The Bravest

The Bravest (Lie Huo Ying Xiong) (2019)

Runtime: 122 minutes

Directed by: Tony Chan

Starring: Xiaoming Huang, Jiang Du, Zhuo Tan, Zi Yang, Hao Ou

From: Several different Chinese companies

Only once in awhile do Chinese movies come over to my general area in Florida and it's only on rare occasions do I check them out. However, it fit my schedule yesterday to take a little drive and see this, after eating at a Walk-On's Bistreaux & Bar (yes, it is a sports bar with a Louisiana theme; I highly recommend it) for the first time.

China has leaned even harder into creating extravaganzas that are comparable to Hollywood; this concerns firefighters trying to contain a blaze at an oil refinery-I've heard it compared as a combo of Roland Emmerich and Peter Berg... sure, I can go with that. Due to convenient circumstances, if the firefighters are not successful, then the large city they are in and the surrounding area will all be pretty F'ed. Of course this is a melodrama as not only is there a boy w/ asthma who loses his inhaler, but the boy's mom has to help a random couple and deliver them to a hospital amongst all the chaos of everyone evacuating because that woman is going into labor.

Someone I know on a messageboard who lives in Southeast Asia states that too many films from mainland China engage in propaganda and another person stated that was the case with this picture, as the foreigners are naturally the ones who caused the catastrophe in the first place with their stupidity and the only Chinese person you see who wasn't honorable and brave was the bureaucrat... I can acknowledge that while also saying this did not bother me too much in this case. This is a silly spectacle where more focus was placed on gnarly explosions and carnage than fleshing out the characters... but that is what Hollywood commonly does also.

I'll say this was fine overall. While cliché and having the expected heroic sacrifices and questionable moments of logic (will fire really rush out of a window as soon as you break it?) I still managed to be entertained by this nonsense that had the expected heroic sacrifices and s*** blowing up real good. It also reminds me that one day I should check out Only the Brave and shame on me for not watching it theatrically almost two years ago.

Bill & Ted's Excellent Adventure

Bill & Ted's Excellent Adventure (1989)

Runtime: 90 minutes

Directed by: Stephen Herek

Starring: Keanu Reeves, Alex Winter, George Carlin, a bunch of historical figures

From: Nelson Entertainment

Be excellent to each other.

Of course this is a movie I saw as a kid and an adult... but the last viewing was long ago and as the long-rumored third movie is actually finally going to happen, this seemed like the right opportunity to give this another spin.

Normally I would not watch-much less enjoy-a plot so ludicrous and dopey; that's just how I am. However, what helps is that the movie goes all-in on the idea and does not try to couch things with contrived explanations or really any explanation at all when it comes to time travel mechanics or how two valley dudes in the late 80's who have a crappy metal garage band ended up becoming musicians that caused a utopia to be created 700 years later... it just happens, along with the time travel vehicle being a ripoff of the TARDIS.

Also helping is that it's a simple plot where two dim-witted guys have to literally collect historical figures so they can pass high school history and one of them (Ted) doesn't have to go to military school due to flunking out; in 2019, I am sure that many won't like Ted's police officer dad not just for being a jerk, but for also wearing an NRA jacket in one scene. Anyhow, the main reasons why this is still popular enough now to where many are eagerly anticipating the third movie after almost 3 decades... this has plenty of laughs-and at times it is smarter than you expect, with random background gags or using time travel mechanics as a deux ex machina-through such absurdities as “Beeth-oven” rockin' the 80's synths or Billy the Kid and “So-crates” trying to mack on teen girls in the local mall... and except for one moment, Bill & Ted are very easy to root for.

That one moment is an unfortunate artifact of how attitudes were back in the 80's. The music and the fashion are good aspects of the time period this was created-the homophobia was not. After Bill & Ted hug in a happy moment (as Bill thought his buddy was dead), they both utter a word which I won't repeat here, but their negative opinion of homosexuality... not very righteous, and in fact it's heinous. Then again, according to Wikipedia the spec script not only had Charlemagne-referred to as “Charlie Mangay”-but Napoleon was originally HITLER... oh my Lord. Let's be happy they at least changed that.

Yet at least for me that few seconds does not taint the rest of the film or the wacky charm it has in such moments as Napoleon having his Waterloo at a waterpark or Joan of Arc leading an aerobics class.

Scary Stories To Tell In The Dark

Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark (2019)

80% on Rotten Tomatoes (out of 119 reviews)

Runtime: 111 minutes

Directed by: Andre Ovredal

Starring: Zoe Margaret Coletti, Michael Garza, Gabriel Rush, Austin Zajur, Dean Norris

From: Lionsgate

The creatures in this film: they all have more charisma than Lana Del Rey!

Like many, when I was a kid (i.e. literally decades ago) I saw at least the first of the three books written by Alvin Schwartz; what I had remembered about them were not the tales but rather the frightening images from Stephen Gammell. It wasn't until today that I finally looked through those books again-more on that later. The only advertising I ever saw for this was the teaser early in the year-no trailers or commercials since then.

