The Mask of Fu Manchu (1932)
Runtime: 68 minutes
Directed by: Charles Brabin, Charles Vidor
Starring: Boris Karloff, Lewis Stone, Karen Morley, Charles Starrett, Myrna Loy
From: MGM
I'll be honest here, I wasn't planning on watching three films in a row from the grand old dame known as Myrna, but when I was looking through her filmography and noticed in this movie she played someone named Fah Lo See and thought, “Oh no, don't tell me she played yellowface”, but yeah she did. She was the daughter of Fu Manchu, who hilariously was played by Boris Karloff; that far east Asian character has always been played by white dudes but him in the role is just absurd. I then read more about it and saw some clips and pictures and the more I HAD to see it. It's available on demand on YouTube from Warner Brothers. It was only a few bucks so I figured that was a fair deal.
The plot description from the IMDb: “Englishmen race to find the tomb of Ghengis Khan. They have to get there fast, as the evil genius Dr. Fu Manchu is also searching, and if he gets the mysteriously powerful relics, he and his diabolical daughter will enslave the world!” Note that the plot includes Manchu wanting all Asians to raise up to Kill Whitey... well, white men, anyway; he does encourage white women to be taken. He pretty much says, "kill white men and take their women" to his Asian followers, which of course is a broad term but don't tell the Hollywood of the era that.
The most important thing to note is that this movie is incredibly racist. I mean, it's SO racist it's incredible. Many people are in on the yellowface act, and most of the actual Asian person don't have any dialogue. Me finding the movie to be entertaining and pulpy fun is despite the racism and bigotry and not because of it.
This website does a great job of breaking things down and it has some images and gifs. There are other sites out there which also do pretty nice recaps.
Yep. This is definitely a Pre-Code movie before the Hays Code took over Hollywood. To list various highlights:
* Like I said, the rampant racism throughout. Other people appear in yellowface. Actual people from far east Asia are seen but most don't speak at all.
* Fu Manchu can be a real dick. He has several torture devices that look like wackiness you'd expect a Bond villain to have. A series of spikes slowly closing in on someone, a guy placed directly underneath a constantly ringing giant bell (and he taunts the victim with food and gives him what turns out to be salt water), etc. Hell, he even uses a severed hand to be a troll and scare the good guys.
* Fah Lo See clearly gets off on two of the black servants (yes, a group of muscular black men not wearing a lot of clothes) whipping a poor white dude, so she's a sadist. She smokes opium in a later scene.
* The heroes are archaeologists, so some have made comparisons to Indiana Jones.
* There are homoerotic undertones. The Dr. may swing both ways.
Oh, and there's more but I don't want to spoil more than I already have.
The movie overall is ridiculous but fun pulp, despite the offensive nature of it viewed with the eyes of current attitudes. The short runtime and the content insures it's never dull. The sets and costumes are all pretty lavish and at times there's some great shots involving light and shadows. What an odd but still intriguing curio.
I'll return tomorrow night.
Saturday, May 31, 2014
Thursday, May 29, 2014
The Thin Man
The Thin Man (1934)
Runtime: 91 minutes
Directed by: W.S. Van Dyke
Starring: William Powell, Myrna Loy, Maureen O'Sullivan, Nat Pendleton, Minna Gombell
From: MGM
To be short and sweet, after the last movie I saw and reviewed, I figured I should start watching more older films, and for years I've known about the Thin Man films (based on the books by legendary writer Dashiell Hammett) but I've never actually seen them. I was able to find a spot where most of the films in the series are located (nevermind where that site is), so if I wanted to watch some of the sequels I could.
To copy the plot description from the IMDb: “After a four year absence, one time detective Nick Charles returns to New York with his new wife Nora and their dog, Asta. Nick re-connects with many of his old cronies, several of whom are eccentric characters, to say the least. He's also approached by Dorothy Wynant whose inventor father Clyde Wynant is suspected of murdering her step-mother. Her father had left on a planned trip some months before and she has had no contact with him. Nick isn't all that keen on resuming his former profession but egged-on by wife Nora, who thinks this all very exciting, he agrees to help out.”
Nick and Nora (who don't have an infinite playlist) make for quite the team. This is actually a comedy along with a detective mystery. They have great chemistry with each other and they also enjoy the chemistry that happens when alcohol enters your body; they both love to drink, in other words. Why not? I mean, Prohibition was just ended soon before the movie came out...
Personally, I can see why the movie still has its fans today. The style of humor is still funny today, and the plot moves very quickly so things never get boring; also, the tale takes many twists and turns as you try to figure out what's going on and who the killer or killers are. There are many colorful memorable characters, too. But above even the murder mystery... the two leads are great. Powell and Loy are tremendous as Nick & Nora and the main attraction of the movie is seeing them talk... or rather, trade barbs with each other. There's plenty of rapid-fire dialogue between them and it's all done perfectly. The chemistry was so right, no wonder they made 5 more movies in the series and all of them had Powell and Loy. Heck, even the Wire Fox Terrier Asta gets in on the action.
I now see why this movie is so highly regarded. Once again I am embarrassed I did not see a classic film much sooner than this week. At least those movies are ones that I rate highly instead of disappointments, which has happened before way back in the past, years before I even started doing this blog.
I'll return Saturday night.
Runtime: 91 minutes
Directed by: W.S. Van Dyke
Starring: William Powell, Myrna Loy, Maureen O'Sullivan, Nat Pendleton, Minna Gombell
From: MGM
To be short and sweet, after the last movie I saw and reviewed, I figured I should start watching more older films, and for years I've known about the Thin Man films (based on the books by legendary writer Dashiell Hammett) but I've never actually seen them. I was able to find a spot where most of the films in the series are located (nevermind where that site is), so if I wanted to watch some of the sequels I could.
To copy the plot description from the IMDb: “After a four year absence, one time detective Nick Charles returns to New York with his new wife Nora and their dog, Asta. Nick re-connects with many of his old cronies, several of whom are eccentric characters, to say the least. He's also approached by Dorothy Wynant whose inventor father Clyde Wynant is suspected of murdering her step-mother. Her father had left on a planned trip some months before and she has had no contact with him. Nick isn't all that keen on resuming his former profession but egged-on by wife Nora, who thinks this all very exciting, he agrees to help out.”
Nick and Nora (who don't have an infinite playlist) make for quite the team. This is actually a comedy along with a detective mystery. They have great chemistry with each other and they also enjoy the chemistry that happens when alcohol enters your body; they both love to drink, in other words. Why not? I mean, Prohibition was just ended soon before the movie came out...
Personally, I can see why the movie still has its fans today. The style of humor is still funny today, and the plot moves very quickly so things never get boring; also, the tale takes many twists and turns as you try to figure out what's going on and who the killer or killers are. There are many colorful memorable characters, too. But above even the murder mystery... the two leads are great. Powell and Loy are tremendous as Nick & Nora and the main attraction of the movie is seeing them talk... or rather, trade barbs with each other. There's plenty of rapid-fire dialogue between them and it's all done perfectly. The chemistry was so right, no wonder they made 5 more movies in the series and all of them had Powell and Loy. Heck, even the Wire Fox Terrier Asta gets in on the action.
I now see why this movie is so highly regarded. Once again I am embarrassed I did not see a classic film much sooner than this week. At least those movies are ones that I rate highly instead of disappointments, which has happened before way back in the past, years before I even started doing this blog.
I'll return Saturday night.
Tuesday, May 27, 2014
The Best Years Of Our Lives
The Best Years of Our Lives (1946)
Runtime: 172 minutes
Directed by: William Wyler
Starring: Fredric March, Dana Andrews, Harold Russell (no relation), Virginia Mayo, Myrna Loy
From: MGM
To show that I don't always watch wacky B-movies (whether they be comedies, sci-fi, horror, or whatever else) and sometimes I do watch more serious cinema and even classic cinema from in the past, I figured it was about time to check out this movie, which I've known of for years and it's on TCM relatively frequently but last night was finally the time where I watched this classic piece of American cinema. As typical for me as of late, after I give the plot description the rest of it is borrowed from my Letterboxd review.
From the IMDb: "The story concentrates on the social re-adjustment of three World War II servicemen, each from a different station of society. Al Stephenson returns to an influential banking position, but finds it hard to reconcile his loyalties to ex-servicemen with new commercial realities. Fred Derry is an ordinary working man who finds it difficult to hold down a job or pick up the threads of his marriage. Having had both hands burnt off during the war, Homer Parrish is unsure that his fiancée's feelings are still those of love and not those of pity. Each of the veterans faces a crisis upon his arrival, and each crisis is a microcosm of the experiences of many American warriors who found an alien world awaiting them when they came marching home."
It's a tale that's evergreen as it's all about all the troubles men in uniform face after they return home from active duty and have to deal with such things as:
* Nightmares of combat past
* Readjusting to life after years out in the field
* Getting used to being around their families again, including significant others
* Trying to find a job, which often is notably less than what they earned while serving our country
* People who are against war taking down to them
* If someone was maimed, worrying over how people will treat them & having guilt over needing assistance
While I have never served (not by a longshot), I can safely presume those who have been in the armed forces recently can understand at least most of those feelings and situations if they haven't dealt with it themselves.
This is a near 3 hour tale that never seems so long, as it's always interesting seeing those three separate stories take place (and often intersecting with each other) and watching how those serious stories play out.
It's a greatly-filmed and told story and it's brought to life by a cast filled with veterans of the Golden Age of Hollywood, from Fredric March and Virginia Mayo to Hoagy Carmichael and Myrna Loy, but it is the performance of real life World War II soldier and actual double amputee Harold Russell as Homer that stands out. It comes off as being so real as I presume a lot of his acting is true to real life and he did experience similar feelings of regret and humiliation for needing other people to sometimes assist him in his regular everyday life. I haven't seen the other roles that he was nominated with but I will still presume the Oscar was well-deserved.
Admittedly as of late I've been watching a lot of B cinema and goofy films. I figured it was about time to watch something more serious and mature, and even better would be to watch a Hollywood classic from the days of old; when Bette Davis says that this film was “the best she ever saw”, I figured that would be the perfect thing to watch and fulfill my desire to see an incredible movie, and that indeed was the case.
I'll return Thursday night.
