutes
Directed
by: Juan Ibanez/Jack Hill
Starring: Boris Karloff, Julissa, Carlos East, Isela Vega, Yerye Beirute
From:
Azteca Films/Filmica Vergara S.A.
What an oddity this is, which at least has an interesting backstory:
Because this actually IS about a sentient rock creature that
communicates in Moog sounds & needs the adrenaline of young women in
order to survive.... in the dying days of his life, Boris Karloff
agreed to a package deal with Mexican producer Luis Enrique Vergara
where he would appear in four low-budget horror films south of the
border... although all his scenes were shot in Los Angeles and those
moments were directed by Jack Hill. As he had emphysema and had trouble
breathing, that decision is understandable. Hopefully he was paid well
enough to help treat his illnesses. Considering those circumstances, no
surprise that a few scenes he literally phones in and part of the film
he is supine, laying in bed.
The plot is not always well told and
at times I was truly baffled. Yet I got the general idea... that
sentient rock creature is discovered in a cave and a group of scientists
(led by Karloff) hook it up to computers... don't ask how as the movie
doesn't explain this. They quickly discover it needs adrenaline to
survive in its new setting so as this is exploitation, the scientists
are “extra” by creating the titular fear chamber and young women are
terrified from seeing what looks like a Satanic sacrifice in a spooky
setting featuring the expected spooky accouterments... skeletons,
spiders, snakes, iguanas (?!), etc. Thankfully for them some of the
employees are creepy-looking dudes, including hulking brute Roland (more
on him later) and a random dwarf.
Fear Chamber is as ludicrous as it sounds, where some moments left me befuddled. But for those that love these low-budget horror curios from the past (as I sometimes do) you will at least laugh and be amused by such things as the gratuitous moment where a young woman dances around in her underwear for the benefit of the creature, just because. I was definitely amused by the Roland character, as it was implied he was mentally handicapped-in the same way this film “implied” that one woman was a lesbian... meaning, the message is quite overt-and he had a funny accent. He at one point stated the creature was HONGRY as if he was Roman Pearce.
Unfortunately, the fear chamber is not seen often enough; admitting that it is quite silly, it at least set an appropriate mood so I hoped it would be seen in full more than once, but alas... I have known of these Boris Karloff Mexican movies for years now so I am happy this opportunity came about.
Fear Chamber is as ludicrous as it sounds, where some moments left me befuddled. But for those that love these low-budget horror curios from the past (as I sometimes do) you will at least laugh and be amused by such things as the gratuitous moment where a young woman dances around in her underwear for the benefit of the creature, just because. I was definitely amused by the Roland character, as it was implied he was mentally handicapped-in the same way this film “implied” that one woman was a lesbian... meaning, the message is quite overt-and he had a funny accent. He at one point stated the creature was HONGRY as if he was Roman Pearce.
Unfortunately, the fear chamber is not seen often enough; admitting that it is quite silly, it at least set an appropriate mood so I hoped it would be seen in full more than once, but alas... I have known of these Boris Karloff Mexican movies for years now so I am happy this opportunity came about.
Monday, September 24, 2018
Hell House LLC
Runtime:
93 minutes
Directed
by: Stephen Cognetti
Starring:
Ryan Jennifer Jones, Danny Bellini, Gore Abrams, Jared Hacker, Adam
Schneider
From:
Cognetti Films
Yep, another found footage movie... but this one wasn't bad:
As the sequel to this film just debuted on Shudder, I figured it was about time I saw the first movie, as some people I know have given this found footage effort rave reviews. While the film is not revolutionary in what it does, at least I can say HH LLC is good overall.
The focus of the film is a mysterious incident that happens when a haunted house in a rural town about an hour outside of New York City where many people are injured or killed. A few years later a documentary crew is trying to figure out what happened and they get to view tapes filmed by the quintet that ran this haunted house attraction, set at a mysterious abandoned hotel. Naturally, there are reasons why it was abandoned and spooky events occur. Of course, this group argues with each other even before they get to the hotel but thankfully none of them were irritating, at least to me. Paul is the most memorable person, as he not only has a pornstache, but is also incredibly horny and obsesses over a girl who is hired to work there.
This is a typical found footage movie in every way; they do explain why they keep on filming, as “it helps them prepare for future houses”, as they've been creating these events for years now. Thankfully this was not filled with jumpscares like too much horror is in recent times. Instead, such simple things as creepy mannequins are used to make the characters and the audience incredibly uneasy. Another decision I am thankful for is that this is not filled with CG that probably would have looked pretty bad and instead practical effects are used, even during the finale when we find out what exactly happened on that fateful night. Furthermore, some moments were incredibly obvious but I was glad there were plenty of subtle “did I really see that” moments too.
It was interesting seeing this crew turn an abandoned hotel into a haunted house (incidentally, this was filmed at an actual haunted house in Lehighton, Pennsylvania known as Haunting at the Waldorf Hotel) and various fascinating elements were included in the house; it probably would be a fun house to go through. YMMV on this depending on your opinion of found footage. For me, this was a genre effort which I wasn't annoyed or irritated by, for the most part. Sure, some bits are kind of dumb but overall I can say this was good.
As the sequel to this film just debuted on Shudder, I figured it was about time I saw the first movie, as some people I know have given this found footage effort rave reviews. While the film is not revolutionary in what it does, at least I can say HH LLC is good overall.
The focus of the film is a mysterious incident that happens when a haunted house in a rural town about an hour outside of New York City where many people are injured or killed. A few years later a documentary crew is trying to figure out what happened and they get to view tapes filmed by the quintet that ran this haunted house attraction, set at a mysterious abandoned hotel. Naturally, there are reasons why it was abandoned and spooky events occur. Of course, this group argues with each other even before they get to the hotel but thankfully none of them were irritating, at least to me. Paul is the most memorable person, as he not only has a pornstache, but is also incredibly horny and obsesses over a girl who is hired to work there.
This is a typical found footage movie in every way; they do explain why they keep on filming, as “it helps them prepare for future houses”, as they've been creating these events for years now. Thankfully this was not filled with jumpscares like too much horror is in recent times. Instead, such simple things as creepy mannequins are used to make the characters and the audience incredibly uneasy. Another decision I am thankful for is that this is not filled with CG that probably would have looked pretty bad and instead practical effects are used, even during the finale when we find out what exactly happened on that fateful night. Furthermore, some moments were incredibly obvious but I was glad there were plenty of subtle “did I really see that” moments too.
It was interesting seeing this crew turn an abandoned hotel into a haunted house (incidentally, this was filmed at an actual haunted house in Lehighton, Pennsylvania known as Haunting at the Waldorf Hotel) and various fascinating elements were included in the house; it probably would be a fun house to go through. YMMV on this depending on your opinion of found footage. For me, this was a genre effort which I wasn't annoyed or irritated by, for the most part. Sure, some bits are kind of dumb but overall I can say this was good.
Sunday, September 23, 2018
Double Target
Runtime:
98 minutes
Directed
by: Bruno Mattei
Starring:
Miles O'Keeffe, Donald Pleasence, Bo Sevenson, Kristine Erlandson,
Ottaviano Dell'Acqua
From:
Flora Film
What low budget trash this was:
This is the one time I watched a movie
because the main characters have names like SENATOR BLASTER and BOB
ROSS. It is an Italian film lensed in The Philippines and directed by
Bruno Mattei, so those in the know should know what to expect from such a
brief description. So will me saying that the film stars Miles
O'Keeffe, Donald Pleasence, Bo Sevenson, two guys who were in Zombie 3,
and someone who was in films like Yor, the Hunter from the Future and
The Exterminators of the Year 3000.
