The Legend Of The 7 Golden Vampires

The Legend of the 7 Golden Vampires (1974)

Runtime: 86 minutes

Directed by: Roy Ward Baker/Cheh Chang

Starring: Peter Cushing, David Chiang, Robin Stewart, Shih Szu, Julie Ege

From: Hammer/Shaw

Hammer Studios. Shaw Brothers Studios. Two great tastes that taste great together, right? Well, not exactly, but I can still say this is good. I wish that this collaboration between two awesome studios (awesome in their own ways, for sure) would have produced an unforgettable classic, but instead it is “only” good, and a cult classic to boot.

The plot: there's an opening which explains how Dracula ends up in China. After that, it's 1904 and Professor Van Helsing is in the country, and he is asked to help some siblings in dealing with the titular golden vampires. To fill time and add some romance, there is also Van Helsing's son, with the uber British name of Leyland. There's martial arts and vampires which have a skin tone (to borrow a phrase) of Mrs. Voohees' decapitated head in Friday the 13th Part 2.

I feel that in modern times this film works best as a campy piece of entertainment; it is easy to nitpick various things and yet it is still fun to watch, this mix of action and horror, where it's the action that stands out, although there are still a few spine-chilling moments. The biggest asset for the film is not the fact that there are KUNG FU VAMPIRES (although that is astounding) but rather the presence of Peter Cushing, who is always a delight to see on screen. Even though he was an old man at the time, he wasn't entirely inactive when it came to dealing with those vampires... regrettably, he doesn't do any kung fu himself. In addition, I only noticed once the trademark of the Jiangshi (Chinese vampire), which is hopping. Then again I do understand how it may look goofy to see vampires hopping about with their arms outstretched.

While each studio on its own would make plenty of films better than this, it doesn't mean people shouldn't give this curio a shot.

American Made

American Made (2017)

86% on Rotten Tomatoes (out of 170 reviews)

Runtime: 115 minutes

Directed by: Doug Liman

Starring: Tom Cruise, Domhnall Gleeson, Sarah Wright, Jesse Plemons, Caleb Landry Jones

From: Universal

I can't say this was great but it was still pretty good, as I explain below:

NOTE: People outside the United States may be surprised to hear this, but we're just getting the movie now; I am not sure why it was released elsewhere around the world early this month, although Universal is certainly glad they did not have to compete with It right away.

I'll admit a few things before I start talking about the movie itself. Before I even left to go see this, I had heard that the movie was about as much fiction as fact, and I know that some things have to be changed when making something “based on a true story” and doing things like combining several different people into one character makes things simpler. But I imagine I'd be more offended if I knew more about Barry Seal aside from the basics. What I hear, the basics are pretty much the only accurate facts that are presented. I am a history nerd so I prefer authenticity and I probably would be greatly interested in and fascinated by Seal's real life story; thankfully there are several books out there about him. Then, I did not have the best audience experience while watching this; I wish it would have been a de facto private screening as it would have meant me not having to turn around too often to stare daggers at more than one group of people who were acting like cretins and Troglodytes; I don't even need to elaborate on what I am referring to.

All that said, I can still say this was pretty good and give it a favorable rating. I don't want to say much about the plot for those who don't know “the deets” (as those on the street like to say) except to say that Seal was a talented American pilot who became involved with the federal government, who was doing some shady and definitely illegal things that involved Pablo Escobar, running drugs & guns, and a major late 80's scandal.

The movie is pretty slick and extravagant in how the story is presented; I dare not spoil what I am referring to. It was just not what I was quite expecting. Maybe at times it's too slick but at least it was informative in explaining the actual facts to an audience that may have no clue to the shocking things that the United States government did back then... and to be honest, still likely do now. The movie also has plenty of comedic moments; it tries to emulate some great movies and it doesn't rise to those heights. Even then, as I enjoy retro things I was amused by this late 70's/most of the 80's tale. As an aside, I'll presume that Barry's wife wasn't in real like an annoying foul-mouthed harpy like she was portrayed here; it wasn't the actress playing her, it was how the character was written.

A big asset is one everyone should expect beforehand: Tom Cruise being the star. He isn't my favorite as a human being for the same reasons that others don't like him. I wish he wasn't such a loon and wasn't a member of a certain “religion”, although his lunacy is the reason why he does so many of his own stunts... I understand he is nice to his fans so perhaps he is better than all those other problematic actors out there. Point is, I've never complained about any of his performances nor have I dreaded ever seeing him in a film. Many of the ones he is in are interesting and there have only been a few in his entire career that can be considered “bad”; most would say that The Mummy is solidly in that category.