Runtime: 172 minutes
Directed by: William Wyler
Starring: Fredric March, Dana Andrews, Harold Russell (no relation), Virginia Mayo, Myrna Loy
From: MGM
To show that I don't always watch wacky B-movies (whether they be comedies, sci-fi, horror, or whatever else) and sometimes I do watch more serious cinema and even classic cinema from in the past, I figured it was about time to check out this movie, which I've known of for years and it's on TCM relatively frequently but last night was finally the time where I watched this classic piece of American cinema. As typical for me as of late, after I give the plot description the rest of it is borrowed from my Letterboxd review.
From the IMDb: "The story concentrates on the social re-adjustment of three World War II servicemen, each from a different station of society. Al Stephenson returns to an influential banking position, but finds it hard to reconcile his loyalties to ex-servicemen with new commercial realities. Fred Derry is an ordinary working man who finds it difficult to hold down a job or pick up the threads of his marriage. Having had both hands burnt off during the war, Homer Parrish is unsure that his fiancée's feelings are still those of love and not those of pity. Each of the veterans faces a crisis upon his arrival, and each crisis is a microcosm of the experiences of many American warriors who found an alien world awaiting them when they came marching home."
It's a tale that's evergreen as it's all about all the troubles men in uniform face after they return home from active duty and have to deal with such things as:
* Nightmares of combat past
* Readjusting to life after years out in the field
* Getting used to being around their families again, including significant others
* Trying to find a job, which often is notably less than what they earned while serving our country
* People who are against war taking down to them
* If someone was maimed, worrying over how people will treat them & having guilt over needing assistance
While I have never served (not by a longshot), I can safely presume those who have been in the armed forces recently can understand at least most of those feelings and situations if they haven't dealt with it themselves.
This is a near 3 hour tale that never seems so long, as it's always interesting seeing those three separate stories take place (and often intersecting with each other) and watching how those serious stories play out.
It's a greatly-filmed and told story and it's brought to life by a cast filled with veterans of the Golden Age of Hollywood, from Fredric March and Virginia Mayo to Hoagy Carmichael and Myrna Loy, but it is the performance of real life World War II soldier and actual double amputee Harold Russell as Homer that stands out. It comes off as being so real as I presume a lot of his acting is true to real life and he did experience similar feelings of regret and humiliation for needing other people to sometimes assist him in his regular everyday life. I haven't seen the other roles that he was nominated with but I will still presume the Oscar was well-deserved.
Admittedly as of late I've been watching a lot of B cinema and goofy films. I figured it was about time to watch something more serious and mature, and even better would be to watch a Hollywood classic from the days of old; when Bette Davis says that this film was “the best she ever saw”, I figured that would be the perfect thing to watch and fulfill my desire to see an incredible movie, and that indeed was the case.
I'll return Thursday night.
Sunday, May 25, 2014
Happy Memorial Day
I figured I should relax today and tomorrow, so I won't be watching anything new to review until Tuesday; thus, I'll be back Tuesday night and I hope everyone has a nice holiday day tomorrow.
Saturday, May 24, 2014
The Dirty Dozen
The Dirty Dozen (1967)
Runtime: 150 minutes
Directed by: Robert Aldrich
Starring: Lee Marvin, Charles Bronson, Jim Brown, John Cassavetes, Ernest Borgnine
From: MGM
All this extended weekend Turner Classic Movies has been running war movies nonstop, for obvious reasons. Also for obvious reasons I figured it'd be appropriate to review at least one during the same time period. As this was just on earlier tonight and it was too long since I had last seen it, I gave it a spin.
To steal the plot description from the IMDb: “A US Army Major is assigned a dozen convicted murderers to train and lead them into a mass assassination mission of German officers in World War II.” Correct. As expected they are a ragtag group of people. The movie does take its time in showing how all the 12 men and the Major (Marvin) act, and it takes time but eventually they work together and they become an unorthodox but awesome fighting force and they have to destroy what's pretty much a resort for all high-ranking German officers and many of them can be found there at one time.
I'll admit that the movie is rough around the edges but that matches most of the characters you get to spend 2 ½ hours with. I mean, even though it is uneven at times, it's always entertaining despite its length and the long finale where they try to blow up the chateau is still rather thrilling even 47 years after the fact. Overall I do rank the movie pretty highly and I was glad to see it again tonight, especially in HD.
A very important thing to note is that this may be the manliest movie ever created. Besides the cast I already listed there's also the likes of George Kennedy, Robert Ryan, Telly Savalas, and Donald Sutherland. Several of the men actually served in World War II. I did not look into it fully but I know that at least Savalas, Ryan, Kennedy, Bronson and Marvin all were participants in the war, and old Lee actually was wounded in battle; he literally was shot in his hindquarters. That helps lend an air of authenticity.... their military service, I mean, not Marvin being shot in the ass.
I shall return tomorrow night.
Runtime: 150 minutes
Directed by: Robert Aldrich
Starring: Lee Marvin, Charles Bronson, Jim Brown, John Cassavetes, Ernest Borgnine
From: MGM
All this extended weekend Turner Classic Movies has been running war movies nonstop, for obvious reasons. Also for obvious reasons I figured it'd be appropriate to review at least one during the same time period. As this was just on earlier tonight and it was too long since I had last seen it, I gave it a spin.
To steal the plot description from the IMDb: “A US Army Major is assigned a dozen convicted murderers to train and lead them into a mass assassination mission of German officers in World War II.” Correct. As expected they are a ragtag group of people. The movie does take its time in showing how all the 12 men and the Major (Marvin) act, and it takes time but eventually they work together and they become an unorthodox but awesome fighting force and they have to destroy what's pretty much a resort for all high-ranking German officers and many of them can be found there at one time.
I'll admit that the movie is rough around the edges but that matches most of the characters you get to spend 2 ½ hours with. I mean, even though it is uneven at times, it's always entertaining despite its length and the long finale where they try to blow up the chateau is still rather thrilling even 47 years after the fact. Overall I do rank the movie pretty highly and I was glad to see it again tonight, especially in HD.
A very important thing to note is that this may be the manliest movie ever created. Besides the cast I already listed there's also the likes of George Kennedy, Robert Ryan, Telly Savalas, and Donald Sutherland. Several of the men actually served in World War II. I did not look into it fully but I know that at least Savalas, Ryan, Kennedy, Bronson and Marvin all were participants in the war, and old Lee actually was wounded in battle; he literally was shot in his hindquarters. That helps lend an air of authenticity.... their military service, I mean, not Marvin being shot in the ass.
I shall return tomorrow night.
Friday, May 23, 2014
Tonight's A Night For Videogames...
and relaxing until I go out late at night (don't worry, not a nightclub; Walt Disney World as the Magic Kingdom is open for 24 hours tonight); it's no time for films as I'd rather chill out and play a game (I haven't done much of that the past few months) before I go out and about.
I'll return tomorrow night.
I'll return tomorrow night.
Thursday, May 22, 2014
Porky's Revenge!
Porky's Revenge! (1985)
Runtime: 92 minutes
Directed by: James Komack
Starring: Dan Monahan, Mark Herrier, Wyatt Knight, Tony Ganios, Chuck Mitchell
From: 20th Century Fox
Considering what I watched in the past few days I figured it made more sense to finish off the trilogy tonight. In the past there's been rumors of a reboot and/or a sequel but I last heard that talk like a few years ago, so who knows if it'll ever happen.
To steal the plot description from the IMDb: "As graduation nears for the class of 1955 at Angel Beach High, the gang once again faces off against their old enemy, Porky, who wants them to throw the school's championship basketball game because he's betting on the opposing team." To elaborate, them throwing the game would erase the gambling debts of their coach; you see, Porky now runs an illegal riverboat casino. There's also such things as a hot blonde Swedish exchange student named Inga (a Playmate at the time named Kim Evenson), a stag film, Meat being queasy at the thought of dissecting a frog, and an old love of Beulah Balbricker.
The third movie in a comedy series... that's typically pretty bad, such as I understand The Hangover 3 to be. However, while this movie ends up pretty silly and ridiculous (even for this series), overall I say that it's about average, even if the original is clearly the best of the three. There's still some amusing laughs, some nice nudity for all the horndogs out there, some funny setpieces, and Porky's boat is named HMS PIGNUTS, which should say it all when it comes to what you should expect of this film.
If nothing else, the film has a surprisingly nice soundtrack, mainly done by Dave Edmunds; yes, the I Hear You Knocking dude. There are also songs from The Fabulous Thunderbirds, Willie Nelson, and George Harrison. Heck, Phil Collins plays on another tune. That's more than you'd expect from a film like this.
I shall return tomorrow night.
Runtime: 92 minutes
Directed by: James Komack
Starring: Dan Monahan, Mark Herrier, Wyatt Knight, Tony Ganios, Chuck Mitchell
From: 20th Century Fox
Considering what I watched in the past few days I figured it made more sense to finish off the trilogy tonight. In the past there's been rumors of a reboot and/or a sequel but I last heard that talk like a few years ago, so who knows if it'll ever happen.
To steal the plot description from the IMDb: "As graduation nears for the class of 1955 at Angel Beach High, the gang once again faces off against their old enemy, Porky, who wants them to throw the school's championship basketball game because he's betting on the opposing team." To elaborate, them throwing the game would erase the gambling debts of their coach; you see, Porky now runs an illegal riverboat casino. There's also such things as a hot blonde Swedish exchange student named Inga (a Playmate at the time named Kim Evenson), a stag film, Meat being queasy at the thought of dissecting a frog, and an old love of Beulah Balbricker.
The third movie in a comedy series... that's typically pretty bad, such as I understand The Hangover 3 to be. However, while this movie ends up pretty silly and ridiculous (even for this series), overall I say that it's about average, even if the original is clearly the best of the three. There's still some amusing laughs, some nice nudity for all the horndogs out there, some funny setpieces, and Porky's boat is named HMS PIGNUTS, which should say it all when it comes to what you should expect of this film.
If nothing else, the film has a surprisingly nice soundtrack, mainly done by Dave Edmunds; yes, the I Hear You Knocking dude. There are also songs from The Fabulous Thunderbirds, Willie Nelson, and George Harrison. Heck, Phil Collins plays on another tune. That's more than you'd expect from a film like this.
I shall return tomorrow night.
