The last few days I've been busy with various things and Sunday there were computer troubles (which I fully fixed late in the night) so there's been no time for movies. Tomorrow night will finally be a review as I'll finally get back in the swing of things. Last night I did talk about an old cartoon on Letterboxd, and that would be 1929's The Skeleton Dance. I will copy and paste that below:
Ub Iwerks is quite a name; so is his birth name: Ubbe Ert Iwwerks.
What a weekend... and not in a good way. It was not all bad but there were too many bad things so I'd rather forget about it. That includes the computer issues I had earlier today and I think are fixed (after a few hours of work) yet that is uncertain. If I peace out for the next few days-or heck, if it happens at any point in the future-you will know why.
Anyhow, at least I did have time to revisit this classic cartoon, and why not include cartoons in my annual Halloween season list? Sometime in October I'll talk about Skeleton Frolic, which was also directed by Ub Iwerks and was in essence an expanded color remake of this, the first of the Silly Symphonies done by Disney. In only 5 minutes, you can almost feel the chill of an autumn night (such as in Illinois, where I grew up) as various iconography connected to the Halloween season-black cats, spiders, owls, etc.-are seen in a cemetery graveyard, and a quartet of skeletons come out of the ground to dance and engage in creative sight gags as a jaunty tune plays in the background.
The animation and music are nice, so this is a short that is still effective 90 years later. In hindsight, I wish I would have viewed this and Skeleton Frolic around this time of year in autumns past as it sets the proper mood for the spooky season, and how can I not laugh at a skeleton using its own skull as a projectile, or another's backbone being used as a xylophone?
Monday, September 30, 2019
Friday, September 27, 2019
Hell House LLC III: Lake Of Fire
Runtime: 86 minutes
Directed by: Stephen
Cognetti
Starring: Gabriel Chytry,
Elizabeth Vermilyea, Sam Cazzi, Theodore Bouloukos, Brian David Tracy
From: Cognetti Films
Last night I got to view The Shining on the big screen (for the third time ever) and the movie was remastered in 4K. Not everyone in the near sold old crowd loved it but I did... besides it being a classic, it looked and sounded better than ever. Wednesday night was this movie... which will never be confused for a classic:
This movie contains multiple grammatical errors.
I've seen the first two so I might as well do the same with this one, right? At least the first film (reviewed around this time last year) was good, at least by found footage standards. The second-viewed this past May-was not so hot, with some horrendous acting and dopey moments. This installment at least did not have performances that made me cringe, yet the plot had some stupid moments, laughably bad CG and has less scares/creepy moments than the first two.
The plot is that some billionaire media mogul uses the old hotel as a place to have an interactive theater thing called Insomnia, even though it's the old Faust legend... I don't know why it's called Insomnia, but then again I have a number of questions about the plot. The reason for this event being held in the old hotel: I'll be charitable and just call it “goofy”, and it makes this media mogul look less than sympathetic, to say the least. The fact that this does have one scary scene and some creepy moments-along with a finale which actually has a lot happening-means that I can't give this a bottom of the barrel rating... plus, the scene that plays during the end credits is so bizarre and unexpected, I laughed-even though it was supposed to be deadly serious.
Anyhow, they stretched the found footage concept pretty far here, with a morning TV show crew filming everything (including moments that really shouldn't be on camera), some of the cast of this play getting cameras also, and come to think of it, once you know what's going on, I am not sure why media mogul even wanted cameras there... or to echo a mutual here on Letterboxd, why has a billionaire created a play which looks so cheap? Then again, this is a motion picture where the intertitles-even though they appear rather infrequently-contain more than one grammatical mistake, the biggest of which was “where” being used instead of “were”; I was amazed that there was no “your” instead of “you're”, but it's kind of embarrassing that no one caught this and it made the finished film, viewable by anyone who has an active Shudder account. The first movie in this series is really the only one worth watching, as it hasn't really been worth the effort in seeing the mythology expanded upon and trying to answer the questions the original movie raised.
I've seen the first two so I might as well do the same with this one, right? At least the first film (reviewed around this time last year) was good, at least by found footage standards. The second-viewed this past May-was not so hot, with some horrendous acting and dopey moments. This installment at least did not have performances that made me cringe, yet the plot had some stupid moments, laughably bad CG and has less scares/creepy moments than the first two.
