Devil In A Blue Dress

Devil in a Blue Dress (1995)

Runtime: 102 minutes

Directed by: Carl Franklin

Starring: Denzel Washington, Tom Sizemore, Jennifer Beals, Don Cheadle, Maury Chaykin

From: Tristar

As Noirvember winds down, it only made sense for me to finally watch this neonoir which should have been viewed by me long ago. The fact that this will leave The Criterion Channel in a manner of hours pushed me to experience a motion picture which many said should have had sequels-it was based on one of a series of novels by Walter Mosley so sequels had an obvious selection to pick plots from.

In essence it is just like a noir of old; the setting is 1948 Los Angeles and a shady figure asks a blue collar worker to try and find a missing lady as she hangs out in the same world he does, only to discover liars, scandal & murder that goes all the way to a mayoral race. Of course, this is different as it is a Black setting filled with great Black music, colorful characters and yeah, racist moments. “Easy” Rawlins has to look for a lady who literally wears a blue dress & not only does this have some foul language, the MacGuffin that is eventually identified: definitely a plot point that could not have been done in the 40's or 50's.

Of course, Denzel delivered a quality performance as Rawlins; the rest were at least good. It was nice to see Jennifer Beals although for me the highlight was the over the top Mouse, played by Don Cheadle. I'd ask for more of Mouse but perhaps too much of him would have ruined the nice atmosphere or even could have become grating at one point. As is, I dug said atmosphere, along with said music and said swerves. It looks like a vibrant world... if you ignore all the killings, that is. Also, after the movie I realized why a key role was well-cast... it related to an actor's real life background. I've seen some declare this “boring”; to each their own but I do not share that viewpoint. It satisfied my standard noir desires so shame on me for not giving it a shot many years in the past.

Kagemusha

Kagemusha (1980)

Runtime: 180 minutes

Directed by: The legendary Akira Kurosawa

Starring: Tatsuya Nakadai, Tsutomu Yamazaki, Kenichi Hagiwara, Jinpachi Nezu, Hideji Otaki

From: Toho/Akira Kurosawa Productions... and 20^th Century Fox, as Lucas and Coppola are such fans of Kurosawa, they asked Fox to help when the movie ran out of money

“Psychedelic Akira Kurosawa scenes” is a phrase I love being able to say.

Now that everything is back to normal (Saturday night I caught up on everything I missed out on when I was out of town for Thanksgiving) my schedule of watching motion pictures should likewise not be disrupted... at least until I am out of town again right before Christmas but I'll explain that in a few weeks. For now, it wasn't difficult for me to pick another Akira Kurosawa picture to view; including this it's been 11 of his films watched and the “worst” I rated as very good and he has several legendary pictures. Of course I haven't seen his earliest work, although one day that'll change. In the meanwhile, finally crossing off one of his major pictures off the list seemed a wise choice, & it was.

In a three hour runtime that never was dull even w/ its measured pace, a thief who is the spitting image of a Lord in late 16th century feudal Japan is hired as a decoy-after all, “Kagemusha” literally translates as “shadow warrior”-but when the actual Lord dies & he decrees before passing away that his leaving the mortal world MUST be hidden for three years, that is a real pickle of a situation for that clean. Rivals start to suspect the truth and the decoy starts to love the job...

Hindsight speaking, it is not a surprise this is often gorgeous visually. A painter since his youth and someone who always had detailed storyboards, all the years it took to finance this meant he had the time to create lavish drawings that brought to life the script he co-wrote. Subsequently, several scenes are quite striking w/ their usage of multiple colors. A dream sequence is a real kaleidoscope of different shades/shapes but that (literally) colors a few other moments. Of course all the other aspects are great (acting, action beats, the score, the rural Japanese scenery, etc.) but it's the visual aspect which was the standout for me. A thrill for Lucas and Coppola must have been getting 20th Century Fox to give the production money after it ran out of money-as Kurosawa productions were wont to do-which is why Fox distributed this outside of Japan.

While I do prefer some of the director's other films and the movie being on the dry side at times is something even I can admit, overall it was a lengthy journey I enjoyed being on.

 

OSS 117: Panic In Bangkok

OSS 117: Panic in Bangkok (Banco A Bangkok Pour OSS 117) (1964)

Runtime: 119 minutes

Directed by: Andre Hunebelle

Starring: Kerwin Mathews, Pier Angeli, Robert Hossein, Dominique Wilms, Akom Mokranond

From: A few different Italian and French companies

Personally, DOCTOR SINN wouldn't be my primary healthcare physician.

Sooner than expected, I have returned. The preceding week for certain had its ups and downs-yet I still had Thanksgiving w/ some family members, my health is fine & things are practically back to normal now. Thus, while that short break was nice I am happy to forget about the recent drama. Randomly, I chose to view something I've seen little of: the Eurospy genre, prevalent in the 60's after 007 became so popular at the box office. The character Hubert Bonisseur de la Bath was also a literary creation (from French author Jean Bruce) which not only predates Ian Fleming's first Bond novel, Bath made it to cinemas first. The character just never became legendary like Bond did. This was my initial experience w/ Ol' Hubert; I've never even viewed the spoof movies from the 2000's from the people that would also make The Artist.

There's a few spots to rent it from, but Kino's streaming service is the way to go even if you have to view it on your laptop as at least the picture is in HD. In this tale filmed & set in Thailand (an interesting locale for me to view) our hero is tasked with investigating a... faux vaccine which is actually a plague that will wipe out “undesirables”; that's what some people think is real life but let me quickly move on before I brew up some controversy. It's a scheme from Doctor Sinn; I can't scoff at the name when there's a much more famous spy film that has a villain named Dr. No. It's a bad look in 2021 that our lead is a real cad around the ladies... if that is not shameful enough, to paraphrase another Letterboxd reviewer, he saves his own ass by letting random people die and not seeming to care that this happens! The first half also has a more languid pace than the back half-at least for me the Thai scenery both rural and urban kept me at attention.

