Mr. Wong, Detective

Mr. Wong, Detective (1938)

Runtime: 69 minutes... nice

Directed by: William Nigh

Starring: Boris Karloff, Grant Withers, Maxine Jennings, Evelyn Brent, George Lloyd

From: Monogram 

Why not view Boris Karloff in yellowface? In the past I’ve checked out both Warner Oland & Sidney Toler as Charlie Chan, along w/ Peter Lorre as Mr. Moto. Courtesy of low-budget B-movie purveyors (Monogram Pictures) I was expecting to see another Pacific Rim Asian character as a stereotypical wise man who uttered fortune cookie aphorisms & used the word “please” often.

In this first of several films in the series, this wasn’t really the stereotypes exhibited by the character James Lee Wong. I never can complain about the job Oland, Toler, Lorre, and now Karloff did in yellowface, as poorly as that has aged. Simon Dayton is a businessman (he owns a “Chemical Works” company) who has several people he has heat with; they’re all suspects after Dayton is found dead in his office. One stereotype that was present: there’s also a white police detective who has a churlish attitude-here, more so than usual-and is made to look a fool by his Asian counterpart.

Mr. Wong, Detective is one of many serious 30’s or 40’s low-budget mystery pictures which aren’t must-see yet are competent and watchable, featuring fine detective work & intrigue. This was the first which had a scene where because reasons, a scene involves a glassblower and he made a pipe with a globe on one end that would eventually be separated from the stem. At that point, though, it resembled… a giant meth pipe! No, I don’t use meth myself-I’ve just watched shows like Cops and Live PD in the past. 

Boris Karloff-the highlight of the movie, undoubtedly-sounded like standard Boris Karloff. That at least made the experience not as awkward. Who knows if I’ll ever check out another Mr. Wong picture; at least this initial installment was a decent watch.

 

Juice

Juice (1992)

Runtime: 96 minutes

Directed by: Ernest R. Dickerson

Starring: Omar Epps, Tupac, Khalil Kain, Jermaine Hopkins, Cindy Herron

From: Paramount

Peer pressure steered me this way. I’ve never good about fulfilling requests in a timely manner (although in the next few months I will try harder to fulfill a few ones made months ago) but when a few people recommended this in the comments for my review of another Ernest R. Dickerson joint-Tales from the Crypt: Demon Knight-I’d better fast-track this & make a viewing a priority. I'd have... gotten squeezed if there was a long delay. Juice was a movie I was glad to see. Some “Black movies” from the 90’s were viewed by myself (a dumb white guy) in the past... Boyz in the Hood and Menace II Society; it was nice to see one on the East Coast instead of the West Coast.

A quartet of teen male friends are followed in Harlem. They are a crew who don’t like going to school-instead, they visit pool halls, run a-foul of a Puerto Rican gang, and swipe LP’s from a record store. Omar Epps (Q) has aspirations to be a hit deejay; the other three don’t have such lofty ambitions yet. The opening is a hangout movie as we get to know the quartet; hints are dropped that once a major event occurs and things go wrong, one of the four shows their true colors. A classic film of the 40’s is a huge hint.

Juice was well-directed by Dickerson; impressive for a quality cinematographer making his feature-film debut. The quartet of leads (Omar Epps, Tupac, Khalil Kaid, Jermaine Hopkins), the first three made their acting debuts. They all performed well although a certain character was able to show menace and intimidation once the film shifts. Samuel L. Jackson had a small yet memorable role, and another acting newbie (Queen Latifah) did well in the few scenes she was in.

The world was unvarnished, a true-to-life examination that Black teens could have experienced in Harlem; the acquisition of a certain item caused someone to lash out and take revenge against others, or show their true colors. In addition, the hip hop score/soundtrack added texture to the experience. I don’t want to sound like a curmudgeon so I won’t elaborate on why I feel the rap songs here are MUCH better than modern rap. At least people like Big Daddy Kane, Naughty by Nature and Erik B. & Rakim didn’t use AI for all (or part) of an album, like Tyga just released.

No matter your race/ethnicity, anyone can enjoy Juice, especially if you’ve viewed such pictures like Boyz in the Hood and Menace II Society. This was a quality recommendation from several Letterboxd members, in other words.

Skyscraper

Skyscraper (1996)

Runtime: 96 minutes

Directed by: Raymond Martino

Starring: Anna Nicole Smith, Richard Steinmetz, Charles M. Huber, Jonathan Fuller, Branko Cikatic

From: PM Entertainment

“This isn’t Dostoevsky!” A quote that I remember someone in the production made at the time of filming.