The plot is that some billionaire media mogul uses the old hotel as a place to have an interactive theater thing called Insomnia, even though it's the old Faust legend... I don't know why it's called Insomnia, but then again I have a number of questions about the plot. The reason for this event being held in the old hotel: I'll be charitable and just call it “goofy”, and it makes this media mogul look less than sympathetic, to say the least. The fact that this does have one scary scene and some creepy moments-along with a finale which actually has a lot happening-means that I can't give this a bottom of the barrel rating... plus, the scene that plays during the end credits is so bizarre and unexpected, I laughed-even though it was supposed to be deadly serious.
Anyhow, they stretched the found footage concept pretty far here, with a morning TV show crew filming everything (including moments that really shouldn't be on camera), some of the cast of this play getting cameras also, and come to think of it, once you know what's going on, I am not sure why media mogul even wanted cameras there... or to echo a mutual here on Letterboxd, why has a billionaire created a play which looks so cheap? Then again, this is a motion picture where the intertitles-even though they appear rather infrequently-contain more than one grammatical mistake, the biggest of which was “where” being used instead of “were”; I was amazed that there was no “your” instead of “you're”, but it's kind of embarrassing that no one caught this and it made the finished film, viewable by anyone who has an active Shudder account. The first movie in this series is really the only one worth watching, as it hasn't really been worth the effort in seeing the mythology expanded upon and trying to answer the questions the original movie raised.
Wednesday, September 25, 2019
Ad Astra
Runtime: 123 minutes
Directed by: James Gray
Starring: Brad Pitt, Tommy
Lee Jones, Ruth Negga, Donald Sutherland, Kimberly Elise
From: Many production
companies
I understand those who are not... over the moon for Ad Astra.
Hearing that there were reshoots and the release date being pushed back several times did give me pause but this movie still seemed interesting so after hearing the high critical praise, yesterday I went and saw this on an IMAX screen, the best way to experience a movie with such gorgeous visuals throughout. Considering this is not a space adventure but instead is a personal story involving a son who has issues with his dad abandoning him and his attempt to deal with his own flaws... I am not surprised the general public is not as enamored with this as critics and film fans.
By now I am sure that everyone knows this is the story of how astronaut Roy McBride (Brad Pitt) has to go to the depths of the solar system to land on a ship piloted by his legendary father Clifford (Tommy Lee Jones) after he is feared to be gone mad and doing things that literally threaten the entire solar system... so I won't dwell on the plot and plus, I don't want to spoil anything. “Slow” and “boring” are common refrains against this movie that I have even seen here on Letterboxd; personally, I was always invested in the story and did not mind its methodical pace. It definitely helped that the film always looked great and it had a tremendous ethereal score from Max Richter.
Another big asset was that the cast did a swell job overall, especially Pitt and Jones. The former had to be pretty subdued due to Roy being a low-key and calm character in general, yet expressed a variety of emotions throughout and remained an interesting character despite an action or two he did in his obsessive quest to reunite with his dad after all those years. Part of that is that we frequently hear voice-over from Roy and some have balked at that inclusion. To me it was not an issue as it helped characterize what was a reserved character and plus, it's not like Blade Runner as unlike with that movie, Brad was not only one step above comatose because of NOT wanting to do any narration.
Happily, I thought this was a rewarding journey which explored various mature themes and is mostly low-key, with some exciting moments... including one that caught me off-guard as I was not expecting it. Even if it was not the box office hit that some were expecting, it does make me want to see Gray's other movies... yes, this was my first one, shame on me.
Tuesday, September 24, 2019
Bride Of Frankenstein
Bride of Frankenstein (1935)
Runtime: 75 minutes
Directed by: James Whale
Starring: Boris Karloff, Colin Clive, Valerie Hobson, Ernest Thesiger, Elsa Lanchester
From: Universal
A few years ago I viewed the 1931 Frankenstein and talked about it here; last night I finally got around to its first sequel (shown on Turner Classic Movies) and while I rated the OG movie highly, I am like many in thinking that the sequel is in the rare category of being comparable or even better.
It was amusing that there was a brief prologue w/ Mary Shelley and gang which offered some sort of explanation as to why there was a sequel considering how the 1931 movie ended. In any case, this starts literally seconds after the events of the first film... both Dr. Frankenstein and The Monster survive; the latter escapes the wild mob chasing after him while the former meets up with an even crazier Doctor (Pretorious) who forces a team-up to make the titular bride.
This was about as well-directed by James Whale as the 1931 movie, with the bonus of The Monster becoming even more of a sympathetic figure as everyone hates it due to its appearance, except for a blind hermit. This has a musical score, which fits and is not obtrusive. The movie is lovely to look at and The Monster actually speaks words this time. The fact that the Bride is not as much of a presence in this as you may suspect (even though many are familiar with her image despite only some of them having viewed the film) is not a big deal, as the actual creation of that creature is not the point... Dr. Frankenstein and The Monster changing throughout the course of this classic is.
