Simon of the Desert

Simon of the Desert (Simon Del Desierto) (1965)

Runtime: 45 minutes

Directed by: Luis Bunuel

Starring: Claudio Brook, Silvia Pinal (RIP), Enrique Alvarez Felix, Hortensia Santovena, Francisco Reiguera

From: A few different Mexican companies

RIP Silvia Pinal. I hadn’t seen any films from this legendary Mexican actress before she passed away, age 93; Mexican cinema in general is a blind spot for many but the outpouring on social media once her death was announced Thanksgiving night educated me that she was a huge star and highly-regarded in her native country. Plenty on Letterboxd likely only know her for her Luis Bunuel pictures.

What may leave some AGHAST is that this is the first Bunuel I’ve ever seen. Longtime readers probably will realize that surreal absurdist movies are just a repellent for me. Of course I realize that’s not what Bunuel exclusively did but when there’s so much I’d like to see in the future… however, a religious-themed picture where the titular Simon is a pious man in the 4th century that stands on top of a pillar in the desert for years to pay penance… it’s only ¾ of an hour long so it was not a huge time investment either way.

It proved to be very good for what it was. Unsurprisingly, it was quite cynical when viewing the topic of religion. Business did pick up when Pinal appeared as a temptress attempting to bring Simon off the pillar. She was in fact… Satan! I won’t reveal much more except to say that in general Pinal was the highlight. That character was believable as the evil enemy of unfiltered Godley passion.

As for the surrealism, it’s only the final minutes where this occurs; the movie takes a WTF turn which I didn’t mind as there was a thematic purpose to it. The movie was full of symbolism and was about a dense topic so it was fine for a single viewing but subsequent viewings may be more enriching. As Pinal did a few non-Mexican pictures, those could be tackled in the future by me. I’m now also more willing to see Bunuel.

 

The Earth Day Special

The Earth Day Special (1990)

Runtime: 100 spellbinding minutes

Directed by: Many people

Starring: An astounding collection of famous faces; all can be seen on the film's extensive Wiki page

From: Time Warner

How did I have no knowledge of this all-star event until a few nights ago? Starting tomorrow my schedule should be back to normal. The past few days have had its ups and downs but overall, I’m fine and those negatives don’t need to be dwelled on. A Letterboxd mutual posted a review then I was bamboozled by what I read. I apologize for what will be an extensive review but it’s necessary in this case.

EDIT: I just fixed some glaring & embarrassing mistakes.

As this mutual mentioned, Cartoon All-Stars to the Rescue (something that I need to review one day as I haven’t viewed it since 1990; I recall it also leaving me bamboozled as a nine-year-old) aired a day before this so of course I cared about that 34 years ago and if I even heard of this at the time… it is bizarre that apparently me and most others forgot about this oddity. To be brief, at the time there was a LOT of proselytizing about the environment and the fate of the planet. This played on ABC, April 22, 1990.

What occurs simply has to be told as is. We get to see Danny De Vito and Rhea Perlman as a couple viewing the special, because why not? At some bucolic little parade, after we see cameos from Bugs Bunny, Porky Pig and Tweety Bird, Robin Williams as “Everyman” doing a routine where he’s disrespecting the planet. What a shame then that Mother Earth shows up and suddenly becomes sick, necessitating a trip to the hospital. She’s played by… Bette Midler! Thus, Murphy Brown (yes, the character played by Candice Bergen) tells us that Midler is sick in the hospital as Doogie Howser (no, really), Edward James Olmos, Dana Delany and James Brolin attempt to save her. I swear this is all true.

Then, Dr. Carl Sagan suddenly shows up to explain global warming and the ozone layer! This is all incredibly unsubtle & preachy, the cameos smack you in the face with how the famous faces pop in and out with a whiplash effect. For example, Downtown Julie Brown as herself shows up to interview… Harold Ramis as Elon Spengler, the apparent twin brother of Egon. Is that canon? He dresses as a Ghostbuster, only he says he’s a “Wastebuster”. He then talks to Nathan Thurm! He’s a Martin Short character from SNL back during the lowest point of the show. In fact, Lorne Michaels was an executive producer so many of those comedians appear.

I could really write paragraphs simply recounting what happens but I’ll try not to drone on… oh wait, it’s Doc Emmett Brown! A total WTF scene was seeing Doc Brown, Doogie Howser, Olmos, Delany, and Brolin in the same scene where Midler is in a hospital bed as he shows a video “from the future” which is artfully-presented grim misery. In 2057, “the last of the rainforests” will be gone.