Thankfully this second half has a quicker pace & the obvious inspiration from the earliest Bond pictures becomes more apparent. There's shootouts, kidnappings, double-crosses, a bit of romance, locals that help the hero, the heel wearing a CAPE in one scene... it was a shot of adrenaline that was much-needed. In addition, it became clear that not only was Pier Angeli my type in terms of appearance, but also why both Kirk Douglas & James Dean fell for her. Her passing away accidentally at the age of 39 is sad. To end this review on a positive note, even if it takes awhile for the plot to be fully propelled, overall it was a fun spy romp which does give me the germ of an idea to check out more Eurospy features in the future.

 

Apologies Are Due...

for mentioning on Letterboxd a few days ago that I wouldn't be watching films for a few days due to the up and down week I had... but neglecting to do the same here. It's been like that for me as November winds on down. Yet perhaps as soon as tomorrow I'll return and things will be more back to normal.

The Place Beyond The Pines

The Place Beyond the Pines (2012)

Runtime: 140 minutes

Directed by: Derek Cianfrance

Starring: Ryan Gosling, Bradley Cooper, Eva Mendes, Emory Cohen, Dane DeHaan

From: Focus Features

One of my faults: purchasing movies on disc then not watching them for years. This was an example of that; it was one of a few Blu discs bought a few years ago from a Big Lots for cheap that sat in my collection collecting dust. For the purpose of adding more variety to my film watching, this was finally given a shot & one benefit of not checking it out much sooner-nor even taking a close look at the credits on the back of the case: the number of actors who would become more famous in the years after this came out. Mahershala Ali as a caring dad is one thing—another thing entirely was experiencing Ben Mendelsohn as a white trash mechanic w/ a cigarette ever-present in his mouth.

In a plot spanning many years, the focus is on the relationship between fathers/sons and the legacy that leaves behind. Ryan Gosling is a motorcycle rider who does stunt shows at county fairs (he and two buddies ride around in a steel globe a la Elvis did in Roustabout. He discovers that he has an infant son w/ Eva Mendes, who has another beau. He tries to be a better dad but does so by making a selection of really poor choices. Eventually Ryan has a scene w/ cop Bradley Cooper... who also has an infant son. I had an idea this wouldn't be the most joyful of pictures-but it was more morose than expected. After all, there are some corrupt police officers (which plays differently than it did then) and many bad things happening to many people. As others have noted, the opening 50 or so minutes is the strongest segment of the movie and your overall opinion will depend on how “worse” you think the subsequent scenes are.

That said, it was still a captivating experience. The natural structure of the story-there are a few different stories told-results in a few moments best described as “convenient”-that did not bother me as there were solid themes that were addressed. A haunting score & a cast full of faces I recognized who (mostly) delivered were assets. A different setting of Schenectady, New York was pleasant to me... it seems like a nice decent-sized city in the upstate region. Various themes are addressed-such as masculinity & other things it probably be best not to spoil-it did not seem long despite being over 2 hours in length, has pleasant cinematography... even if it's not a feel-good movie you can throw on at any time, it was a rewarding journey which presented ideas worth of conversation or contemplation. It did make me contemplate what happened w/ Dane DeHaan... turns out, he was on an Amazon Prime series I hadn't even heard of before and (lolz) was on a Quibi series too.

Eaten Alive!

Eaten Alive! (Mangiati Vivi!) (1980)

Runtime: 92 minutes

Directed by: Umberto Lenzi

Starring: Robert Kerman, Janet Agren, Ivan Rassimov, Paola Senatore, Mel Ferrer

From: A few Italian companies

Why not discuss my Thanksgiving week plans in the beginning of a review of a cannibal movie? Unlike typical, I will be out of town for a few days; the plan is to postpone posting a review for a few days-that would allow me to put up an appropriate review on the holiday itself while I am elsewhere. That's another rarity for me: watching a Thanksgiving picture. As for what I saw last night, don't confuse this with the 1976 Tobe Hooper picture which has the same name except for an exclamation mark... even though hilariously both feature Mel Ferrer. This movie was watched on Arrow's streaming service.

The plot: a woman from Alabama goes to New York City to try and locate her missing sister. She discovers that sis went to Papua New Guinea (Sri Lanka stood in for that country) in order to follow a guy I'll call “Not Jim Jones”... the Jonestown tragedy is ripped off her and it does not seem in good taste as that was filmed mere months after it actually happened. Then again, if you thought there were many animal deaths in Cannibal Holocaust, wait until you see this—barf. The plotting here, how the story is told and some of its beats were not good, IMO. The exploitative elements (random racial slurs, sexual assaults, all the nudity) was a bit much even for someone sleazy & trashy like Umberto Lenzi.

Anyhow, in New Guinea our lead meets up with Vietnam War deserter Robert Kerman & this is how the sister is found in the village ran by Not Jim Jones. In case you're confused, Not Jim Jones and his followers are NOT the cannibals: it's the “natives” in the area. The movie gets a meh rating from me-instead of a bad one-due to the gore being effective, some decent kills (even if most are clips lifted from earlier films), music that at times was discofied/always catchy & the scenes shot in the New York City of Old are always of interest to me. It was amusing to see that in the holiday season of '79, besides the XXX features the films you could see in Times Square included Star Trek: The Motion Picture, 10, and the Frank Zappa concert movie Baby Snakes. Experiencing all of those in a seedy joint with some people that are probably wearing raincoats no matter what... probably better than this although perhaps the cannibal genre just isn't for me.

Samurai I: Musashi Miyamoto

Samurai I: Musashi Miyamoto (1954)

Runtime: 93 minutes

Directed by: Hiroshi Inakagi

Starring: Toshiro Mifune, Mariko Okada, Rentaro Mikuni, Kuroemon Onoe, Kaoru Yachigusa

From: Toho

A movie that I saw due to a young lady... long story but I don't know this young lady “that way”, regrettably. I needed to see some more Toshiro Mifune anyhow and instead of one of his efforts with Kurosawa, why not the first part of a trilogy that was a loose retelling of a legendary samurai master?

In a lovely rural area of Japan circa early 17th century-the color cinematography is one of the highlights-we are introduced to Miyamoto, known at the time as Takezo and his buddy Matahachi. They join a war but unfortunately are on the losing side so they flee. Things happen, the duo are both not as honorable as you both think, and the future Miyamoti is such a wild character, an entire village wishes to capture him-it takes a Buddhist priest to try & tame him. That character was a real life figure-Takuan Soho-although in real life he and Miyamoto never actually interacted w/ each other.

