*Get a copy of How to Be a Christian Without Being Religious by Fritz Ridenour on Amazon here*
*Get a copy of Meditations: A New Translation by Marcus Aurelius, translated by Gregory Hays on Amazon here*
*Get a copy of The Daily Stoic: 366 Meditations on Wisdom, Perseverance, and the Art of Living by Ryan Holiday and Stephen Hanselman on Amazon here*
*Get a copy of So What's the Difference? by Fritz Ridenour on Amazon here*
Stoicism says not to do good deeds for the recognition- "the third thing." Marcus Aurelius says "Ask yourself at every moment- is this necessary?" Not only is this a profound line to ask yourself, but you must pause to remember to ask it, instead of chalking up a decision to chance or a whim. Even asking the question over a simple choice make harder decisions easier to discern and understand. You might still make a "bad" decision, but you'll be able to justify your decision-making process to others who question or disagree. You might understand why they felt they were right, or you can explain why your unpopular decision actually worked. Or, you might keep the question to yourself since you should perform good deeds like no one is watching.
Starting when I read this statement, I decided to keep the "is this necessary?" question in my head, especially concerning making money and better self-care. Fritz Ridenour says challenges teach patience, and patience strengthens character. Combine this statement with Marcus Aurelius'- how many of our challenges are due to us not asking "is this necessary?". We could still work through our challenges with God's help, we shouldn't stop praying and handle troubles on our own, and we wouldn't need to ask "is this necessary" if the situation involves sin. We have been given a great gift that we don't deserve because of God's grace, so questioning whether we should commit a sin or not shouldn't require a second thought. Have God help you when you're undecided or troubled, "is this necessary"- let Him show you that yes or no, He loves you and wants to help.
Thursday, October 17, 2024
Aphrodisiac!: The Sexual Secret of Marijuana (1971)
*Get a physical copy of "Wonderland" on Amazon here*
*Get a copy of John Holmes: A Life Measured in Inches by Jennifer Sugar & Jill C. Nelson on Amazon here*
*Get a physical copy of "Boogie Nights" on Amazon here*
*Get a copy of The Road Through Wonderland: Surviving John Holmes by Dawn Schiller on Amazon here*
This quasi-documentary shows the viewer that hey, pot ain't as bad as booze, man...oh, and here's some nudity. Did you know that marijuana is an aphrodisiac? Really? Well, thanks to "documentary dramatization," we get three situations where pot loosened up some frigid men and women, and turned them into love machines.
The first story involves a virgin and her husband on their wedding night. For two years, the husband and wife make love in the dark, and hate every moment of it. Finally, in a strip club, with the world's worst exotic dancer bouncing in the background, a psychiatrist advises the husband to use pot to thaw out his wife. It works and everyone is happy. The second story had an uncredited John Holmes playing a businessman who releases stress by smoking a joint and giving his secretary "dictation" right there on his desk. The third story has a female hippie protesting war who sleeps with a stranger who is protesting smog. As she narrates a stream of consciousness speech equating sex to candy, the couple make love just off some campus quad after sharing a joint. Interspersed among the sex scenes is actual documentary footage shot on Hollywood Boulevard as normal folk are stopped and asked about marijuana. We also get a history lesson about marijuana, and plenty of speechifying about how pot is not as bad as liquor, tobacco, or coffee, and the film makers somehow manage to work in footage of the shooting of Lee Harvey Oswald.
The film I saw ran only forty-two minutes, but there is a full version that runs seventy-seven minutes, complete with hardcore sex inserts. I doubt all the sex would have made the film much better. This is pretty funny. Its earnestness about the benefits of marijuana, and how no one has ever died or graduated to harder drugs or caught cancer from pot is naive now, considering what is known about it. I laughed out loud when John Holmes showed up. His drug abuse and involvement in the Wonderland murders is as legendary as his "onscreen talent," and he doesn't make a credible spokesperson singing the praises of pot. I don't care whether you light up a bowl or not (I don't), but I do know of people under the influence of pot killing the innocent, harder drugs being taken up when pot was not enough, and that marijuana smoke does contain carcinogens. This film pretends none of this could ever happen, boldly wearing its ignorance like a badge. I guarantee it's one documentary they didn't show you in high school health class. Known by a ton of alternate names.