As was ever-present in 1980's cinema, the Vietnam War was the topic of this motion picture, even if the movie is set years after the war ended. To be specific, several terrorist acts happen in Southeast Asia and the United States believes it's some sort of insidious plot by the Vietnamese government. Senator Blaster (Pleasence) brings in our hero (Bob Ross! He was played by O'Keeffe) to perform an operation to stop some damn Commie Russkies from training “international terrorists” in Vietnam. Oh, and Ross had a son in the country during the war with a now-dead Vietnamese wife and he's looking for the tyke.
The film is largely what you expect... low-budget nonsense where the Italians try to do their own version of Rambo: First Blood Part 2. At least there's wacky music to accompany this, but it's not so gleefully over the top that it is campy; I'll just call this average overall. However, there are moments to laugh at. I guffaw thinking about the actual Bob Ross playing the lead; as legend says, he used to be a drill sergeant but he left the military as he did not like yelling at the soldiers in training. Senator Blaster, what a character... also, there should have been someone named Senator Blaster in Far Cry 3: Blood Dragon. Anyhow, he has asthma and coughs often; at one point he even yells out, “Air! Air!” as if he's President Skroob. Then, there's a scene in the middle where the bad guys raid a small village where Bob's son lives. In short, the entire village is blown up by the heroes as a means to create a distraction. It works... although I have to ask, where in the hell are the villagers going to live now that their bamboo huts were all destroyed?
Sometimes I wonder if things got lost in translation, or even if there are missing scenes. That said, at least there are plenty of big explosions...
As was ever-present in 1980's cinema, the Vietnam War was the topic of this motion picture, even if the movie is set years after the war ended. To be specific, several terrorist acts happen in Southeast Asia and the United States believes it's some sort of insidious plot by the Vietnamese government. Senator Blaster (Pleasence) brings in our hero (Bob Ross! He was played by O'Keeffe) to perform an operation to stop some damn Commie Russkies from training “international terrorists” in Vietnam. Oh, and Ross had a son in the country during the war with a now-dead Vietnamese wife and he's looking for the tyke.
The film is largely what you expect... low-budget nonsense where the Italians try to do their own version of Rambo: First Blood Part 2. At least there's wacky music to accompany this, but it's not so gleefully over the top that it is campy; I'll just call this average overall. However, there are moments to laugh at. I guffaw thinking about the actual Bob Ross playing the lead; as legend says, he used to be a drill sergeant but he left the military as he did not like yelling at the soldiers in training. Senator Blaster, what a character... also, there should have been someone named Senator Blaster in Far Cry 3: Blood Dragon. Anyhow, he has asthma and coughs often; at one point he even yells out, “Air! Air!” as if he's President Skroob. Then, there's a scene in the middle where the bad guys raid a small village where Bob's son lives. In short, the entire village is blown up by the heroes as a means to create a distraction. It works... although I have to ask, where in the hell are the villagers going to live now that their bamboo huts were all destroyed?
Sometimes I wonder if things got lost in translation, or even if there are missing scenes. That said, at least there are plenty of big explosions...
Crimebusters
Crimebusters (Poliziotti Violenti) (1976)
Runtime: 90 minutes
Directed by: Michele Massimo Tarantini
Starring: Henry Silva, Antonio Sabato, Silvia Dionisio, Ettore Manni, Rosario Borelli
From: Capitol International/Staff
About time I see another poliziotteschi movie:
This is not to be confused with the film starring Bud Spencer and Terence Hill, but it does star a pretty cool duo. Here, this is a poliziotteschi where the two leads are Henry Silva and Antonio Sabato.
This is typical of the genre as there are plenty of shootouts, vehicle chases, aggro masculine moments, and yeah... gross things happening to women; plus, there is the “bonus” of there being a trans character and of course for a movie like this, a certain slur is used a few times. The plot: Silva is in the Air Force and Sabato is a cop; they have an uneasy partnership as a fancy new machine gun that is supposed to be used only by the military is in the hands of criminals; turns out, there's political corruption involved.
The movie takes awhile to get going; not that it's uninteresting, but there's plenty of talk and setup. Once there are action beats... they are pretty exciting and more so than typical, many pedestrians and innocent bystanders are murdered in a variety of different ways; pretty sadistic. There is a setup or two which ends up being a dead end (you see Sabato racing a car on the track in one scene as it's his way of therapy; later he works on that track car more than once yet that vehicle isn't used in a big chase at the end) but otherwise I can't do too much carping here as it's still an interesting film which has a few sepia tone moments to represent moments from the past... and not only does Silva get involved in a romance, he even gets laid!
The fact that this is well shot and has the expected groovy score from Guido & Maurizio De Angelis means that at least for me, Crimebusters was worthy of a viewing.
Runtime: 90 minutes
Directed by: Michele Massimo Tarantini
Starring: Henry Silva, Antonio Sabato, Silvia Dionisio, Ettore Manni, Rosario Borelli
From: Capitol International/Staff
About time I see another poliziotteschi movie:
This is not to be confused with the film starring Bud Spencer and Terence Hill, but it does star a pretty cool duo. Here, this is a poliziotteschi where the two leads are Henry Silva and Antonio Sabato.
This is typical of the genre as there are plenty of shootouts, vehicle chases, aggro masculine moments, and yeah... gross things happening to women; plus, there is the “bonus” of there being a trans character and of course for a movie like this, a certain slur is used a few times. The plot: Silva is in the Air Force and Sabato is a cop; they have an uneasy partnership as a fancy new machine gun that is supposed to be used only by the military is in the hands of criminals; turns out, there's political corruption involved.
The movie takes awhile to get going; not that it's uninteresting, but there's plenty of talk and setup. Once there are action beats... they are pretty exciting and more so than typical, many pedestrians and innocent bystanders are murdered in a variety of different ways; pretty sadistic. There is a setup or two which ends up being a dead end (you see Sabato racing a car on the track in one scene as it's his way of therapy; later he works on that track car more than once yet that vehicle isn't used in a big chase at the end) but otherwise I can't do too much carping here as it's still an interesting film which has a few sepia tone moments to represent moments from the past... and not only does Silva get involved in a romance, he even gets laid!
The fact that this is well shot and has the expected groovy score from Guido & Maurizio De Angelis means that at least for me, Crimebusters was worthy of a viewing.
Wednesday, September 19, 2018
A Late Night Update
I haven't mentioned it in the past few weeks but there's been a few times where I have revisited various films. That includes the likes of Iron Man 2 (still bad), Fear City (still sleazy) and the late 90's teen film All I Wanna Do, which yes does feature my main lady. Tonight I revisited Scream, which is still enjoyable. The next few days I may check out those sequels, I am unsure as of now.
Monday, September 17, 2018
Howling III: The Marsupials
Howling III: The Marsupials (1987)
Runtime: 97 minutes
Directed by: Philippe Mora
Starring: Barry Otto, Imogen Annesley, Leigh Biolos, Dagmar Blahova, Ralph Cotterill
From: Bancannia Holdings Pty. Ltd.
This Ozploitation film is so odd it makes me want to say Oi!
While not as bonkers as Howling II: Stirba-Werewolf Bitch (the alternate title I'll always refer to it as) this movie is totally off the wall and a weird-yet also interesting-direction for the series to journey to. The movie is now back on Amazon Prime and while it is fullscreen and for some reason a 90 second trailer for the movie is how the video on Prime begins, overall it somehow seemed appropriate to watch this movie in such a fashion.
The execution of the plot was not always great... there are large time jumps in the final act where some actors barely look different despite many years having passed, there is some incredible overacting, the editing is even more jarring than in The Predator and a few times I wondered if there were missing reels... yet the general idea I did not hate. This brings up such ideas as werewolves from around the world evolving differently depending on where they are located, the ones in Australia becoming marsupials, and some even having a psychic connection. I also have to give props for them trying to tie in the extinct (although rumored to still be around in minuscule numbers) Thylacine, i.e. the Tasmanian Tiger.