Oh yes, and if that wasn’t enough insanity and wasn’t overstuffed enough, we also get several casts of shows that weren’t on ABC talk about the environment for a few minutes including The Golden Girls and Married with Children. Yes, this is bugnuts. Dennis Miller back from his Weekend Update days does a themed Weekend Update. If you think that it’s awkward to see the controversial Miller now, wait until you see The Cosby Show cast, including of course BILL COSBY. Then, there’s Cheers, which has more than one that’s aged poorly. At least there’s Jim Henson doing Kermit the Frog and other Muppets for one of the last times.

There are other collaborations that many of us can enjoy besides the ones already mentioned. Williams does a scene w/ Dustin Hoffman as a lawyer. Kevin Costner does a scene w/ Meryl Streep. Now, there is more than one copy on YouTube; pick the one almost 100 minutes long which was obviously taken from an old Warner Brothers Video release. Time Warner presented this. To be blunt, I know that “the environment” is unfortunately a controversial topic in the United States; most here will agree that global warming is a thing but causing more derision is “celebrities preaching to non-celebrities about something”, and this special is 100 minutes of that.

The three star rating is not because this is good, but rather because I was captivated by this forgotten piece of entertainment and seeing multiple pop culture icon characters together… such as E.T.’s cameo! It was nice to see all those famous faces… such as Quincy Jones (RIP) RAPPING then introducing such rappers as Will Smith, Heavy D., Queen Latifah, Ice-T and Tone Loc spitting rhymes. Then, there’s Geena Davis (as Kim) on THE DATING GAME where the three potential partners are Pat Riley-yes, the famous coach!-Dan Gauthier of Teen Witch fame and… RODNEY DANGERFIELD! By this time I don’t know how my brain didn’t break and I suffered an aneurysm.

By the time that we see Michael Douglas (as himself) and Robert Wuhl (as a random fan) talking to Magic Johnson about recycling—I was spent. This should be best viewed as the surreal experience it is, a time capsule from the past, and viewing the nonstop onslaught of celebrities; many I did not mention. I don’t know if it did anything to help in the battle against global warming… although those lessons are still relevant in late 2024.

An Update

Well, this week has had its ups and downs; no specifics will be given but there wasn't as much time for cinema as I had perhaps hoped. Alas, I'll try to see something then post a review late tonight.

Lifeforce

Lifeforce (1985)

Runtime: I saw the 116 minute “International Cut”

Directed by: Tobe Hooper

Starring: Steve Railsback, Mathilda May, Peter Firth, Frank Finlay, Patrick Stewart

From: Cannon

A shame that they don’t make movies like this anymore. I know some will disagree as it’s an overtly sexual, horny motion picture even if you exclude the presence of a young attractive woman who most of the time is not even wearing a stitch of clothing. At the end of the month the 116 minute “International Cut” is leaving the Criterion Channel; as Tubi (of course, because it’s Tubi) is the only other streaming option I know of which has that instead of the 102 minute cut that played in U.S. cinemas, last night was the time before I leave to go out of town a few hours after the posting of this review.

Based on the 1976 Colin Wilson novel The Space Vampires, director Tobe Hooper made some changes, including the setting from the 21st century to 1985 and the space vampire ship residing in the coma of Halley’s Comet. He (and/or screenwrite Dan O’Bannon) also had to be inspired by Quatermass and the Pit & excised most of the Lovecraftian touches Wiki told me was in the novel.

I am old enough where I remember media around this time heavily hyping the Halley’s Comet appearing from Earth in 1986; it’s the only celestial body of its type which regularly appears from the planet-in this case, around every 76 years. On the ship are dead giant bats, and the naked bodies of two dudes and Mathilda May enclosed in clear cases. Things go bad once those bodies are brought to London.

Of course, the movie is most (in)famous for May’s nudity, and May’s stunning physical appearance. While Lifeforce was designed to be a twist on the vampire mythos where a woman is the alluring predator and they drain the lifeforce from humans rather than blood, Lifeforce should be known for more than just “the hot naked lady” picture. Yes, the plot has its issues, including a few lulls and some plot points which perhaps shouldn’t be scrutinized too hard. Be that as it may, it’s an exciting story explicitly for adults featuring a unique score from Henry Mancini, big special effects from John Dykstra, explosions, and total carnage in London by the final act.

The movie is both absurd and absurdly entertaining. The presence of serious actors like Steve Railsback, Peter Firth and Patrick Stewart helps. Personally, I’m amused that Railsback was in both this and Nukie. His performances in both were a 180 of each other. Lifeforce, he’s spectacularly over the top while in Nukie, it was like he was on Quaaludes the entire time! Nukie should be avoided like the plague as it’s firmly in “the worst movie of all time” category while Lifeforce-occasionally incoherent plot and all-may be for you if you can accept its flaws and enjoy the bombastic production.