To be frank, I did not love every story beat. The fact that multiple women are not treated well and practically every male character had at least one A-hole moment was unfortunate. Yet otherwise this was a high-quality production. When there's music it fits the film; when there's action it is exciting. And as expected, Mifune's performance was the best when it came to acting craft. Whenever I get to the two sequels, they may actually be preferable to me as they will be more focused on the samurai action & drama. Still, no regrets in checking this out... even if Mifune here did not compare to his character in The Seven Samurai, which came out about 5 months beforehand.

Carry On At Your Convenience

Carry On at Your Convenience (1971)

Runtime: 86 minutes

Directed by: Gerald Thomas

Starring: The typical Carry On crew

From: Anglo-Amalagated Film Distributors

A Carry On film getting political... is that really a good idea? Recently I realized it's been half a year since I've seen anything from this franchise, and there's a mistake that needs rectifying. I'd say that this was a typical entry you'd expect from this crew, and it did have the bawdy humor & randy one-liners... except that it has what some may say “an anti-union” message. You see, the setting is a “factory that makes toilets”, which results in many obvious puns. The main gag is that the leader of the union keeps on calling for strikes due to minor slights & otherwise acts like a buffoon in his position; while it could be satire on what was happening in England at the time, many Carry On fans are the working class and it actually did not do well at the box office.

Thing is, only part of the movie was actually set at the factory. The strikes allow the gang to be shown at home or in other locations... much to my surprise, the resort town of Brighton was a setting for at least 15 minutes. There are relationship issues among multiple people... some want new lovers, one has a harpy wife, another has a horrible mother-to be honest some of the women characters seem even more shrill than usual. That said, there are still enough laughs & silliness where I can say this is fine overall. After all, even with the jabs at unions, it is still a motion picture where Sid James plays someone named Sid Plummer & there's a bizarre subplot revolving around someone's pet bird.

One last thing: Margaret Nolan is in a small role. That is brought up as not only was she the masseuse in Miami in Goldfinger (and subsequently was the girl painted in gold in all the advertising), she passed away not that long ago and was in Last Night in Soho; I know the movie pays tribute both to her and Diana Rigg.

 

Megaforce

Megaforce (1982)

Runtime: 99 minutes

Directed by: Hal Needham

Starring: Barry Bostwick, Michael Beck, Persis Khambatta, Edward Mulhare, Henry Silva

From: Golden Harvest

The one time I saw a movie because of... an iPhone commercial? 'tis true. Last night I saw an ad for the iPhone 13 which shows a young adult male driving around on a scooter, and his new device is withstanding a lot of punishment. At the very end, with no explanation his scooter starts lifting off the ground, about to fly in the air. Yeah, it is a reference to E.T., yet because I am me the first thing I thought of: the awesomely bad ending to Megaforce! My reaction to the commercial's conclusion was akin to Henry Silva seeing Barry Bostwick (who at least sported a marvelous look) fly through the air on a “rocket-powered motorcycle”, brought to life by effects that have aged real poorly.

The movie as a whole: decidedly not good. It's just so incredibly juvenile and stump-dumb. The titular Megafoce is supposed to be a elite group tasked with stopping powerful entities that governments don't want to touch for a variety of reasons... yet they are all immature goofballs, including Michael Beck as “Tex”, sporting a bad exaggerated Texan drawl & wearing a great Skol t-shirt. The storytelling: quite bad. It's a lot of nonsense-ostensibly it's about the team stopping a general played by Silva from invading a foreign country-incomprehensible moments & dull bits broken up by explosions and wackiness, although it really only comes alive in the finale.

It is not so bad it's a laugh riot like a Samurai Cop, yet it is not something I'll give a bottom of the barrel rating to. Among other things, this isn't the worst Hal Needham movie I've seen... that designation belongs to the second Cannonball Run film. The action does help, along with a goofy electronic score. Silva as the lead heel is always a treat for me. For those that rate diversity high, this does have a number of nationalities present. And Lord, what clothing.

Furthermore, the title song-from the group 707 and as heard in the end credits-is not only a real banger, it's an earworm. Megaforce was never seen by me as a kid so no nostalgia is present (it has to be brought up as I've seen plenty of people online note they do have positive if faded memories of this); if you hadn't viewed this since a kid and you look upon this fondly, it may be best if you DON'T revisit your childhood. Then again, as a child you might not have noticed in the silhouette scene some what had to be purposeful “suggestive hand placement” from Bostwick while he's chatting w/ Persis Khambatta...

 

The Player

The Player (1992)

Runtime: 124 minutes

Directed by: Robert Altman

Starring: Tim Robbins, Greta Sacchi, Fred Ward, Whoopi Goldberg, and MANY famous faces, either as themselves or in brief roles as characters

From: Fine Line Features

RIP Dean Stockwell. It took more than a week but I am finally tipping my cap to the late actor. When I was a kid I did not regularly watch Quantum Leap but more than one episode was seen by me. As an adult, I've seen (and reviewed) a few great movies he was in, such as Paris, Texas and Blue Velvet. Instead of revisiting those, one popular film he was in which hadn't been watched before was selected. Judging by where his name was in the credits, I figured he would have a few scenes in a movie with an astounding array of talent—and I was correct. As always, no matter how small the role he did a swell job-in this case as an energetic agent.

It is clear that Robert Altman did not hold a high opinion of Hollywood. The problems he had with the studio system and the lack of box office success (no matter the quality of the film) probably helped form such a viewpoint. In The Player, Hollywood is a backstabbing, double-crossing vicious world where people lie to your face, asses are kissed, and artistic integrity is flushed down the toilet in a probably misguided attempt to be appealing to the general public. Tim Robbins (the true highlight of the film; he was great) is a studio executive who is a real jerk... sure, having to reject most of the script ideas that writers send your way will ruffle feathers but he is heel-and someone keeps on sending him threatening messages on postcards, from a presumed rejected writer. From there, things go awry and such elements as an Icelandic widow are thrown into the mix.