Someone being a scientist and being interested in studying these now-discovered creatures makes sense, along with someone falling in love with one that looks like an attractive woman. I just wish this wouldn't have been so chaotic and containing everything from spoofs of movie-making and Aborigines to 80's Australian pop (which isn't the same as the new wave that was in II) and Dame Edna. On that note, while Edna is the only character anyone in America knows that was played by Barry Humphries, it's not like she is unknown here. While of course not as popular as in places like Europe or Australia, the Dame has appeared on American talk shows and she even briefly had her own show in the United States back in '91... it did not take off here as it did elsewhere so the show was brief. But as people from all over the world will read this... I wanted to offer such trivia.
At least this movie tries to have a sense of humor-that is hit or miss. Like I said, I wish the film would have been better overall as there definitely are intriguing ideas that are presented here... it just seems to be lost or at least obscured among all the chaos that was the finished product.
Runtime: 97 minutes
Directed by: Philippe Mora
Starring: Barry Otto, Imogen Annesley, Leigh Biolos, Dagmar Blahova, Ralph Cotterill
From: Bancannia Holdings Pty. Ltd.
This Ozploitation film is so odd it makes me want to say Oi!
While not as bonkers as Howling II: Stirba-Werewolf Bitch (the alternate title I'll always refer to it as) this movie is totally off the wall and a weird-yet also interesting-direction for the series to journey to. The movie is now back on Amazon Prime and while it is fullscreen and for some reason a 90 second trailer for the movie is how the video on Prime begins, overall it somehow seemed appropriate to watch this movie in such a fashion.
The execution of the plot was not always great... there are large time jumps in the final act where some actors barely look different despite many years having passed, there is some incredible overacting, the editing is even more jarring than in The Predator and a few times I wondered if there were missing reels... yet the general idea I did not hate. This brings up such ideas as werewolves from around the world evolving differently depending on where they are located, the ones in Australia becoming marsupials, and some even having a psychic connection. I also have to give props for them trying to tie in the extinct (although rumored to still be around in minuscule numbers) Thylacine, i.e. the Tasmanian Tiger.
Someone being a scientist and being interested in studying these now-discovered creatures makes sense, along with someone falling in love with one that looks like an attractive woman. I just wish this wouldn't have been so chaotic and containing everything from spoofs of movie-making and Aborigines to 80's Australian pop (which isn't the same as the new wave that was in II) and Dame Edna. On that note, while Edna is the only character anyone in America knows that was played by Barry Humphries, it's not like she is unknown here. While of course not as popular as in places like Europe or Australia, the Dame has appeared on American talk shows and she even briefly had her own show in the United States back in '91... it did not take off here as it did elsewhere so the show was brief. But as people from all over the world will read this... I wanted to offer such trivia.
At least this movie tries to have a sense of humor-that is hit or miss. Like I said, I wish the film would have been better overall as there definitely are intriguing ideas that are presented here... it just seems to be lost or at least obscured among all the chaos that was the finished product.
Sunday, September 16, 2018
Silence
Silence (2016)
I am sure you know all the details by now
Not seeing this sooner was a mistake on my part; at least I finally fixed that mistake:
While I should have seen this almost two years ago, I cannot complain as I finally saw Silence and guess what, it is very good.
Based on a novel by Shusaku Endo, the film is about two 17th century Portuguese priests (Andrew Garfield and Adam Driver... eh, close enough ethnically, right?) who go to Japan to try and find Liam Neeson, who has not been heard from for years and is feared killed due to the persecutions that Christians are experiencing over there. Once they arrive, their only problem is not just trying to track down someone they only hope is still alive; things are compounded as some villages of Christians who have to hide their faith are overwhelmed that they finally have priests around to confess their sins to... this overwhelms both Fathers.
This is definitely a mature, measured piece of work as it takes its time over the long runtime to show that the two leads have a crises of faith; I mean, their presence causes a lot of pain for a lot of people as the hunt for these Christians by the Inquisitors and his troop increases and even at times it can be argued the Fathers act selfishly and and instead they should act more like Jesus Christ and make huge sacrifices in order to spare pain for many others. They have difficulty in trying to accept the atrocities that are committed against those people just because of their spiritual faith. I did make a wisecrack about ethnicity but I was not offended by the casting and the three actors I mentioned all did very well in the film; the rest of the cast also performed admirably; there are some great scenes with thought-provoking dialogue and deep, philosophical discussions.
I don't need to tell you guys that this was well-filmed, or that the Taiwanese locations they shot at were beautiful. Naturally a film with such subject matter won't be for all tastes. Anyone can understand being incredibly passionate about something, whether it is religion or something else. However, for me... no matter your religious affiliation or if you even believe in God or are off the beaten path and worship something like snakes or Elvis, this is a rewarding movie that makes you think, as long as you have the patience for its methodical pacing and a handful of particularly grueling moments in a movie that overall isn't an easy sit due to its subject matter.
I am sure you know all the details by now
Not seeing this sooner was a mistake on my part; at least I finally fixed that mistake:
While I should have seen this almost two years ago, I cannot complain as I finally saw Silence and guess what, it is very good.
Based on a novel by Shusaku Endo, the film is about two 17th century Portuguese priests (Andrew Garfield and Adam Driver... eh, close enough ethnically, right?) who go to Japan to try and find Liam Neeson, who has not been heard from for years and is feared killed due to the persecutions that Christians are experiencing over there. Once they arrive, their only problem is not just trying to track down someone they only hope is still alive; things are compounded as some villages of Christians who have to hide their faith are overwhelmed that they finally have priests around to confess their sins to... this overwhelms both Fathers.
This is definitely a mature, measured piece of work as it takes its time over the long runtime to show that the two leads have a crises of faith; I mean, their presence causes a lot of pain for a lot of people as the hunt for these Christians by the Inquisitors and his troop increases and even at times it can be argued the Fathers act selfishly and and instead they should act more like Jesus Christ and make huge sacrifices in order to spare pain for many others. They have difficulty in trying to accept the atrocities that are committed against those people just because of their spiritual faith. I did make a wisecrack about ethnicity but I was not offended by the casting and the three actors I mentioned all did very well in the film; the rest of the cast also performed admirably; there are some great scenes with thought-provoking dialogue and deep, philosophical discussions.
I don't need to tell you guys that this was well-filmed, or that the Taiwanese locations they shot at were beautiful. Naturally a film with such subject matter won't be for all tastes. Anyone can understand being incredibly passionate about something, whether it is religion or something else. However, for me... no matter your religious affiliation or if you even believe in God or are off the beaten path and worship something like snakes or Elvis, this is a rewarding movie that makes you think, as long as you have the patience for its methodical pacing and a handful of particularly grueling moments in a movie that overall isn't an easy sit due to its subject matter.
Saturday, September 15, 2018
The Predator
Runtime:
101 minutes
Directed
by: Shane Black
Starring:
A talented cast that I wish was given different material to work with
From:
20th Century Fox
Thursday night I saw Smokey and the Bandit on the big screen, followed up by this. Smokey I've seen many times before in my life and it was great watching it that way. This motion picture... not the worst in the franchise by any means yet it still does not hold a patch to the original or even Predator 2:
Talk about a movie that was behind the eight ball even before it got
released. Words of reshoots & other tinkering along with fanboys not
being happy with the tone and nature of the trailers is bad enough...
then it turned into a fiasco with Shane Black having a one scene role
for a friend... who knows what Black knew or did not know before then,
it became a scandal that overshadowed the movie, made a lot of people
look bad, and poor Olivia Munn-a lot of people don't like her for a
variety of reasons but it is crappy that she feels ostracized because
she felt no one else supported the stand she was trying to make.
