Forbidden Zone (1980)
Runtime: 75 minutes
Directed by: Richard Elfman
Starring: Performers calling themselves names such as Ugh-Fudge Bwana, Hyman Diamond & Toshiro Baloney
From: Hercules Films Ltd.
This is a movie I've seen more than once before, both in its original black and white & colorized. My main impression of this always has been, “Lord, what a strange film!” That opinion has not changed after revisiting this last night, what with its performance artist-heavy cast and actors who go by such monikers as Ugh-Fudge Bwana, Hyman Diamond & Toshiro Baloney.
The basic plot is that a family has to rescue their teen girl Frenchy from the Sixth Dimension, led by Herve Villechaize... but it's a lot more than that. It is a lot of juvenile humor, offensive moments such as blackface and insults against a trans character, low-fi paper backdrop sets and as a heavy inspiration were the 1930's era for animator Max Fleischer, that set the tone for the movie in terms of the backdrops and some of the music, which included tunes from the '30s. This includes that Alphabet Song in one scene, which was taken from the Three Stooges short Violent is the Word for Curly... but definitely modified, as the version you hear here includes F-bombs.
I know some who violently rejected this movie and I cannot fault anyone who thought this was intolerable or a bunch of rubbish. Like I said, this is more bizarre and peculiar than anything else with its rough acting (for the most part) and many surreal touches. Its style definitely carries this, along with the presence of more experienced actors like Joe Spinell, Villechaize and Susan Tyrrell, who was once nominated for an Oscar. In addition, it was nice hearing a few songs from Oingo Boingo before the band had some big hits, and it was a gas seeing Danny Elfman as Satan. To me, that stuff has always helped me get through this oddity which is full of puerile, juvenile sexual humor and many moments which will make most go, “huh?”
Friday, August 30, 2019
Wednesday, August 28, 2019
The Crazies (The Original)
Runtime: 103 minutes
Directed by: George A.
Romero
Starring: Lane Carroll,
Will MacMillan, Harold Wayne Jones, Lloyd Hollar, Lynn Lowry
From: Pittsburgh Films
I had to specify that this was the original as sometime in the next two months I'll give the 2010 remake a spin:
Earlier in the month I happened to look at an old review I did for
Night of the Living Dead; I don't usually do this as to be honest when I
look at most of my reviews after the fact I spot errors or things I'd
write differently... but because of a recent release I looked at what I
said about Romero's classic, and... besides the fact that review was
posted on August of 2016, I had also mentioned that I would be seeing
The Crazies “sometime next week”, which definitely did not happen; I
couldn't even tell you why I dun goofed there. This seemed like the
opportune time to rectify my mistake so this was finally viewed last
night.
This does seem like a riff on Living Dead, except that
it's “a biological weapon is unleashed by accident on a rural
Pennsylvania town due to a plane crash” instead of “the dead rise from
their graves after suspected radioactive contamination from a space
probe.” Infected people go absolutely berserk, but not everyone feels
the affects of this virus; thus, they are able to question how the
(typical) incompetent federal government and the military deals with
this situation. It is also like Dead in that a random group of people
have to team up to avoid the threat, but this time they are on the run
and go all over the real life town of Evans City, Pennsylvania. Not only
do they bicker with each other, so do the authorities on how to handle
this situation.
The movie is a low-budget affair and is full of locals from the area, some of whom are not what you'd call “good actors”, to be brutally honest. That said, this was still fine overall. It still managed to be entertaining as the quintet spends most of the movie on the run and there are various shootouts & near-misses. Plus, there are many caustic barbs against the military and government as they are incompetent boobs who can't get organized and even in national emergency are mired in bureaucracy. Not that this could ever happen with the United States government in real life I was surprised at how bleak this was, although perhaps I
shouldn't be considering the director and this being a product of the
70's. The stark opening sets the tone for the entire movie.
As this was a flawed product, I am not mad that this was remade in 2010. Sometime in the next two months I'll view that and talk about it here, and this time that promise will be kept.
The movie is a low-budget affair and is full of locals from the area, some of whom are not what you'd call “good actors”, to be brutally honest. That said, this was still fine overall. It still managed to be entertaining as the quintet spends most of the movie on the run and there are various shootouts & near-misses. Plus, there are many caustic barbs against the military and government as they are incompetent boobs who can't get organized and even in national emergency are mired in bureaucracy. Not that this could ever happen with the United States government in real life
As this was a flawed product, I am not mad that this was remade in 2010. Sometime in the next two months I'll view that and talk about it here, and this time that promise will be kept.
Tuesday, August 27, 2019
House Of Bamboo
Runtime: 102 minutes
Directed by: Samuel Fuller
Starring: Robert Ryan,
Robert Stack, Shirley Yamaguchi, Cameron Mitchell, Sessue Hayakawa
From: 20th
Century Fox
Thankfully I found this rather easily; however, where I got this from will remain... an unsolved mystery:
I hadn't seen a noir in a few months so I went with this one,
different from the norm yet still managing to fit the loose definition
of what people want and expect from the genre. The fact that it was a
color release from 20th Century Fox set and filmed in Japan & was
lensed in CinemaScope-in the original ratio of 2.55:1-makes the
aesthetic completely different from someone like, say, Double Indemnity,
but this is still about former American soldiers (led by Robert Ryan,
whose henchmen include Cameron Mitchell and... DeForest Kelley) who are
still in Japan at the time-due to occupation after World War II-and
committing a bunch of robberies and also cashing in via... controlling
the pachinko market. Yes, 1950's pachinko machines are seen and it's
great.
Anyhow, as the plot description on Letterboxd gives this away, I'll give away that Robert Stack is a soldier who is assigned by the military police to go undercover to try and stop this gang. The movie does take its time establishing this and setting everything up, but it's never dull and once the pieces are in place, it is fun as Stack tries not to blow his cover and he even romances a Japanese woman. I don't believe Stack ever did a traditional noir and that is unfortunate as you'd think he'd be very good at being “a tough”.
For me, this isn't the best that Samuel Fuller ever did by any means yet for me a big asset was getting to spend all that time looking at Japan, its customs and how life was in the country so soon after World War II. As others have noted, Fuller lightly prodded at how awkward it was for Americans occupying Japan and how it was always awkward for them and it wasn't the best thing for anyone involved; that would explain why none of the copious amounts of Japanese was ever translated for the audience, as that'd make anyone feel uneasy and feel like an outsider. To be frank, this rating was bumped up a little solely due to the spectacular way this ends; it is a unique setpiece in a one of a kind setting, and it comes off so well. That alone made this worth watching.
Anyhow, as the plot description on Letterboxd gives this away, I'll give away that Robert Stack is a soldier who is assigned by the military police to go undercover to try and stop this gang. The movie does take its time establishing this and setting everything up, but it's never dull and once the pieces are in place, it is fun as Stack tries not to blow his cover and he even romances a Japanese woman. I don't believe Stack ever did a traditional noir and that is unfortunate as you'd think he'd be very good at being “a tough”.
For me, this isn't the best that Samuel Fuller ever did by any means yet for me a big asset was getting to spend all that time looking at Japan, its customs and how life was in the country so soon after World War II. As others have noted, Fuller lightly prodded at how awkward it was for Americans occupying Japan and how it was always awkward for them and it wasn't the best thing for anyone involved; that would explain why none of the copious amounts of Japanese was ever translated for the audience, as that'd make anyone feel uneasy and feel like an outsider. To be frank, this rating was bumped up a little solely due to the spectacular way this ends; it is a unique setpiece in a one of a kind setting, and it comes off so well. That alone made this worth watching.
Monday, August 26, 2019
Carry On Constable
Runtime: 86 minutes
Directed by: Gerald Thomas
Starring: The usual crew
From: Anglo-Amalagated
Film Distributors
Late last night I was deciding on what to view, and as the DVD
collection of their early films was right besides me and this was less
than 90 minutes, it seemed like a natural choice to pick this, and I
won't be going through the series in any set order either. In addition,
this was the first time Sid James appeared in the franchise.
The plot is decidedly not complicated: because of a flu epidemic, a police station needs to hire some temporary help, so in comes some new graduates from the police academy, although they might as well be from the Police Academy and be contemporaries w/ Mahoney, Hightower and Tackleberry as they are bumbling fools. They either stumble around or get into trouble because of foolish misunderstandings. The quartet includes a hypochondriac who is also amazingly superstitious and a faux academic who believes he can use the 1960's version of forensics but actually is a failure at it.