 

I Revisited The Warrior's Way

It's a bad 2010 movie which I discussed before but here is a new take on a movie I still think is bad: 

Now I realize why this was a movie I’d mostly forgotten in the preceding 14 years. Believe it or not, I was one of the few who saw this theatrically in 2010; I was not a fan. The reasons why became murky through time. Its easy availability online meant it felt like time for a proper review. Note that this sat on the shelf for almost a full three years before theatrical release—it’s not always the base but that’s usually a troubling sign.

Just how bizarre the film was—it surprised me. That didn’t mean it still wasn’t hot garbage. A South Korean badass-who has the not so badass name of MR. SAD FLUTE-flees because he refuses to kill a baby that’s part of a rival clan. Instead, they (Lone Wolf & Cub they are not) end up in a Wild West town full of circus performers-no, really-as an old buddy lived there; he did the town’s laundry. Somehow, this mess had Kate Bosworth, Geoffrey Rush, Ti Lung, Danny Huston… and Tony Cox!

This had many problems; what I did recall at the time: most of the movie was digital backgrounds, which I wasn’t a fan of. In 2024, that looks TERRIBLE—phony, fake, distracting, as if I was watching someone play a bad videogame. “Digital sludge” is not a term I would have used back then; it’s very “2024” and is apt in this case. If you were praying that the action scenes would be free from bad-looking CG—prepare to be disappointed. The story itself manages both to be irritating and dumb; in fact, it was directed by a total novice who at least at the time was a NYU film professor-it shows.

The movie’s just lame, with laughable villains (and a pathetic town because they’re too cowardly to stand up to these jackasses; even more pathetic is that Mr. Sad Flute does nothing for too long) focus on a goofy love story between a Korean dude and Bosworth w/ a twang… who is supposed to be a badass herself, an embarrassing role for Rush, and a plot that seems designed to be unpleasant crap. I could prattle on and on about the gigantic waste of time that this was, but instead I’ll be succinct. I won’t ever watch The Warrior’s Way for a third time; you probably would be better served by not tackling this even once. Don’t be fooled by my mentioning how weird it all is.

You and Me

You and Me (1938)

Runtime: 94 minutes

Directed by: Fritz Lang

Starring: Sylvia Sidney, George Raft, Barton MacLane, Harry Carey, Roscoe Karns

From: Paramount

An odd movie like this somehow seemed appropriate for my schedule the past few days, and in fact the rest of November. It wasn’t the plan for yesterday but I posted a list of the films I’ve seen of Ingmar Bergman. Another list should be done of Fritz Lang, another director who I’ve rated more than one of his pictures *****. I won’t post reviews or lists every day and if I do they may be at odd hours for me; I was glad to have seen this before it left the Criterion Channel in a few days.

This early Lang in Hollywood picture starred Sylvia Sidney & George Raft; that enough intrigued but the plot is unique. Word of advice: do NOT read the Letterboxd synopsis for the film as it reveals a major plot point which the film does not unveil until early in the second act. All you need to know is that Raft works at a huge department store (Morris) where Mr. Morris hires people on parole to staff some of the many jobs. He’s an ex-con who falls in love w/ Sidney--understandable. However, people from his past come knocking…

The most peculiar aspect: randomly, apropos out of nowhere there are several musical numbers from Kurt Weill. They at least expand upon the plot. The ditties themselves are bizarre. The opening, for example, is a hysterical, bombastic WTF song about how everything costs money; it was like something Elon Musk would have written! Another has criminals nostalgic for prison, which I’m rather dubious of. Otherwise, it’s a movie where Sidney and Raft are charming around each other—albeit it’s an unhealthy relationship as they aren’t truthful to each other.

It isn’t my favorite from Lang by any means; be that as it may, the moments above plus a rather unexpected turn in the final act kept my interest throughout. It’s not as focused on the crime aspect as you’d expect but it’s a yarn you might love because it’s unconventional & still possesses Lang’s style.

An Swedish-Flavored Update

Due to the way I've felt since yesterday (not at 100%, although I'll be fine come tomorrow) my schedule has been shuffled around and thus, a scenario has arisen where I will likely view a movie or two and wait a few days to post it here/on Letterboxd, probably at odd hours due to my going away to Fort Myers for a few days for Thanksgiving.

If you wish, I did post a list today of the Ingmar Bergman pictures reviewed.