Stats:
(1971) 42 min. (*) out of five stars
-Written and Directed by Dennis Van Zak
-Cast: John Holmes, Andy Bellamy, Billy Curtis, Starlyn Simone, Maria Arnold, Sunny Boyd, George E. Carey, Sandy Dempsey, Jon Evans, Lynn Holmes, Billy Lane, Patti Lee, Sheldon Lee, Levi Richards
(Unrated)
*Get a copy of John Holmes: A Life Measured in Inches by Jennifer Sugar & Jill C. Nelson on Amazon here*
*Get a physical copy of "Boogie Nights" on Amazon here*
*Get a copy of The Road Through Wonderland: Surviving John Holmes by Dawn Schiller on Amazon here*
This quasi-documentary shows the viewer that hey, pot ain't as bad as booze, man...oh, and here's some nudity. Did you know that marijuana is an aphrodisiac? Really? Well, thanks to "documentary dramatization," we get three situations where pot loosened up some frigid men and women, and turned them into love machines.
The first story involves a virgin and her husband on their wedding night. For two years, the husband and wife make love in the dark, and hate every moment of it. Finally, in a strip club, with the world's worst exotic dancer bouncing in the background, a psychiatrist advises the husband to use pot to thaw out his wife. It works and everyone is happy. The second story had an uncredited John Holmes playing a businessman who releases stress by smoking a joint and giving his secretary "dictation" right there on his desk. The third story has a female hippie protesting war who sleeps with a stranger who is protesting smog. As she narrates a stream of consciousness speech equating sex to candy, the couple make love just off some campus quad after sharing a joint. Interspersed among the sex scenes is actual documentary footage shot on Hollywood Boulevard as normal folk are stopped and asked about marijuana. We also get a history lesson about marijuana, and plenty of speechifying about how pot is not as bad as liquor, tobacco, or coffee, and the film makers somehow manage to work in footage of the shooting of Lee Harvey Oswald.
The film I saw ran only forty-two minutes, but there is a full version that runs seventy-seven minutes, complete with hardcore sex inserts. I doubt all the sex would have made the film much better. This is pretty funny. Its earnestness about the benefits of marijuana, and how no one has ever died or graduated to harder drugs or caught cancer from pot is naive now, considering what is known about it. I laughed out loud when John Holmes showed up. His drug abuse and involvement in the Wonderland murders is as legendary as his "onscreen talent," and he doesn't make a credible spokesperson singing the praises of pot. I don't care whether you light up a bowl or not (I don't), but I do know of people under the influence of pot killing the innocent, harder drugs being taken up when pot was not enough, and that marijuana smoke does contain carcinogens. This film pretends none of this could ever happen, boldly wearing its ignorance like a badge. I guarantee it's one documentary they didn't show you in high school health class. Known by a ton of alternate names.
Stats:
(1971) 42 min. (*) out of five stars
-Written and Directed by Dennis Van Zak
-Cast: John Holmes, Andy Bellamy, Billy Curtis, Starlyn Simone, Maria Arnold, Sunny Boyd, George E. Carey, Sandy Dempsey, Jon Evans, Lynn Holmes, Billy Lane, Patti Lee, Sheldon Lee, Levi Richards
(Unrated)
The Assisi Underground (1985)
*Get a physical copy of "The Assisi Underground" on Amazon here*
*Watch "The Assisi Underground" on Amazon Prime Video here*
*Get a physical copy of The Assisi Underground: The Priests Who Rescued Jews by Alexander Ramati on Amazon here*
*Get "The Assisi Underground" wall decor on Amazon here*
The story of Italian priests hiding Jews in the Chapel of St. Francis and Cloister of St. Clare should have been given better treatment than this poorly done film.
Slashed by almost an hour from its original release, Padre Rufino (Ben Cross) is asked by Bishop Nicolini (James Mason) to hide some Jews in the monastery and cloister at Assisi. He does, while making friends with thoughtful Nazi Colonel Muller (Maximilian Schell), the town commandant. Jews are almost discovered, the war ends, and everyone gets a little mention about what happened to them at the end of the film.