Runtime: 75 minutes
Directed by: James Whale
Starring: Boris Karloff, Colin Clive, Valerie Hobson, Ernest Thesiger, Elsa Lanchester
From: Universal
It was amusing that there was a brief prologue w/ Mary Shelley and gang which offered some sort of explanation as to why there was a sequel considering how the 1931 movie ended. In any case, this starts literally seconds after the events of the first film... both Dr. Frankenstein and The Monster survive; the latter escapes the wild mob chasing after him while the former meets up with an even crazier Doctor (Pretorious) who forces a team-up to make the titular bride.
This was about as well-directed by James Whale as the 1931 movie, with the bonus of The Monster becoming even more of a sympathetic figure as everyone hates it due to its appearance, except for a blind hermit. This has a musical score, which fits and is not obtrusive. The movie is lovely to look at and The Monster actually speaks words this time. The fact that the Bride is not as much of a presence in this as you may suspect (even though many are familiar with her image despite only some of them having viewed the film) is not a big deal, as the actual creation of that creature is not the point... Dr. Frankenstein and The Monster changing throughout the course of this classic is.
Galaxy Of Terror
Galaxy of Terror (1981)
Runtime: 81 minutes
Directed by: Bruce D. Clark
Starring: Edward Albert, Erin Moran, Ray Walston, Zalman King, Sid Haig (RIP)
From: New World Pictures
I was originally going to post this last night but I got tied up with things. The review was posted on Letterboxd about this time 24 hours ago:
RIP Sid Haig
It was not the original plan to watch this movie this early evening; however, coming across the announcement today that he passed away on Saturday meant that I better check out something of his. I did not want to go with something I've already seen (even if it may be something that deserves a better review) and a movie I suspect would be terrible would not be fitting. Instead, here is one of the many low-budget Alien ripoffs that could have been good but instead was average.
A motley crew is forced to go on a rescue mission to try and find survivors of a crashed ship on a desolate planet; what they find is something that forces them to confront their darkest, deepest fears. On paper that sounds fine and this movie does have low-budget charm in its sets, effects, and wacky 80's synth score. Unfortunately, in execution this isn't great. There is gore and unintentionally hilarious moments, but this is a mission where the pilot is a mentally unstable woman and one of the crewman is a wuss who acts frightened and yells due to sheer terror even more often than that sentient trashcan known as PewDiePie... honestly, why is this bigoted troll/pile of feces popular or even considered entertaining?
Anyhow, there is also a rather gross scene involving another woman member of the crew and in this day and age, some will be offended by it being a plot point. A shame it wasn't better with its positives and it having quite the B-movie cast in Haig, Edward Albert, Erin Moran, Ray Walston, Zalman King, Robert Englund, and Grace Zabriskie. Sid has the most memorable moment (that wasn't gross) and it involves the zaniness of him having giant crystal throwing stars and he uses them often as a weapon. But personally, Forbidden World is a more entertaining Alien clone from Roger Corman that has a better story, is funnier and the sleazy moments are goofy instead of off-putting. Also, I am glad that Sid found his most success late in life thanks to Rob Zombie and it allowed him to do many more B-movies and made people like me be willing to check out a random flick from the past just because he was in it. A shame that he is now gone.
Runtime: 81 minutes
Directed by: Bruce D. Clark
Starring: Edward Albert, Erin Moran, Ray Walston, Zalman King, Sid Haig (RIP)
From: New World Pictures
I was originally going to post this last night but I got tied up with things. The review was posted on Letterboxd about this time 24 hours ago:
RIP Sid Haig
It was not the original plan to watch this movie this early evening; however, coming across the announcement today that he passed away on Saturday meant that I better check out something of his. I did not want to go with something I've already seen (even if it may be something that deserves a better review) and a movie I suspect would be terrible would not be fitting. Instead, here is one of the many low-budget Alien ripoffs that could have been good but instead was average.
A motley crew is forced to go on a rescue mission to try and find survivors of a crashed ship on a desolate planet; what they find is something that forces them to confront their darkest, deepest fears. On paper that sounds fine and this movie does have low-budget charm in its sets, effects, and wacky 80's synth score. Unfortunately, in execution this isn't great. There is gore and unintentionally hilarious moments, but this is a mission where the pilot is a mentally unstable woman and one of the crewman is a wuss who acts frightened and yells due to sheer terror even more often than that sentient trashcan known as PewDiePie... honestly, why is this bigoted troll/pile of feces popular or even considered entertaining?