It's a darkly funny film which was definitely appealing to a movie dork like myself. Besides the dozens of famous faces who appear either as themselves in cameos or in small roles as characters, there is a plethora of references, movie posters, and the mockery of unfortunate Hollywood business tropes to enjoy. Lord knows what Altman would think of that world now, where things are even more safe than back then, things are incredibly corporate & remakes are so prevalent, I just read minutes ago that Timo Tjahjanto is going to direct a reboot of... UNDER SIEGE?! WTF?  Anyhow, this is tale that at times is absurd-then again, the motion picture business itself is rather absurd so it's fitting. A key plot point is a script in development that “does not have a happy Hollywood ending”... does this movie have a cliché ending itself? I do have to reveal that in one scene a prerequisite list of “requirements” for a successful studio film are noted and they are all present in The Player. How ironic then that the success of this allowed Altman to have a career resurgence. As for this movie in particular, a smart story and moody, evocative score helps make it much more than just a silly satire.

The Player is something which may not be for all but I'll dig something that has a big role from Fred Ward, has Brion James in an atypical part, and presents what would likely been a bad yet amazing cop drama starring Scott Glenn & Lily Tomlin. In addition, it is quite the feat that this is how Lyle Lovett first met Julia Roberts and not that long after were married for a short time... which caused OUTRAGE as Lyle is not handsome in a classical sense—almost three decades later I realize how F'ed up that opinion was.

Butch Cassidy And The Sundance Kid

Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid (1969)

Runtime: 110 minutes

Directed by: George Roy Hill

Starring: Paul Newman, Robert Redford, Katharine Ross, Strother Martin, Henry Jones

From: 20^th Century Fox

It's time for me to catch up here. I saw nothing on Sunday night, but viewed this on Monday. Tonight I'll post my review of what was watched last night: 

Boy, I got vision, & the rest of the world has bifocals.

There is no shortage of options when it comes to viewing this famous light-hearted Western. As it is available in 4K on Prime, that was chosen by myself. As the cinematography was one of the Academy Awards it won, I loved seeing the picturesque scenery in such high quality.

The titular duo were real life bandits in the halcyon days of the Wild West; the movie claims this was “a mostly true” recount of them, although that is using the phrase liberally. They constantly rob trains, pissing off someone who can afford to create “a super posse” to track them down. The heat is too much so they plus Kid's consort Etta flee to South America. Light in tone, the film never becomes a dopey parody or something that avoids some serious topics. In fact, this addresses such ideas as “people destined to a dark fate no matter what they do” and “the Wild West is not so wild now in the turn of the 20th century when a bicycle has made its way to the are and it won't be too long before automobiles are seen.” So yes, there are also melancholy moments.

It's a movie that like The Sting (which brought together the main players) which is effortlessly charming. Solid direction and two legendary leads who play off each other definitely are solid assets. But I can't ignore Katherine Ross & her performance as she was also great with what she was given-as a lady who romances Kid but she's also pals with Cassidy and it's easy to let your imagination run wild there! More seriously, another great bonus is the score from Burt Bacharach-Raindrops Keep Fallin' on My Head is a classic tune but the other music on the soundtrack was also pleasing to the ear & worked in context to what was on screen. When there's action it is thrilling; all those elements make for a famous Western & it's a crying shame Newman & Redford did not co-star in more pictures together.

They Live By Night

They Live by Night (1948)

Runtime: 95 minutes

Directed by: Nicholas Ray

Starring: Cathy O'Donnell, Farley Granger, Howard Da Silva, Jay C. Flippen, Helen Craig

From: RKO

A solid genre effort for Noirvember... although a rather somber one. It was recorded off of TCM earlier in the month & all the rave reviews this has received was enough for me to finally check this out.

Farley Granger plays a criminal who escapes from jail with a few buddies. He is portrayed as more sympathetic than the real louts and scoundrels he associates with-the worst being a “one-eyed lush.” He meets a girl, he gets injured, she nurses him back to health, they fall in love, they get married... is it a spoiler to say it does not end well for them? It's a surprise that this was the first film of Nicholas Ray; that is because his direction was so solid right out of the gate.

Time is spent getting to know our couple alongside Granger attempting to lead a clean life while avoiding the authorities-that is more the focus than the seedy underworld they happen to be involved in; that must be why I felt so melancholy when this concluded. Then again I should give credit to the entire cast in general, but for certain Cathy O'Donnell as the woman in the star-crossed relationship. There are some nice moments that make this not a constant depressing watch-such as a nightclub singer belting out a tune known as Your Red Wagon-yet this felt like a rewarding journey to me no matter if the romance was destined to fail from the very beginning.

 

Skidoo

Skidoo (1968)

Runtime:  98 minutes

Directed by: Otto Preminger

Starring: Jackie Gleason, Carol Channing, & other famous names I'll mention in the review

From: Paramount

How Do You Do, Fellow Kids?, The Movie

Believe it or not, I've seen this infamous flop, long ago. However, this-via TCM Underground late last night-was the first trip in widescreen. What a motion picture this is, something that satirizes such things as hippies while at the same time trying to be “hip” in order to appeal to “the youths” at the time. Believe it or not, a bunch of old Hollywood farts who did not really understand hippies and the counterculture did not succeed at making something for them. As nice a cast as this features and Otto Preminger is a legendary director, practically all the famous faces are old people so of course they will seem woefully out of touch; I'll just presume that the actual youths in the late 60's scoffed pretty loudly at Skidoo.

Jackie Gleason is a retired mob hitman who is asked out of retirement to kill someone in prison before he testifies before a Congressional hearing. Meanwhile, wife Carol Channing has to deal with their teen daughter becoming (gasp) a hippie. This is supposed to be a comedy, but to me “comedy” is more like it. Much of the gags and jokes splat on the ground like an egg tossed from a high rise building. Lord, some of the dialogue has aged real badly and more than once, Gleason speaks as if he's Buford T. Justice, meaning those words I definitely won't repeat here. I laughed AT such things as Channing wearing a bright yellow ensemble which has some frilly parts-including bizarre hat-making it an ersatz Big Bird! It is quite the feat to make a “comedy” that often misses the mark when it has the likes of Gleason, Channing, Frankie Avalon, Frank Gorshin, John Phillip Law, Peter Lawford, George Raft, Burgess Meredith, Cesar Romero, Mickey Rooney, Arnold Stang, Austin Pendleton, Slim Pickens, Richard Kiel... and even Groucho Marx in his final film role.