The film's pace is dull, it is nothing more than Nazi extras asking for identification papers and Cross looking like the cat that ate the canary. I half expected him to wink at the camera every time a Nazi goosestepped into frame. Cross often forgets his Italian accent but Mason's idea of an Italian accent is to add an "uh" syllable at the end of every word, such as "We-uh must-uh help-uh the-uh Jews-uh." Most of his speeches are completely devoid of comprehension, I thought I was listening to gibberish. The Jews here are not portrayed as victims, it's more like they have been inconvenienced by World War II. They do not come across as stoic and bold, but spoiled and complaining. In one embarrassing scene, Rufino, loved by all Jews who meet him, does a magic trick, compliments a painting, and comforts Jews like he is the activities director at an adult day care facility. Schell comes off best as the Nazi officer torn between his obligation to the Third Reich and his upbringing as a Catholic, not enough of his inner turmoil was explored. The film also features a horrendous soundtrack that sounds like bits and pieces of other war films just thrown into the sound mix. There are a couple of battle scenes, one with obvious stock footage, but this is not good.
"The Assisi Underground" was made by the guys at the old Cannon Group studio, and watching this was my first error if you are familiar with their product.
Stats:
(1985) 115 min. (*) out of five stars
-Directed by Alexander Ramati
-Written by Alexander Ramati based on his novel
-Cast: Ben Cross, James Mason, Maximilian Schell, Irene Papas, Edmund Purdom, Karlheinz Hackl, Riccardo Cucciolla, Angelo Infanti, Paolo Malco, Tom Felleghy, Delia Boccardo, Roberto Bisacco, Didi Ramati
(PG)
*Watch "The Assisi Underground" on Amazon Prime Video here*
*Get a physical copy of The Assisi Underground: The Priests Who Rescued Jews by Alexander Ramati on Amazon here*
*Get "The Assisi Underground" wall decor on Amazon here*
The story of Italian priests hiding Jews in the Chapel of St. Francis and Cloister of St. Clare should have been given better treatment than this poorly done film.
Slashed by almost an hour from its original release, Padre Rufino (Ben Cross) is asked by Bishop Nicolini (James Mason) to hide some Jews in the monastery and cloister at Assisi. He does, while making friends with thoughtful Nazi Colonel Muller (Maximilian Schell), the town commandant. Jews are almost discovered, the war ends, and everyone gets a little mention about what happened to them at the end of the film.
The film's pace is dull, it is nothing more than Nazi extras asking for identification papers and Cross looking like the cat that ate the canary. I half expected him to wink at the camera every time a Nazi goosestepped into frame. Cross often forgets his Italian accent but Mason's idea of an Italian accent is to add an "uh" syllable at the end of every word, such as "We-uh must-uh help-uh the-uh Jews-uh." Most of his speeches are completely devoid of comprehension, I thought I was listening to gibberish. The Jews here are not portrayed as victims, it's more like they have been inconvenienced by World War II. They do not come across as stoic and bold, but spoiled and complaining. In one embarrassing scene, Rufino, loved by all Jews who meet him, does a magic trick, compliments a painting, and comforts Jews like he is the activities director at an adult day care facility. Schell comes off best as the Nazi officer torn between his obligation to the Third Reich and his upbringing as a Catholic, not enough of his inner turmoil was explored. The film also features a horrendous soundtrack that sounds like bits and pieces of other war films just thrown into the sound mix. There are a couple of battle scenes, one with obvious stock footage, but this is not good.
"The Assisi Underground" was made by the guys at the old Cannon Group studio, and watching this was my first error if you are familiar with their product.