Wednesday, May 21, 2014
The Amityville Horror
The Amityville Horror (1979)
Runtime: 117 minutes
Directed by: Stuart Rosenberg
Starring: James Brolin, Margot Kidder, Rod Steiger, Don Stroud
From: AIP
This is a film I watched via the Encore On Demand option I have via my cable provider.
I'll start this off by saying that I am amazed this turned into a loosely-connected franchise where most of the films have nothing to do with the allegedly true story aside from haunted objects that were from 112 Ocean Avenue in Amityville, New York. They still keep on making those movies; there's 11 in all!
As for how this is allegedly a true story... I've known about it for many years and from all I heard, I am 100% certain the story told by George and Kathy Lutz is a bunch of poppycock and not true. The only true aspect is that before the Lutz family moved in, a horrific mass-murder happened as Ronald DeFeo, Jr. killed his parents and siblings while high on booze and heroin, and allegedly money was also a motive for the killings. There have been many controversies and contradictions concerning the alleged true story and between that and many people living in the house since then and there being no reported problems... it's BS. This website explains a lot about how the story is hogwash; basically, the family soon had reservations about living in such a place so they concocted that preposterous story, and to think it entered American legend and became so well-known...
Now, onto the IMDb plot description: “Newlyweds move into a house where a murder was committed, and experience strange manifestations which drive them away.”
After I saw the movie, the first thing I have to say is... what a magnificent head of hair and beard James Brolin had here. Actually, that's not the main thing, but it is true. I say that despite some chills and fine to good moments, I laughed at the movie more than anything else.
You can blame it on the allegedly true story for the outlandish elements it introduces, such as doors being blown off the hinges, black flies in a certain room of the house, black sludge in the toilets, Brolin's character turning into a real A-hole, him having “bedroom problems”, him chopping wood often as he feels the house is always cold, etc. I laughed quite a bit throughout. Such things as an imaginary friend for the little girl of the family that she can see (yeah, Paranormal Activity 3 ripped it off) did work, at least. I don't even know what to say about Steiger's overacting, especially in one particular scene. I was also greatly amused by that. You even get to see more of Ms. Kidder than I was expecting... not that I'm complaining!
I suppose I have to rate the movie as average overall, although when things get really preposterous, I was especially entertained and really, I was entertained overall and that was the most important thing. I'll return tomorrow night.
Runtime: 117 minutes
Directed by: Stuart Rosenberg
Starring: James Brolin, Margot Kidder, Rod Steiger, Don Stroud
From: AIP
This is a film I watched via the Encore On Demand option I have via my cable provider.
I'll start this off by saying that I am amazed this turned into a loosely-connected franchise where most of the films have nothing to do with the allegedly true story aside from haunted objects that were from 112 Ocean Avenue in Amityville, New York. They still keep on making those movies; there's 11 in all!
As for how this is allegedly a true story... I've known about it for many years and from all I heard, I am 100% certain the story told by George and Kathy Lutz is a bunch of poppycock and not true. The only true aspect is that before the Lutz family moved in, a horrific mass-murder happened as Ronald DeFeo, Jr. killed his parents and siblings while high on booze and heroin, and allegedly money was also a motive for the killings. There have been many controversies and contradictions concerning the alleged true story and between that and many people living in the house since then and there being no reported problems... it's BS. This website explains a lot about how the story is hogwash; basically, the family soon had reservations about living in such a place so they concocted that preposterous story, and to think it entered American legend and became so well-known...
Now, onto the IMDb plot description: “Newlyweds move into a house where a murder was committed, and experience strange manifestations which drive them away.”
After I saw the movie, the first thing I have to say is... what a magnificent head of hair and beard James Brolin had here. Actually, that's not the main thing, but it is true. I say that despite some chills and fine to good moments, I laughed at the movie more than anything else.
You can blame it on the allegedly true story for the outlandish elements it introduces, such as doors being blown off the hinges, black flies in a certain room of the house, black sludge in the toilets, Brolin's character turning into a real A-hole, him having “bedroom problems”, him chopping wood often as he feels the house is always cold, etc. I laughed quite a bit throughout. Such things as an imaginary friend for the little girl of the family that she can see (yeah, Paranormal Activity 3 ripped it off) did work, at least. I don't even know what to say about Steiger's overacting, especially in one particular scene. I was also greatly amused by that. You even get to see more of Ms. Kidder than I was expecting... not that I'm complaining!
I suppose I have to rate the movie as average overall, although when things get really preposterous, I was especially entertained and really, I was entertained overall and that was the most important thing. I'll return tomorrow night.
Tuesday, May 20, 2014
Porky's II: The Next Day
Porky's II: The Next Day (1983)
Runtime: 98 minutes
Directed by: Bob Clark
Starring: Dan Monahan, Mark Herrier, Wyatt Knight, Roger Wilson, Nancy Parsons
From: 20th Century Fox
Finally, I've decided to review the first sequel to a movie I've seen a number of times before and I reviewed back in late '09. You can read that review here. It fit my schedule to watch it tonight rather than something "higher class", or however you'd like to put it.
The plot description from the IMDb: “The naughty high schoolers of Angel Beach High now seek revenge on a group of KKK religious fanatics and corrupt politicians who want to shut down their Shakespeare production after they cast a Seminole transfer student in the lead.”
Pretty much accurate, although not all of the religious fanatics are the KKK type, but what a wacky plot, where a group of horny males deal with a Shakespeare play and a reverend who of course is actually a pervert and yet he and his followers want the play shut down due to it being “vulgar”, and a corrupt politician does complicate things and a Seminole Indian does end up in the play and as this is set in the 50's southern Florida, some people were really not down with it. What a unique plot, for sure. Like with the first movie and Jews, they stress a tolerance towards Seminole people.
Overall I rate this as being average. Sure, there are still funny moments along with the cool and vulgar setpieces, but it's real uneven at times and by the end, things start to fall apart with stupidity and stuff that don't make sense and that's unfortunate. Otherwise I'd rate it a little better and higher. But at least I don't think it's awful and some of the characters actually get some nice dramatic moments.
I'll return tomorrow night.
Runtime: 98 minutes
Directed by: Bob Clark
Starring: Dan Monahan, Mark Herrier, Wyatt Knight, Roger Wilson, Nancy Parsons
From: 20th Century Fox
Finally, I've decided to review the first sequel to a movie I've seen a number of times before and I reviewed back in late '09. You can read that review here. It fit my schedule to watch it tonight rather than something "higher class", or however you'd like to put it.
The plot description from the IMDb: “The naughty high schoolers of Angel Beach High now seek revenge on a group of KKK religious fanatics and corrupt politicians who want to shut down their Shakespeare production after they cast a Seminole transfer student in the lead.”
Pretty much accurate, although not all of the religious fanatics are the KKK type, but what a wacky plot, where a group of horny males deal with a Shakespeare play and a reverend who of course is actually a pervert and yet he and his followers want the play shut down due to it being “vulgar”, and a corrupt politician does complicate things and a Seminole Indian does end up in the play and as this is set in the 50's southern Florida, some people were really not down with it. What a unique plot, for sure. Like with the first movie and Jews, they stress a tolerance towards Seminole people.
Overall I rate this as being average. Sure, there are still funny moments along with the cool and vulgar setpieces, but it's real uneven at times and by the end, things start to fall apart with stupidity and stuff that don't make sense and that's unfortunate. Otherwise I'd rate it a little better and higher. But at least I don't think it's awful and some of the characters actually get some nice dramatic moments.
I'll return tomorrow night.
Monday, May 19, 2014
Tora! Tora! Tora!
Tora! Tora! Tora! (1970)
Runtime: 144 minutes
Directed by: Richard Fleischer, Kinji Fukasaku, Toshio Masuda
Starring: Martin Balsam, So Yamamura, Joseph Cotten, Tatsuya Mihashi, E.G. Marshall
From: 20th Century Fox/Toei
Here's a random film I saw tonight via the RetroPlex cable channel; I wish it would have shown it in its regular 2:35.1 aspect ratio instead of 1:85.1, but alas... I saw it playing earlier in the month but I wasn't able to catch it until just now. I am a history nerd so I figured I would enjoy this account of the Pearl Harbor attack from both the American and Japanese viewpoints.
To steal the plot description from the IMDb: “In 1941 the Japanese are at odds with the United States on a number of issues which they are attempting to resolve via their Washington embassy. In case this diplomacy fails, the military are hatching plans for a surprise early Sunday morning air attack on the U.S. base at Pearl Harbor. American intelligence is breaking the Japanese diplomatic messages but few high-ups are prepared to believe that an attack is likely, let alone where or how it might come.” From what I understand the movie is fairly accurate to what actually happened, and sad to say it was several blunders from the United States that led to to the horrific attack which killed almost 2,500 Americans.
On sites such as Letterboxd I heard various people carp that they either didn't really like the first 80 or so minutes where you get exposition and an explanation of how the attack came together and why the United States missed or ignored the warning signs... or that they were more interested in the exposition than the last 60 or so minutes where you see December 7 and the attack and there's a lot of action and bombs being exploded and stuff blowing up and people dying. Me, I enjoyed both parts. I was interested in seeing both sides being shown fairly and seeing the Japanese plan the attack and on the American side, them having fears of an attack and then there being warning signs and some people getting quite concerned but due to various reasons the strength of the threat was not realized and that's why you get The Day That Will Live In Infamy where the Japanese pilots uttered the warcry that's the title of the movie and did their attack.
As this is a co-production, the Americans and the Fox film crew film their side and the Japanese Toei studios film their material. None other than Akira Kurosawa was going to film that section but due to him having to work under the studio system and that sort of system NOT being his thing, he bowed out. He still was an unbilled screenwriter, though.
Overall, I really enjoyed this film; my nerdom might be a factor but I always thought it was interesting and the actual attack on Pearl Harbor was really well-done. I'll return tomorrow night.
Runtime: 144 minutes
Directed by: Richard Fleischer, Kinji Fukasaku, Toshio Masuda
Starring: Martin Balsam, So Yamamura, Joseph Cotten, Tatsuya Mihashi, E.G. Marshall
From: 20th Century Fox/Toei
Here's a random film I saw tonight via the RetroPlex cable channel; I wish it would have shown it in its regular 2:35.1 aspect ratio instead of 1:85.1, but alas... I saw it playing earlier in the month but I wasn't able to catch it until just now. I am a history nerd so I figured I would enjoy this account of the Pearl Harbor attack from both the American and Japanese viewpoints.