As for the film itself, I've seen more bad movies involving the Predator than good ones so I can't get too mad that this isn't legendary like the first one or pretty good and zany like Predator 2. But it should have been better. I imagine most have seen the trailers (where of course not all the footage there made it into the finished product) so I won't dwell too much on the plot or how a bunch of unfit soldiers have to save the day with Olivia Munn and Jacob Tremblay-more on him later-as a Yautja then a highly evolved version of a Yautja wreck s*** in the Southeastern United States.
The trailers were accurate in both noting this is a hard-R movie with a lot of cussing (too much of it, IMO), graphic gore, and... comedy? Yeah, a lot of humor is attempted so no surprise I already have seen plenty make a comparison to the MCU. Here, there was too much of it and only a percentage was actually funny and not annoying... so yeah, just like the MCU. To steal a line from a review, not every character needed to utter wisecracks all the time. Now, I did not need or want this to be an uber-macho testosterone-filled extravaganza like the first one was as this was what Predators was and because of a lousy story (among other issues) Predators was just a weaksauce version of the original. But all the humor... I was not a fan of that aspect and it just came off as trend-chasing and as typical, too many in Hollywood are trying to play catch up.
All that stated, the film was still at least watchable for me, even if the action wasn't as coherent or clear (a lot of it is in the dark) as it could have been. Then the third act happens, and talk about derailing the movie. It was a gigantic mess-not that such issues were not present in the first two acts-and a lot of poor choices were made... not by the characters, but by the filmmakers and 20th Century Fox. The final scene is the worst and did not end things on a bright note for me.
The Predator has a character with Tourette Syndrome and that is played for laffs; by this point why is that still deemed acceptable? But what will make many unhappy is that Tremblay's character is on the autism spectrum, and it's as stereotyped as you'd expect. Not all people on the spectrum have all the traits connected to autism, despite what Hollywood would like you to believe. What are supposed to be positive traits for the character (such as being a savant) are also stereotypes and I am sure those with autism will be frustrated with that aspect also.
I did not hate this motion picture, and at least if you get to hear the Atmos mix (such as at a Dolby Cinema, which is where I was at last night), that was the best aspect of The Predator. The expectations were not high for me going in and even then, the talented cast manages to do a lot to even make this an average experience.
As for the film itself, I've seen more bad movies involving the Predator than good ones so I can't get too mad that this isn't legendary like the first one or pretty good and zany like Predator 2. But it should have been better. I imagine most have seen the trailers (where of course not all the footage there made it into the finished product) so I won't dwell too much on the plot or how a bunch of unfit soldiers have to save the day with Olivia Munn and Jacob Tremblay-more on him later-as a Yautja then a highly evolved version of a Yautja wreck s*** in the Southeastern United States.
The trailers were accurate in both noting this is a hard-R movie with a lot of cussing (too much of it, IMO), graphic gore, and... comedy? Yeah, a lot of humor is attempted so no surprise I already have seen plenty make a comparison to the MCU. Here, there was too much of it and only a percentage was actually funny and not annoying... so yeah, just like the MCU. To steal a line from a review, not every character needed to utter wisecracks all the time. Now, I did not need or want this to be an uber-macho testosterone-filled extravaganza like the first one was as this was what Predators was and because of a lousy story (among other issues) Predators was just a weaksauce version of the original. But all the humor... I was not a fan of that aspect and it just came off as trend-chasing and as typical, too many in Hollywood are trying to play catch up.
All that stated, the film was still at least watchable for me, even if the action wasn't as coherent or clear (a lot of it is in the dark) as it could have been. Then the third act happens, and talk about derailing the movie. It was a gigantic mess-not that such issues were not present in the first two acts-and a lot of poor choices were made... not by the characters, but by the filmmakers and 20th Century Fox. The final scene is the worst and did not end things on a bright note for me.
The Predator has a character with Tourette Syndrome and that is played for laffs; by this point why is that still deemed acceptable? But what will make many unhappy is that Tremblay's character is on the autism spectrum, and it's as stereotyped as you'd expect. Not all people on the spectrum have all the traits connected to autism, despite what Hollywood would like you to believe. What are supposed to be positive traits for the character (such as being a savant) are also stereotypes and I am sure those with autism will be frustrated with that aspect also.
I did not hate this motion picture, and at least if you get to hear the Atmos mix (such as at a Dolby Cinema, which is where I was at last night), that was the best aspect of The Predator. The expectations were not high for me going in and even then, the talented cast manages to do a lot to even make this an average experience.
Thursday, September 13, 2018
Slice
Slice (2018)
You know, it did not take me too long to realize why A24 washed their hands of this and returned the delivery to sender. Slice was unceremoniously dumped on VOD after it played for only one night in several cities. I have only seen a small amount of what A24 has put out... but this has to be the worst movie they've ever released; I hated this undercooked piece of pie. This is not a case of pizza being like sex where even bad ones are still good because it's pizza or sex.
I know this has its fans... I just wish I understood why. Even the general conceit was lost on me; the city of Kingfisher designates an area called Ghost Town where various spooky things live... yet the “ghosts” we see look more like zombies and they randomly roam around the “normal” parts of town and some even have jobs... none of this crap is explained, by the way, so I quickly stopped caring. There is also Hannibal Buress as “The Big Cheese” who deals in... pieces of paper with cheese drawn on it? Of course that is not explained either. The drivers at a pizza place are being murdered, and it appears to be connected with a similar series of murders from a few years ago, allegedly done by a werewolf. That is about as coherent as this gigantic mess gets, which is not only poorly made, but both storylines and characters are picked up and dropped as if you tried to get a pizza out of the oven with your bare hands.
In case it was not obvious from what I said about drugs as piece of paper, the “humor” in this was AWFUL. The “laughs” I got were a stray chuckle or two, and that was it. Not even people like Paul Scheer offered any amusement. This was a painful 82 minute film where most of the characters were incredibly grating and one-note, the story was both confused and bland, & the horror elements are so incredibly weak. As for Chance the Rapper and his acting, he's a good rapper... or so I have heard. I couldn't name you one of his songs but I am sure his tunes are better than his performance here.
Sure, the animated opening credits are cute and the synth score was neat and all... more importantly, why is this modern world (modern computers are used) filled with retro vehicles, televisions, etc. It was like I was watching It Follows again, which I did not love yet was far better than this. And why was Joe Keery in such a nothing of a role? Also, why was he dressed as if he was still playing Steve Harrington... all it made me do was wish I could be watching Stranger Things again. Perhaps you'll get more out of this than I did; me, chowing down on some slices and watching many other things would be much preferable to this misfire.
Runtime:
83 long minutes
Directed
by: Austin Vesely
Starring:
Chance the Rapper, Zazie Beets, Rae Gray, Chris Parnell, Katherine
Cunningham
From:
A24
You know, it did not take me too long to realize why A24 washed their hands of this and returned the delivery to sender. Slice was unceremoniously dumped on VOD after it played for only one night in several cities. I have only seen a small amount of what A24 has put out... but this has to be the worst movie they've ever released; I hated this undercooked piece of pie. This is not a case of pizza being like sex where even bad ones are still good because it's pizza or sex.
I know this has its fans... I just wish I understood why. Even the general conceit was lost on me; the city of Kingfisher designates an area called Ghost Town where various spooky things live... yet the “ghosts” we see look more like zombies and they randomly roam around the “normal” parts of town and some even have jobs... none of this crap is explained, by the way, so I quickly stopped caring. There is also Hannibal Buress as “The Big Cheese” who deals in... pieces of paper with cheese drawn on it? Of course that is not explained either. The drivers at a pizza place are being murdered, and it appears to be connected with a similar series of murders from a few years ago, allegedly done by a werewolf. That is about as coherent as this gigantic mess gets, which is not only poorly made, but both storylines and characters are picked up and dropped as if you tried to get a pizza out of the oven with your bare hands.