The humor includes pants falling down, going undercover in drag, a bucket of water being thrown on the wrong person and a literal slip on a banana peel; need I say more about how highbrow this is? I can still say this was fine as it wasn't too silly for me and the pratfalls at least were amusing. It also highlighted how different censorship was when it came to movies in the US vs. the UK. The former would have never allowed in 1960 either the bare-assed gag we get in one scene nor the female K9 dog be referred to as “a bitch” and that be used for a joke in another scene. Those moments did catch me by surprise.
The plot is decidedly not complicated: because of a flu epidemic, a police station needs to hire some temporary help, so in comes some new graduates from the police academy, although they might as well be from the Police Academy and be contemporaries w/ Mahoney, Hightower and Tackleberry as they are bumbling fools. They either stumble around or get into trouble because of foolish misunderstandings. The quartet includes a hypochondriac who is also amazingly superstitious and a faux academic who believes he can use the 1960's version of forensics but actually is a failure at it.
The humor includes pants falling down, going undercover in drag, a bucket of water being thrown on the wrong person and a literal slip on a banana peel; need I say more about how highbrow this is? I can still say this was fine as it wasn't too silly for me and the pratfalls at least were amusing. It also highlighted how different censorship was when it came to movies in the US vs. the UK. The former would have never allowed in 1960 either the bare-assed gag we get in one scene nor the female K9 dog be referred to as “a bitch” and that be used for a joke in another scene. Those moments did catch me by surprise.
Sunday, August 25, 2019
Lone Wolf And Cub: Baby Cart In Peril
Runtime: 81 minutes
Directed by: Buichi Saito
Starring: The usual
suspects
From: Toho
Now that is an attention-getter.
Recently I realized it has been way too many months since I had seen the third film in this series (Baby Cart to Hades) so this was the opportune time to rectify this mistake. The first few minutes of this are real striking: a topless tattooed woman who is an assassin mows down several samurai, then our protagonist Ogami Itto is asked to take her out. The opening credits are highlights of the first three movies set to a groovy jazz-rock tune, and it was all great. Later on, a didjeridu is heard a few times, and that was unexpected.
This had a more complex plot than usual as not only was this female assassin targeted, but Itto also deals with some ghosts from the past in the Yagyu clan he used to be part of and backstory was provided which explained why they set him up and enacted that scheme which was seen in Sword of Vengeance, the first movie in this series. Even his son Daigoro gets more to do than usual.
Of course there are the usual themes of honor, pride... and plenty of bloodletting; red claret is flying out of bodies in a variety of interesting settings, including a Buddhist temple. This is exactly what I expected from the franchise and thus this viewing was a grand old time.
Recently I realized it has been way too many months since I had seen the third film in this series (Baby Cart to Hades) so this was the opportune time to rectify this mistake. The first few minutes of this are real striking: a topless tattooed woman who is an assassin mows down several samurai, then our protagonist Ogami Itto is asked to take her out. The opening credits are highlights of the first three movies set to a groovy jazz-rock tune, and it was all great. Later on, a didjeridu is heard a few times, and that was unexpected.
This had a more complex plot than usual as not only was this female assassin targeted, but Itto also deals with some ghosts from the past in the Yagyu clan he used to be part of and backstory was provided which explained why they set him up and enacted that scheme which was seen in Sword of Vengeance, the first movie in this series. Even his son Daigoro gets more to do than usual.
Of course there are the usual themes of honor, pride... and plenty of bloodletting; red claret is flying out of bodies in a variety of interesting settings, including a Buddhist temple. This is exactly what I expected from the franchise and thus this viewing was a grand old time.
Saturday, August 24, 2019
Ready Or Not
Runtime: 95 minutes
Directed by: Radio Silence
Starring: Samara Weaving,
Adam Brody, Mark O'Brien, Henry Czerny, Andie McDowall
From: Fox Searchlight
Thankfully Trump has never heard of this movie.
I don't mean to get political here but multiple people have noted how this got a release while the other “people hunting another human being” picture in The Hunt got its release cancelled. That cancellation was pretty asinine and overly sensitive... and The Hunt wasn't even something I was really looking forward to. As for Ready or Not, I did not even know this was a thing until redband trailers played before a pair of movies I saw earlier in the summer; later on I saw the regular version of the trailer and it was not the same. I thought the premise was ludicrous, although at least I did laugh. Then I realized it was from Radio Silence, a collective of guys (or perhaps I should say dominion) who created one of the few segments in any of the V/H/S movies I actually liked. That and hearing strong reviews for this means that I might as well give this a shot, right?
I imagine most are familiar with the plot about how an uber-rich family introduces a common girl to their ranks after marriage by playing a lethal game of hide and seek. Well, there is a reason why and the family earned their money from making board games and being involved in other gaming situations, even owning sports teams... to cut to the chase, this was meant to be satirical in making fun of how pompous and silly such wealthy people are. It isn't as stinging a look at how terrible some (or maybe many) of those ranks are... yet there were still enough laughs and suspenseful moments in a great-looking setting where I can say this was good overall.
Unfortunately, I was hoping for more due to all the high praise I heard. I had some issues with the story, especially in the final act, character motivations and the resolution to this story. Plus, one key moment was shot incoherently so I still don't quite know what in the hell happened. Plus, Samara Weaving's Grace could have been much more of a kick-ass heroine than she was portrayed here-Sharni Vinson's Erin in You're Next is the most obvious example that comes to mind. Shame, as she was still great in the role w/ what she was given. Then again, given how dire and rotten 2019 has been for movies (at least for me, it has been far worse than in the preceding several years) I can't bemoan this too hard as while there are some stupid moments, at least this rises to a level of being fine, which I can't even say about far too many theatrical pictures I've viewed in 2019.
I don't mean to get political here but multiple people have noted how this got a release while the other “people hunting another human being” picture in The Hunt got its release cancelled. That cancellation was pretty asinine and overly sensitive... and The Hunt wasn't even something I was really looking forward to. As for Ready or Not, I did not even know this was a thing until redband trailers played before a pair of movies I saw earlier in the summer; later on I saw the regular version of the trailer and it was not the same. I thought the premise was ludicrous, although at least I did laugh. Then I realized it was from Radio Silence, a collective of guys (or perhaps I should say dominion) who created one of the few segments in any of the V/H/S movies I actually liked. That and hearing strong reviews for this means that I might as well give this a shot, right?
I imagine most are familiar with the plot about how an uber-rich family introduces a common girl to their ranks after marriage by playing a lethal game of hide and seek. Well, there is a reason why and the family earned their money from making board games and being involved in other gaming situations, even owning sports teams... to cut to the chase, this was meant to be satirical in making fun of how pompous and silly such wealthy people are. It isn't as stinging a look at how terrible some (or maybe many) of those ranks are... yet there were still enough laughs and suspenseful moments in a great-looking setting where I can say this was good overall.
Unfortunately, I was hoping for more due to all the high praise I heard. I had some issues with the story, especially in the final act, character motivations and the resolution to this story. Plus, one key moment was shot incoherently so I still don't quite know what in the hell happened. Plus, Samara Weaving's Grace could have been much more of a kick-ass heroine than she was portrayed here-Sharni Vinson's Erin in You're Next is the most obvious example that comes to mind. Shame, as she was still great in the role w/ what she was given. Then again, given how dire and rotten 2019 has been for movies (at least for me, it has been far worse than in the preceding several years) I can't bemoan this too hard as while there are some stupid moments, at least this rises to a level of being fine, which I can't even say about far too many theatrical pictures I've viewed in 2019.
Thursday, August 22, 2019
Vice Squad
Runtime: 97 minutes
Directed by: Gary Sherman
Starring: Season Hubley,
Gary Swanson, Wings Hauser, Pepe Serna, Beverly Todd
From: Embassy Pictures
I was baptized in the river of the Neon Slime.
Tuesday night I picked up this film, newly on Blu-ray from Shout Factory. Last night I gave it a spin as I hadn't seen this in many years. It is still as sleazy as I had remembered; sure there are some darkly comic moments but this is a rather dark tale where the villain is a psychopath who brutalizes women... and you see the women after they get brutalized.
The setting is Los Angeles and many seedy characters are seen; the opening credits even have a brief transaction where a LITTLE BOY is sold off to some pervert... the movie does not mess around. The titular vice squad (led by Gary Swanson) is after RAMROD, the pimp that brutalizes women. Swanson leans on Season Hubley-a prostitute-to help them nab Ramrod, as he just killed a woman after a savage attack.