To steal the plot description from the IMDb: “In 1941 the Japanese are at odds with the United States on a number of issues which they are attempting to resolve via their Washington embassy. In case this diplomacy fails, the military are hatching plans for a surprise early Sunday morning air attack on the U.S. base at Pearl Harbor. American intelligence is breaking the Japanese diplomatic messages but few high-ups are prepared to believe that an attack is likely, let alone where or how it might come.” From what I understand the movie is fairly accurate to what actually happened, and sad to say it was several blunders from the United States that led to to the horrific attack which killed almost 2,500 Americans.
On sites such as Letterboxd I heard various people carp that they either didn't really like the first 80 or so minutes where you get exposition and an explanation of how the attack came together and why the United States missed or ignored the warning signs... or that they were more interested in the exposition than the last 60 or so minutes where you see December 7 and the attack and there's a lot of action and bombs being exploded and stuff blowing up and people dying. Me, I enjoyed both parts. I was interested in seeing both sides being shown fairly and seeing the Japanese plan the attack and on the American side, them having fears of an attack and then there being warning signs and some people getting quite concerned but due to various reasons the strength of the threat was not realized and that's why you get The Day That Will Live In Infamy where the Japanese pilots uttered the warcry that's the title of the movie and did their attack.
As this is a co-production, the Americans and the Fox film crew film their side and the Japanese Toei studios film their material. None other than Akira Kurosawa was going to film that section but due to him having to work under the studio system and that sort of system NOT being his thing, he bowed out. He still was an unbilled screenwriter, though.
Overall, I really enjoyed this film; my nerdom might be a factor but I always thought it was interesting and the actual attack on Pearl Harbor was really well-done. I'll return tomorrow night.
Sunday, May 18, 2014
My Schedule For The Rest Of The Month
I feel crappy today and I did not get a great night's sleep, so I'm not doing any reviews tonight. I will be doing one tomorrow night, though; of what, I really don't know.
While I am sure I'll see another Godzilla movie or two, I'll also watch the new Godzilla again on the big screen again and the main thing I'll be wanting to do is watch a few pretty long movies. I have a good amount of those and with my schedule I should have the time to see some lengthy motion pictures; I am talking about stuff that is 2 and a half hours... and longer, as in around 4 hours or more, and all in one sitting with only a minor break or two at most. I am not like most people... I have the patience for such things.
While I am sure I'll see another Godzilla movie or two, I'll also watch the new Godzilla again on the big screen again and the main thing I'll be wanting to do is watch a few pretty long movies. I have a good amount of those and with my schedule I should have the time to see some lengthy motion pictures; I am talking about stuff that is 2 and a half hours... and longer, as in around 4 hours or more, and all in one sitting with only a minor break or two at most. I am not like most people... I have the patience for such things.
Saturday, May 17, 2014
Godzilla Raids Again
Godzilla Raids Again (Gojira No Gyakushu) (1955)
Runtime: 81 minutes
Directed by: Motoyoshi Oda
Starring: Hiroshi Koizumi, Setsuko Wakayama, Minoru Chiaki, Takashi Shimura
From: Toho
As I have this movie on disc (as part of a collection) and to continue with the theme of what I've been watching as of late, I figured I should check out this film, the quickly made first sequel to Gojira after it became an unexpected huge success. Note that I did see the original Japanese version; the disc has that and the American dubbed version, which is hilariously known as Gigantes the Fire Monster; there's a whole story behind that but I don't know if anyone cares.
To be brief, they were going to film an American version and basically use the suits from here and have it totally be different. That fell through so some people decided to dub it and alter it to be notably different from the original version. I briefly skimmed through it and it's shortened by a few minutes, has a new prologue about nuclear bomb testing, and has some pretty bad dubbing, although one of the people who dubbed it... George Takei! Characters come off as different and I may have to watch it in full sometime in the future, even if only to laugh at it.
The plot description from the IMDb: “Godzilla battles an irradiated Ankylosaur and destroys Osaka in the process.” To be exact it's a creature that resembles the quadrupedal Ankylosaur dinosaur and it's known as Anguirus and it's appeared in several other films in the franchise. Airplanes are the thing in this movie instead of the fishing boats in the original.
The movie ends up in Osaka instead of Tokyo and yep, things get trashed. Apparently, the edict that gets issued in the city of turning all lights off at night actually relates to World War II and what was done at that time. That makes things somber; then again this is still a pretty serious film and it does not end up on the goofy side like some of the other movies in the series... I know, I say that when this movie introduces the idea of Godzilla fighting monsters, guys rolling around destroying sets in rubber suits, and has such things as the hilarious way the monsters are drawn to the city (it involves escaped convicts), and a scene of people getting boisterously drunk. Oh, and sometimes you can see the strings on the model airplanes; that's the benefit of DVD remastering, I suppose.
Overall, the movie is fine. At least it's not crappy. There's such things as stock footage from the original and a budding romance to kill time, but it is fine. What wasn't fine was about 22 minutes in when you see a billboard of what can be best described as a Sambo character. Times were different back then, to say the very least. Anyhow, at least this movie is still entertaining to watch and doesn't suck. I'll return tomorrow night.
Runtime: 81 minutes
Directed by: Motoyoshi Oda
Starring: Hiroshi Koizumi, Setsuko Wakayama, Minoru Chiaki, Takashi Shimura
From: Toho
As I have this movie on disc (as part of a collection) and to continue with the theme of what I've been watching as of late, I figured I should check out this film, the quickly made first sequel to Gojira after it became an unexpected huge success. Note that I did see the original Japanese version; the disc has that and the American dubbed version, which is hilariously known as Gigantes the Fire Monster; there's a whole story behind that but I don't know if anyone cares.
To be brief, they were going to film an American version and basically use the suits from here and have it totally be different. That fell through so some people decided to dub it and alter it to be notably different from the original version. I briefly skimmed through it and it's shortened by a few minutes, has a new prologue about nuclear bomb testing, and has some pretty bad dubbing, although one of the people who dubbed it... George Takei! Characters come off as different and I may have to watch it in full sometime in the future, even if only to laugh at it.
The plot description from the IMDb: “Godzilla battles an irradiated Ankylosaur and destroys Osaka in the process.” To be exact it's a creature that resembles the quadrupedal Ankylosaur dinosaur and it's known as Anguirus and it's appeared in several other films in the franchise. Airplanes are the thing in this movie instead of the fishing boats in the original.
The movie ends up in Osaka instead of Tokyo and yep, things get trashed. Apparently, the edict that gets issued in the city of turning all lights off at night actually relates to World War II and what was done at that time. That makes things somber; then again this is still a pretty serious film and it does not end up on the goofy side like some of the other movies in the series... I know, I say that when this movie introduces the idea of Godzilla fighting monsters, guys rolling around destroying sets in rubber suits, and has such things as the hilarious way the monsters are drawn to the city (it involves escaped convicts), and a scene of people getting boisterously drunk. Oh, and sometimes you can see the strings on the model airplanes; that's the benefit of DVD remastering, I suppose.
Overall, the movie is fine. At least it's not crappy. There's such things as stock footage from the original and a budding romance to kill time, but it is fine. What wasn't fine was about 22 minutes in when you see a billboard of what can be best described as a Sambo character. Times were different back then, to say the very least. Anyhow, at least this movie is still entertaining to watch and doesn't suck. I'll return tomorrow night.
Friday, May 16, 2014
Godzilla (The New One)
Godzilla (2014)
73% on Rotten Tomatoes (out of 201 reviews)
Runtime: 123 minutes
Directed by: Gareth Edwards
Starring: Aaron Taylor-Johnson, Ken Watanabe, Elizabeth Olson, Sally Hawkins, Bryan Cranston
From: Warner Brothers
Yeah, this is another review from me where a lot of it is from my Letterboxd review. It's pretty long, as I feel like I have to defend the movie and the perfect 5 star rating I gave it. Most people don't like it that much, which is alright for me... it was just a film that worked for moi.
The quick plot description from the IMDb: “The world's most famous monster is pitted against malevolent creatures who, bolstered by humanity's scientific arrogance, threaten our very existence.” I suppose it is not a spoiler by now to note that Godzilla isn't the only kaiju monster you see in the film. My review is spoiler-free, by the way. I'll be back tomorrow night.
“Said, woman, take it slow
It'll work itself out fine
All we need is just a little patience
Said, sugar, make it slow
And we come together fine
All we need is just a little patience”
Guns N' Roses, “Patience”
I decided to quote W. Axl Rose and the GNR song Patience as I think that's an important thing to note when talking about the movie, and also an important thing to inform people who are reading this review and are going to see it but haven't as of yet. Don't worry, I will NOT be revealing any spoilers; sure, it does limit how well I can respond to the criticisms leveled against the movie, but I'll try my best.
Now, I do understand the complaints. If someone doesn't care for the movie then that is fine with me and I certainly am not going to get “Internet mad” about it. There are plenty of movies (whether they be action in general or other Godzilla movies specifically) people can watch if they want to get those exact fixes. In fact, while watching it I was starting to wonder about how things were going. But I was patient and by the end things did work out and come together more than fine... I thought it came together great.
Even when doubt crept into my mind once or twice, I was still really enjoying the movie. The story and characters aren't exactly original or groundbreaking, but I wasn't expecting a super low-budget indie drama in terms of the script (i.e. the exact sort of movies cast members Olson and Hawkins are used to; I am glad they got a nice payday here, by the way) so there's no grounds for me to carp about it. I was always into the story and interested in what was going in. In several ways it was like the 1954 original and there were some mature themes that were part of the plot.
I know that many people think, “Oh, you don't see enough of Godzilla!” (that seems to be so well-known by now it probably isn't a spoiler) but I was fine with that. With various films of the past you needed patience as the suspense is built up; by the end of this movie, what you see the title creature do is more than satisfying. When you don't see him around, I was always interested in everything else.
A lot of it seems to be an epic disaster film of old; a LOT of stuff in various cities gets destroyed and you do see the devastating impact and the toll it takes on people when something that catastrophic happens. Yeah, you will be reminded of 9/11 and unfortunately, since 9/11 it has really become cliché by now to have the trope of cities getting destroyed in action films; but, this isn't the platform for me to complain about how unoriginal and bankrupt most of Hollywood is creatively bankrupt.