Yes, it was recent online chatter elsewhere which inspired me to view this motion picture on YouTube. I’ve mentioned PM Entertainment before; they were a direct to video outfit which was predicated on crazy explosions & even crazier stunts. The latter would equal or even eclipse what was seen in Hollywood productions of the era. The few I’ve witnessed were all cheesy yet a lot of fun. This is one of their most famous efforts, solely due to the lead: Anna Nicole Smith!

She is a helicopter pilot (!); the filmmakers did give the audience what they’d desire in an era where the Internet had not quite yet taken off: a gratuitous shower scene then a gratuitous sex scene involving Smith. She’s married to a cop who becomes involved in a case involving a suitcase MacGuffin; this leads to a hostage crisis they’re both involved with. Besides the sexy moments, there’s also shootouts, martial arts, a rocket launcher, and impressive stunts. It’s not the best I’ve seen in a PM picture yet still stands out from the CG action of the 21st century. 

Some of the acting you wouldn’t want to see in a Dostoevsky adaptation-not just from Anna Nicole. Speaking in a critical sense, Skyscraper is rather poor in terms of acting, logic, storytelling, fake accents, etc. Lord knows it’s an idiotic version of Die Hard. Yet, it can be fun for B-movie afficionados. This has Croatian kickboxer Branko Cikatic, after all-would you believe that both he and Smith were Associate Producers-men in leather pants & Anna Nicole in a shootout w/ Malibu from American Gladiators. It’s all inane yet it has enough action beats & hilariously bad moments to make this OK.

I never mention what YouTube channels I see films on but I will in this case. It was Crap Film Club, which also has the likes of a movie called Cybertracker 2 and Ninja Terminator, from GODFREY HO.

I'll Catch Up Tomorrow

The plan is for THREE reviews to be posted.

Survival Quest

Survival Quest (1989)

Runtime: 89 minutes

Directed by: Don Coscarelli 

Starring: Lance Henriksen, Mark Rolston, Steve Antin, Dermot Mulroney, Catherine Keener

From: Starway International Inc.

RIP Reggie Bannister

Last night on Twitter I saw the news that the actor had passed away. He received hospice care at his home for almost a year and a half (!) and managed to hang on for this long. I’ve seen the first three Phantasm films and the fourth one is suddenly impossible to find online (at least legally) so instead I went with another Don Coscarelli joint, a survival film in the woods. Bannister’s role-a pilot-is small and only appears in the beginning then the end but I still wanted to inform people of his passing. I viewed this on YouTube; it’s a shame that AFAIK Survival Quest never made it to the HD era.

There are two pairs of survivalists out in the California woods. One is a group of teen boys led by a tyrannical leader who resembles ECW/WWE wrestler The Sandman but of course is the dude who played Drake in Aliens; it’s run like a paramilitary group full of brutal challenges. The other is much more laid-back-the titular Survival Quest-led by another Aliens alum, Lance Henriksen. The latter features such challenges as scaling a wall, climbing a rope wall, swinging on a rope, rock-climbing, hiking in the lovely woods, and other activities done together as a team. This includes a person on release from prison-Dermot Mulroney!-a bride-to-be, a gap-toothed Catherine Keener, & an elderly man. Naturally, the militaristic folks start trouble with Survival Quest. This was how Mulroney and Keener first met; they were married for years.

The movie doesn’t have too many surprises. Of course, “the convict” is standoffish at first but becomes more vocal and starts working w/ everyone else, there’s other conflicts between them, someone who struggles at first notably improves, worms are eaten… OK, that last bit wasn’t expected but it sure made me chuckle. Plenty of time is spent getting to know everyone as they deal with various challenges before the enemies go after them. The challenges the heroes went through even before they’re targeted are legit as they go through an ordeal climbing a mountain, for example. In the final act there’s no lack of thrills with the various stunts that occur or them otherwise trying to cheat death.

Survival Quest isn’t a must see, not the best survival thriller you’ll ever check out by any means. That said, hopefully one day a label like Vinegar Syndrome can restore the movie & give it the proper HD or even UHD treatment. There’s also some familiar B-movie faces-Brooke Bundy, Traci Lind-in roles big or small. As for Bannister, it’s a shame he passed away due to complications of both Lewy body dementia & Parkinson’s. I’ve heard he was a great dude at conventions so those illnesses are just awful. The Phantasm movies are quite weird & not for all tastes; however, it’s great that a dude like him who (to be frank) didn’t look like a movie star became beloved for starring in an idiosyncratic horror franchise as an ice cream vendor turned badass.