Gladiator

Gladiator (2000)

Runtime: I saw the 171 minute Extended Edition

Directed by: Ridley Scott

Starring: A quality cast

From: Dreamworks/Universal

Truth be told, I saw this movie Thursday night, but much of Friday was taken up by an activity with a family member. It may not be for another week or perhaps even longer, but eventually I’ll tackle Gladiator II. Expectations aren’t high for it-at the same time, hopefully it will be at least lightweight entertainment as a sword & sandal spectacle. As more than one character is returning for the sequel, viewing then discussing the original was simply logical.

To clarify, I have the movie on 4K UHD & the “Extended Edition” was viewed; it had a short intro from Ridley Scott which explained that it wasn’t the Director’s Cut but rather just a longer version of the movie done to sell more discs in 2005.

For most people, a detailed synopsis of the plot is not needed. The presumption is that everyone knows it’s not the most original story (a person in power back in olden times who is turned against and is forced to become a slave. Ben-Hur is the obvious example) but that is irrelevant when it’s all done so well. It was easy to root for Russell Crowe as the hero while Joaquin Phoenix made Commodus a detestable villain, a buffoon who made it clear why his Emperor father did not want him to fill that role after his death. Meanwhile, Connie Nielsen and Derek Jacobi attempted to scheme behind the scenes to save Rome. It was all simple yet effective.

Aiding the production was Ridley Scott’s solid direction, the editing, the costuming, the action beats, the drama, etc. A huge asset was the score from Hans Zimmer and Lisa Gerrard. The Extended Edition was almost 3 hours long yet my attention never wavered as I was locked in from the beginning, with that big action setpiece opening. I was in fact enter… oh wait, everyone’s made that remark, so I’d better abstain. If you look at Wikipedia you’ll realize it’s not historically accurate, a charge leveled against the sequel—whether the examples provided for II are legit or just an unfunny joke will be discovered by me soon. After all, the “joke” concerning “men always think of The Roman Empire” is beyond my comprehension.

It's a movie that succeeds despite the shoot having some rough stretches—and Oliver Reed passing away after an unfortunate Oliver Reed sort of death where he attempted to outdrink sailors on shore leave in Malta. A tragedy that an actor of such prodigious talents had a literal fatal flaw. In any event, the expectations for Gladiator II are in check-I know many on Letterboxd are fans but opinions elsewhere are mixed.

The Other Side of Hope

The Other Side of Hope (Toivon Tuolla Puolen) (2017)

Runtime: 100 minutes

Directed by: Aki Kaurismaki

Starring: Sherwan Haji, Sakari Kuosmanen, Kaija Pakarinen, Tuomari Nurmio, Abdi Jama

From: Several different Finnish & German companies

Rockabilly music and Checker Marathons are popular in Finland?

Recently on TCM during their late Sunday night showing of two foreign films, they had a pair from famed Finnish director Aki Kaurismaki; the second film they played was The Match Factory Girl, which happens to be the only other picture from the director I’ve viewed. As I enjoyed Match when viewed a little over a year ago, might as well record this on the DVR for watching several days later.

Note that I will be discussing a film centered around a Syrian refugee seek asylum in Finland without dwelling on the impact that some European’s fear of Syrian refugees had on the continent and I definitely won’t dwell on how a passionate contentious topic in the United States is immigration, specifically Mexicans coming over “illegally.” Going into detail would cause some sort of s***storm that I want no part of. Rather, it’s me noting that for those literally around the world who will read this, and for me noting that in The Other Side of Hope, those immigrants from Syria and elsewhere were looked at favorably.

Now, Khaled unfortunately experienced both bureaucracy and racism from some while in Finland-at the same time, he wanted aid in the search for his missing sister. Yet, he unexpectedly befriends Waldemar, an aging Finnish gentleman who had an older Jean Gabin look to him; he also experienced a major change in his life-he sells his business & purchases a languishing restaurant. Note that these two plotlines do not intersect until the second half. Before that, Khaled befriends an Iraqi refugee and we see Waldemar adjust to the wacky employees he is now in charge of.

There is droll humor, pastel interiors and plenty of music; I’m led to believe those are all Kaurismaki trademarks. A rockabilly song was sung in English; that caught me off-guard. So did seeing Waldemar drive a late 60’s Checker Marathon—the consumer version rather than the taxi version that was ubiquitous in NYC for decades. Anyhow, the story is basic in nature yet was told and presented in a compelling way where I cared about the protagonists & hoped Khaled would find his sibling. More than once in 2024, I’ve proclaimed that modern movies w/o cynicism is especially appreciated now.

In the future, I’ll experience more of the director’s work.