Anyhow, what I dug was how the movie looked and the size and heft of the various creatures. It's made clear how massive and destructive they are. Also nice was how well-filmed it was. The action scenes weren't a shaky-cam nightmare and there are quite a few incredible shots.
With this nicely-filmed movie and all the teasing we get before we get a more than satisfying ending sequence, where there are several “F*** YEAH!” moments... some pretty great setpieces including a few things I hadn't seen before... some more than satisfactory performances... while I know I am rating this higher than most, I am OK with that. This motion picture worked oh so well for me and I am really thankful this was not a disappointment in my eyes as unfortunately, more than once this year I've been crestfallen by a film I thought should have been a lot better than bad or average.
To reiterate, if you're going to see this soon (and seeing it on a giant screen with a nice sound system is ideal; the scale is obvious in terms of the image, and the movie sounds really nice too), just note that you should be patient and you shouldn't turn against the movie because it isn't non-stop destruction right away and it isn't a cacophony of noise and image that becomes numbing or dare I say, boring. Allow the movie to take its time and you hopefully will feel rewarded by the time the end credits begin.
It may be an unpopular opinion but I wish that more big spectacle events like this would focus more on the story and situations and characters rather than the dissonance you seem to get much too frequently. This is a film from a director whose only other feature film was a micro-budget flick from '10 called Monsters (which I haven't seen) and yet that was a great choice for him to direct. The score from Alexandre Desplat was also pretty cool. So yep, hopefully there are others who dug this as much as I did.
73% on Rotten Tomatoes (out of 201 reviews)
Runtime: 123 minutes
Directed by: Gareth Edwards
Starring: Aaron Taylor-Johnson, Ken Watanabe, Elizabeth Olson, Sally Hawkins, Bryan Cranston
From: Warner Brothers
Yeah, this is another review from me where a lot of it is from my Letterboxd review. It's pretty long, as I feel like I have to defend the movie and the perfect 5 star rating I gave it. Most people don't like it that much, which is alright for me... it was just a film that worked for moi.
The quick plot description from the IMDb: “The world's most famous monster is pitted against malevolent creatures who, bolstered by humanity's scientific arrogance, threaten our very existence.” I suppose it is not a spoiler by now to note that Godzilla isn't the only kaiju monster you see in the film. My review is spoiler-free, by the way. I'll be back tomorrow night.
“Said, woman, take it slow
It'll work itself out fine
All we need is just a little patience
Said, sugar, make it slow
And we come together fine
All we need is just a little patience”
Guns N' Roses, “Patience”
I decided to quote W. Axl Rose and the GNR song Patience as I think that's an important thing to note when talking about the movie, and also an important thing to inform people who are reading this review and are going to see it but haven't as of yet. Don't worry, I will NOT be revealing any spoilers; sure, it does limit how well I can respond to the criticisms leveled against the movie, but I'll try my best.
Now, I do understand the complaints. If someone doesn't care for the movie then that is fine with me and I certainly am not going to get “Internet mad” about it. There are plenty of movies (whether they be action in general or other Godzilla movies specifically) people can watch if they want to get those exact fixes. In fact, while watching it I was starting to wonder about how things were going. But I was patient and by the end things did work out and come together more than fine... I thought it came together great.
Even when doubt crept into my mind once or twice, I was still really enjoying the movie. The story and characters aren't exactly original or groundbreaking, but I wasn't expecting a super low-budget indie drama in terms of the script (i.e. the exact sort of movies cast members Olson and Hawkins are used to; I am glad they got a nice payday here, by the way) so there's no grounds for me to carp about it. I was always into the story and interested in what was going in. In several ways it was like the 1954 original and there were some mature themes that were part of the plot.
I know that many people think, “Oh, you don't see enough of Godzilla!” (that seems to be so well-known by now it probably isn't a spoiler) but I was fine with that. With various films of the past you needed patience as the suspense is built up; by the end of this movie, what you see the title creature do is more than satisfying. When you don't see him around, I was always interested in everything else.
A lot of it seems to be an epic disaster film of old; a LOT of stuff in various cities gets destroyed and you do see the devastating impact and the toll it takes on people when something that catastrophic happens. Yeah, you will be reminded of 9/11 and unfortunately, since 9/11 it has really become cliché by now to have the trope of cities getting destroyed in action films; but, this isn't the platform for me to complain about how unoriginal and bankrupt most of Hollywood is creatively bankrupt.
Anyhow, what I dug was how the movie looked and the size and heft of the various creatures. It's made clear how massive and destructive they are. Also nice was how well-filmed it was. The action scenes weren't a shaky-cam nightmare and there are quite a few incredible shots.
With this nicely-filmed movie and all the teasing we get before we get a more than satisfying ending sequence, where there are several “F*** YEAH!” moments... some pretty great setpieces including a few things I hadn't seen before... some more than satisfactory performances... while I know I am rating this higher than most, I am OK with that. This motion picture worked oh so well for me and I am really thankful this was not a disappointment in my eyes as unfortunately, more than once this year I've been crestfallen by a film I thought should have been a lot better than bad or average.
To reiterate, if you're going to see this soon (and seeing it on a giant screen with a nice sound system is ideal; the scale is obvious in terms of the image, and the movie sounds really nice too), just note that you should be patient and you shouldn't turn against the movie because it isn't non-stop destruction right away and it isn't a cacophony of noise and image that becomes numbing or dare I say, boring. Allow the movie to take its time and you hopefully will feel rewarded by the time the end credits begin.
It may be an unpopular opinion but I wish that more big spectacle events like this would focus more on the story and situations and characters rather than the dissonance you seem to get much too frequently. This is a film from a director whose only other feature film was a micro-budget flick from '10 called Monsters (which I haven't seen) and yet that was a great choice for him to direct. The score from Alexandre Desplat was also pretty cool. So yep, hopefully there are others who dug this as much as I did.
Thursday, May 15, 2014
Godzilla (the 1954 and 1956 versions)
Godzilla (Gojira) (1954)
Runtime: 96 minutes
Directed by: Ishiro Honda
Starring: Akira Takarada, Momoko Kochi, Akihiko Hirata, Takashi Shimura
From: Toho
Godzilla, King of the Monsters! (1956)
Runtime: 81 minutes
Directed by: Ishiro Honda, Terry O. Morse
Starring: Raymond Burr, Akira Takarada, Momoko Kochi, Akihiko Hirata, Takashi Shimura
From: Toho/TransWorld Releasing Corporation
Yes, last night I watched both the original Japanese cut of Godzilla (known in Japan as Gojira) and the Americanized version known as Godzilla, King of the Monsters, where they re-edited things, cut out various bits, and inserted footage of Raymond Burr as an American reporter named... Steve Martin. Even as a kid I laughed at how that was his name.
I don't need to state the plot as everyone knows (or as least I presume so) how Godzilla became awake after nuclear testing and he wrecked havoc upon Tokyo. I know that most of the Godzilla sequels were on the goofy side; not the 1954 film, though; the '56 version, though... let me talk about both.
The original 1954 movie is a dark and serious tale revolving around Japan's guilt over World War II and fears over the atomic age; the latter part is still relevant in 2014 and while I do enjoy the goofy charms of some of the Godzilla sequels, I am also cool with something staid and with mature ideas like this which also has the expected stuff of a guy in a rubber suit destroying miniature sets.
There is a love triangle and it is standard but it was important to the plot and there's also conflict with a slightly crazy young scientist and a dangerous weapon and whether or not it should be used and its ramifications, especially if it fell into "the wrong hands".
If you think that all of the Godzilla movies are silly nonsense, you should check this out and you'll realize that you are mistaken.
The Criterion Collection Blu-Ray of Godzilla has the original Japanese cut and it also has the American Godzilla, King of the Monsters! That is where an American company created inserts with Raymond Burr (as a reporter named Steve Martin; even as a kid I thought him having that name was funny) and they re-edited it and not only downplayed the love triangle but took out most of the drama over nuclear fears and otherwise made it be a typical movie you would have seen at a drive-in in the 1950's on a double bill with, say, It Conquered The World or The Mole People.
In this form the movie is about average. It's rather obvious and now silly how they tried to make it look like Burr was actually part of the original film; the back of double's heads are seen often to make you think he's talking to the original actors when it's not the case. There's also plenty of narration to fill in the gaps and Burr does a lot of standing around and not much else. You may want to watch it for curiosity’s sake or maybe nostalgia's sake if you've seen it as a kid, but otherwise you really should stick with the original Japanese version.
I'll return tomorrow night.
Runtime: 96 minutes
Directed by: Ishiro Honda
Starring: Akira Takarada, Momoko Kochi, Akihiko Hirata, Takashi Shimura
From: Toho
Godzilla, King of the Monsters! (1956)
Runtime: 81 minutes
Directed by: Ishiro Honda, Terry O. Morse
Starring: Raymond Burr, Akira Takarada, Momoko Kochi, Akihiko Hirata, Takashi Shimura
From: Toho/TransWorld Releasing Corporation
Yes, last night I watched both the original Japanese cut of Godzilla (known in Japan as Gojira) and the Americanized version known as Godzilla, King of the Monsters, where they re-edited things, cut out various bits, and inserted footage of Raymond Burr as an American reporter named... Steve Martin. Even as a kid I laughed at how that was his name.
I don't need to state the plot as everyone knows (or as least I presume so) how Godzilla became awake after nuclear testing and he wrecked havoc upon Tokyo. I know that most of the Godzilla sequels were on the goofy side; not the 1954 film, though; the '56 version, though... let me talk about both.
The original 1954 movie is a dark and serious tale revolving around Japan's guilt over World War II and fears over the atomic age; the latter part is still relevant in 2014 and while I do enjoy the goofy charms of some of the Godzilla sequels, I am also cool with something staid and with mature ideas like this which also has the expected stuff of a guy in a rubber suit destroying miniature sets.
There is a love triangle and it is standard but it was important to the plot and there's also conflict with a slightly crazy young scientist and a dangerous weapon and whether or not it should be used and its ramifications, especially if it fell into "the wrong hands".
If you think that all of the Godzilla movies are silly nonsense, you should check this out and you'll realize that you are mistaken.