This is a film which has increasingly bizarre and outlandish situations & cops who sometimes do questionable things; naturally it is not for all tastes but for me, it is an effective movie as it is an unflinching look at the seedier side of life, where various sundry characters are seen and is quite the ride. The acting as a whole is fine but it is Wings Hauser as Ramrod who is the true highlight. That is an outrageous and bold role which Hauser sinks his teeth into, a lunatic pimp who drives around in an awesome period Ford Bronco w/ loud paint graphics on the side and dresses like a stereotypical modern Texan cowboy. He even sings the unforgettable opening and closing credits song, Neon Slime. Somehow, the soundtrack (when it isn't dark synthesizer) includes both Johnny Winter and... Ann-Margaret!
Shout Factory wasn't able to get Wings for an interview, but the special features are probably still nice-one day I'll view those-and it does both look & sound better than I had seen it before; it helps make the John Alcott cinematography especially shine.
Tuesday night I picked up this film, newly on Blu-ray from Shout Factory. Last night I gave it a spin as I hadn't seen this in many years. It is still as sleazy as I had remembered; sure there are some darkly comic moments but this is a rather dark tale where the villain is a psychopath who brutalizes women... and you see the women after they get brutalized.
The setting is Los Angeles and many seedy characters are seen; the opening credits even have a brief transaction where a LITTLE BOY is sold off to some pervert... the movie does not mess around. The titular vice squad (led by Gary Swanson) is after RAMROD, the pimp that brutalizes women. Swanson leans on Season Hubley-a prostitute-to help them nab Ramrod, as he just killed a woman after a savage attack.
This is a film which has increasingly bizarre and outlandish situations & cops who sometimes do questionable things; naturally it is not for all tastes but for me, it is an effective movie as it is an unflinching look at the seedier side of life, where various sundry characters are seen and is quite the ride. The acting as a whole is fine but it is Wings Hauser as Ramrod who is the true highlight. That is an outrageous and bold role which Hauser sinks his teeth into, a lunatic pimp who drives around in an awesome period Ford Bronco w/ loud paint graphics on the side and dresses like a stereotypical modern Texan cowboy. He even sings the unforgettable opening and closing credits song, Neon Slime. Somehow, the soundtrack (when it isn't dark synthesizer) includes both Johnny Winter and... Ann-Margaret!
Shout Factory wasn't able to get Wings for an interview, but the special features are probably still nice-one day I'll view those-and it does both look & sound better than I had seen it before; it helps make the John Alcott cinematography especially shine.
Prophecy
Runtime: 102 minutes
Directed by: John
Frankenheimer!
Starring: Robert Foxworth,
Talia Shire, Armand Assante, Richard Dysart, Victoria Racimo
From: Paramount
A rabid raccoon really ruins a romantic mood.
An
announcement from Shout Factory earlier this month that they were
putting this out late in 2019 was enough inspiration to watch this for
free on Amazon via Prime (the print there at least looks nice), a horror
movie from an unlikely director and a moment that made this a cult
favorite for a segment of film fans.
This is for certain a product of its time. Not only was it an eco-horror film, but it also revolved around Native American rights. Robert Foxworth is a doctor who was asked by the Environmental Protection Agency to get involved in a case of Native Americans in Maine protesting a paper mill in the area due to environmental damage. Well, of course the paper mill was harming the area, resulting in not only giant animals-uncomfortably bringing back memories of Bert I. Gordon's infamous The Food of the Goods film adaptation-but also a crazed raccoon & a giant mutated bear best described as “gooey”; suddenly, Robert's decision to bring girlfriend Talia Shire along on this vacation did not seem so wise.
John Frankenheimer somehow directed this and to me it did not seem like one of his movies at all; I understand he had a bad alcohol problem at the time so maybe that was why none of his style was present... yet I can't say the direction was bad. There are still some pretty tense scenes (especially one involving a long stretch of silence) and the reason why this has not been forgotten by genre fans is an incredible moment involving a sleeping bag... Jason Voorhees wasn't the first one to do it in Part VII: The New Blood. People certainly wish to remember that more than the giant mutated bear, which did look kind of doofy and it'd have been better if they followed a “less is more” approach there.
It was actually nicely acted and there was some nice drama over Shire's character being pregnant, but Foxworth not knowing and not wanting a kid. Overall it is not the wild over the top B movie it could have been yet was still entertaining schlock with nice scenery from rural British Columbia as Maine, Richard Dysart using a regional accent and a nice Native American angle... even if the two lead characters there are played by a Filipino (Victoria Racimo) and an Italian/Irish (Armand Assante!)
This is for certain a product of its time. Not only was it an eco-horror film, but it also revolved around Native American rights. Robert Foxworth is a doctor who was asked by the Environmental Protection Agency to get involved in a case of Native Americans in Maine protesting a paper mill in the area due to environmental damage. Well, of course the paper mill was harming the area, resulting in not only giant animals-uncomfortably bringing back memories of Bert I. Gordon's infamous The Food of the Goods film adaptation-but also a crazed raccoon & a giant mutated bear best described as “gooey”; suddenly, Robert's decision to bring girlfriend Talia Shire along on this vacation did not seem so wise.
John Frankenheimer somehow directed this and to me it did not seem like one of his movies at all; I understand he had a bad alcohol problem at the time so maybe that was why none of his style was present... yet I can't say the direction was bad. There are still some pretty tense scenes (especially one involving a long stretch of silence) and the reason why this has not been forgotten by genre fans is an incredible moment involving a sleeping bag... Jason Voorhees wasn't the first one to do it in Part VII: The New Blood. People certainly wish to remember that more than the giant mutated bear, which did look kind of doofy and it'd have been better if they followed a “less is more” approach there.
It was actually nicely acted and there was some nice drama over Shire's character being pregnant, but Foxworth not knowing and not wanting a kid. Overall it is not the wild over the top B movie it could have been yet was still entertaining schlock with nice scenery from rural British Columbia as Maine, Richard Dysart using a regional accent and a nice Native American angle... even if the two lead characters there are played by a Filipino (Victoria Racimo) and an Italian/Irish (Armand Assante!)
Wednesday, August 21, 2019
Carry On Nurse
Runtime: 86 minutes
Directed by: Gerald Thomas
Starring: The usual crew,
plus Wilfrid Hyde-White and Jill Ireland
From: Anglo-Amalagated
Film Distributors
Yesterday, I spent time in the Tampa area and this included a stop at
Grindhouse Video, a joint I've been to a few times now. Besides
stocking used movies, there are plenty of titles from niche labels; it's
a gas physically holding something from Garagehouse Pictures or Vinegar
Syndrome. I bought one new Blu (which I'll watch relatively soon) and
an unexpected find was a used set of 12 Carry On movies plus a best-of
disc (it's an old Anchor Bay release), for far less than what it's worth
on Amazon. Used on there is almost 100 bucks (!) and new is 250 dollars
(!!)
This is more a series of vignettes than an actual story but that is OK. A male ward at a hospital is full of crazy dudes; you see, they are all in one giant hall instead of separate rooms so these characters all interact with each other. They include a boxer, a newspaper reporter w/ appendicitis, a rabble-rousing academic, a guy pretending to be a snob and a grumpy old man with a broken leg. Only The Colonel (Wilfrid Hyde-White!) has his own room and he's a constant pest. Even some of the nurses are rather daffy, such as the one who is constantly clumsy.
Admittedly silly and ribald, this nevertheless entertained me through all of its gags, whether it be wordplay, the randy moments or the outrageous situations. This is also quickly paced, meaning I never got bored. The highlights include the patients attempting surgery to remove a bunion and a great gag to conclude the film which involves a daffodil. I already know I made a wise decision purchasing that set.
This is more a series of vignettes than an actual story but that is OK. A male ward at a hospital is full of crazy dudes; you see, they are all in one giant hall instead of separate rooms so these characters all interact with each other. They include a boxer, a newspaper reporter w/ appendicitis, a rabble-rousing academic, a guy pretending to be a snob and a grumpy old man with a broken leg. Only The Colonel (Wilfrid Hyde-White!) has his own room and he's a constant pest. Even some of the nurses are rather daffy, such as the one who is constantly clumsy.
Admittedly silly and ribald, this nevertheless entertained me through all of its gags, whether it be wordplay, the randy moments or the outrageous situations. This is also quickly paced, meaning I never got bored. The highlights include the patients attempting surgery to remove a bunion and a great gag to conclude the film which involves a daffodil. I already know I made a wise decision purchasing that set.