Stats:
(1985) 115 min. (*) out of five stars
-Directed by Alexander Ramati
-Written by Alexander Ramati based on his novel
-Cast: Ben Cross, James Mason, Maximilian Schell, Irene Papas, Edmund Purdom, Karlheinz Hackl, Riccardo Cucciolla, Angelo Infanti, Paolo Malco, Tom Felleghy, Delia Boccardo, Roberto Bisacco, Didi Ramati
(PG)
Bruce Lee in New Guinea (1978)
*Get a physical copy of "Bruce Lee in New Guinea" on Amazon here*
*Get a physical copy of Bruce Lee: His Greatest Hits (The Big Boss/Fist of Fury/The Way of the Dragon/Enter the Dragon/Game of Death) Blu-ray Criterion Collection on Amazon here*
*Get a physical copy of "Iron Fists and Kung Fu Kicks" on Amazon here*
*Get Bruce Lee wall decor on Amazon here*
Bruce Li is an anthropologist/martial arts expert who is led by a friend to an island near New Guinea. A cult on the island worships snakes- what else are you going to do on a land mass named Snake Worship Island? Spoilers in the following review.
A devil sect runs the island, and the island princess is powerless to stop them. The duo is led by some comic relief guides, and meet another man who is looking for a "snake pearl," a giant jewel. He meets up with the Great Wizard and is fatally poisoned, but not before warning Li of the wizard's powers. Li fights the wizard, gets poisoned too, and disappears. Much later, Li turns up back in Hong Kong with a story: he was saved by the princess and fell in love with her, forced to leave by the wizard. Li and his friend decide to go back to Snake Worship Island, this time to rescue his love, and the child he did not know he had fathered.
I apologize for the lack of characters' names, but no one is identified during the credits. What is left is a howlingly bad martial arts film, with enough camp and action to keep it out of the one-star category. Bruce Li was one of many Bruce Lee look alikes who popped up after Lee's untimely death. He looks like Lee in some shots, but Li lacks the intensity that Lee conveyed in his film work. The snake worship cult is hilarious. Their giant temple is the size of the living room I watched the video in. Their costuming is especially funny, multicolored short shorts and matching headbands. The dubbing, always bad in these things, is bad here, too. However, the martial arts action is pretty cool. The choreography is top notch, and the special effects are not too badly done except for a terrible looking snake spell put on a baby. There is also a large amount of female nudity here, for those who need that to make this kind of film complete.
Weird pacing, snake worship, naked beach frolicking, a poisonous ring, and a secondary villain who looks like Cat Stevens- what more could you want? "Bruce Lee in New Guinea" is dumb campy fun, and nothing the Foreign Language Film Academy Award Nominating Committee overlooked that year.
Stats:
(1978) 80 min. (* *) out of five stars
-Directed by C.Y. Yang
-Screenplay by Ku-Yao Yang
-Cast: Bruce Li, Dana, Sing Chen, Bolo Yeung, Jim Bruce, Alan Ellerton, Ju Fang, Chin-Kun Li, Kwai Shan, Mao Shan, Chin-Lai Sung, Chin-Tang Tang, Siu-Ming To, Tau Wan Ye, Fa-Yuan Li, Hoi-Sang Lee, Kar-Yung Lau, Lik Cheung
(Not Rated)
*Get a physical copy of Bruce Lee: His Greatest Hits (The Big Boss/Fist of Fury/The Way of the Dragon/Enter the Dragon/Game of Death) Blu-ray Criterion Collection on Amazon here*
*Get a physical copy of "Iron Fists and Kung Fu Kicks" on Amazon here*
*Get Bruce Lee wall decor on Amazon here*
Bruce Li is an anthropologist/martial arts expert who is led by a friend to an island near New Guinea. A cult on the island worships snakes- what else are you going to do on a land mass named Snake Worship Island? Spoilers in the following review.
A devil sect runs the island, and the island princess is powerless to stop them. The duo is led by some comic relief guides, and meet another man who is looking for a "snake pearl," a giant jewel. He meets up with the Great Wizard and is fatally poisoned, but not before warning Li of the wizard's powers. Li fights the wizard, gets poisoned too, and disappears. Much later, Li turns up back in Hong Kong with a story: he was saved by the princess and fell in love with her, forced to leave by the wizard. Li and his friend decide to go back to Snake Worship Island, this time to rescue his love, and the child he did not know he had fathered.