Anyhow, there is also a rather gross scene involving another woman member of the crew and in this day and age, some will be offended by it being a plot point. A shame it wasn't better with its positives and it having quite the B-movie cast in Haig, Edward Albert, Erin Moran, Ray Walston, Zalman King, Robert Englund, and Grace Zabriskie. Sid has the most memorable moment (that wasn't gross) and it involves the zaniness of him having giant crystal throwing stars and he uses them often as a weapon. But personally, Forbidden World is a more entertaining Alien clone from Roger Corman that has a better story, is funnier and the sleazy moments are goofy instead of off-putting. Also, I am glad that Sid found his most success late in life thanks to Rob Zombie and it allowed him to do many more B-movies and made people like me be willing to check out a random flick from the past just because he was in it. A shame that he is now gone.
Saturday, September 21, 2019
Rambo: Last Blood
Rambo: Last Blood (2019)
29% on Rotten Tomatoes (out of 87 reviews)
Runtime: 89 minutes... at least in the United States
Directed by: Adrian Grunberg
Starring: Sly Stallone, Paz Vega, Yvette Monreal, Oscar Jaenada, Sergio Peris-Mencheta
From: Lionsgate
At least in the film community I know that many will disagree, but I had a great time with this sleazy little picture:
Never trust a man wearing a white snakeskin jacket.
I imagine some are gobsmacked that I am rating this so high; it's a little surprising to me although I'll explain it later. I do understand those that are not fans of this movie and take umbrage with it... I can't even argue with First Blood author David Morrell thinking this was terrible and something that betrayed a character he created. It does not always seem like it is John Rambo we saw on the screen, and not just because he does not have long, luxorious locks like usual. He also remarked how this was like a 70's exploitation film... well, some of those I do enjoy and whether or not this is a “true” Rambo movie, for me it was a sleazy good time as an exploitation film.
The plot is simple: Rambo now runs his dad's horse ranch in Arizona, living with a friend and her granddaughter, who just graduated from high school. She goes down to Mexico for family reasons, but is kidnapped by the cartel and is forced into sex trafficking. Rambo goes down there to try and get her back... and yes, Taken definitely comes to mind. Things happen, he gets aid from Paz Vega, and this leads to one hell of a third act. There is a montage that occurs right before this final act and I got giddy because of what was being teased... I'll just say “a lot of carnage.”
The crowd I saw this with were pretty happy with how this turned out; they loved the finale as much as I did, and throughout there were both cheers and applause. Now, on Twitter there is plenty of discourse concerning Last Blood. Allegedly, if you love this movie then you are a red hat-wearing Trump supporter and racist who wants to build that wall, while if you hated it you are a Millennial SJW who is a snowflake and needs a safe space. Both are equally ludicrous takes to have. Then again, it may be ludicrous on my part that I am able to overlook the flaws of this because the final act was so over the top and bombastic, or that unlike too many movies this year I left the auditorium feeling satisfied and pleased instead of letdown and disappointed.
I'd say that this was a swell 90 minutes, but at least from someone I know who lives in Southeast Asia (along with a mutual here that lives elsewhere), he saw a different cut that has a decent amount of different material added and from other sources, that is like 10 minutes longer and this version was first screened earlier in the year for test audiences. Curious, but I presume the United States will get it on disc in some sort of Director's Cut. In any case, like I mention this was sleazy trash in a good way, even if this may not have been a “proper” Rambo movie.
29% on Rotten Tomatoes (out of 87 reviews)
Runtime: 89 minutes... at least in the United States
Directed by: Adrian Grunberg
Starring: Sly Stallone, Paz Vega, Yvette Monreal, Oscar Jaenada, Sergio Peris-Mencheta
From: Lionsgate
At least in the film community I know that many will disagree, but I had a great time with this sleazy little picture:
Never trust a man wearing a white snakeskin jacket.
I imagine some are gobsmacked that I am rating this so high; it's a little surprising to me although I'll explain it later. I do understand those that are not fans of this movie and take umbrage with it... I can't even argue with First Blood author David Morrell thinking this was terrible and something that betrayed a character he created. It does not always seem like it is John Rambo we saw on the screen, and not just because he does not have long, luxorious locks like usual. He also remarked how this was like a 70's exploitation film... well, some of those I do enjoy and whether or not this is a “true” Rambo movie, for me it was a sleazy good time as an exploitation film.