The Criterion Collection Blu-Ray of Godzilla has the original Japanese cut and it also has the American Godzilla, King of the Monsters! That is where an American company created inserts with Raymond Burr (as a reporter named Steve Martin; even as a kid I thought him having that name was funny) and they re-edited it and not only downplayed the love triangle but took out most of the drama over nuclear fears and otherwise made it be a typical movie you would have seen at a drive-in in the 1950's on a double bill with, say, It Conquered The World or The Mole People.
In this form the movie is about average. It's rather obvious and now silly how they tried to make it look like Burr was actually part of the original film; the back of double's heads are seen often to make you think he's talking to the original actors when it's not the case. There's also plenty of narration to fill in the gaps and Burr does a lot of standing around and not much else. You may want to watch it for curiosity’s sake or maybe nostalgia's sake if you've seen it as a kid, but otherwise you really should stick with the original Japanese version.
I'll return tomorrow night.
Tuesday, May 13, 2014
RIP H.R. Giger
I had to go tonight to the airport for an airport run, and that flight got delayed so that screwed up things, and yeah, I really only have the time to note I was saddened to hear that the artist H.R. Giger passed away yesterday. He was involved with some films and quite a few musical artists, but is best known for his work on the Alien franchise, including coming up with the title creatures, the Xenomorphs. For that alone, I was saddened he passed away.
I'll return Thursday afternoon.
I'll return Thursday afternoon.
Monday, May 12, 2014
Discopath
Discopath (2013)
Runtime: 81 minutes
Directed by: Renaud Gauthier
Starring: Jeremie Earp-Lavergne, Francois Aubin, Sandrine Bisson, Catherine Antaki
From: Durango
My apologies for last night but I spent the day catching up on sleep and doing other things so it wasn't a time for movie-watching, and I put up such a short message as I was literally almost out the door to go out and about.
Yep, this is another review where I copy and paste from Letterboxd then expand upon things. This was something I watched on Xbox Video earlier in the evening as it's been a long while since I've used the service. This is a Canuxploitation movie as it's from Canada (Montreal, to be exact). Here's the plot description from the IMDb:
"The mid-70's: a timid young New Yorker leads an uneventful life until he is fatefully exposed to the pulsating rhythms of a brand-new genre of music: disco. Unable to control his murderous impulses that stem from a traumatic childhood experience, Duane Lewis transforms into a dangerous serial killer exiled to Montreal."
I believe it was late last year on a horror website where I first heard of a movie set in 1976 (then 1980) about a young man who due to a wacky death involving his dad and musical equipment, whenever he hears disco music he snaps and becomes a killer, and it has the awesome title of DISCOPATH. My hopes were high it'd be cool as it's a groovy premise and I heard it compared to Joe Spinell's Maniac, which is a high bar to jump over.
Alas... I can't help but be disappointed by the movie, despite seeing some praise for it elsewhere. The film starts off in New York City and after he kills a young lady, he flees and he pretty much picks Montreal at random. Thus, after that, most of the movie-which started off in English-becomes subtitled as much of the rest of the dialogue is in Quebec French. That was... different.
Now, I did enjoy the settings and there are some hilarious fashions from the time period, there are some nicely done shots and some cool moments. The score was alright enough and you do hear actual disco songs. I don't know the titles of the French Canadian disco diddies but there's Walter Murphy's Flight '76 (a disco version of Flight of the Bumblebee), KC & The Sunshine Band's I'm Your Boogie Man, and KISS's I Was Made For Loving You (I'll always laugh that KISS did both that and another disco song known as Sure Know Something). Bizarrely, a few times you also hear what certainly sounded like a goofy ripoff of Threshold, the 1 minute instrumental from The Steve Miller Band that's before Jet Airliner. Odd.
Unfortunately, with the merits I listed already, I still only have to rate it as being a bit below average. It's the story and script which sink things.
Things don't make a lot of sense and there are some REALLY stupid moments. Characters do infuriating things, whether it's just them being complete A-holes or their actions making no sense. The story-especially once it reaches Montreal-becomes both inert and confused, and I started to lose interest. There's a wacky thing where the killer uses hearing aids to make himself deaf... yep. Maybe I am rating it lower than I should but I was disappointed because I thought the general premise was rad and I thought it could have been pretty bitchin'. Instead you get an off and on movie which of course has to have an ending that makes no sense at all.
But, at least it has some cool posters... also, as I am me I have to note that some of the women in the movie were pretty hot and they were definitely my type and I enjoyed seeing one of them shirtless and the other one rollerskating in a purple outfit with her asscheeks hanging out!
I'll return tomorrow night.
Runtime: 81 minutes
Directed by: Renaud Gauthier
Starring: Jeremie Earp-Lavergne, Francois Aubin, Sandrine Bisson, Catherine Antaki
From: Durango
My apologies for last night but I spent the day catching up on sleep and doing other things so it wasn't a time for movie-watching, and I put up such a short message as I was literally almost out the door to go out and about.
Yep, this is another review where I copy and paste from Letterboxd then expand upon things. This was something I watched on Xbox Video earlier in the evening as it's been a long while since I've used the service. This is a Canuxploitation movie as it's from Canada (Montreal, to be exact). Here's the plot description from the IMDb:
"The mid-70's: a timid young New Yorker leads an uneventful life until he is fatefully exposed to the pulsating rhythms of a brand-new genre of music: disco. Unable to control his murderous impulses that stem from a traumatic childhood experience, Duane Lewis transforms into a dangerous serial killer exiled to Montreal."
I believe it was late last year on a horror website where I first heard of a movie set in 1976 (then 1980) about a young man who due to a wacky death involving his dad and musical equipment, whenever he hears disco music he snaps and becomes a killer, and it has the awesome title of DISCOPATH. My hopes were high it'd be cool as it's a groovy premise and I heard it compared to Joe Spinell's Maniac, which is a high bar to jump over.
Alas... I can't help but be disappointed by the movie, despite seeing some praise for it elsewhere. The film starts off in New York City and after he kills a young lady, he flees and he pretty much picks Montreal at random. Thus, after that, most of the movie-which started off in English-becomes subtitled as much of the rest of the dialogue is in Quebec French. That was... different.
Now, I did enjoy the settings and there are some hilarious fashions from the time period, there are some nicely done shots and some cool moments. The score was alright enough and you do hear actual disco songs. I don't know the titles of the French Canadian disco diddies but there's Walter Murphy's Flight '76 (a disco version of Flight of the Bumblebee), KC & The Sunshine Band's I'm Your Boogie Man, and KISS's I Was Made For Loving You (I'll always laugh that KISS did both that and another disco song known as Sure Know Something). Bizarrely, a few times you also hear what certainly sounded like a goofy ripoff of Threshold, the 1 minute instrumental from The Steve Miller Band that's before Jet Airliner. Odd.
Unfortunately, with the merits I listed already, I still only have to rate it as being a bit below average. It's the story and script which sink things.
Things don't make a lot of sense and there are some REALLY stupid moments. Characters do infuriating things, whether it's just them being complete A-holes or their actions making no sense. The story-especially once it reaches Montreal-becomes both inert and confused, and I started to lose interest. There's a wacky thing where the killer uses hearing aids to make himself deaf... yep. Maybe I am rating it lower than I should but I was disappointed because I thought the general premise was rad and I thought it could have been pretty bitchin'. Instead you get an off and on movie which of course has to have an ending that makes no sense at all.
But, at least it has some cool posters... also, as I am me I have to note that some of the women in the movie were pretty hot and they were definitely my type and I enjoyed seeing one of them shirtless and the other one rollerskating in a purple outfit with her asscheeks hanging out!
I'll return tomorrow night.
Sunday, May 11, 2014
I'll Return Tomorrow Night
I don't have time to talk as I am practically halfway out the door now. I'll explain everything tomorrow night.
Saturday, May 10, 2014
I Discuss Star Wars: Turn To The Dark Side
This wasn't in the plans, but then again it wasn't until I heard early last evening of the existence of a fan-made edit of the infamous Star Wars prequels into a single film that happens to be 167 minutes long. The story broke on Friday and not surprisingly, once Disney saw that this video was available for free on Vimeo, it wasn't long before it was taken down. I had to go to Pirate Bay to download, and yes I'm admitting this... also, some may be surprised that The Pirate Bay is still around considering all its legal problems the past few years.
Fan edits of movies are not a new thing. There are entire websites (albeit pretty obscure) devoted to people doing their own edits to movies to try and improve them. I've come across them before... hell, I've downloaded some before. Some are better than others but it's been a thing since The Phantom Edit came out, where someone attempted to edit (ironically) Episode 1.
I haven't watched it from beginning to end; hell, I've only skimmed through it. I can tell you from the cursory glance that just about all of Episode 1 is excluded from it, aside from 5 minutes of the ending, which starts off the movie. After that it's Episodes 2 and 3, mainly the action scenes and the stuff needed to advance the general idea of Anakin following the title of the fan edit and turning to the dark side. About an hour and six minutes is Episode 2 and the rest is Episode 3. Count Dooku doesn't appear to be a thing in it, which is bad even if it's just because it is Christopher Lee. I do know that the NNNOOOOOO of 3's ending is not there, which is definitely a good thing. Who knows when I'll watch it in full. It may be months down the line.
The video quality isn't so hot but it was something made to fit on Vimeo so I wasn't expecting a 1080p experience. I am sure they really tried but who knows if they could make ice cream out of the horse manure that are the prequels. There's still the general story and its issues, the dialogue and the performances that the actors were directed towards and having to do all that acting in an unnatural green screen environment... I am pretty sure it still won't be a good film (and plus, I'll always think of the brutal evisceration the Red Letter Media reviews delivered to the prequels) but at least it won't take as long to watch and it should be less painful.
I shall return tomorrow night.
Fan edits of movies are not a new thing. There are entire websites (albeit pretty obscure) devoted to people doing their own edits to movies to try and improve them. I've come across them before... hell, I've downloaded some before. Some are better than others but it's been a thing since The Phantom Edit came out, where someone attempted to edit (ironically) Episode 1.