What was revealed in the advertising is unknown to me so I'll try to be vague. The fact that this was set in 1968 was a surprise-rural Pennsylvania to be exact. The plot is that it is Halloween and horror fan Stella hangs out with her fellow misfit pals Augie & Chuck. Of course there are bullies in Letterman jackets and they love to torment each other. Something fiery happens and they end up in a spooky haunted house where there is a literal book of scary stories and that's when the fit hits the shan, so to speak.

This is PG-13 and I know many naturally blanche at such an idea for the majority of horror films being made in these modern times. For me it was not that much an issue as the books were meant for kids, it makes a nice gateway for the young teens who are probably not fit quite yet for the R-rated genre examples and there still manages to be scary moments & the various creatures on display are effective at sending a chill through the audience. Producer del Toro did not want an anthology as he was not a fan of their inherent uneven nature so instead a plot was crafted where a few of the tales from the books are tied together and I have no complaints with how they are linked together nor the selections they made. Of course Harold the scarecrow is all over the advertising but I will not reveal the other stories that were used here.

What helped for me was that all the three leads were likable-enough and the mood/atmosphere were pretty nice, w/ some cool setpieces. While there are some cliches that were probably old in actual films from 1968, overall I thought this was good-no regrets with seeing this theatrically. The reason why I took a potshot at Lana Del Rey was not just that her popularity has always baffled me between the bad noises coming out of her mouth and her animatronic-esque stage presence... the end credits had her cover Donovan's Season of the Witch; I did not stick around for that. At least the opening of this movie had the original version of the tune.

A few years ago I purchased “Scary Stories Treasury”, which compiled all three books together; as I was me, I never looked through it until today. As an adult, it was interesting to see (as I had no memory of this) the back of each book contain a notes and sources section which explained the origin of each tale... whether it be something that an author created or (usually) some old folklore from across the United States and a few times a foreign country. I finally realized this was a wise purchase on my part and not just something done on a whim because I was bowled over by a wave of nostalgia, in other words.

Body Double

Body Double (1984)

Runtime: 114 minutes

Directed by: Brian De Palma

Starring: Craig Wasson, Gregg Henry, Deborah Shelton, Melanie Griffith, Dennis Franz

From: Columbia

What a wild movie this was: 

Someone saw The Slumber Party Massacre before making this.

I say that as the giant drill is the exact same as used in that horror film, De Palma actually made it more obvious a phallic symbol than Amy Holden Jones did back in '82. That is for certain not the only movie that served as inspiration: several Hitchcock classics were “borrowed”, Rear Window and Vertigo being the most obvious.

Jake is a struggling actor who-among other things-discovers that his lady is cheating on him, and as she owns the place... he is SOL until his pal Sam offers the opportunity for him to take over a house-sitting job as Sam has an acting gig of his own; more on that amazing-looking place later. Sam is such a pal that he even points out a neighbor who is an attractive lady that loves dancing around nightly with the drapes open and as there's a telescope... Jake becomes a “peeper”. Unfortunately for Jake and this mysterious lady Gloria, a bizarre-looking man starts stalking her, so our protagonist's bright idea is to... stalk her also. Yeah, that is creepier now than it must have been in the mid 1980's, and that is not the only thing he does concerning her that is abnormal. At least another character does eventually note how bad his behavior is, optics-wise.

That said, this movie is pretty wild all around, and has to be De Palma at his most unfiltered. I know, a bold claim considering that Scarface was 3 hours of total excess, this is sleazy due to how sex and obsession are the main focal points. The adult movie scene even factors in as Melanie Griffith has a supporting role as a popular actress in the field... and this results in the bravura moment where he get in essence an R-rated music video of Frankie Goes to Hollywood's Relax; De Palma always knew that the lyrics are pretty filthy-amazing it became such a huge hit-so it was perfect for this movie.
Amongst all the sleaze and raunchy moments, there were some pretty intense scenes that built suspense pretty well; this is why I can give the movie a high rating, along with Jake being a figure I did not mind following despite some of his questionable behavior. 

This was viewed on Blu-ray but not the Twilight Time release, as that was deliberately made to be a limited release and good luck finding that for cheap. Instead it was the UK release by Indicator which thankfully is region-free. The picture does look tremendous... although to me it made a key plot point kind of obvious which helped me figure out part of the grand scheme. I did love looking at the one of the kind octagonal designed house known as Chemosphere, which is an actual house in Los Angeles that is an architectural marvel. At least in the movie, the interior looked hilariously 1980's, as if unexpectedly you'd spot a giant pile of coke on a dresser or by the telephone; like the movie itself, it is wonderfully stylish.

The Silence Of The Lambs

The Silence of the Lambs (1991)

Runtime: 119 minutes

Directed by: Jonathan Demme

Starring: A great cast who delivered great performances, especially the lead characters

From: Orion

Of course this is a motion picture I've viewed a few times before in my life, but the last time was more than a decade ago, and as it's currently for free on Prime... I am glad I am finally able to discuss it here.