This does not get a bottom of the barrel rating for a few minutes. It's not completely without chuckles, after all. Plus, the 60's sets are SO of the time they were colorful delights. This is probably the only motion picture where all the end credits were sang... and it was done by Nilsson (before he became famous) who also did the score. However, the true highlight is that it shows the effect of various people trippin' balls, including Gleason. I've never partaken in LSD before so it's only hearsay I can go on; allegedly, it is somewhat accurate to what an acid trip COULD be like. Plenty of clips of Skidoo can be found on YouTube-at least as of this review being posted-such as those musical end credits but Jackie Gleason on LSD can also be seen in a video entitled: The Greatest Acid Trip in Cinema History. What a segment that is.

It is not the worst “Hollywood tries to be hip” picture of its time; I've once seen-but never reviewed here-Myra Breckenridge... it's understandable why some will love the campiness of this. Personally, it was one of my least favorite “unofficial genres” (unfunny comedy) and the moments of note can be viewed separately on YouTube.

Rocky IV: Rocky vs. Drago

Yes I saw the Director's Cut that Stallone put together. It's available for streaming now but was shown theatrically last night, which is how I experienced it.

Note that I am reviewing the Rocky IV: Rocky vs. Drago cut that Fathom Events showed last night nationwide, although if you were like me none of the Fathom Events branding appeared at my screening, which meant no promised Sly Q&A. I dunno as to what happened there but nevertheless, it was nice to see something theatrically that is still so 80's-tastic even in this new cut.

I wrote about the OG Rocky IV a few years ago; it was good overall. This new version does try to be “more serious” as most famously the robot is entirely excised; while it is technically better not to have that comedy present which is always awkwardly shoehorned in, the robot's presence is so strange it is unintentionally hilarious. At least all that glorious 80's soundtrack/songs and montages are present... not to mention that while it is not as coke-fueled as before, it sure as hell still is jingoistic, which has to be why this was shown on Veterans Day.

Overall, I rate this as about the same as what came out in 1985. The rest of this review will note the major changes that I noticed; as it's now available for streaming, you can skip the rest of this if you plan on watching that & want to be surprised. As for what I spotted:

* Both boxing fights are extended, w/ new sound effects. That was nice.

* No surprise that the end credits are completely different; perhaps a little more surprising is that there are no opening credits in the entirely new opening which is an extension of what happens in Rocky III.

* Sly did save money by not having Paulie listen to The Chipmunk Song on his Walkman in the Soviet Union; instead we have no idea what Paulie is hearing.

* The first act has the most excised material by far.

* Duke does get more to do, including a nice speech at Apollo's funeral.

* The No Easy Way Out montage is not only longer, the flashback footage is in black and while; why not?

* There were some minor differences not even worth noting.

Even if this is more “serious”, it still has Rocky randomly climbing a mountain & the implication that he alone toppled Communism... Rocky IV is still cheesy.

Battles Without Honor And Humanity

Battles Without Honor and Humanity (Jingi Naki Tatakai) (1973)

Runtime: 95 minutes

Directed by: Kinji Fukasaku

Starring: Bunta Sugawara, Hiroki Matsukata, Kunie Tanaka, Eiko Nakamura, Tsunehiko Watase

From: Toei

For something I wasn't planning on watching until a few minutes beforehand, it was a wise selection on my part to spend my time with this last night. About time I finally saw one of the films in this series—even if the four sequels aren't as good as this OG effort, I am certain to enjoy watching them sometime in the future.

This picture spends years following various people that art part of the Yakuza in Japan in the years immediately after World War II, where American occupy it for a bit and this strips away all the glamour & panache that this organization may have in some peoples' eyes. Lead character Shozo Hirono only joins the order due to circumstances, after all. Most of the film is various people in various families feuding w/ each other over trivial manners, double-crosses, attempted usurping of your superiors, etc. It does not seem like a pleasant lifestyle even if you discount the whole “cutting your pinkie off” thing, which actually happens in one scene. The setting of Hiroshima in the aftermath of the atomic bomb dropping is telling.

This movie starts off w/ a bang; besides an American soldier sexually assaulting a lady, there is some graphic violence that comes out of nowhere. The finale is also one hell of an ending. In between, there's nice acting, stylish direction from Kinji Fukasaku & a groovy score from Toshiaki Tsushima. Of course people know the music (or at least the main theme) from the 2000 film New Battles Without Honor and Humanity due to Tarantino, but aurally the soundtrack here is pretty rad. If you love “gangster films” like The Godfather or Goodfellas, this should be a delight... even if it's the opposite of those movies in that it demonizes the underworld.

Gold Diggers Of 1935

Gold Diggers of 1935 (Yep, 1935)

Runtime: 95 minutes

Directed by: Busby Berkeley

Starring: Dick Powell, Adolphe Menjou, Gloria Stuart, Alice Bradley, Hugh Herbert

From: Warner Bros.

And now for something completely different... long ago I saw some films that featured legendary song-and-dance numbers from Busby Berkeley (42nd Street, Footlight Parade, and Gold Diggers of 1933) and while those plots weren't always great, the still impressive hoofing around was. As this recently played on TCM and was able to be DVR'ed by myself, it served as entertainment for last night. Unlike the previous films, Berkeley directed the entire film instead of the dance numbers.

Instead of on Broadway, the setting was a posh New England resort; the employees at this resort seem to have a hankerin' for trying to earn some coin from the wealthy guests. There are love entanglements as an uber-wealthy family visit-of course the matriarch is a real skinflint. That was as complicated as the plot was. Sure there are some chuckles and cute moments & this is light fluffy entertainment—it's just a shame that the mom is a real wet blanket of a character who is quite annoying-and speaking of annoying, the musical score that plays through practically the entire picture & the character played by Adolphe Menjou...