Sunday, August 18, 2019
Persona
Persona (1966)
Runtime: 83 minutes
Directed by: Ingmar Bergman
Starring: Bibi Andersson, Liv Ullmann, and some people that appear in bit parts
From: AB Svensk Filmindustri
I am now caught up here; this was viewed a few nights ago:
I am not quite sure what I saw, but it was tremendous.
Late last night this played on Turner Classic Movies and as it is one of those movies said to be a must-see for any hardcore film fan, a fool would be I if this was not viewed for free.
The first few minutes are avant-garde and such things usually are not for me, to be perfectly frank here. I started to get worried-then after the opening credits there were only a few brief moments of that; the rest of the movie was more traditional, at least in structure. I feel that is important to state in case anyone tries the film and get so turned off by that opening bit of weirdness, they shut it off. What it was all about concerning nurse Bibi Andersson taking care of suddenly mute Liv Ullmann in the lovely countryside of the island of Faro... that's what everyone has debated since 1966.
I will not reveal which theory or theories I subscribe to this after viewing; besides it possibly changing years into the future when I check this out for a second time, it would be a crime if anything was revealed and the experience of anyone checking this out in the future was tainted by me. I can say that Andersson and Ullmann both do a tremendous job... which is key as most of the film it's just those two on screen. It was masterfully directed by a legend and for me the key aspect is the cinematography from Sven Nykvist and how this black and white picture used light and shadows perfectly; as I discovered, that alone was a loud voice in expressing the various messages Persona projected.
Wikipedia lists the most popular theories as to the true meaning of this movie; for all we know more than one is “correct.” For something so abstract I was glad I could still connect with this and not view it as “pretentious twaddle”, which could have happened despite how blasphemous that would have been for most here at Letterboxd. It should not be seen just because it's been influential in the decades after it's come out... but rather because it is a unique experience that I am sure will affect everyone in a different way.
Runtime: 83 minutes
Directed by: Ingmar Bergman
Starring: Bibi Andersson, Liv Ullmann, and some people that appear in bit parts
From: AB Svensk Filmindustri
I am now caught up here; this was viewed a few nights ago:
I am not quite sure what I saw, but it was tremendous.
Late last night this played on Turner Classic Movies and as it is one of those movies said to be a must-see for any hardcore film fan, a fool would be I if this was not viewed for free.
The first few minutes are avant-garde and such things usually are not for me, to be perfectly frank here. I started to get worried-then after the opening credits there were only a few brief moments of that; the rest of the movie was more traditional, at least in structure. I feel that is important to state in case anyone tries the film and get so turned off by that opening bit of weirdness, they shut it off. What it was all about concerning nurse Bibi Andersson taking care of suddenly mute Liv Ullmann in the lovely countryside of the island of Faro... that's what everyone has debated since 1966.
I will not reveal which theory or theories I subscribe to this after viewing; besides it possibly changing years into the future when I check this out for a second time, it would be a crime if anything was revealed and the experience of anyone checking this out in the future was tainted by me. I can say that Andersson and Ullmann both do a tremendous job... which is key as most of the film it's just those two on screen. It was masterfully directed by a legend and for me the key aspect is the cinematography from Sven Nykvist and how this black and white picture used light and shadows perfectly; as I discovered, that alone was a loud voice in expressing the various messages Persona projected.
Wikipedia lists the most popular theories as to the true meaning of this movie; for all we know more than one is “correct.” For something so abstract I was glad I could still connect with this and not view it as “pretentious twaddle”, which could have happened despite how blasphemous that would have been for most here at Letterboxd. It should not be seen just because it's been influential in the decades after it's come out... but rather because it is a unique experience that I am sure will affect everyone in a different way.
I Talk Apocalypse Now: Final Cut
January of 2017, I watched and reviewed both the original theatrical cut and the Redux version of Apocalypse Now; I hadn't seen that in a long while. I gave it the highest possible score as the movie is an incredible and haunting journey. To repeat part of the review (not the part at the beginning where I note that at the time, there was a Kickstarter to make this a videogame! I had completely forgotten about that):
"I will talk about the opening scene in particular. It is perfect in establishing the film. The mix of The End by The Doors, the jungle in flames, the blades of the ceiling fan being like the blades on a helicopter, Martin Sheen hot and sweaty in a Saigon apartment, artifacts strewn about, him being haunted by the war, him drunkenly punching a mirror (which was actually legit, as Sheen was drunk at the time; he had a problem with alcohol during this period).. it's excellent and prepares you for what is to come. The movie is a long surreal journey up the river to meet Mr. Kurtz, and along the way Willard meets strange characters, who have something in common.
There are many themes present in the film, but the one I'll bring up is how war changes everyone. There are a wide variety of different personalities that you see Willard run across, but all of them share the common bond that the war either has already changed them or it will change them during the course of the movie. It's not just Kurtz who has gone crazy due to all the time in the jungle. Regrettably, some of the people who worked on the film suffered a bitter irony of also being negatively changed by the experience of working on this movie. The excellent documentary Hearts of Darkness: A Filmmaker's Apocalypse (which I will see again soon so I can give it a review) gives all the gory details but notably, Martin Sheen suffered a heart attack and almost died, and I am not surprised that Francis Ford Coppola has never directed a movie of this caliber again."
This afternoon, I saw The Final Cut version of the film on not only an IMAX screen (this past Thursday and today were the only days this is showing in IMAX; it's an advertisement for all versions of AN coming out in 4K UHD later this month) but a legit old-school giant IMAX screen. Needless to say, that was an opportunity I could not refuse, and it was incredible seeing and hearing it that way, even if it seems like some auditoriums are engaging in a “loudness war” above all else when it comes to sound.
An epic movie like this, it is best appreciated in a BIG way. Concerning the Redux version: like with many out there, “the plantation scenes” are not as strong as the rest. That segment is in this cut, although I hear it's streamlined so it was not as deathly long as I recall it being. At least those bits are not awful by any means and it does have some nice music... seeing it theatrically helped me better appreciate both the cinematography and the synth-heavy score.
I've been fortunate to see many all-time classics on the big screen in my life, many of which have come due to revival screenings like this one. I am glad this was better received than when I saw 2001 last August w/ an audience of cretins-yet for some reason I was not surprised when the two tools sitting by me left before this was over AND did not take their trash with them.
Saturday, August 17, 2019
Scream (No, Not That One)
Runtime: 82 long minutes
Directed by: Byron
Quisenberry
Starring: Pepper Martin,
Hank Worden, Ethan Wayne (yes, his dad is John), Ann Bronston, Julie
Marine
From: Several no-name
companies
Thursday night I went and saw the 1970 Woodstock documentary theatrically. I've already talked about that in the past so no need for another review. Last night I saw something far, far worse:
The s--- in the middle of a s--- sandwich.
I make such a claim as this rubbish is in the middle of two great pieces of bread... Thursday night on the big screen I saw the 1970 Woodstock documentary; I'd seen it before but it was awesome seeing all 224 minutes of the Director's Cut in a giant way. Sunday night I'll talk about what I'm seeing tomorrow, which I suspect will be another grand theatrical experience. In the middle of this block is a movie I heard was quite bad, and what a set-up I had to create in order to watch it in good quality. I'll talk about that at the end.
The general premise is not the issue here. People rafting down a river spend the night in a Texas town abandoned since the Wild West days, but are killed by an unseen force. One problem is that on a few occasions, characters are seen sleeping somewhere then suddenly a scene or two later are walking around or somewhere else and that is confusing as the rafting party has like a dozen people in it-which is too many-and hardly any characterization is gifted to these random men and women so that does not make it an engaging watch. One dude sort of resembles Dick Miller and another Chris Kattan but the most memorable character is a chubby dude named Lou and that is only because he is portrayed as possibly mentally handicapped and wears a SWEET Houston Oilers hat. That isn't even the best hat in the movie: an old bearded dude has a powdered blue one where on the front is a crocheted scene of someone golfing.
The biggest sin isn't even that the few kills we get are all lame and incredibly weak; no, it's that Scream is incredibly boring; those that say this is the dullest slasher ever created are probably correct. I've used this line before, but even Ti West would find this movie to be sleep-inducing! Ethan Wayne (yes, The Duke's son) is in the cast yet is as forgettable as the rest. Woody Strode is also in this which is great... except that his role is that of a cameo, and his appearance is to deliver a monologue that is a total non-sequitor that does nothing to advance the plot, then he literally rides off into the moonlight. I don't even want to get into the “killer” or how it's portrayed, nor the befuddling ending.
