Raising Cain

Raising Cain (1992)

Runtime: 92 minutes

Directed by: Brian De Palma

Starring: John Lithgow, Lolita Davidovich, Steven Bauer, Frances Sternhagen, Gregg Henry

From: Universal

Heck, why not start Spooky Season now? Especially when you unknowingly watch the Director’s Cut of Raising Cain… originally made by Dutch director Peet Gelderbrom-based on the original script-and so liked by De Palma, he had Shout Factory work w/ Gelderbrom to make an HD version for release on Blu. Don’t ask how I “have a copy” of the film & just realized after viewing which version it was. The reasons for me starting the season of spooky movies now-the earliest I’ve done so: 

* I never participate in Cinemonster’s annual Hooptober lists (this year will be the 13th installment!)

* There’s a competing challenge of watching 100 horror movies in 92 days that has already began

* On a messageboard (technically, it’s a Discord thread… but the thread used to be on a messageboard; long story) last night there was discussion of Brian De Palma. Someone watched Blow Out and wasn’t a fan; that was disappointing to hear. As others discussed which De Palma they liked the most… might as well check out something new to me. I’ll say more about my Halloween lists at the end so people don’t have to wait for discussion of the movie.

John Lithgow returning to the De Palma world to star in a psychological horror piece where he portrayed a child psychologist who has multiple personality disorder, is bonkers to begin with & goes haywire when discovering his wife Lolita Davidovich is having an affair… I was intrigued. Lithgow and his performance(s) ruled, but I have to note that Davidovich also did a swell job, especially in the opening act as she helped established what a weird, wacky movie this is. Truthfully, this is so odd, it might as well be an Italian movie from the 70’s or 80’s! That’s a compliment.

I won’t go into detail on why this is so weird aside from the multiple personality disorder aspect, except that at least in the Director’s Cut, the film made the viewer feel as if you were peering into the mind of Dr. Carter Nix & it felt like you had schizophrenia yourself. From research, the differences between this and the theatrical is mostly the order of several scenes. Naturally, the movie was shot well, had nice atmosphere (the San Francisco area), fine scares, dark humor, and a sweet score from Pino Donnagio. Raising Cain isn’t one I rate at the top of the director’s filmography; that said, the movie’s still pretty good.

Several reviews have compared this with Peeping Tom; that’s a film people will be GOBSMACKED I haven’t seen yet. That should be one I finally tackle by Halloween this year… the Psycho allusions were obvious, right from the opening credits to one scene blatantly lifted. In a few weeks, De Palma will turn 86. I hope he will live for years to come but you never know. What an entertaining filmmaker with all his genre films-sometimes trashy, sometimes not-that I usually at least like. Looking at the latter days of his career is a task for the future.

As always… whenever I do Spooky Season, the list won’t be posted publicly until it’s completed, around November 2. I watch whatever the heck I want. More so than typical, there are some ideas of what will be tackled; there might be the widest variety of films, shorts, cartoons, and what have you this time, but we’ll see.

Road Trip

Road Trip (2000)

Runtime: 93 minutes

Directed by: Todd Phillips

Starring: Breckin Meyer, Seann William Scott, Paulo Costanzo, Amy Smart, DJ Qualls

From: Dreamworks

As sometimes occurs, a movie from my high school or college days was revisited for the first time in ages. This is from my college years; you can imagine the reaction Road Trip got when I was at a friend’s place in my hometown during college break-me and several other people of similar age greatly enjoyed the movie and its vulgar humor. I can’t even repeat the convo-it was as adult as the dialogue in the film-that was had after the scene at the sperm bank and whether “a certain technique” shown on camera was real… looking at Google now, evidently it is!

Road Trip is a silly film revolving around a sex tape and the titular road trip being taken to prevent the accidentally-mailed tape from being seen by a long-distance girlfriend. There are crass moments and topless women, although there’s also the uber-nerd DJ Qualls growing up & becoming more assertive. The lead quartet was entertaining-Breckin Meyer was fine as the lead-although the character portrayed by Seann William Scott was a clone of Steve Stifler.

I know this won’t be a popular take but even at the time I never understood the popularity of Tom Green; nobody better ever ask me to ever tackle Freddy Got Fingered… I wouldn’t watch that even if you gave me $10,000! In Road Trip, Green wasn’t as intolerable-and his role was only supporting-so that doesn’t ruin Road Trip. An opinion we will be more in harmony with: Andy Dick is a gigantic creep. He’s only in two scenes so that doesn’t ruin the film either. Thankfully, Fred Ward also has a supporting role.

Road Trip isn’t the best movie of its type; the movie & its humor is uneven. There are fat jokes but those were still popular at the time. Be that as it may, I was still entertained. The edgiest moments haven’t aged as horribly as the most controversial scenes in a picture like Revenge of the Nerds. I am relieved the film could still entertain me approximately a quarter-century after first viewing. The directorial career Todd Phillips had: this never could have been predicted by me at the time.

 

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.