By now everyone knows the story, the characters, the most infamous moments that are still well-known almost 30 years later (plus, while I never watched the Hannibal TV show I heard it was great and a well-deserved cult hit) so I don't need to dwell on the basic plot. I will note, however, that the main characters are all fascinating people. Clarice Starling is only a trainee at the FBI academy and she is chosen because of her gender, appearance and skills to interview a cannibalistic serial killer who happens to be a very intelligent and manipulative psychiatrist for the purpose of catching another serial killer... what a game of cat and mouse that is against someone who is utterly horrifying in a unique way.

Clarice struggles at first in dealing with the infamous Hannibal Lecter but eventually earns both his and the audience's respect... it is easy to root for her. Dr. Lecter, meanwhile, is a fascinating character in the rather limited time he's on screen, even as he's done horrible things before and does more horrible things in the movie. And Ted Levine is pretty terrifying in a different way as Buffalo Bill. I was glad when seeing this in 2019 that what Bill identifies as (honestly, novel writer Thomas Harris had to do this back in the late 80's for shock value) was not portrayed in a way which seems grossly insensitive and tasteless in these modern times where such things are more accepted. Of course, if you identify in the same way as Bill, I imagine you'll have a different perspective on the topic. There is an explanation for Bill's beliefs at least, and he is another cinematic killer who was inspired by the real life horrorshow that was Ed Gein.

This movie was masterfully done, from the performances to how everything was framed, from the Howard Shore score (the only music that anyone remembers from this is Goodbye Horses but the score was pretty good) and the cinematography from Tak Fujimoto... I am not surprised this cleaned up at the Academy Awards despite being a rather adult tale with some shocking moments. Thank heavens this wasn't so oppressively grim and miserable that it becomes suffocating and a punishing viewing experience. Whatever you want to classify this as (I know some have gotten into heated debates as to if this is “crime drama”, “psychological thriller”, “horror”, or something else) this is still great and its ability to be chilling and have scenes stick in your mind long afterwards... that has not diminished.

Dracula's Daughter

Dracula's Daughter (1936)

Runtime: 71 minutes

Directed by: Lambert Hillyer

Starring: Otto Kruger, Gloria Holden, Marguerite Churchill, Edward Van Sloan, Gilbert Emery

From: Universal

It's been awhile since I've seen a movie from the 30's and since I also felt like something completely different, why not the first sequel to Bela's Dracula?

This starts immediately after the 1931 classic ends, and Edward Van Sloan returns as Van Helsing. The coppers catch him with those dead bodies and needless to say, they don't believe the whole vampire story. Van asks for the help of a psychiatrist friend, Jeffrey. Unfortunately for Jeffrey, he meets up with Dracula's daughter, who claims to be a Countess. The Countess wants the help of psychiatry to try and cure her vampirism, but that goes about as well as you'd suspect.

This had more humor than I anticipated... most of it was at least OK. The movie as a whole was pretty good as it was only 71 minutes long, had some nice atmospheric scenes, and the psychiatry angle was at least an interesting direction to go in. Gloria Holden did a nice job as the titular daughter as she had a mysterious air to her... but another highlight was Marguerite Churchill as Janet (dammit), who as Jeff's secretary had a love-hate relationship. There's even a scene with obvious lesbian overtones so this was not a boring 71 minutes by any means.

The Grand Duel

The Grand Duel (Il GrandeDuello) (1972)

Runtime: 94 minutes

Directed by: Giancarlo Santi

Starring: Lee Van Cleef, Alberto Dentice, Jess Hahn, Horst Frank, Klaus Grunberg

From: Several Italian/French/West German entitites

A little later I'll finally be caught up here; for now, my viewing of a genre that I am sure has become better recognized now because of a certain film... 

I haven't seen any Spaghetti Westerns in a long while and this seemed like the sort of thing Rick Dalton would have starred in, so this seemed like a good time to check this out.

It stars Lee Van Cleef, who participated in many examples of this genre. As always he was a bad-ass, an ex-sheriff who helps Philip, a young man accused of killing the patriarch of the Saxon family (none of whom was played by John, sadly), so he has a bounty on his head. That family is a band of brothers who are pretty despicable so it is easy to root for both ex-sheriff Clayton and Philip, even if the latter does not trust the former.

Director Giancarlo Santi was the AD for Leone on The Good, the Bad & the Ugly and Once Upon a Time in the West and he did try to ape the legend's style. Furthermore, the musical score did try its best to sound like Morricone... and it was used by Tarantino in the first Kill Bill. At times this is absurd and it isn't the best example of the genre but for me it was still a lot of fun as there are badass moments, memorable dialogue, colorful characters and nice rural Italian scenery. One of the brothers dresses all in white (including matching gloves) and well, between that and his manner, it is obvious what is being hinted at here. That is 70's Italian genre cinema for ya.