In case it was not obvious from what I said about drugs as piece of paper, the “humor” in this was AWFUL. The “laughs” I got were a stray chuckle or two, and that was it. Not even people like Paul Scheer offered any amusement. This was a painful 82 minute film where most of the characters were incredibly grating and one-note, the story was both confused and bland, & the horror elements are so incredibly weak. As for Chance the Rapper and his acting, he's a good rapper... or so I have heard. I couldn't name you one of his songs but I am sure his tunes are better than his performance here.
Sure, the animated opening credits are cute and the synth score was neat and all... more importantly, why is this modern world (modern computers are used) filled with retro vehicles, televisions, etc. It was like I was watching It Follows again, which I did not love yet was far better than this. And why was Joe Keery in such a nothing of a role? Also, why was he dressed as if he was still playing Steve Harrington... all it made me do was wish I could be watching Stranger Things again. Perhaps you'll get more out of this than I did; me, chowing down on some slices and watching many other things would be much preferable to this misfire.
Wednesday, September 12, 2018
Blood Freak
Runtime:
80 minutes
Directed
by: Brad F. Grinter/Steve Hawkes
Starring:
Steve Hawkes, Dana Cullivan, Randy Grinter, Heather Hughes, Larry
Wright
From:
Sampson Motion Picture Company
If you are not familiar with the movie, wait until you hear the plot:
It
was not the original plan to see this motion picture last night;
suddenly spotting this on Amazon Prime meant this had to be seen
immediately. Who knows if it'll still be there come Thanksgiving (the
same goes for the copies on YouTube) and besides, I've actually watched
this bizarro film before, albeit many years ago.
What exactly do you say about a gory outsider piece of cinema which somehow is also pro-Christian and anti-drug? A buff dude named Herschell (appropriate, as there are a few moments where you get H. Gordon Lewis-esque bloodletting) falls into the wrong crowd and among other things, he becomes a fiend for marijuana and works on a turkey farm. He eats tainted turkey meat and well... TURNS INTO A TURKEY MONSTER. Considering this is a cheap flick that is real rough when it comes to filmmaking craft & skill-and acting to, BTW-this means “the lead wears a mascot head of a turkey” and is on the warpath, going after drug dealers and random young women.
I appreciate the insanity on display yet among all the unintentional laughs scattered throughout this movie can be a drag to get through. Memorable in the wrong ways is director Brad F. Grinter occasionally appearing on camera, and judging by the wood paneling in the background, he did this in his basement. He offers occasional commentary on the proceedings, but it is nonsensical babblings so it does not exactly illuminate what is going on. Best of all, as he is never not seen with a cigarette in hand, no shock that in his final appearance he has a coughing fit... yet Grinter the director did not have himself as an actor do that take over again?
This is another one of those movies extremely difficult to rate; I guess I'll go with two stars and move on with my day.
What exactly do you say about a gory outsider piece of cinema which somehow is also pro-Christian and anti-drug? A buff dude named Herschell (appropriate, as there are a few moments where you get H. Gordon Lewis-esque bloodletting) falls into the wrong crowd and among other things, he becomes a fiend for marijuana and works on a turkey farm. He eats tainted turkey meat and well... TURNS INTO A TURKEY MONSTER. Considering this is a cheap flick that is real rough when it comes to filmmaking craft & skill-and acting to, BTW-this means “the lead wears a mascot head of a turkey” and is on the warpath, going after drug dealers and random young women.
I appreciate the insanity on display yet among all the unintentional laughs scattered throughout this movie can be a drag to get through. Memorable in the wrong ways is director Brad F. Grinter occasionally appearing on camera, and judging by the wood paneling in the background, he did this in his basement. He offers occasional commentary on the proceedings, but it is nonsensical babblings so it does not exactly illuminate what is going on. Best of all, as he is never not seen with a cigarette in hand, no shock that in his final appearance he has a coughing fit... yet Grinter the director did not have himself as an actor do that take over again?
This is another one of those movies extremely difficult to rate; I guess I'll go with two stars and move on with my day.
Monday, September 10, 2018
Carry On Sergeant
Runtime:
84 minutes
Directed
by: Gerald Thomas
Starring:
William Hartnell, Shirley Eaton, Eric Barker, Dora Bryan, Charles
Hawtrey
From:
Peter Rogers Productions
About darn time I saw another one of these motion pictures:
Last year I saw Carry On Cabby via a showing on TCM; I figured it was time for me to see another entry in this venerable British series, and this was the OG movie that started it all, something that unexpectedly became a hit and they had an idea to... carry on with a series of motion pictures. As I said in the review for Cabby, those in Europe and other locations across the world may be surprised that the Carry On series never made much of an impression in the United States, as it is pretty certain on my part none of them ever received any theatrical release over here.
The plot is simple enough: during this time in the UK, it was still a time of military conscription. Sergeant Grimshaw receives a new group of recruits, and this will be his last before he retires. He wishes for this bunch to receive the honors of being the best platoon at the Depot, as that would be his first time with such an honor. Of course this motley crew is a bunch of goofs, including a hypochondriac, a chubby rock and roller, a haughty man, and someone incredibly nebbish... of course, Charles Hawtrey, always a delight. There are the expected laughs as these screw-ups can't get military training right, and some of them have to deal with romance too... with various women.
The hijinks are what you'd expect and it is pretty silly, especially with how things are resolved. But there was enough amusing physical humor and funny wordplay to where I'll say this was good overall. Indeed, I should track down and watch these movies more often as I have heard from quite a few as there are some real gems in this franchise.
Last year I saw Carry On Cabby via a showing on TCM; I figured it was time for me to see another entry in this venerable British series, and this was the OG movie that started it all, something that unexpectedly became a hit and they had an idea to... carry on with a series of motion pictures. As I said in the review for Cabby, those in Europe and other locations across the world may be surprised that the Carry On series never made much of an impression in the United States, as it is pretty certain on my part none of them ever received any theatrical release over here.
The plot is simple enough: during this time in the UK, it was still a time of military conscription. Sergeant Grimshaw receives a new group of recruits, and this will be his last before he retires. He wishes for this bunch to receive the honors of being the best platoon at the Depot, as that would be his first time with such an honor. Of course this motley crew is a bunch of goofs, including a hypochondriac, a chubby rock and roller, a haughty man, and someone incredibly nebbish... of course, Charles Hawtrey, always a delight. There are the expected laughs as these screw-ups can't get military training right, and some of them have to deal with romance too... with various women.
The hijinks are what you'd expect and it is pretty silly, especially with how things are resolved. But there was enough amusing physical humor and funny wordplay to where I'll say this was good overall. Indeed, I should track down and watch these movies more often as I have heard from quite a few as there are some real gems in this franchise.
Saturday, September 8, 2018
The Nun
Runtime:
96 minutes
Directed
by: Corin Hardy
Starring:
Demian Bichir, Taissa Farmiga, Jonas Bloquet, Ingrid Bisu, Bonnie
Aarons
From:
Several different companies
For me, this wasn't ungodly bad as many are saying it is:
The movie overall was not... NUNSENSE to me although there were some nunsensical moments.
As I've watched all the other movies in the Conjuring universe it only made sense for me to check this out, and at a Dolby Cinema no less. I was not sure what people would think of the movie on Letterboxd or elsewhere. Turns out, a lot of people felt disappointed. Me, perhaps it was because I saw it with a crowd who was into the movie and freaked out at the freakiest moments, but I thought this was fine.
The plot is not the most original and you shouldn't expect too many surprises as a priest and a young nun to be are sent to a monastery in 1950's rural Romania to investigate a suicide and of course discover many unholy events take place. Yes, there are jump scares and CG to be seen. That said, I did appreciate how they went heavy on the gothic tone. The setting is natural for spookiness and you often see fog suddenly appear. Many moments are only lit by candlelight or lanterns, and that also set the right mood.