The plot is simple: Rambo now runs his dad's horse ranch in Arizona, living with a friend and her granddaughter, who just graduated from high school. She goes down to Mexico for family reasons, but is kidnapped by the cartel and is forced into sex trafficking. Rambo goes down there to try and get her back... and yes, Taken definitely comes to mind. Things happen, he gets aid from Paz Vega, and this leads to one hell of a third act. There is a montage that occurs right before this final act and I got giddy because of what was being teased... I'll just say “a lot of carnage.”
The crowd I saw this with were pretty happy with how this turned out; they loved the finale as much as I did, and throughout there were both cheers and applause. Now, on Twitter there is plenty of discourse concerning Last Blood. Allegedly, if you love this movie then you are a red hat-wearing Trump supporter and racist who wants to build that wall, while if you hated it you are a Millennial SJW who is a snowflake and needs a safe space. Both are equally ludicrous takes to have. Then again, it may be ludicrous on my part that I am able to overlook the flaws of this because the final act was so over the top and bombastic, or that unlike too many movies this year I left the auditorium feeling satisfied and pleased instead of letdown and disappointed.
I'd say that this was a swell 90 minutes, but at least from someone I know who lives in Southeast Asia (along with a mutual here that lives elsewhere), he saw a different cut that has a decent amount of different material added and from other sources, that is like 10 minutes longer and this version was first screened earlier in the year for test audiences. Curious, but I presume the United States will get it on disc in some sort of Director's Cut. In any case, like I mention this was sleazy trash in a good way, even if this may not have been a “proper” Rambo movie.
Cannibal Ferox
Runtime: 93 minutes
Directed by: Umberto Lenzi
Starring: Giovanni
Lombardo Radice, Lorraine De Selle, Danilo Mattei, Zora Kerova,
Robert Kerman
From: Several Italian
Companies
Imagine Cannibal Holocaust, only w/ less social commentary, and more cocaine... a lot more cocaine.
CH is something I've seen twice before, but Ferox was new to me. As it was directed by Umberto Lenzi (who I've seen plenty of movies from) I knew this would be plenty sleazy, and I was not incorrect with my prediction. This definitely copied Holocaust... filmed in Colombia, it follows dumb white people that go into the jungle & piss off native tribes, who happen to be cannibals. This even has some scenes set in New York City, because CH did so... that was a key part of the plot while those moments here are rather superfluous.
There really only needed to be the first NYC scene, which established the character Mike, who is a drug dealer that is missing. Turns out, he is in South America with a pal to find more cocaine AND try to pan not for gold, but rather emeralds. They and a trio of college students-there to do research for a dissertation-cross paths and believe it or not, it is a coke binge from Mike that starts all the problems.
This is not as good as Holocaust and I do regret that they also decided to copy its scenes of animals being killed... yet at least this provides entertainment on a trash level and the effects are all fine. The gore does top what was seen in Deodato's movie, although how gruesome it was wasn't what made CH so compelling. Plus, the score from Roberto Donati and Fiamma Maglione is pretty groovy... and actually lifted from another Lenzi cannibal feature, Eaten Alive! At least this isn't as depressing a watch as the tone is lighter; like I said, the bad s*** starts after a coke binge. That said, at least for the rest of this Halloween season, I've seen enough gross-out movies involving humans eating each other.
CH is something I've seen twice before, but Ferox was new to me. As it was directed by Umberto Lenzi (who I've seen plenty of movies from) I knew this would be plenty sleazy, and I was not incorrect with my prediction. This definitely copied Holocaust... filmed in Colombia, it follows dumb white people that go into the jungle & piss off native tribes, who happen to be cannibals. This even has some scenes set in New York City, because CH did so... that was a key part of the plot while those moments here are rather superfluous.
There really only needed to be the first NYC scene, which established the character Mike, who is a drug dealer that is missing. Turns out, he is in South America with a pal to find more cocaine AND try to pan not for gold, but rather emeralds. They and a trio of college students-there to do research for a dissertation-cross paths and believe it or not, it is a coke binge from Mike that starts all the problems.
This is not as good as Holocaust and I do regret that they also decided to copy its scenes of animals being killed... yet at least this provides entertainment on a trash level and the effects are all fine. The gore does top what was seen in Deodato's movie, although how gruesome it was wasn't what made CH so compelling. Plus, the score from Roberto Donati and Fiamma Maglione is pretty groovy... and actually lifted from another Lenzi cannibal feature, Eaten Alive! At least this isn't as depressing a watch as the tone is lighter; like I said, the bad s*** starts after a coke binge. That said, at least for the rest of this Halloween season, I've seen enough gross-out movies involving humans eating each other.
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