He did very well in this role; I understand that the real Barry Seal (besides possessing no resemblance to Cruise) wasn't a charismatic anti-hero as presented here; I guess that wouldn't have been as popular a movie if the character would have been more true to life. But back on point, Cruise-as always-had charisma in spades and he was solid in his role. So was Domhnall Gleeson; I was gleefully happy to see him again after the astounding 2015 he had, where he was in Brooklyn, Ex-Machina, The Force Awakens and The Revenant and was marvelous in all four films playing four drastically different roles. Like I said, this was pretty good and something I don't regret seeing.

One last thing: I went to one of the few locations across the country that was showing it in IMAX. As this has stock footage and parts of the film look degraded/old on purpose, it is odd this was chosen to be shown in such a format, although at least it does usually look nice and I had no problem with the audio. All that said, it's honestly something which should be fine in a regular format and you definitely shouldn't go out of your way to see this in the IMAX format.

Tommy... The Documentary

You can click this link to read what I thought of the ESPN 30 for 30 documentary on the late boxer Tommy Morrison, i.e. Tommy Gunn from Rocky V.

The Vampire Doll

The Vampire Doll (Yurei Yashiki No Kyofu: Chi Wo Su Ningyo) (1970)

Runtime: 71 minutes

Directed by: Michio Yamamoto

Starring: Kayo Matsuo, Akira Nakao, Atsuo Nakamura, Yukiko Kobayashi, Yoko Minakaze

From: Toho

As of late I've rewatched various things, both good and bad. I don't plan on being back with a new review until at least Thursday night. For now, a vampire movie from Japan: 

For at least the past few years now I've known of the three vampire movies that Toho made in the 70's... this, the greatly named Lake of Dracula and Evil of Dracula. Nevermind how, but I found this first movie, known by plenty of names: Bloodsucking Doll, The Ghost Mansion's Horror: A Bloodsucking Doll, The Night of the Vampire, The Legacy of Dracula, and best of all, Fear of the Ghost House: Bloodsucking Doll. Note that this movie does not have Dracula nor any bloodsucking dolls. Admittedly, there is a creepy house...

This tale is more Western-influenced than anything from the native Japanese culture. It means there's a strong Gothic feel and Hammer was an obvious inspiration. The plot: a dude (Kazuhiko) has been away from his girlfriend for awhile, so he drives to her mom's house, which of course is a spooky thing in the middle of nowhere that looks like it's in Europe rather than Japan... they do try to explain that way. Anyhow, the girlfriend is dead and Kaz is upset. Soon he goes missing and both his sister and the sister's boyfriend are on the hunt for him.

The movie is only 71 minutes long so it never wears out its welcome, or make it obvious that the cast is pretty small. What the movie is all about is a little daffy but at least the story is unique and a different version of a vampire tale. The mood & atmosphere help-there's usually a strong feeling of dread-along with the nice rural setting. Those that enjoy Hammer movies should find something to like here, whether it's the spooky noise you hear often, moments in the graveyard, how the big bad looks, etc. I say it's good overall.

So, About Sharky's Machine...

Way back when I watched and reviewed that Burt Reynolds film and I was "meh" on it. I saw it again Friday night as a way to tip my cap to the late Bernie Casey, and I realized it was better than I first gave it credit for. My bad.

I won't be back until at least Monday night, BTW.

Stunt Squad

Stunt Squad (La Polizia E Sconfitta) (1977)

Runtime: 92 minutes

Directed by: Domenico Paoletta

Starring: Marcel Bozzuffi, Vittorio Mezzogiorno, Riccardo Salvino, Nello Pazzafini, Claudia Giannotti

From: Atlas Film

As I seemingly say every single time I watch a poliziotteschi now, “it's been awhile since I last saw one of those.” A messageboard post directed me to someone on the Rupert Pupkin Speaks blog talking about that film and even though it sounded quite similar to something I saw 3 years ago (Colt 38 Special Squad, which even has the star of this movie, Marcel Bozzuffi, in almost the exact same role, as an exacerbated police chief who sets up a special squad of loose cannon cops to go after the bad guys), I still wanted to give it a shot and hey, it was for free on Amazon Prime so that made things easy for me.