While I wish the story would have been tighter and the film having more scares, at least I can't complain about the two lead characters, nor the wacky guy known as Frenchy who thankfully never becomes annoying. One aspect I did appreciate was that there were several moments and I was relieved those were not highlighted so they made sure even the dumbest audience member would know it happened... and at times I thought there were some pretty dopey people in the crowd. Ultimately myself should not complain as their reactions likely did help in the rating being higher than if I had seen this in an empty auditorium. Of course the two Conjuring movies are on a plane high above this but this was not a travesty like I've seen plenty of people state.
By the way, for those that also thought the movie was fine, the director's previous movie (The Hallow) was a good slice of Irish horror.
As I've watched all the other movies in the Conjuring universe it only made sense for me to check this out, and at a Dolby Cinema no less. I was not sure what people would think of the movie on Letterboxd or elsewhere. Turns out, a lot of people felt disappointed. Me, perhaps it was because I saw it with a crowd who was into the movie and freaked out at the freakiest moments, but I thought this was fine.
The plot is not the most original and you shouldn't expect too many surprises as a priest and a young nun to be are sent to a monastery in 1950's rural Romania to investigate a suicide and of course discover many unholy events take place. Yes, there are jump scares and CG to be seen. That said, I did appreciate how they went heavy on the gothic tone. The setting is natural for spookiness and you often see fog suddenly appear. Many moments are only lit by candlelight or lanterns, and that also set the right mood.
While I wish the story would have been tighter and the film having more scares, at least I can't complain about the two lead characters, nor the wacky guy known as Frenchy who thankfully never becomes annoying. One aspect I did appreciate was that there were several moments and I was relieved those were not highlighted so they made sure even the dumbest audience member would know it happened... and at times I thought there were some pretty dopey people in the crowd. Ultimately myself should not complain as their reactions likely did help in the rating being higher than if I had seen this in an empty auditorium. Of course the two Conjuring movies are on a plane high above this but this was not a travesty like I've seen plenty of people state.
By the way, for those that also thought the movie was fine, the director's previous movie (The Hallow) was a good slice of Irish horror.
Shamus
Runtime:
98 minutes
Directed
by: Buzz Kulik
Starring:
Burt Reynolds (RIP), Dyan Cannon, Joe Santos, Larry Block, Ron Weyand
From:
Columbia
This
was not a bad way to pay tribute to The Bandit...
My way of tipping my cap to the late Burt Reynolds is by seeing a
movie I've known of for years now and has a character named COLONEL
HARDCORE.
As I've mentioned in other reviews, I've been seeing
Burt Reynolds movies since I was a little kid so his passing on Thursday
definitely made me sad. As I had reviewed a decent number of his movies
already I went with one new to me. This is a detective tale where Burt
is the titular Shamus, a dude who lives in a shabby apartment and sleeps
on a pool table, and pool halls are among the grimy places he hangs out
at. He's the sleazy kind of guy who kills time waiting for a suspect to
leave a business by having a quickie with a random woman he meets! Yet
Burt's charm makes this cad enjoyable.
The case: a rich guy hires Shamus as his diamonds were stolen from a house late at night... note that the perpetrator was “extra” as he doesn't commit this heist using firearms to kill the guy and his girl... no, this is done with a flamethrower! Naturally, the chase proves to be about much more than just those diamonds; with the help of colorful characters such as Springy (a gangly dude who constantly spouts out the most random of sports trivia) he realizes this mystery has high stakes (there usually is an undercurrent of a mean streak throughout) and he often runs into people that try to strike him dead. At least he meets Dyan Cannon... along with John P. Ryan as the amazingly named Colonel Hardcore.
I am not sure if I understood everything about the plot; admittedly, that can be said about a few legendary mystery pictures from the past. At least I thought this was good overall, a fun tale where we follow a street smart lead as he engages in some cool action beats and is accompanied by Jerry Goldsmith, who did a 70's fusion jazz score, of all things. Burt (RIP to him) did not always have great taste when it came to choosing his movies; I am glad I saw one that was worth seeing and was not a disappointment. This did demonstrate something that I've always known: his considerable star power, which explains why millions found his passing a tragedy.
The case: a rich guy hires Shamus as his diamonds were stolen from a house late at night... note that the perpetrator was “extra” as he doesn't commit this heist using firearms to kill the guy and his girl... no, this is done with a flamethrower! Naturally, the chase proves to be about much more than just those diamonds; with the help of colorful characters such as Springy (a gangly dude who constantly spouts out the most random of sports trivia) he realizes this mystery has high stakes (there usually is an undercurrent of a mean streak throughout) and he often runs into people that try to strike him dead. At least he meets Dyan Cannon... along with John P. Ryan as the amazingly named Colonel Hardcore.
I am not sure if I understood everything about the plot; admittedly, that can be said about a few legendary mystery pictures from the past. At least I thought this was good overall, a fun tale where we follow a street smart lead as he engages in some cool action beats and is accompanied by Jerry Goldsmith, who did a 70's fusion jazz score, of all things. Burt (RIP to him) did not always have great taste when it came to choosing his movies; I am glad I saw one that was worth seeing and was not a disappointment. This did demonstrate something that I've always known: his considerable star power, which explains why millions found his passing a tragedy.
Friday, September 7, 2018
Perfect Blue
Runtime:
81 minutes
Directed
by: Satoshi Kon
Starring:
This is a Japanese anime
From:
Several different Japanese companies
All the praise this movie has received throughout the years: it was well-deserved:
As this can't be streamed online (at least legally), is highly
regarded and Fathom Events had a subtitled screening of the movie last
night with a remastered print, giving this a shot seemed like a good
idea... holy cow it definitely was.
I knew little about the story beforehand and that was fine by me; I will give the basics and it's not the type of film which can be ruined by stating some plot points as this is one of those tales where both the lead and the audience eventually aren't sure what is going on and how much of what you seeing is in the character's head. Mima is a member of a J-Pop band which is not doing so well, at least when it comes to record sales. Her management decides that she should become an actress instead. Her clean-cut image is quickly destroyed with the characters she has to play and some shocking scenes she has to be a part of, so some obsessive fans can't handle it. Mima seemingly can't handle it either as she soon starts seeing herself following her, only that other entity calls themselves “The real Mima”, i.e. still a pop singer. And then the gruesome murders begin...
The first part of the movie is relatively straightforward as the plot is set up. Once things become weird, you realize it will take multiple viewings to try and piece together the puzzle of what is real and what is imagined as Mimi plunges further into the maelstrom and she has no idea what is going on. The ending, it can be taken literally or perhaps it it just fantasy... either interpretation works for me, and if literal it is a great finale. There are some horrifying moments throughout and at times there are some rather graphic images.
The movie and its soundtrack looked rather nice in its remastered form, and that includes a few catchy 90's J-Pop songs. The movie packs a lot into a brisk 81 minutes and various topics are broached, including the price of fame, how disposable Far East Asian pop acts really are, obsession, and even the Internet... that is actually an important plot point. While it was different in '97 (Netscape Navigator makes an appearance! That brought back memories), what it says about that then-new way of expressing yourself and the persona you use online is far more relevant now when you have such mediums as Twitter, Facebook, and what have you. As an aside, boy have a lot of people exposed themselves for being lousy human beings because of such platforms; that has caused problems for many.
Anyhow, whether you call this a psychological thriller, a psychological horror, or something else... I'll put this in the horror category and I am happy I got to see a great film at this time of year, and on the big screen no less. That this is the feature debut of Satoshi Kon said a lot about this talent, and it's tragic his career was far too short, let alone passing away due to pancreatic cancer. Anyhow, I say this is a must-see. As others have astutely mentioned, Aranofsky in general and Black Swan in particular were highly inspired by this motion picture.