The musical score isn't bad but neither that nor the unintentional laughs make this worthwhile. Now, the way I saw this was unusual; to be honest, this was viewed on YouTube-quite a few copies of it are on different channels-and I had to use the audio from one video and sync it up to the one copy that has a nice picture... but that audio is in Spanish. Much of the movie is set in low lighting so at least I could now view nothing happening better than the horribly washed out VHS rips that are the way most have viewed this crap. If anyone ever cares to have this on disc, Code Red put it out long ago as part of the series they did which had two movies on one disc & was hosted by WWE personality Maria Kanellis; that one was paired with The Barn of the Naked Dead (usually known as Terror Circus) and I imagine that one has to be better just because it's directed by Alan Rudolph (!) and if it's bad, it's likely a funny sort of terrible instead of something that'll cure your insomnia like Scream will. Besides, some will definitely enjoy looking at Maria.
I make such a claim as this rubbish is in the middle of two great pieces of bread... Thursday night on the big screen I saw the 1970 Woodstock documentary; I'd seen it before but it was awesome seeing all 224 minutes of the Director's Cut in a giant way. Sunday night I'll talk about what I'm seeing tomorrow, which I suspect will be another grand theatrical experience. In the middle of this block is a movie I heard was quite bad, and what a set-up I had to create in order to watch it in good quality. I'll talk about that at the end.
The general premise is not the issue here. People rafting down a river spend the night in a Texas town abandoned since the Wild West days, but are killed by an unseen force. One problem is that on a few occasions, characters are seen sleeping somewhere then suddenly a scene or two later are walking around or somewhere else and that is confusing as the rafting party has like a dozen people in it-which is too many-and hardly any characterization is gifted to these random men and women so that does not make it an engaging watch. One dude sort of resembles Dick Miller and another Chris Kattan but the most memorable character is a chubby dude named Lou and that is only because he is portrayed as possibly mentally handicapped and wears a SWEET Houston Oilers hat. That isn't even the best hat in the movie: an old bearded dude has a powdered blue one where on the front is a crocheted scene of someone golfing.
The biggest sin isn't even that the few kills we get are all lame and incredibly weak; no, it's that Scream is incredibly boring; those that say this is the dullest slasher ever created are probably correct. I've used this line before, but even Ti West would find this movie to be sleep-inducing! Ethan Wayne (yes, The Duke's son) is in the cast yet is as forgettable as the rest. Woody Strode is also in this which is great... except that his role is that of a cameo, and his appearance is to deliver a monologue that is a total non-sequitor that does nothing to advance the plot, then he literally rides off into the moonlight. I don't even want to get into the “killer” or how it's portrayed, nor the befuddling ending.
The musical score isn't bad but neither that nor the unintentional laughs make this worthwhile. Now, the way I saw this was unusual; to be honest, this was viewed on YouTube-quite a few copies of it are on different channels-and I had to use the audio from one video and sync it up to the one copy that has a nice picture... but that audio is in Spanish. Much of the movie is set in low lighting so at least I could now view nothing happening better than the horribly washed out VHS rips that are the way most have viewed this crap. If anyone ever cares to have this on disc, Code Red put it out long ago as part of the series they did which had two movies on one disc & was hosted by WWE personality Maria Kanellis; that one was paired with The Barn of the Naked Dead (usually known as Terror Circus) and I imagine that one has to be better just because it's directed by Alan Rudolph (!) and if it's bad, it's likely a funny sort of terrible instead of something that'll cure your insomnia like Scream will. Besides, some will definitely enjoy looking at Maria.
Wednesday, August 14, 2019
Wicked, Wicked
Runtime: 95 minutes
Directed by: Richard L.
Bare (no, this is not an adult movie I saw & this guy is not an
adult movie director)
Starring: David Bailey,
Tiffany Boiling, Randolph Roberts, Scott Brady, Edd Byrnes
From: MGM
What a unique gimmick this motion picture has:
Brian
De Palma, eat your heart out! At least I imagine that is what some
people involved with this movie thought. While De Palma's Sisters had a
few scenes of split screen, Wicked, Wicked-from some dude named Richard
L. Bare who despite his name was not in the adult industry-was filmed
entirely in “Duo-Vision”, meaning that except for some widescreen
moments, two images are on the screen at the same time and the
soundtrack is stereo, usually divided into two distinct channels
depending on what's happening in the film. The fact that probably many
film fans have never heard of the movie or “Duo-Vision” does accurately
show how well the release went, which was: not well at all so no one
since has tried to do something else like the split screen gimmick for
an entire film... unfortunately.
The plot of Wicked, Wicked-think a Hitchcock pastiche. The killer is a weird loner who has mom issues due to his childhood and he kills blondes... see what I mean? It's even set at a hotel, although this one is a seaside resort in California. The movie makes it obvious early on who the villain is, although it takes the other characters a real long time to figure it out in this leisurely paced flick. That includes the hotel security guard Rick Stewart, who would rather gawk at his ex than try to crack the case. In 2019, yikes at Stewart being an ex-cop who... loses his job because he shoots & kills an innocent black man!
The characters tend to be on the hostile side yet I'll say this is fine overall; for certain, the gimmick helps elevate this, although not always. At least to me it was always interesting and helps tart up what would have been a forgotten 70's mystery picture otherwise. Sometimes it shows alternate angles, sometimes you get to see the victim and the killer at the same time, a few times it's flashback and present time concurrently, and even a character explaining something false and the other side shows what actually happened.
Various things pad out the runtime, including a kooky old lady known as Mrs. Carradine and Rick's ex happens to sing at the hotel and she has a few musical numbers. Speaking of music, for some reason the score was... the score to the Lon Chaney The Phantom of the Opera. I guess that shooting a movie like this was time-consuming and complicated so lifting music from another picture is sort of understandable, even if it doesn't always seem to fit. I'll also presume that they needed more coverage so that is why occasionally you see a random unidentified old woman playing the score on an organ.
It is a shame this idea never took off; others could have been real creative with the concept and done something unique with it that really benefited from the split screen process; I'd love to see someone try this in these modern times.
The plot of Wicked, Wicked-think a Hitchcock pastiche. The killer is a weird loner who has mom issues due to his childhood and he kills blondes... see what I mean? It's even set at a hotel, although this one is a seaside resort in California. The movie makes it obvious early on who the villain is, although it takes the other characters a real long time to figure it out in this leisurely paced flick. That includes the hotel security guard Rick Stewart, who would rather gawk at his ex than try to crack the case. In 2019, yikes at Stewart being an ex-cop who... loses his job because he shoots & kills an innocent black man!
The characters tend to be on the hostile side yet I'll say this is fine overall; for certain, the gimmick helps elevate this, although not always. At least to me it was always interesting and helps tart up what would have been a forgotten 70's mystery picture otherwise. Sometimes it shows alternate angles, sometimes you get to see the victim and the killer at the same time, a few times it's flashback and present time concurrently, and even a character explaining something false and the other side shows what actually happened.
Various things pad out the runtime, including a kooky old lady known as Mrs. Carradine and Rick's ex happens to sing at the hotel and she has a few musical numbers. Speaking of music, for some reason the score was... the score to the Lon Chaney The Phantom of the Opera. I guess that shooting a movie like this was time-consuming and complicated so lifting music from another picture is sort of understandable, even if it doesn't always seem to fit. I'll also presume that they needed more coverage so that is why occasionally you see a random unidentified old woman playing the score on an organ.
It is a shame this idea never took off; others could have been real creative with the concept and done something unique with it that really benefited from the split screen process; I'd love to see someone try this in these modern times.
Tuesday, August 13, 2019
The Bravest
Runtime: 122 minutes
Directed by: Tony Chan
Starring: Xiaoming Huang,
Jiang Du, Zhuo Tan, Zi Yang, Hao Ou
From: Several different
Chinese companies
Only
once in awhile do Chinese movies come over to my general area in
Florida and it's only on rare occasions do I check them out. However, it
fit my schedule yesterday to take a little drive and see this, after
eating at a Walk-On's Bistreaux & Bar (yes, it is a sports bar with a
Louisiana theme; I highly recommend it) for the first time.