Thank heaven then that the two musical numbers are of high quality and help make the entire movie good overall. The Words Are in My Heart is a delight as it involves giant pianos moving all about but it is Lullaby of Broadway that is a must-see if you were like me and had seen some Berkeley yet hadn't viewed it yet. It may be the best thing he ever did-for certain, Busby named it as his favorite. Some of the famous faces that appeared in previous installments weren't here-at least there's still the likes of Dick Powell and Gloria Stuart. Even if this was the law of diminishing returns and the other movies of its type are better, at least the final act made this picture worth seeing.

A Better Tomorrow II

A Better Tomorrow II (Ying Hung Boon Sik II) (1987)

Runtime: 103 minutes

Directed by: John Woo

Starring: Ti Lung, Chow Yun-Fat, Leslie Cheung, Guan Shan, Kenneth Tsang

From: Film Workshop

This includes Chow Yun-Fat vs. The Mafia. That was a pleasant surprise when I viewed this motion picture last night-the driving force behind that decision was because of-you guessed it-a messageboard conversation. A few different Hong Kong action pictures from around this time period were discussed-also talked about was how John Woo and Tsui Hark had a dispute over how this movie should be edited and what should be the focus. This is why Hark directed the prequel third movie in this installment & why Woo's 1990 Bullet in the Head both are Vietnam-centered pictures. Anyhow, as I've seen the original just this past summer and found it to be very good, it did not take too hard a shove for me to select II.

The plot has several of the main characters from the first return, along with some new ones of importance, such as one played by Dean Shek... who only after viewing did I hear just passed away days ago. The main plot surrounded some bad guys attempting to usurp others in a counterfeiting ring; the side plot is set in New York City (and actually filmed there) where Fat plays the twin brother of his character from the original movie—of course that is contrived but that's typically the case when it's happened hundreds of other times in film history. Another character spends some time in NYC and they meet up with Fat-who doesn't smoke in EVERY scene although it's still frequent-who hilariously plays a chef/restaurant owner. The Mafia starts beefin' w/ them which leads to a final confrontation. To be frank, there are some dumb moments in this movie and the overall plot is not as strong as in the first picture.

That said, this is still pretty good. It has the same sort of amusing 80's soundtrack as before-definitely a positive. It is nice to see the familiar faces again and thankfully this has some badass moments. One great moment was Fat dropping an F-bomb (in English) before blasting away an SOB with a shotgun. That entire scene was pretty sweet; however, that is not THE true highlight of the film. That honor goes to the finale-Holy Crap was that amazing. “Cacophony” seems like an apt term to describe the chaos and carnage that comprises the final 10 or so minutes. The bodycount just in that segment is over the top, as is everything else—I'll just say that blood literally coats the walls. While the culmination of the movie can be viewed separately on YouTube, IMO if you enjoy some of the talent involved this is well worth tracking down-which at least as of now is incredibly easy to do <wink wink>.

Nightmare Alley

Nightmare Alley (1947)

Runtime: 112 minutes

Directed by: Edmund Goulding

Starring: Tyrone Power, Joan Blondell, Coleen Gray, Helen Walker, Taylor Holmes

From: 20^th Century Fox

I'd love to have a soda pop with Coleen Gray.

While I don't officially participate in noirvember, I always enjoy watching genre efforts once in awhile and a few times in November I play on watching some film noir. As the novel this is based on is also the source material for del Toro's movie coming out next month, this was the opportune time to discuss this famous effort.

In a carnival setting, Tyrone Power has the power to manipulate and pray on people w/ the power of speech... which is perfect for that universe. He ingratiates himself w/ Joan Blondell, who was a mentalist that does such stage acts as reading minds and seeing while blindfolded which of course is cleverly staged. Power also exploits-knowingly or not-his fellow co-workers, including Coleen Gray. As traveling carnivals like the one portrayed here are a thing of a past, it will never not be fascinating to see this unique world portrayed here. Of course there are still county fairs and random events which have rides, games, and food stands... however, they don't have the “sideshow freaks” or other elements that are really seedy. As that world is filled with bizarre people & misfits, no wonder it is so intriguing to my sensibilities. In particular, this show had a “geek” who did bad things to chickens-also, no wonder a police officer tried shutting down the carnival in one scene.

But only part of the movie is set in that world. I won't reveal where else the story leads except that it leads to several surprises & you realize the entire picture is devoted to deception and various people trying to take advantage of others-some are very slick in it and even the con men can be conned sometimes. Things can get rather dark, even by noir standards. Besides a different sort of story that touches on a variety of topics, the main cast all delivers, from Power, Blondell and Gray to Helen Walker as a psychiatrist. Even w/ an ending that was clearly modified from whatever was in the novel due to the Hays Code, this is a different noir from the usual which is well worth seeing if you are a genre fan. Now I am quite interested in seeing what del Toro does with this material-it could be something even better than what was seen by myself last night.

Kaithi

Kaithi (2019)

Runtime: 144 minutes

Directed by: Lokesh Kanagaraj

Starring: Karthi, Narain, Ramana, George Maryan, Harish Uthaman

From: A few Indian companies

It's time for me to play catch-up. Here's a review posted on Letterboxd a few days ago: This time, it was a movie watch inspired by recent Letterboxd discussion. Out of nowhere, my review for the 2018 Indian movie Satyameva Jayate (which I actually saw theatrically) gained some traction and there was discussion in the comments w/ a mutual which made me realize that I should see more of these. Earlier in the year another mutual reviewed this in particular and that's why it has been on my radar since then. As it's actually for free on YouTube via an official upload from one of the production companies, that's how I viewed this. Before I get on, that YouTube copy had something curious: whenever there was smoking, alcohol seen or drugs, a small message popped up in the Tamil language-as I know nothing about that language written or spoken, thankfully each message was accompanied by a pictogram telling the audience not to drink, smoke or do drugs! Was that something only for the print on YouTube, only done by some studios or is that actually common for all modern Indian films?

Anyhow, a plot inspired by both Sorcerer and Assault on Precinct 13 (or if you will, The Wages of Fear/Rio Bravo) will capture my attention. It involves cops and a phalanx of drug dealers. Via contrivances, cops at a party are Roofied (!) by the villains and the only one to transport them in the flatbed of a truck to a hospital is a convict just released from prison-for what I would say is justified homicide-and an officer w/ a broken arm. Meanwhile, those same dealers attempt to break into a police station to release one of their own... further contrivances have the only people guarding the station be a new officer and some random teenagers. The most plausible scenario it is not... but is it greatly entertaining, yes. Consider, the truck stops surprisingly often considering the circumstances, yet it does allow for our hero Dilli to wreck dudes in hand to hand combat.