I haven't watched it from beginning to end; hell, I've only skimmed through it. I can tell you from the cursory glance that just about all of Episode 1 is excluded from it, aside from 5 minutes of the ending, which starts off the movie. After that it's Episodes 2 and 3, mainly the action scenes and the stuff needed to advance the general idea of Anakin following the title of the fan edit and turning to the dark side. About an hour and six minutes is Episode 2 and the rest is Episode 3. Count Dooku doesn't appear to be a thing in it, which is bad even if it's just because it is Christopher Lee. I do know that the NNNOOOOOO of 3's ending is not there, which is definitely a good thing. Who knows when I'll watch it in full. It may be months down the line.
The video quality isn't so hot but it was something made to fit on Vimeo so I wasn't expecting a 1080p experience. I am sure they really tried but who knows if they could make ice cream out of the horse manure that are the prequels. There's still the general story and its issues, the dialogue and the performances that the actors were directed towards and having to do all that acting in an unnatural green screen environment... I am pretty sure it still won't be a good film (and plus, I'll always think of the brutal evisceration the Red Letter Media reviews delivered to the prequels) but at least it won't take as long to watch and it should be less painful.
I shall return tomorrow night.
Thursday, May 8, 2014
Predator
Predator (1987)
Runtime: 107 minutes
Directed by: John McTiernan
Starring: Arnold, Carl Weathers, Elpidia Carrilo, Bill Duke, Sonny Landham
From: 20th Century Fox
Believe it or not, despite having reviewed Predator 2 and Predators before, this is the first time I have reviewed this action/horror classic, despite having seen this many times before. This wasn't my first choice for a review but things happened and I ended up checking this out on an Encore HD channel. The rest of the review is from Letterboxd, along with a plot description (also from there) and expanded upon a bit. I'll return Saturday afternoon.
The plot: "Dutch and his group of commandos are hired by the CIA to rescue downed airmen from guerillas in a Central American jungle. The mission goes well but as they return they find that something is hunting them. Nearly invisible, it blends in with the forest, taking trophies from the bodies of it's victims as it goes along. Occasionally seeing through it's eyes, the audience sees it is an intelligent alien hunter, hunting them for sport, killing them off one at a time."
Awesome as both an action and a horror film, this strong candidate for "manliest motion picture ever filmed" has a bitchin' cast being awesome and kicking ass as a small but elite group of soldiers who lay waste and destroying some rebel guerillas before themselves being hunted down and slaughtered by a large alien creature that goes across the galaxy to different planets to hunt for sport. Simple yet very effective.
Awesome and colorful characters (thankfully there aren't too many characters to worry about; you don't need many people when the cast includes Arnold, Carl Weathers, Jesse Ventura, Bill Duke, and everyone else; even R.G. Armstrong in a bit part is cool as R.G. Armstrong is cool), an engaging story that takes its time and doesn't blow its load and show the title character right away, a plethora of classic lines and moments (who can forget "I ain't got time to bleed" or people getting their bodies skinned?), memorable action scenes, an 80's-riffic score that fit what you saw on screen... and it's well-filmed too. For example, the ending that's set at night with all the fog and the lighting they used... it just looked so good. That and such things as the tracking shots, and John McTiernan and the rest of the crew did such a superb job with filming the movie.
I could go on and on talking about how great this is, but other people have done it before and likely better than I could. I just wanted to give some props for something I give the highest possible rating to, which is 5 stars.
Runtime: 107 minutes
Directed by: John McTiernan
Starring: Arnold, Carl Weathers, Elpidia Carrilo, Bill Duke, Sonny Landham
From: 20th Century Fox
Believe it or not, despite having reviewed Predator 2 and Predators before, this is the first time I have reviewed this action/horror classic, despite having seen this many times before. This wasn't my first choice for a review but things happened and I ended up checking this out on an Encore HD channel. The rest of the review is from Letterboxd, along with a plot description (also from there) and expanded upon a bit. I'll return Saturday afternoon.
The plot: "Dutch and his group of commandos are hired by the CIA to rescue downed airmen from guerillas in a Central American jungle. The mission goes well but as they return they find that something is hunting them. Nearly invisible, it blends in with the forest, taking trophies from the bodies of it's victims as it goes along. Occasionally seeing through it's eyes, the audience sees it is an intelligent alien hunter, hunting them for sport, killing them off one at a time."
Awesome as both an action and a horror film, this strong candidate for "manliest motion picture ever filmed" has a bitchin' cast being awesome and kicking ass as a small but elite group of soldiers who lay waste and destroying some rebel guerillas before themselves being hunted down and slaughtered by a large alien creature that goes across the galaxy to different planets to hunt for sport. Simple yet very effective.
Awesome and colorful characters (thankfully there aren't too many characters to worry about; you don't need many people when the cast includes Arnold, Carl Weathers, Jesse Ventura, Bill Duke, and everyone else; even R.G. Armstrong in a bit part is cool as R.G. Armstrong is cool), an engaging story that takes its time and doesn't blow its load and show the title character right away, a plethora of classic lines and moments (who can forget "I ain't got time to bleed" or people getting their bodies skinned?), memorable action scenes, an 80's-riffic score that fit what you saw on screen... and it's well-filmed too. For example, the ending that's set at night with all the fog and the lighting they used... it just looked so good. That and such things as the tracking shots, and John McTiernan and the rest of the crew did such a superb job with filming the movie.
I could go on and on talking about how great this is, but other people have done it before and likely better than I could. I just wanted to give some props for something I give the highest possible rating to, which is 5 stars.
Wednesday, May 7, 2014
Listening To Podcasts & Drinking Alcohol > Reviewing Movies
The title of this post says it all. Right now I am listening to a livestream of a podcast and also consuming alcohol. Plus, I had to help someone in getting a new Blu-Ray player set up and going. So, I'll be back tomorrow night as I have a Plan A in what I will be watching and if that falls through there are several backup options so I'll be all good.
Tuesday, May 6, 2014
Cocaine Cowboys: Reloaded
Yes, this is what I watched tonight. I figured I should given that the original documentary is fresh in my mind so it made sense to me. Below is the original review of the original DVD, then I'll talk about Reloaded.
Runtime: 118 minutes
Directed by: Billy Corben
Starring: A bunch of people who were a part of the Miami cocaine scene in the 80’s
From: Rakontur
Here’s another documentary (not that I plan on having most of August be documentary month here) and one that I found out on a messageboard back in the day and once I saw it, I was hooked (pun pretty much intended, given its subject matter) and I’m surprised it isn’t a much bigger film in certain cultures.
This is a fast-paced movie-appropriate given the subject matter-that is about how Miami, Florida ended up becoming a HUGE city in the 70’s and 80’s for the cocaine scene and how that resulted in it being like the wild west with an appalling number of murders and shootings and all that. Various people involved in the scene-both good and bad-are interviewed and explain how it was back then. Some of the bad guys are pretty charming… then you remember that at least one of them has murdered many people! Many archive pictures are shown to aid the stories being told. You get to hear from the likes of drug runners, police officers, reporters, and yep, murderers. It’s all told in a slick and frantic pace, which is rather strange for a documentary. Usually I can be turned off by stuff that’s so slick and quickly edited. However, it works very well here, and it goes along with all the stories told of just how bad it was in Miami at the time.
One lady who stands out in particular (yes, a lady) is Griselda Blanco, who is only seen via pictures and is told about by many of the participants. She’s one scary lady. In fact, “sociopath” is probably the best term to use. She will shock you with how bloodthirsty brutal she was. She apparently was a big reason why things got so crazy down there. Not to spoil anything, but eventually she got deported back to Columbia and amazingly, she wasn’t killed right away and as of a few years ago and as far as anyone for certain knows, she’s still alive. That’s pretty astounding once you read about all the stuff she did and how she ended up pissing off the drug lords in Columbia.
Then again, one of her sons is still alive. Michael Corleone Blanco-believe it or not, that’s the name he was given at birth-ended up appearing on an episode of Deadliest Warrior, representing the Medellin Cartel against the Somali Pirates. I was stunned to see him on there, mainly because he’s still alive and from what I hear lives in Miami and runs a record label, of all things.
By the way, if you do track down the DVD and watch it, I highly recommend watching all of the special features, including the commentary track. That way, you get to hear much more information and many more stories about the characters and the time period. It's something you MUST listen and watch if you enjoy the movie.
I'll be back Tuesday with another review.
Note that since the original review, several of the people featured in the documentary have passed away, including old Griselda; how she survived so long is quite surprising to me.
As for Reloaded, I see that Letterboxd as it as a separate film. I understand why, as while it tells the same story it's certainly different. What I mean is that you see and hear the same interviews from the participants but there are also alternate takes used, pretty much all new stock footage and photos are used to illustrate the story, and as Reloaded is 152 minutes long and the original is 118 minutes, there are additional details added, whether it's from the narrative, stock footage that further elaborates on certain topics, or the interviewees providing more information. While the pacing was not as fast as before, I was still engrossed and interested in what was going on.
Of course, the Blu-Ray only has this version and not the original version, so you should have both the DVD and the Blu-Ray versions to watch; the DVD has more special features and there's no commentary on the Blu-Ray. I hate it when crap like that happens but as I can see, it'll never stop. As the two are clearly different, you should have both versions anyhow.
I will return tomorrow night.
Runtime: 118 minutes
Directed by: Billy Corben
Starring: A bunch of people who were a part of the Miami cocaine scene in the 80’s
From: Rakontur
Here’s another documentary (not that I plan on having most of August be documentary month here) and one that I found out on a messageboard back in the day and once I saw it, I was hooked (pun pretty much intended, given its subject matter) and I’m surprised it isn’t a much bigger film in certain cultures.
This is a fast-paced movie-appropriate given the subject matter-that is about how Miami, Florida ended up becoming a HUGE city in the 70’s and 80’s for the cocaine scene and how that resulted in it being like the wild west with an appalling number of murders and shootings and all that. Various people involved in the scene-both good and bad-are interviewed and explain how it was back then. Some of the bad guys are pretty charming… then you remember that at least one of them has murdered many people! Many archive pictures are shown to aid the stories being told. You get to hear from the likes of drug runners, police officers, reporters, and yep, murderers. It’s all told in a slick and frantic pace, which is rather strange for a documentary. Usually I can be turned off by stuff that’s so slick and quickly edited. However, it works very well here, and it goes along with all the stories told of just how bad it was in Miami at the time.