China has leaned even harder into creating extravaganzas that are comparable to Hollywood; this concerns firefighters trying to contain a blaze at an oil refinery-I've heard it compared as a combo of Roland Emmerich and Peter Berg... sure, I can go with that. Due to convenient circumstances, if the firefighters are not successful, then the large city they are in and the surrounding area will all be pretty F'ed. Of course this is a melodrama as not only is there a boy w/ asthma who loses his inhaler, but the boy's mom has to help a random couple and deliver them to a hospital amongst all the chaos of everyone evacuating because that woman is going into labor.
Someone I know on a messageboard who lives in Southeast Asia states that too many films from mainland China engage in propaganda and another person stated that was the case with this picture, as the foreigners are naturally the ones who caused the catastrophe in the first place with their stupidity and the only Chinese person you see who wasn't honorable and brave was the bureaucrat... I can acknowledge that while also saying this did not bother me too much in this case. This is a silly spectacle where more focus was placed on gnarly explosions and carnage than fleshing out the characters... but that is what Hollywood commonly does also.
I'll say this was fine overall. While cliché and having the expected heroic sacrifices and questionable moments of logic (will fire really rush out of a window as soon as you break it?) I still managed to be entertained by this nonsense that had the expected heroic sacrifices and s*** blowing up real good. It also reminds me that one day I should check out Only the Brave and shame on me for not watching it theatrically almost two years ago.
China has leaned even harder into creating extravaganzas that are comparable to Hollywood; this concerns firefighters trying to contain a blaze at an oil refinery-I've heard it compared as a combo of Roland Emmerich and Peter Berg... sure, I can go with that. Due to convenient circumstances, if the firefighters are not successful, then the large city they are in and the surrounding area will all be pretty F'ed. Of course this is a melodrama as not only is there a boy w/ asthma who loses his inhaler, but the boy's mom has to help a random couple and deliver them to a hospital amongst all the chaos of everyone evacuating because that woman is going into labor.
Someone I know on a messageboard who lives in Southeast Asia states that too many films from mainland China engage in propaganda and another person stated that was the case with this picture, as the foreigners are naturally the ones who caused the catastrophe in the first place with their stupidity and the only Chinese person you see who wasn't honorable and brave was the bureaucrat... I can acknowledge that while also saying this did not bother me too much in this case. This is a silly spectacle where more focus was placed on gnarly explosions and carnage than fleshing out the characters... but that is what Hollywood commonly does also.
I'll say this was fine overall. While cliché and having the expected heroic sacrifices and questionable moments of logic (will fire really rush out of a window as soon as you break it?) I still managed to be entertained by this nonsense that had the expected heroic sacrifices and s*** blowing up real good. It also reminds me that one day I should check out Only the Brave and shame on me for not watching it theatrically almost two years ago.
Sunday, August 11, 2019
Bill & Ted's Excellent Adventure
Runtime: 90 minutes
Directed by: Stephen Herek
Starring: Keanu Reeves,
Alex Winter, George Carlin, a bunch of historical figures
From: Nelson Entertainment
Be excellent to each other.
Of course this is a movie I saw as a kid and an adult... but the last viewing was long ago and as the long-rumored third movie is actually finally going to happen, this seemed like the right opportunity to give this another spin.
Normally I would not watch-much less enjoy-a plot so ludicrous and dopey; that's just how I am. However, what helps is that the movie goes all-in on the idea and does not try to couch things with contrived explanations or really any explanation at all when it comes to time travel mechanics or how two valley dudes in the late 80's who have a crappy metal garage band ended up becoming musicians that caused a utopia to be created 700 years later... it just happens, along with the time travel vehicle being a ripoff of the TARDIS.
Also helping is that it's a simple plot where two dim-witted guys have to literally collect historical figures so they can pass high school history and one of them (Ted) doesn't have to go to military school due to flunking out; in 2019, I am sure that many won't like Ted's police officer dad not just for being a jerk, but for also wearing an NRA jacket in one scene. Anyhow, the main reasons why this is still popular enough now to where many are eagerly anticipating the third movie after almost 3 decades... this has plenty of laughs-and at times it is smarter than you expect, with random background gags or using time travel mechanics as a deux ex machina-through such absurdities as “Beeth-oven” rockin' the 80's synths or Billy the Kid and “So-crates” trying to mack on teen girls in the local mall... and except for one moment, Bill & Ted are very easy to root for.
That one moment is an unfortunate artifact of how attitudes were back in the 80's. The music and the fashion are good aspects of the time period this was created-the homophobia was not. After Bill & Ted hug in a happy moment (as Bill thought his buddy was dead), they both utter a word which I won't repeat here, but their negative opinion of homosexuality... not very righteous, and in fact it's heinous. Then again, according to Wikipedia the spec script not only had Charlemagne-referred to as “Charlie Mangay”-but Napoleon was originally HITLER... oh my Lord. Let's be happy they at least changed that.
Yet at least for me that few seconds does not taint the rest of the film or the wacky charm it has in such moments as Napoleon having his Waterloo at a waterpark or Joan of Arc leading an aerobics class.
Of course this is a movie I saw as a kid and an adult... but the last viewing was long ago and as the long-rumored third movie is actually finally going to happen, this seemed like the right opportunity to give this another spin.
Normally I would not watch-much less enjoy-a plot so ludicrous and dopey; that's just how I am. However, what helps is that the movie goes all-in on the idea and does not try to couch things with contrived explanations or really any explanation at all when it comes to time travel mechanics or how two valley dudes in the late 80's who have a crappy metal garage band ended up becoming musicians that caused a utopia to be created 700 years later... it just happens, along with the time travel vehicle being a ripoff of the TARDIS.
Also helping is that it's a simple plot where two dim-witted guys have to literally collect historical figures so they can pass high school history and one of them (Ted) doesn't have to go to military school due to flunking out; in 2019, I am sure that many won't like Ted's police officer dad not just for being a jerk, but for also wearing an NRA jacket in one scene. Anyhow, the main reasons why this is still popular enough now to where many are eagerly anticipating the third movie after almost 3 decades... this has plenty of laughs-and at times it is smarter than you expect, with random background gags or using time travel mechanics as a deux ex machina-through such absurdities as “Beeth-oven” rockin' the 80's synths or Billy the Kid and “So-crates” trying to mack on teen girls in the local mall... and except for one moment, Bill & Ted are very easy to root for.
That one moment is an unfortunate artifact of how attitudes were back in the 80's. The music and the fashion are good aspects of the time period this was created-the homophobia was not. After Bill & Ted hug in a happy moment (as Bill thought his buddy was dead), they both utter a word which I won't repeat here, but their negative opinion of homosexuality... not very righteous, and in fact it's heinous. Then again, according to Wikipedia the spec script not only had Charlemagne-referred to as “Charlie Mangay”-but Napoleon was originally HITLER... oh my Lord. Let's be happy they at least changed that.
Yet at least for me that few seconds does not taint the rest of the film or the wacky charm it has in such moments as Napoleon having his Waterloo at a waterpark or Joan of Arc leading an aerobics class.
Saturday, August 10, 2019
Scary Stories To Tell In The Dark
Runtime: 111 minutes
Directed by: Andre Ovredal
Starring: Zoe Margaret
Coletti, Michael Garza, Gabriel Rush, Austin Zajur, Dean Norris
From: Lionsgate
The creatures in this film: they all have more charisma than Lana Del Rey!
Like many, when I was a kid (i.e. literally decades ago) I saw at least the first of the three books written by Alvin Schwartz; what I had remembered about them were not the tales but rather the frightening images from Stephen Gammell. It wasn't until today that I finally looked through those books again-more on that later. The only advertising I ever saw for this was the teaser early in the year-no trailers or commercials since then.
What was revealed in the advertising is unknown to me so I'll try to be vague. The fact that this was set in 1968 was a surprise-rural Pennsylvania to be exact. The plot is that it is Halloween and horror fan Stella hangs out with her fellow misfit pals Augie & Chuck. Of course there are bullies in Letterman jackets and they love to torment each other. Something fiery happens and they end up in a spooky haunted house where there is a literal book of scary stories and that's when the fit hits the shan, so to speak.
This is PG-13 and I know many naturally blanche at such an idea for the majority of horror films being made in these modern times. For me it was not that much an issue as the books were meant for kids, it makes a nice gateway for the young teens who are probably not fit quite yet for the R-rated genre examples and there still manages to be scary moments & the various creatures on display are effective at sending a chill through the audience. Producer del Toro did not want an anthology as he was not a fan of their inherent uneven nature so instead a plot was crafted where a few of the tales from the books are tied together and I have no complaints with how they are linked together nor the selections they made. Of course Harold the scarecrow is all over the advertising but I will not reveal the other stories that were used here.