Wednesday, September 5, 2018
The Freshman
Runtime:
76 minutes
Directed
by: Fred C. Newmayer/Sam Taylor
Starring:
Harold Lloyd, Jobyna Ralston, Brooks Benedict, James H. Anderson,
Hazel Keener
From:
The Harold Lloyd Corporation
We were merely freshmen...
Recently I realized I had seen my last silent way back in late April;
this needed to be rectified and I went with this famous film from
Harold Lloyd, which was a wise selection on my part.
The plot is straightforward: Lloyd plays Harold Lamb, an incoming freshman at Tate University, “a large football stadium with a college attached,” which is a statement incredibly true in 2018, at least for those that follow major college (American) football. Lamb is a dork so he desperately wants to fit in; he models himself after a popular film at the time but that only makes him look like a fool and because of various upperclassmen, they make him think he's becoming the big man on campus when in actuality he's being made into the big buffoon on campus.
In a quick 76 minutes, the forever underrated Lloyd experiences many setpieces, from unwittingly giving an awkward speech in front of the entire school to a party he hosts where his suit literally falls apart, to all the antics involving him joining the football team as another method to try and curry favor with the college crowd. Alongside the expected sight gags and physical humor were intertitles that often were amusing, including the line that is prescient today about colleges & universities being far more focused on sports than actual academics, or how athletes and even coaches do something bad like allowing an assistant to stay on their staff when he knows said assistant beats his wife... and the schools barely punish them just because they happen to be great at sportsball... but this is not the sort of place for such a rant.
Of course the movie ends with a big football game and water boy Harold wishes to actually get on the field. And of course Lamb starts a romantic relationship with a nice, comely gal named Peggy. For me there were many laughs along the way and even though this isn't as great as Safety Last, this has to be among the best movies that Lloyd ever did.
The plot is straightforward: Lloyd plays Harold Lamb, an incoming freshman at Tate University, “a large football stadium with a college attached,” which is a statement incredibly true in 2018, at least for those that follow major college (American) football. Lamb is a dork so he desperately wants to fit in; he models himself after a popular film at the time but that only makes him look like a fool and because of various upperclassmen, they make him think he's becoming the big man on campus when in actuality he's being made into the big buffoon on campus.
In a quick 76 minutes, the forever underrated Lloyd experiences many setpieces, from unwittingly giving an awkward speech in front of the entire school to a party he hosts where his suit literally falls apart, to all the antics involving him joining the football team as another method to try and curry favor with the college crowd. Alongside the expected sight gags and physical humor were intertitles that often were amusing, including the line that is prescient today about colleges & universities being far more focused on sports than actual academics, or how athletes and even coaches do something bad like allowing an assistant to stay on their staff when he knows said assistant beats his wife... and the schools barely punish them just because they happen to be great at sportsball... but this is not the sort of place for such a rant.
Of course the movie ends with a big football game and water boy Harold wishes to actually get on the field. And of course Lamb starts a romantic relationship with a nice, comely gal named Peggy. For me there were many laughs along the way and even though this isn't as great as Safety Last, this has to be among the best movies that Lloyd ever did.
Tuesday, September 4, 2018
Summer of 84
Runtime:
105 minutes
Directed
by: Francois Simard/Anouk Whissell/Yoann-Karl Whissel
Starring:
Graham Verchere, Judah Lewis, Caleb Emery, Cory Gruter-Andrew, Rich
Sommer
From:
Brightlight Pictures/Gunpowder & Sky
Yep, there sure is no shortage of retro-themed media out there these days:
If
only this story wouldn't have been so cliché it'd probably have been
viewed as old hat in 1984... this is from the makers of Turbo Kid,
something I wish wouldn't have been so damned annoying as it had some
worthwhile moments. Thankfully I liked this more, although it still had
its issues... most of which I won't spoil here.
The plot is simple enough: a quartet of 15 year old boys-who are cliché themselves but then again the same can be said about the Stranger Things kids, to be fair-get involved in a mystery when the lead Davey suspects that his next door neighbor police officer is actually a serial killer. Various things will remind you of Stranger Things (including them riding around on bikes and using walkie-talkies) but that gang was not a bunch of horndogs who often make lewd comments about women, including the 18 year old blonde that lives nearby which Davey swoons over.
Like I said the story has its issues-including being predictable-and I am not sure about some things that occur in the final act... they'll probably be a turn-off for some as much as others will think it's the bee's knees. What helps for me is that the kids are all amusing even if they are stereotypes and even if they are so foul-mouthed as many 15 year old boys are and they happily look at dirty magazines and make crude yet amazing references to Gremlins. The character of Nikki (the 18 year old blonde) seemed confused at times but I have no complaints with the performance by the actress. Rich Sommer-who I understand was in Breaking Bad-was swell as the police officer, who plays it to make you guess if he is the villain or the kids are on a wild goose chase.
This has much of what you'd expect from the now-popular 80's retro wave going on... the funny clothing, plenty of references and a synthwave score. Even if this did not blow me away, I do not regret giving this a shot either... that said, obvious inspirations for Summer of 84 (I am looking at such things as The 'Burbs and Stand by Me) are better.
The plot is simple enough: a quartet of 15 year old boys-who are cliché themselves but then again the same can be said about the Stranger Things kids, to be fair-get involved in a mystery when the lead Davey suspects that his next door neighbor police officer is actually a serial killer. Various things will remind you of Stranger Things (including them riding around on bikes and using walkie-talkies) but that gang was not a bunch of horndogs who often make lewd comments about women, including the 18 year old blonde that lives nearby which Davey swoons over.
Like I said the story has its issues-including being predictable-and I am not sure about some things that occur in the final act... they'll probably be a turn-off for some as much as others will think it's the bee's knees. What helps for me is that the kids are all amusing even if they are stereotypes and even if they are so foul-mouthed as many 15 year old boys are and they happily look at dirty magazines and make crude yet amazing references to Gremlins. The character of Nikki (the 18 year old blonde) seemed confused at times but I have no complaints with the performance by the actress. Rich Sommer-who I understand was in Breaking Bad-was swell as the police officer, who plays it to make you guess if he is the villain or the kids are on a wild goose chase.
This has much of what you'd expect from the now-popular 80's retro wave going on... the funny clothing, plenty of references and a synthwave score. Even if this did not blow me away, I do not regret giving this a shot either... that said, obvious inspirations for Summer of 84 (I am looking at such things as The 'Burbs and Stand by Me) are better.
Monday, September 3, 2018
The Vault of Horror
The Vault of Horror (1973)
Runtime: 86 minutes
Directed by: Roy Ward Baker
Starring: Daniel & Anna Massey, Terry-Thomas, Glynis Johns, Curd Jurgens, Dawn Addams, Michael Craig, Edward Judd, Tom Baker, Denholm Elliott
From: Amicus
For a movie that I've seen people say was “lesser Amicus”, at least I can call this good, although the movie it was the sequel to-Tales from the Crypt-was better.
The framing story was rather basic and hardly any time is spent setting things up... five middle-aged men hop into an elevator and mysterious they end up in the sub-basement, where they sit around and talk about their recurring nightmares, each of them involving themselves meeting grisly demises. It should not be a spoiler for me to mention that in an anthology based on old EC Comics, where bad things happen to bad people. Ironically, despite there being a Vault of Horror comic series, all the stories are from the Tales from the Crypt comic.
These tales (revolving around such things as Eastern magic, insurance scams, a man who is OCD and possibly on the autism spectrum also, etc.) are uneven yet none were bad... all had various merits and all were macabre delights, including a few twists that happened. I appreciated the famous faces (such as Terry-Thomas, Curd Jurgens, Tom Baker, and Denholm Elliott) & figuring out what the ending of the film had to be a few minutes in did not diminish what I thought was a good movie, a joyous way to spend 90 minutes.