One lady who stands out in particular (yes, a lady) is Griselda Blanco, who is only seen via pictures and is told about by many of the participants. She’s one scary lady. In fact, “sociopath” is probably the best term to use. She will shock you with how bloodthirsty brutal she was. She apparently was a big reason why things got so crazy down there. Not to spoil anything, but eventually she got deported back to Columbia and amazingly, she wasn’t killed right away and as of a few years ago and as far as anyone for certain knows, she’s still alive. That’s pretty astounding once you read about all the stuff she did and how she ended up pissing off the drug lords in Columbia.
Then again, one of her sons is still alive. Michael Corleone Blanco-believe it or not, that’s the name he was given at birth-ended up appearing on an episode of Deadliest Warrior, representing the Medellin Cartel against the Somali Pirates. I was stunned to see him on there, mainly because he’s still alive and from what I hear lives in Miami and runs a record label, of all things.
By the way, if you do track down the DVD and watch it, I highly recommend watching all of the special features, including the commentary track. That way, you get to hear much more information and many more stories about the characters and the time period. It's something you MUST listen and watch if you enjoy the movie.
I'll be back Tuesday with another review.
Note that since the original review, several of the people featured in the documentary have passed away, including old Griselda; how she survived so long is quite surprising to me.
As for Reloaded, I see that Letterboxd as it as a separate film. I understand why, as while it tells the same story it's certainly different. What I mean is that you see and hear the same interviews from the participants but there are also alternate takes used, pretty much all new stock footage and photos are used to illustrate the story, and as Reloaded is 152 minutes long and the original is 118 minutes, there are additional details added, whether it's from the narrative, stock footage that further elaborates on certain topics, or the interviewees providing more information. While the pacing was not as fast as before, I was still engrossed and interested in what was going on.
Of course, the Blu-Ray only has this version and not the original version, so you should have both the DVD and the Blu-Ray versions to watch; the DVD has more special features and there's no commentary on the Blu-Ray. I hate it when crap like that happens but as I can see, it'll never stop. As the two are clearly different, you should have both versions anyhow.
I will return tomorrow night.
Monday, May 5, 2014
I Feel Like Crap Tonight...
and I am really tired from a bad night's sleep, so instead of watching something new and talking about it, I figured I should relax and rewatch the great Cocaine Cowboys; the review of that is here.
I shall return tomorrow night, with something or another.
I shall return tomorrow night, with something or another.
Sunday, May 4, 2014
May The 4th Be With You
I can not believe how popular May 4 has become as Star Wars Day, because of a goofy pun.
Once again, today my plans did not go as planned. I'll spare you the details. But at least I was able to salvage things and I did go to some places. The one place I'll mention is MovieStop, as it's relevant to this sort of blog. I got the Blu-Ray of the remake of Get Carter, and it's not because it stars Sly Stallone! Don't worry, they also had the Blu-Ray of the original Get Carter; I have never seen it before but everyone thinks it's great so I figured I should get it too. The last thing I got was the Blu-Ray of Cocaine Cowboys; as it took a long time for it to reach that medium, I understand a lot of it is new, which is why they call it Cocaine Cowboys Reloaded, and it's 2 1/2 hours long. I should watch both the original and this new version then talk about it here and say which version I think is best.
I will return tomorrow night; I'd like to review a movie but with my run of luck, who knows.
Once again, today my plans did not go as planned. I'll spare you the details. But at least I was able to salvage things and I did go to some places. The one place I'll mention is MovieStop, as it's relevant to this sort of blog. I got the Blu-Ray of the remake of Get Carter, and it's not because it stars Sly Stallone! Don't worry, they also had the Blu-Ray of the original Get Carter; I have never seen it before but everyone thinks it's great so I figured I should get it too. The last thing I got was the Blu-Ray of Cocaine Cowboys; as it took a long time for it to reach that medium, I understand a lot of it is new, which is why they call it Cocaine Cowboys Reloaded, and it's 2 1/2 hours long. I should watch both the original and this new version then talk about it here and say which version I think is best.
I will return tomorrow night; I'd like to review a movie but with my run of luck, who knows.
Friday, May 2, 2014
Fatal Beauty
Fatal Beauty (1987)
Runtime: 104 minutes
Directed by: Tom Holland
Starring: Whoopi Goldberg, Sam Elliott, Brad Dourif, Harris Yulin
From: MGM
This was not what I was planning on watching when I was thinking of what to see or what to talk about tonight. But, late Wednesday night I saw it was on MGMHD so I figured it was about time to see it. The plot description is coming up, then what I wrote about it on Letterboxd, with some added info. I will be back Sunday night.
From the IMDb: "Rita Rizzoli is a narcotics police officer with a plethora of disguises. When a drug shipment is hijacked, the thieves don't know that the drug is unusually pure (and also laced with PCP) and packs of "Fatal Beauty" begin turning up next to too many dead bodies. Mike Marshak works for the original owner of the drugs and tries to tell himself that since he does not handle the drugs, he is "clean". Mike becomes Rita's constant companion as the drug hijackers (who are nearly psychotic and very well armed) are hunted, while more and more bodies continue to turn up."
If you want to know why I watched this random 80's movie Wednesday night, it was because it was on MGMHD... and I remember from I believe the VHS tape of Spaceballs the trailer for the film being played right at the beginning. Yet, despite remembering that I never actually saw the movie until now. It having a not so hot reputation was a reason why.
After viewing it, maybe I am being generous because I expected worse or because of how much an 80's movie it is, I thought it was fine and decent enough for a 3 star rating.
Believe me, it is SUCH an 80's film, from the fashion to the music, from the plot to how all the racial and sexist comments fly. Oh man, you definitely won't hear comments like that in modern films. Whoopi Goldberg's character being called a “bitch” (which her character, hilariously named RITA RIZZOLI; allegedly, CHER was the original choice for the role, which would explain the name) by the bad guys is one thing; you hear some of her police officer co-workers utter constant racial and sexist remarks about her and while she fired back and lambasted them with witty comebacks, I was quite surprised to hear such language being uttered casually, then I remembered the decade this was made (not that I could ever forget it, you're constantly reminded of it being the decade of excess and cocaine).
This tale of Whoopi and Sam Elliott, they're a wacky pairing who don't always get along... yep, it's like an 80's buddy cop comedy. The strong anti-drug message (especially with a monologue you hear for a few minutes) will remind you of the Nancy Reagan Just Say No mantra that was a huge deal back during this time period.
There's also a cast of familiar faces, which in my eyes was an asset. There's small roles for M.C. Gainey and Cheech Marin, and there's also Ruben Blades, John P. Ryan, and James Le Gros.
The fact that the director was Tom Holland (more of a horror guy than anything else; he wrote Psycho II and did the original Fright Night) was nice too.
While I admit that certain things could have been done differently or better, this was not the painful experience I feared it was going to be. Whoopi is not so far fetched to me as a police officer and I laughed enough at all the funny moments to be entertained. The action was not great but it wasn't poorly done either. Some people get slaughtered, for sure. If you enjoy this genre of movies (and also, if you enjoy being amused by this decade in general) then I say it's worth a look, even if there's definitely better 80's buddy cop comedies out there. I mean, there certainly are plenty of bad 80's buddy cop comedies out there too.
Runtime: 104 minutes
Directed by: Tom Holland
Starring: Whoopi Goldberg, Sam Elliott, Brad Dourif, Harris Yulin
From: MGM
This was not what I was planning on watching when I was thinking of what to see or what to talk about tonight. But, late Wednesday night I saw it was on MGMHD so I figured it was about time to see it. The plot description is coming up, then what I wrote about it on Letterboxd, with some added info. I will be back Sunday night.
From the IMDb: "Rita Rizzoli is a narcotics police officer with a plethora of disguises. When a drug shipment is hijacked, the thieves don't know that the drug is unusually pure (and also laced with PCP) and packs of "Fatal Beauty" begin turning up next to too many dead bodies. Mike Marshak works for the original owner of the drugs and tries to tell himself that since he does not handle the drugs, he is "clean". Mike becomes Rita's constant companion as the drug hijackers (who are nearly psychotic and very well armed) are hunted, while more and more bodies continue to turn up."
If you want to know why I watched this random 80's movie Wednesday night, it was because it was on MGMHD... and I remember from I believe the VHS tape of Spaceballs the trailer for the film being played right at the beginning. Yet, despite remembering that I never actually saw the movie until now. It having a not so hot reputation was a reason why.
After viewing it, maybe I am being generous because I expected worse or because of how much an 80's movie it is, I thought it was fine and decent enough for a 3 star rating.
Believe me, it is SUCH an 80's film, from the fashion to the music, from the plot to how all the racial and sexist comments fly. Oh man, you definitely won't hear comments like that in modern films. Whoopi Goldberg's character being called a “bitch” (which her character, hilariously named RITA RIZZOLI; allegedly, CHER was the original choice for the role, which would explain the name) by the bad guys is one thing; you hear some of her police officer co-workers utter constant racial and sexist remarks about her and while she fired back and lambasted them with witty comebacks, I was quite surprised to hear such language being uttered casually, then I remembered the decade this was made (not that I could ever forget it, you're constantly reminded of it being the decade of excess and cocaine).
This tale of Whoopi and Sam Elliott, they're a wacky pairing who don't always get along... yep, it's like an 80's buddy cop comedy. The strong anti-drug message (especially with a monologue you hear for a few minutes) will remind you of the Nancy Reagan Just Say No mantra that was a huge deal back during this time period.
There's also a cast of familiar faces, which in my eyes was an asset. There's small roles for M.C. Gainey and Cheech Marin, and there's also Ruben Blades, John P. Ryan, and James Le Gros.
The fact that the director was Tom Holland (more of a horror guy than anything else; he wrote Psycho II and did the original Fright Night) was nice too.
While I admit that certain things could have been done differently or better, this was not the painful experience I feared it was going to be. Whoopi is not so far fetched to me as a police officer and I laughed enough at all the funny moments to be entertained. The action was not great but it wasn't poorly done either. Some people get slaughtered, for sure. If you enjoy this genre of movies (and also, if you enjoy being amused by this decade in general) then I say it's worth a look, even if there's definitely better 80's buddy cop comedies out there. I mean, there certainly are plenty of bad 80's buddy cop comedies out there too.
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