After a half hour of setup which establishes (among other things) the main players and how both sides have someone undercover, the rest is action mixed with some drama and pathos. After all, Dilli has a 10 year old daughter he's never met before... for its uneven moments and silliness, overall the movie is a lot of fun. The action beats are pretty cool and sometimes unique-there's explosions, shootouts, unexpected heroes, and a Minigun a la Ol' Painless from Predator. Plus, believe it or not there are no musical song and dance numbers. Be that as it may, it still has a typical Masala mix of a few different genres that can only come from motion pictures originating in India. It's all set in one night and not only does it have some unique elements, but those are mostly executed well. Thus, this was just another reminder that at least for me (although perhaps others should be paying attention too) India is not a country whose cinematic output should be ignored.

Scarecrow

Scarecrow (1973)

Runtime: 112 minutes

Directed by: Jerry Schatzberg

Starring: Gene Hackman, Al Pacino, Dorothy Tristan, Ann Wedgeworth, Richard Lynch

From: Warner Bros.

Eat Cantaloupe You Bellyachin' Rhinoceros! While I've known of this 70's road movie for a long time now, the impetus behind finally giving this a spin: a recent realization that more Gene Hackman should be seen by myself. Something that also starred Al Pacino & featured cinematography from Vilmos Zsigmond was only icing on the cake. At first the movie was amusing as we got to see the two leads (drifters who were hitchhiking and both had lonely existences, for differing reasons) meet each other and after initial wariness they become pals. There are some funny moments as Pacino was happy/carefree while Hackman was quite gruff and a loner. They join up to travel across the country so Al can see his ex in Detroit and visit their kid for the first time while Gene has a dream of... opening a carwash in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. The mystery of why he chose Pittsburgh is addressed in the film although never answered. That's right, a Pittsburgh MacGuffin.

Then the second half of the movie happens... things change and trying to be vague, I'll just say that “it's a 70's film” and for certain only something that could be made in that decade. As usually happens, whenever Richard Lynch enters a flick, it's bad news for at least a few characters. It ended up being a more moving and powerful motion picture than what I was expecting going in. The cast as a whole is good overall (other familiar faces include Eileen Brennan & Rutanya Alda) but naturally it's the two leads who receive the lion's share of the attention and they are both great in what was not an easy role for either actor. It also has a nice musical score.

I do understand how many don't rate this as highly as I do, or feel that this has flaws, or that it's more about an actor's showcase than anything else. This happened to work like gangbusters for me. The performances delivered by and the characters brought to life by the two leads was so great, it won me over with all those poor sad-sacks went through. The filmmaking that had long takes, static shots that could last for a long while & took its time was also greatly appealing to my sensibilities. Besides watching more Gene Hackman, the same should go for the genre of 70's dramas.

Cleopatra

Cleopatra (1963)

Runtime: Around 4 hours!

Directed by: Joseph L. Mankiewicz

Starring: Elizabeth Taylor, Richard Burton, Rex Harrison, Pamela Brown, George Cole

From: 20^th Century Fox

One of those films where I feel the production was more interesting than the final product.

Last night I was able to see this-recently recorded off the DVR-in one shot, even though it was a four hour plus recording made off of the FXM channel. While the DVR is far from being even half-full, it was nice to get a big recording off of there. I can enjoy the old epic movies, especially the ones from around this time period. Say what you will about Ben-Hur or The Ten Commandments (the '56 version), but they were spectacles, had nice casts & were lavish productions which were simply lovely to look at. This had many of those traits yet personally, its tumultuous production history was more noteworthy than what was shown on screen.

This was a longtime passion project for producer Walter Wenger. It seemed like a wise choice for Fox to make as a possible big hit when they really needed one at the time. The story was a standard tale revolving around fictionalized versions of the title character, Mark Antony and Caesar. Unfortunately for the studio, this took a few years to make due to various problems. Wenger really wanted Liz Taylor and while he was successful, she was ill often (the ailments real or imagined), this began the infamous relationship between Taylor & Richard Burton-when both were married to other people at the time-the shooting started before the script was even completed-yes, this happened even back then-original director Richard Mamoulian was fired, the movie started filming in England before production shut down and everything was scrapped to move to the more appropriate Italy... that and other calamities made it clear why this cost an estimated 44 million dollars between the production and all the advertising once this was finally released. That is almost 400 million dollars now! Needless to say, that was astronomical for the time & the long protracted shoot was a fiasco for many reasons, only some of which I've listed here.

With all that knowledge now known, it is a testament to the talent involved (especially director Joseph L. Mankiewicz, who was literally worked to the point of exhaustion) that this 4 hour picture ended up being good instead of a long painful experience akin to an extended root canal. This did win a few Oscars, but none of them had to do with acting—instead it was for such things as the effects, the cinematography & costumes. It was definitely a lovely movie to look at & another nice asset was the Alex North score. The acting and story is more spotty, although none of that was terrible. It's just that the protracted production obviously had an impact on the finished product & quality-wise is not as good as Ben-Hur or The Ten Commandments. Technically it eventually did make money because it was a box office hit, but that took awhile and at the time caused more strife than anything else for 20th Century Fox.

Does it feel rather long at times? It sure does. Perhaps I should have watched it in at least two installments, as I've seen other Letterboxd users do. Even if it's flawed and the making-of was more interesting than what was presented on screen, no regrets in spending a lot of time with this then getting to explain why this movie is sometimes more well known for what was not on celluloid.