In Colt 38, Marcel forms the squad mainly because some bad guys killed his wife. I've seen so many of these the past 5 or so years the details are fuzzy, but I remember enjoying it quite a bit and GRACE JONES is in one scene, singing in a nightclub. This, in comparison, I can only say was good. Plenty of time is spent with the bad guy and he was compelling, but I wish there could've been more with the actual stunt squad; I'd have love to seen them be over the top and raise almost as much hell as the villains.

In this film, dude I'll call Not Aaron Eckhart raises a lot of hell, so the squad is formed. The strange thing is, we see the squad do some wacky-ass training in a montage and yet a lot of the action is done by Bozzuffi instead of the titular squad. I found it to be odd. There being only one squad member that isn't a faceless entity is more understandable, but I still thought the mix was peculiar.

Even then, I can say this was good. I loved such things as the action scenes (there's the requisite automobile chases and yes some of them involved motorcycles) and the funky Stelvio Cipriani score. I was bemused then amused that Not Aaron Eckhart only wore out outfit, that being black pants, a boss white with black accents jacket... and no shirt on underneath. “#Look”

Then there were things that greatly amused me, such as the unexpected ending-that I dare not spoil-and two rather sleazy moments that seem appropriate in a genre film; poliziotteschi films are always known for that anyway:

1) Many of these flicks have at least one scene in a nightclub; this was no exception. However, this went incredibly unsubtle and for no reason whatsoever, during a song played by a funky jazz band, several women took off their tops and danced around!

2) Most of you know the motif where it's at night in a terrible inner-city location and to stay warm on a bone-chilling night, trash is lit in a giant 55 gallon drum and everyone huddles around. Here, it is what I presume is a briskly cool morning, and some prostitutes are standing around. To stay warm-because they are scantily-clad-the way they stay warm is... build campfires on the street. Yes, as in putting together a pile of logs & branches and lighting that s*** on fire! Incredible.

Not the best I've ever seen in this genre but I don't regret seeing it either, even if for the bizarre moments.

Cat People (The Remake)

Cat People (1982)

Runtime: 118 minutes

Directed by: Paul Schrader

Starring: Nastassja Kinski, John Heard, Malcolm McDowell, Annette O'Toole, Ruby Dee

From: Universal/RKO

What a movie this remake was. See why below: 

Tuesday night I watched the original Cat People then this sleazy remake, which keeps the idea of people turning into black panthers if horny, some character names, a few scenes are borrowed and little else was used. To address the giant jungle cat in the room, one angle of this movie is incest; on its own that is always creepy, but it became incredibly so when a few years ago, star Nastassja Kinski and her half-sister made some allegations against their dad Klaus... there are some frightening moments in this film but nothing that comes close to that real life horror story. I tried not to think about it but it was pretty difficult not to.

Anyhow, the plot of this is that Kinski reunites with her long-lost brother Malcolm McDowell in New Orleans, a natural city to have spooky goings-on take place. As it's McDowell, saying that you can't trust his character is not too much of a spoiler now, is it? As Kinski and the late John Heard fall in love, things aren't as ambiguous when you compare it to the original Cat People. Yet it definitely is more bold and frank in exploring the sexual subtext of the original; after all, the act of sex has always been animalistic anyway.

What an odd movie this is; I am not just talking about the plot either. The story progresses in a strange manner, in fits and starts. It has a dreamlike quality throughout, sometimes becoming rather obvious. I can still say that this is good. I can't complain about the direction from Paul Schrader nor the performance of the cast, which has other famous faces (Annette O'Toole, Ruby Dee, Ed Begley, Jr., Frankie Faison, and even a small role for John Larroquette. Kinski was great in what was not an easy role; she had to be bold, and not just because she spent a decent amount of time without any clothes on.

A big plus for me was the score from Giorgio Moroder; I am partial to him anyway so there is bias but I thought it was very good. There's more than just David Bowie's Cat People (Putting Out Fire), which surprisingly has been used in some other films; I imagine plenty of people know that version of the song (and not the re-recorded version on the legendary Let's Dance album) who have never even watched a minute of this before; I say the tune is pretty great.

I say this and the original should be watched. You may love both for entirely different reasons, or you could be me and think that both are at least good and they each have their unique merits.