Note that the movie in its original form was released in the United States with the rating of R. Later, some gory moments were taken out so it could be re-released as a PG picture and this was the version I saw via an older release on DVD. The Scream Factory release has the original cut but thankfully for me that can also be found on YouTube, even if it isn't as such and you'll have to do some digging. A few gory moments were taken out and the only one which was regrettable was how the first story ended, as it was a great and creative sight gag.
Runtime: 86 minutes
Directed by: Roy Ward Baker
Starring: Daniel & Anna Massey, Terry-Thomas, Glynis Johns, Curd Jurgens, Dawn Addams, Michael Craig, Edward Judd, Tom Baker, Denholm Elliott
From: Amicus
For a movie that I've seen people say was “lesser Amicus”, at least I can call this good, although the movie it was the sequel to-Tales from the Crypt-was better.
The framing story was rather basic and hardly any time is spent setting things up... five middle-aged men hop into an elevator and mysterious they end up in the sub-basement, where they sit around and talk about their recurring nightmares, each of them involving themselves meeting grisly demises. It should not be a spoiler for me to mention that in an anthology based on old EC Comics, where bad things happen to bad people. Ironically, despite there being a Vault of Horror comic series, all the stories are from the Tales from the Crypt comic.
These tales (revolving around such things as Eastern magic, insurance scams, a man who is OCD and possibly on the autism spectrum also, etc.) are uneven yet none were bad... all had various merits and all were macabre delights, including a few twists that happened. I appreciated the famous faces (such as Terry-Thomas, Curd Jurgens, Tom Baker, and Denholm Elliott) & figuring out what the ending of the film had to be a few minutes in did not diminish what I thought was a good movie, a joyous way to spend 90 minutes.
Note that the movie in its original form was released in the United States with the rating of R. Later, some gory moments were taken out so it could be re-released as a PG picture and this was the version I saw via an older release on DVD. The Scream Factory release has the original cut but thankfully for me that can also be found on YouTube, even if it isn't as such and you'll have to do some digging. A few gory moments were taken out and the only one which was regrettable was how the first story ended, as it was a great and creative sight gag.
Sunday, September 2, 2018
Forbidden World
Forbidden World (1982)
Runtime: 77 minutes
Directed by: Allan Holzman
Starring: Jesse Vint, Dawn Dunlap, June Chadwick, Linden Chiles, Fox Harris
From: New World Pictures
What a Roger Corman production this is:
Of course the movie isn't incredible like its poster art is... that does not mean Forbidden World is not schlocky fan, as it is. To steal a thought from someone else, how appropriate that Roger Corman was ripping off Alien considering that among Alien's inspiration were old Corman films like Planet of the Vampires.
As I have done in previous years, when it is time for “Hoop-tober” around Letterboxd I don't officially participate, although it is nice to look at the lists of those that do. I instead watch whatever the hell I want and thus I know there will be a wide variety from many decades; I just have no idea now what those motion pictures will be. The main reasons why I chose this to see last night was its length (77 minutes) & seeing praise for it here and elsewhere.
Jesse Vint is Mike Colby, a troubleshooter who has a robot that is amusingly sometimes ineffectual... he is tasked with going to a remote planet to try and stop a monster; it was created by scientists during experiments to try and solve a food crisis. They do some unholy things so this creature is not only pretty horrific but also pretty hard to stop. Naturally for the producer this is low-budget and the characters typically make really stupid decisions.
Yet, I enjoyed this goofy film. At least the practical sets looked nice for the budget even if they were reused. I was never bored by the story or annoyed by the stereotypical characters. Jim Wynorski was one of the two who came up with the story and fitting for something with his involvement, there is plenty of nudity with the two women in the cast; I guffawed at their version of a gratuitous shower scene. And very important for a sci-fi/horror, there is no shortage of gore and not only is it gooey, but all of it is effective; among those who worked on that was veteran John Carl Buechler. Very important for me, there is a synth score and it delivered.
For those that love B movies such as this, the movie is available on Prime if you have the service, and is otherwise easy to track down. Oh, and the creature is informally known as the DING-WOPPER. Come to think of it, Mike Colby used his ding-wopper on one of the women and would have done the same to the other if it wasn't for that darn mutant...
Runtime: 77 minutes
Directed by: Allan Holzman
Starring: Jesse Vint, Dawn Dunlap, June Chadwick, Linden Chiles, Fox Harris
From: New World Pictures
What a Roger Corman production this is:
Of course the movie isn't incredible like its poster art is... that does not mean Forbidden World is not schlocky fan, as it is. To steal a thought from someone else, how appropriate that Roger Corman was ripping off Alien considering that among Alien's inspiration were old Corman films like Planet of the Vampires.
As I have done in previous years, when it is time for “Hoop-tober” around Letterboxd I don't officially participate, although it is nice to look at the lists of those that do. I instead watch whatever the hell I want and thus I know there will be a wide variety from many decades; I just have no idea now what those motion pictures will be. The main reasons why I chose this to see last night was its length (77 minutes) & seeing praise for it here and elsewhere.
Jesse Vint is Mike Colby, a troubleshooter who has a robot that is amusingly sometimes ineffectual... he is tasked with going to a remote planet to try and stop a monster; it was created by scientists during experiments to try and solve a food crisis. They do some unholy things so this creature is not only pretty horrific but also pretty hard to stop. Naturally for the producer this is low-budget and the characters typically make really stupid decisions.
Yet, I enjoyed this goofy film. At least the practical sets looked nice for the budget even if they were reused. I was never bored by the story or annoyed by the stereotypical characters. Jim Wynorski was one of the two who came up with the story and fitting for something with his involvement, there is plenty of nudity with the two women in the cast; I guffawed at their version of a gratuitous shower scene. And very important for a sci-fi/horror, there is no shortage of gore and not only is it gooey, but all of it is effective; among those who worked on that was veteran John Carl Buechler. Very important for me, there is a synth score and it delivered.
For those that love B movies such as this, the movie is available on Prime if you have the service, and is otherwise easy to track down. Oh, and the creature is informally known as the DING-WOPPER. Come to think of it, Mike Colby used his ding-wopper on one of the women and would have done the same to the other if it wasn't for that darn mutant...
Saturday, September 1, 2018
Iron Man 3
Runtime:
130 minutes
Directed
by: Shane Black
Starring:
Well, you know who's in this, along with who made the film
Yes, I am now just seeing this in 2018. Find out the circumstances as to why below:
As I've seen the first two, might as well finally watch 3, right? As many IMAX screens are showing all the MCU movies for the week and I had last night free, this is why I am five years late in experiencing this film theatrically... and in 3D, no less. Even with my opinions on the genre and my distaste of 2, because the director was Shane Black I really should have seen this at the time.
I am sure everyone knows the story to this so no need to dwell on that; I was glad that this alluded to The Avengers and yet I was not lost because I am one of the few people online who hasn't watched the film. Whatever happened to Tony Stark there, I am sure it was traumatic so thus the anxiety attacks and the nightmares. Those themes are presented rather bluntly here but the general idea does make sense. No complaints about the idea of Stark spending a lot of time out of his suit and he has to do other things to thwart the bad guys. The character not being so annoying to me was also an asset.
Of course, it's an MCU movie so there's humor and of course it doesn't always work, even with Black's involvement. There's the general silliness that at least I expect in the genre, and I am not just talking about “Where are the rest of The Avengers here? Why isn't Captain America or The Hulk going after The Mandarin or trying to stop the big threat in the final act?” I know nothing about The Mandarin yet all the criticism about how the longtime comic character was used here... it was remembered by me and it is not a surprise that many would be up in arms about it. It was also a source of tonal issues and humor which usually landed with a thud.
At least the final act has action that I thought was a blast, although that had some real dopey moments also. At least this was far better than Iron Man 2 and the movie was not something I regret checking out five years after the fact.
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