The Book Of Life

The Book of Life (2014)

Runtime: 95 minutes

Directed by: Jorge R. Guitterez

Starring the voice talents of: Diego Luna, Zoe Saldana, Channing Tatum, Ron Perlman, Christina Applegate

From: 20^th Century Fox

The perfect movie to watch on Dia de los Muertos (Day of the Day)... if you've seen Coco before. Normally I wouldn't boldly make that comparison right away but even before Coco came out, the Internet was the Internet, meaning they thought Coco was a ripoff of this and thus were MAD that Disney was stealing some other property, again. Heaven knows that Disney committed theft when it came to “borrowing” ideas-among many other sins-however, a ripoff this was not. The only similarities are the Day of the Dead setting & music as a key plot point; both tell worthwhile, fun stories suitable for the entire family in a gorgeous, unique visual style. I do prefer Coco to this-that should not be taken as a slight. I am a gringo so take my opinion however you wish.

The plot here surrounds a love triangle where the trio has known each other since childhood; however, it is much more complicated than that. Two higher powers place a bet on which guy the girl will marry, and of course the heel cheats & gives his kid something that will greatly help him be a hero as long as he carries it. The girl becomes “an empowered woman”, the kid from a bullfighting family wishes to become a singer instead & like in Coco the concept of Dia de los Muertos is explained well enough to the audience that is unfamiliar with this tradition.

Not all the humor works & I am unsure why our hero sings songs from RADIOHEAD and ELVIS... despite that and some uneven moments, overall this was a charming film which has some pathos-the traditional music you hear is also fine. Channing Tatum voicing a Hispanic character is a little odd, but I am sure more than a few on Letterboxd will love that not only does Diego Luna lend his voice, he is the one who sings a few songs. I can't carp about its faults too loudly when there are nice messages such as “be true to yourself” and some will love that this gets Vegan Points for being against bullfighting and an early scene of animals being rescued from a butcher. Those that love Coco should at least give this a chance one day, even if it's not on a Day of the Dead.

Ronin

Ronin (1998)

Runtime: 122 minutes

Directed by: John Frankenheimer

Starring: Robert De Niro, Jean Reno, Natascha McElhone, Stellan Skarsgard, Jonathan Pryce

From: United Artists

While watching horror or otherwise creepy motion pictures (the majority of the time) the past two months has been fun—yet it does feel nice to have a return to normalcy & view all sorts of films. This was recorded last month on DVR & was in fact something I tried recording earlier in the month from the same channel but the recording stopped after the first minute. Thank goodness there was no issue this time-like I said at the time, I realize everyone has had at least one DVR hiccup in the past.

It is a John Frankenheimer joint which almost feels like something from Michael Mann-to steal a thought from elsewhere-which is a Euro crime sort of picture where various mercenaries or ex agents of a government are recruited by a mysterious figure to “acquire” a metal briefcase-a true MacGuffin in that what is in it is just like the contents of the briefcase in Pulp Fiction—meaning “never explained.” Of course, things go wrong and with all those shady characters, not everyone can be trusted.

Ronin is not a movie I am as over the moon for as some. Yet I am not complaining-nor do I think anyone else should-that I still thought this was pretty good. After all, what an incredible main cast this has (whether or not I know all the faces), a score that at times does bring in motifs that “sound Japanese” which is appropriate for a flick entitled “Ronin”, a script that David Mamet worked on, nice French settings & great car chases. Plus, it was a complex story which never became convoluted to the point of frustration. In addition, Michael Lonsdale here was certainly better than in Moonraker, although I don't blame him for that Bond film not being one of the better ones.

I've seen others bemoan the lack of Ronin sequels-if not that, I'd like to see more stylish Euro crime thrillers like this which are more about the drama than action, although the action is crackin'. Without a doubt, there should have been more movies starring De Niro & Reno (no matter their genre) as they were a hell of a duo here. While it was stated a few months ago and did not come to fruition, this time I will view more Frankenheimer later in November.

Here Is The Link To My Spooky Season List

I do explain why it's entitled A Ghastly Ghoulish Spine-Chilling Spookshow, Part 7: I Was A Teenage Blairwolf

Halloween (Unfortunately, The Rob Zombie Version)

Halloween (2007)

Runtime: A rather long 121 minutes; yes, I saw the Director's Cut

Directed by: Rob Zombie

Starring: Plenty of famous faces I wish would have been in something better, along with some actors who I wish I could have seen less of

From: Dimension

Not the only piece of entertainment I revisited yesterday... but it was the worst. I'll just say that the others were some appropriate cartoons and the charmingly pleasant WNUF Halloween Special, all of which I've reviewed before. However, I had only seen this once before (soon after it came out on disc) and that was long before I joined Letterboxd so of course this is the first time it will be reviewed. Likely I will never watch this again; it has nothing to do with its status as a drastically different interpretation of the Michael Myers story—if it was about another mass-murdering psychopath then I would still find this to be an unpleasant 2 hours. Yes, I saw the unrated Director's Cut as that's the version commonly available.

This movie is why me (along with many others) have the stereotype of Rob Zombie only doing motion pictures concerning gross vulgar white trash stereotypes. From the opening scene where we see Michael as a young boy and he has a disgusting redneck family that constantly yells and is constantly gross, it starts off everything on the wrong note-at least for me-and that made this feel incredibly long having to deal with something so aggressively crass & in your face. The fact that Laurie Strode and friends are definitely not as likable or charming compared to what we saw in '78 when this motion picture does a compressed version of the original's plot... not a good time for me. The fact that the performances from little Michael & Zombie's own wife aren't exactly thespian quality (although apparently Sheri Moon has improved in subsequent films) is another issue.

It's not all bad; at least I enjoyed the 70's tunes that Zombie selected... although how Love Hurts was used will forever make me think differently of that song. It was also nice seeing such a large collection of old actors (character or otherwise) most of whom are liked by such nerds as those in the Letterboxd community. Even if I don't necessarily love what was done w/ the Loomis character, there are no complaints with Malcolm McDowell's acting in said role. The brutality of Myers was nice if you dig such things; the movie is not a total failure. It's no surprise why many would like a grimy greasy piece of work like this-personally, it's all just too much. As for Michael Myers as a character, I prefer it as a random young boy who-even if he has some sort of supernatural powers-happened to be a psychopath that murdered his sister then became a terrifying masked mute that stalked people-whether family members or not. Before anyone asks, I've never experienced Zombie's Halloween II... and there's a chance I never will.

In a few hours my list of what I've seen spooky season wise these past two months will go public. That will feature many films that I liked more than this.