What helped for me was that all the three leads were likable-enough and the mood/atmosphere were pretty nice, w/ some cool setpieces. While there are some cliches that were probably old in actual films from 1968, overall I thought this was good-no regrets with seeing this theatrically. The reason why I took a potshot at Lana Del Rey was not just that her popularity has always baffled me between the bad noises coming out of her mouth and her animatronic-esque stage presence... the end credits had her cover Donovan's Season of the Witch; I did not stick around for that. At least the opening of this movie had the original version of the tune.
A few years ago I purchased “Scary Stories Treasury”, which compiled all three books together; as I was me, I never looked through it until today. As an adult, it was interesting to see (as I had no memory of this) the back of each book contain a notes and sources section which explained the origin of each tale... whether it be something that an author created or (usually) some old folklore from across the United States and a few times a foreign country. I finally realized this was a wise purchase on my part and not just something done on a whim because I was bowled over by a wave of nostalgia, in other words.
Like many, when I was a kid (i.e. literally decades ago) I saw at least the first of the three books written by Alvin Schwartz; what I had remembered about them were not the tales but rather the frightening images from Stephen Gammell. It wasn't until today that I finally looked through those books again-more on that later. The only advertising I ever saw for this was the teaser early in the year-no trailers or commercials since then.
What was revealed in the advertising is unknown to me so I'll try to be vague. The fact that this was set in 1968 was a surprise-rural Pennsylvania to be exact. The plot is that it is Halloween and horror fan Stella hangs out with her fellow misfit pals Augie & Chuck. Of course there are bullies in Letterman jackets and they love to torment each other. Something fiery happens and they end up in a spooky haunted house where there is a literal book of scary stories and that's when the fit hits the shan, so to speak.
This is PG-13 and I know many naturally blanche at such an idea for the majority of horror films being made in these modern times. For me it was not that much an issue as the books were meant for kids, it makes a nice gateway for the young teens who are probably not fit quite yet for the R-rated genre examples and there still manages to be scary moments & the various creatures on display are effective at sending a chill through the audience. Producer del Toro did not want an anthology as he was not a fan of their inherent uneven nature so instead a plot was crafted where a few of the tales from the books are tied together and I have no complaints with how they are linked together nor the selections they made. Of course Harold the scarecrow is all over the advertising but I will not reveal the other stories that were used here.
What helped for me was that all the three leads were likable-enough and the mood/atmosphere were pretty nice, w/ some cool setpieces. While there are some cliches that were probably old in actual films from 1968, overall I thought this was good-no regrets with seeing this theatrically. The reason why I took a potshot at Lana Del Rey was not just that her popularity has always baffled me between the bad noises coming out of her mouth and her animatronic-esque stage presence... the end credits had her cover Donovan's Season of the Witch; I did not stick around for that. At least the opening of this movie had the original version of the tune.
A few years ago I purchased “Scary Stories Treasury”, which compiled all three books together; as I was me, I never looked through it until today. As an adult, it was interesting to see (as I had no memory of this) the back of each book contain a notes and sources section which explained the origin of each tale... whether it be something that an author created or (usually) some old folklore from across the United States and a few times a foreign country. I finally realized this was a wise purchase on my part and not just something done on a whim because I was bowled over by a wave of nostalgia, in other words.
Body Double
Runtime: 114 minutes
Directed by: Brian De
Palma
Starring: Craig Wasson,
Gregg Henry, Deborah Shelton, Melanie Griffith, Dennis Franz
From: Columbia
What a wild movie this was:
Someone saw The Slumber Party Massacre before making this.
I say that as the giant drill is the exact same as used in that horror film, De Palma actually made it more obvious a phallic symbol than Amy Holden Jones did back in '82. That is for certain not the only movie that served as inspiration: several Hitchcock classics were “borrowed”, Rear Window and Vertigo being the most obvious.
Jake is a struggling actor who-among other things-discovers that his lady is cheating on him, and as she owns the place... he is SOL until his pal Sam offers the opportunity for him to take over a house-sitting job as Sam has an acting gig of his own; more on that amazing-looking place later. Sam is such a pal that he even points out a neighbor who is an attractive lady that loves dancing around nightly with the drapes open and as there's a telescope... Jake becomes a “peeper”. Unfortunately for Jake and this mysterious lady Gloria, a bizarre-looking man starts stalking her, so our protagonist's bright idea is to... stalk her also. Yeah, that is creepier now than it must have been in the mid 1980's, and that is not the only thing he does concerning her that is abnormal. At least another character does eventually note how bad his behavior is, optics-wise.
That said, this movie is pretty wild all around, and has to be De Palma at his most unfiltered. I know, a bold claim considering that Scarface was 3 hours of total excess, this is sleazy due to how sex and obsession are the main focal points. The adult movie scene even factors in as Melanie Griffith has a supporting role as a popular actress in the field... and this results in the bravura moment where he get in essence an R-rated music video of Frankie Goes to Hollywood's Relax; De Palma always knew that the lyrics are pretty filthy-amazing it became such a huge hit-so it was perfect for this movie.
Amongst all the sleaze and raunchy moments, there were some pretty intense scenes that built suspense pretty well; this is why I can give the movie a high rating, along with Jake being a figure I did not mind following despite some of his questionable behavior.
This was viewed on Blu-ray but not the Twilight Time release, as that was deliberately made to be a limited release and good luck finding that for cheap. Instead it was the UK release by Indicator which thankfully is region-free. The picture does look tremendous... although to me it made a key plot point kind of obvious which helped me figure out part of the grand scheme. I did love looking at the one of the kind octagonal designed house known as Chemosphere, which is an actual house in Los Angeles that is an architectural marvel. At least in the movie, the interior looked hilariously 1980's, as if unexpectedly you'd spot a giant pile of coke on a dresser or by the telephone; like the movie itself, it is wonderfully stylish.
I say that as the giant drill is the exact same as used in that horror film, De Palma actually made it more obvious a phallic symbol than Amy Holden Jones did back in '82. That is for certain not the only movie that served as inspiration: several Hitchcock classics were “borrowed”, Rear Window and Vertigo being the most obvious.
Jake is a struggling actor who-among other things-discovers that his lady is cheating on him, and as she owns the place... he is SOL until his pal Sam offers the opportunity for him to take over a house-sitting job as Sam has an acting gig of his own; more on that amazing-looking place later. Sam is such a pal that he even points out a neighbor who is an attractive lady that loves dancing around nightly with the drapes open and as there's a telescope... Jake becomes a “peeper”. Unfortunately for Jake and this mysterious lady Gloria, a bizarre-looking man starts stalking her, so our protagonist's bright idea is to... stalk her also. Yeah, that is creepier now than it must have been in the mid 1980's, and that is not the only thing he does concerning her that is abnormal. At least another character does eventually note how bad his behavior is, optics-wise.
That said, this movie is pretty wild all around, and has to be De Palma at his most unfiltered. I know, a bold claim considering that Scarface was 3 hours of total excess, this is sleazy due to how sex and obsession are the main focal points. The adult movie scene even factors in as Melanie Griffith has a supporting role as a popular actress in the field... and this results in the bravura moment where he get in essence an R-rated music video of Frankie Goes to Hollywood's Relax; De Palma always knew that the lyrics are pretty filthy-amazing it became such a huge hit-so it was perfect for this movie.
Amongst all the sleaze and raunchy moments, there were some pretty intense scenes that built suspense pretty well; this is why I can give the movie a high rating, along with Jake being a figure I did not mind following despite some of his questionable behavior.
This was viewed on Blu-ray but not the Twilight Time release, as that was deliberately made to be a limited release and good luck finding that for cheap. Instead it was the UK release by Indicator which thankfully is region-free. The picture does look tremendous... although to me it made a key plot point kind of obvious which helped me figure out part of the grand scheme. I did love looking at the one of the kind octagonal designed house known as Chemosphere, which is an actual house in Los Angeles that is an architectural marvel. At least in the movie, the interior looked hilariously 1980's, as if unexpectedly you'd spot a giant pile of coke on a dresser or by the telephone; like the movie itself, it is wonderfully stylish.
Thursday, August 8, 2019
The Silence Of The Lambs
Runtime: 119 minutes
Directed by: Jonathan
Demme
Starring: A great cast who
delivered great performances, especially the lead characters
From: Orion
Of course this is a motion picture I've viewed a few times before in
my life, but the last time was more than a decade ago, and as it's
currently for free on Prime... I am glad I am finally able to discuss it
here.