The Immigrant

This is a highly-regarded 1917 Charlie Chaplin silent short: 

Due to circumstances beyond my control, much of my time since yesterday afternoon had been taking up by other activities. At least I was able to check out a famous (and popular, at least in terms of the number who have watched it on Letterboxd) Chaplin short. Indeed, The Tramp is immigrating to the United States from Europe & saw the Statue of Liberty as the ship docked at Ellis Island in New York Harbor.

Even while attempting to fulfill The American Dream and the poignancy of seeing the Statue of Liberty at the end of the journey, Tramp of course found himself engaging in nonstop mischief on the ship that constantly rocked back & forth. Some of the trouble he stumbled into wasn’t even his fault. Meanwhile, he takes a shine to frequent co-star Edna Purviance; as the Tramp character was kind-hearted by this point, he performed a magnanimous gesture for them.

Even upon arriving in New York City, Tramp was a victim of circumstance & experiences trouble in a restaurant when a coin he found unwittingly fell out of his pocket. It’s a joint which literally beats you up if you’re short about 2 ½ dollars-adjusted for inflation.

As I expected, there’s the puns involving the intertitles, slapstick goodness, and absurd scenarios. There’s even a sad moment, which was unexpected in a Tramp short subject comedy but resulted in a rather sweet ending. The Immigrant has heart and that coinciding with this laughs made this worthwhile.

Losin' It

Losin' It (1982)

Runtime: 100 minutes

Directed by: Curtis Hanson (!)

Starring: Tom Cruise (!!), Jackie Earle Haley, John Stockwell, Shelley Long, John P. Navin, Jr.

From: Embassy

Here is an oddity. Somehow, Losin’ It is only a film only discovered by me recently. The director is Curtis Hanson (!), the star is Tom Cruise (!! This was his first leading role) and was shot by Gilbert Taylor (!!!! He was the cinematographer for the likes of Repulsion, Dr. Strangelove, and… STAR WARS, no lie) so I was genuinely curious about them what sounded like a sex comedy w/ 4 Southern California teens driving down to Tijuana in 1965 for a night of debauchery.

Yes there are boobs, a DONKEY SHOW (which isn’t shown on camera) and Jackie Earle Haley stuffs a rolled-up sock down the front of his white briefs but the movie is mild in comparison to something like Porky’s or Revenge of the Nerds. Cruise, Haley, and John Stockwell are high schoolers either 17 or 18 who head on down to the Mexican border town of Tijuana-just south of San Diego-for the type of sex-filled night most teenagers dream of. Because of circumstances, a 14-year-old named Wendell is also along—don’t worry, he isn’t part of the sexcapades and is only present to acquire fireworks as he’s a pure capitalist! Oh, and SHELLEY LONG is also along for part of this journey. Via more circumstances, she’s in their car to get a quickie divorce after she and her husband “had a row.”

Apparently any American should be wary of visiting Tijuana now; I understand the crime rates are extremely high and the Mexican cartels are heavily nested there. Back in ’65, though… some residents are happy to take advantage of dumb gringos; the characters portrayed by Haley and Stockwell are the jerks of the film so they are punished for their actions. Those concerned about moments that are horrifying by 2026 standards-Haley does slip what he believes is Spanish Fly in a woman’s drink. Spanish Fly is alleged to, ahem, “increase sexual desire” so YIKES at this version of dropping a roofie in a woman's drink. However, don’t worry, the movie is accurate in stating that Spanish Fly is an old wives’ tale and doesn’t work. In fact, he is punished for the gross action he attempted against an innocent woman.

Losin’ It is not overly vulgar nor does it have aspirations like a Fast Times at Ridgemont High. Be that as it may, the movie was still fine in my eyes. At least Wendell and Cruise’s character (WOODY) had a nice relationship resulting in his maturation. There are still wacky moments and OOT characters that are the foils for our leads. I understand why people wouldn’t like Losin’ It. Vulgar comedies aren’t for everyone, yet this is mild compared to a Revenge of the Nerds. At the same time, while I haven’t checked out Risky Business (yet), by repute that is a clearly better motion picture concerning a young Tom Cruise coming-of-age.

At the same time, even if many would likely grumble upon viewing this only to complete their own journey through the filmography of Cruise or Hanson… somehow I still liked this silly motion picture. If you’re brave or completing a filmography, don’t see the version Shout uploaded to YouTube. I skimmed through it only after watching it on Prime… boobs are blurred and among the laughs I had throughout, the biggest came from a literal piano player in a whorehouse. He created incredibly uncouth song lyrics for the crowd, none of which I can repeat here but were somewhat censored in the YouTube video. What a job to aspire to… entertain patrons downstairs in a Tijuana bar by singing crass songs while prostitution occurs upstairs and topless women are hanging out w/ you while you play!