By now everyone knows the story, the characters, the most infamous moments that are still well-known almost 30 years later (plus, while I never watched the Hannibal TV show I heard it was great and a well-deserved cult hit) so I don't need to dwell on the basic plot. I will note, however, that the main characters are all fascinating people. Clarice Starling is only a trainee at the FBI academy and she is chosen because of her gender, appearance and skills to interview a cannibalistic serial killer who happens to be a very intelligent and manipulative psychiatrist for the purpose of catching another serial killer... what a game of cat and mouse that is against someone who is utterly horrifying in a unique way.
Clarice struggles at first in dealing with the infamous Hannibal Lecter but eventually earns both his and the audience's respect... it is easy to root for her. Dr. Lecter, meanwhile, is a fascinating character in the rather limited time he's on screen, even as he's done horrible things before and does more horrible things in the movie. And Ted Levine is pretty terrifying in a different way as Buffalo Bill. I was glad when seeing this in 2019 that what Bill identifies as (honestly, novel writer Thomas Harris had to do this back in the late 80's for shock value) was not portrayed in a way which seems grossly insensitive and tasteless in these modern times where such things are more accepted. Of course, if you identify in the same way as Bill, I imagine you'll have a different perspective on the topic. There is an explanation for Bill's beliefs at least, and he is another cinematic killer who was inspired by the real life horrorshow that was Ed Gein.
This movie was masterfully done, from the performances to how everything was framed, from the Howard Shore score (the only music that anyone remembers from this is Goodbye Horses but the score was pretty good) and the cinematography from Tak Fujimoto... I am not surprised this cleaned up at the Academy Awards despite being a rather adult tale with some shocking moments. Thank heavens this wasn't so oppressively grim and miserable that it becomes suffocating and a punishing viewing experience. Whatever you want to classify this as (I know some have gotten into heated debates as to if this is “crime drama”, “psychological thriller”, “horror”, or something else) this is still great and its ability to be chilling and have scenes stick in your mind long afterwards... that has not diminished.
By now everyone knows the story, the characters, the most infamous moments that are still well-known almost 30 years later (plus, while I never watched the Hannibal TV show I heard it was great and a well-deserved cult hit) so I don't need to dwell on the basic plot. I will note, however, that the main characters are all fascinating people. Clarice Starling is only a trainee at the FBI academy and she is chosen because of her gender, appearance and skills to interview a cannibalistic serial killer who happens to be a very intelligent and manipulative psychiatrist for the purpose of catching another serial killer... what a game of cat and mouse that is against someone who is utterly horrifying in a unique way.
Clarice struggles at first in dealing with the infamous Hannibal Lecter but eventually earns both his and the audience's respect... it is easy to root for her. Dr. Lecter, meanwhile, is a fascinating character in the rather limited time he's on screen, even as he's done horrible things before and does more horrible things in the movie. And Ted Levine is pretty terrifying in a different way as Buffalo Bill. I was glad when seeing this in 2019 that what Bill identifies as (honestly, novel writer Thomas Harris had to do this back in the late 80's for shock value) was not portrayed in a way which seems grossly insensitive and tasteless in these modern times where such things are more accepted. Of course, if you identify in the same way as Bill, I imagine you'll have a different perspective on the topic. There is an explanation for Bill's beliefs at least, and he is another cinematic killer who was inspired by the real life horrorshow that was Ed Gein.
This movie was masterfully done, from the performances to how everything was framed, from the Howard Shore score (the only music that anyone remembers from this is Goodbye Horses but the score was pretty good) and the cinematography from Tak Fujimoto... I am not surprised this cleaned up at the Academy Awards despite being a rather adult tale with some shocking moments. Thank heavens this wasn't so oppressively grim and miserable that it becomes suffocating and a punishing viewing experience. Whatever you want to classify this as (I know some have gotten into heated debates as to if this is “crime drama”, “psychological thriller”, “horror”, or something else) this is still great and its ability to be chilling and have scenes stick in your mind long afterwards... that has not diminished.
Wednesday, August 7, 2019
Dracula's Daughter
Dracula's Daughter (1936)
Runtime: 71 minutes
Directed by: Lambert Hillyer
Starring: Otto Kruger, Gloria Holden, Marguerite Churchill, Edward Van Sloan, Gilbert Emery
From: Universal
It's been awhile since I've seen a movie from the 30's and since I also felt like something completely different, why not the first sequel to Bela's Dracula?
This starts immediately after the 1931 classic ends, and Edward Van Sloan returns as Van Helsing. The coppers catch him with those dead bodies and needless to say, they don't believe the whole vampire story. Van asks for the help of a psychiatrist friend, Jeffrey. Unfortunately for Jeffrey, he meets up with Dracula's daughter, who claims to be a Countess. The Countess wants the help of psychiatry to try and cure her vampirism, but that goes about as well as you'd suspect.
This had more humor than I anticipated... most of it was at least OK. The movie as a whole was pretty good as it was only 71 minutes long, had some nice atmospheric scenes, and the psychiatry angle was at least an interesting direction to go in. Gloria Holden did a nice job as the titular daughter as she had a mysterious air to her... but another highlight was Marguerite Churchill as Janet (dammit), who as Jeff's secretary had a love-hate relationship. There's even a scene with obvious lesbian overtones so this was not a boring 71 minutes by any means.
Runtime: 71 minutes
Directed by: Lambert Hillyer
Starring: Otto Kruger, Gloria Holden, Marguerite Churchill, Edward Van Sloan, Gilbert Emery
From: Universal
It's been awhile since I've seen a movie from the 30's and since I also felt like something completely different, why not the first sequel to Bela's Dracula?
This starts immediately after the 1931 classic ends, and Edward Van Sloan returns as Van Helsing. The coppers catch him with those dead bodies and needless to say, they don't believe the whole vampire story. Van asks for the help of a psychiatrist friend, Jeffrey. Unfortunately for Jeffrey, he meets up with Dracula's daughter, who claims to be a Countess. The Countess wants the help of psychiatry to try and cure her vampirism, but that goes about as well as you'd suspect.
This had more humor than I anticipated... most of it was at least OK. The movie as a whole was pretty good as it was only 71 minutes long, had some nice atmospheric scenes, and the psychiatry angle was at least an interesting direction to go in. Gloria Holden did a nice job as the titular daughter as she had a mysterious air to her... but another highlight was Marguerite Churchill as Janet (dammit), who as Jeff's secretary had a love-hate relationship. There's even a scene with obvious lesbian overtones so this was not a boring 71 minutes by any means.
The Grand Duel
Runtime: 94 minutes
Directed by: Giancarlo
Santi
Starring: Lee Van Cleef,
Alberto Dentice, Jess Hahn, Horst Frank, Klaus Grunberg
From: Several Italian/French/West German entitites
A little later I'll finally be caught up here; for now, my viewing of a genre that I am sure has become better recognized now because of a certain film...
It stars Lee Van
Cleef, who participated in many examples of this genre. As always he was
a bad-ass, an ex-sheriff who helps Philip, a young man accused of
killing the patriarch of the Saxon family (none of whom was played by
John, sadly), so he has a bounty on his head. That family is a band of
brothers who are pretty despicable so it is easy to root for both
ex-sheriff Clayton and Philip, even if the latter does not trust
the former.
Director Giancarlo Santi was the AD for Leone on The Good, the Bad & the Ugly and Once Upon a Time in the West and he did try to ape the legend's style. Furthermore, the musical score did try its best to sound like Morricone... and it was used by Tarantino in the first Kill Bill. At times this is absurd and it isn't the best example of the genre but for me it was still a lot of fun as there are badass moments, memorable dialogue, colorful characters and nice rural Italian scenery. One of the brothers dresses all in white (including matching gloves) and well, between that and his manner, it is obvious what is being hinted at here. That is 70's Italian genre cinema for ya.
Director Giancarlo Santi was the AD for Leone on The Good, the Bad & the Ugly and Once Upon a Time in the West and he did try to ape the legend's style. Furthermore, the musical score did try its best to sound like Morricone... and it was used by Tarantino in the first Kill Bill. At times this is absurd and it isn't the best example of the genre but for me it was still a lot of fun as there are badass moments, memorable dialogue, colorful characters and nice rural Italian scenery. One of the brothers dresses all in white (including matching gloves) and well, between that and his manner, it is obvious what is being hinted at here. That is 70's Italian genre cinema for ya.
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