I apologize for the lack of characters' names, but no one is identified during the credits. What is left is a howlingly bad martial arts film, with enough camp and action to keep it out of the one-star category. Bruce Li was one of many Bruce Lee look alikes who popped up after Lee's untimely death. He looks like Lee in some shots, but Li lacks the intensity that Lee conveyed in his film work. The snake worship cult is hilarious. Their giant temple is the size of the living room I watched the video in. Their costuming is especially funny, multicolored short shorts and matching headbands. The dubbing, always bad in these things, is bad here, too. However, the martial arts action is pretty cool. The choreography is top notch, and the special effects are not too badly done except for a terrible looking snake spell put on a baby. There is also a large amount of female nudity here, for those who need that to make this kind of film complete.
Weird pacing, snake worship, naked beach frolicking, a poisonous ring, and a secondary villain who looks like Cat Stevens- what more could you want? "Bruce Lee in New Guinea" is dumb campy fun, and nothing the Foreign Language Film Academy Award Nominating Committee overlooked that year.
Stats:
(1978) 80 min. (* *) out of five stars
-Directed by C.Y. Yang
-Screenplay by Ku-Yao Yang
-Cast: Bruce Li, Dana, Sing Chen, Bolo Yeung, Jim Bruce, Alan Ellerton, Ju Fang, Chin-Kun Li, Kwai Shan, Mao Shan, Chin-Lai Sung, Chin-Tang Tang, Siu-Ming To, Tau Wan Ye, Fa-Yuan Li, Hoi-Sang Lee, Kar-Yung Lau, Lik Cheung
(Not Rated)
The Art of Murder (1999)
*Get a physical copy of "The Art of Murder" on Amazon here*
*Watch "The Art of Murder" on Amazon Prime Video here*
*Get Joanna Pacula wall decor on Amazon here*
*Get Michael Moriarty "Law and Order" wall decor on Amazon here*
Suffering from a title that sounds like an old episode of "Murder, She Wrote," this typical straight-to-video erotic thriller is neither erotic, nor thrilling, nor good.
Elizabeth (Joanna Pacula) is married to old drunk Cole (Michael Moriarty). Elizabeth is also sleeping with Cole's younger business partner Tony (Boyd Kestner). Elizabeth also dabbles in painting, mostly anonymous seascapes of the surrounding Seattle-set, Vancouver-BC-shot area. Willie (Peter Onorati) arrives on the scene with some photos of Tony and Elizabeth, er, opening each other's galleries, and blackmails the duo. At the first payment drop, things go bad. Elizabeth ends up shooting Willie. Tony and Elizabeth hide Willie's body in the lake, but curiosity gets the better of our Liz. She goes to Willie's isolated cabin and finds more photos of herself. Concluding that Willie was obsessed with her, she burns the place to the ground- which only creates further problems. Is it me, or is this reading like a soap opera plot summary you find in the newspaper TV listings?
The video box claims Elizabeth "seems to have it all." It mentions the rich hubby, the big manse, and the affair. This is what a woman having it all gets? Are women supposed to cheer for Elizabeth's predicament, instead of tiring of a spoiled adulterous seascape painter? Moriarty plays a drunk well. In fact, I would hazard to guess that is not just iced tea in the glasses of booze he swills. He looks physically ill, his voice is a raspy whisper, and I would worry about this actor if I were a friend or family member. Poor Kestner is handsome and dashing, but is asked to play a dumb pretty boy role. Onorati is also a talented actor I have seen before, but he gets the one-note jerk villain role here. Comparisons to a soap opera are not that far off. Cut the few nude scenes and a couple of curse words, and you would have a special hour and a half episode of "Passions" or "Another World," or any other now-forgotten sudser. The direction is standard, television episode quality; Preuss does not try to do anything with the bland script.
Despite the title, "The Art of Murder" has little to do with art. Sure, there is murder, but watching that old episode of "Murder, She Wrote" might be more challenging than this shallow take. I can guarantee the acting and writing would be on the same level.
Stats:
(1999) 100 min. (*) out of five stars
-Directed by Ruben Preuss
-Screenplay by Anthony Stark & Sean K. Smith
-Cast: Michael Moriarty, Joanna Pacula, Boyd Kestner, Peter Onorati, Frank Gorshin, Nathaniel DeVeaux, Kathryn Anderson, Betty Linde, Mark Brandon, Thomas Miller, Jaclynn Grad, John Nelson, John Tierney, Kim Stern
(R)
*Watch "The Art of Murder" on Amazon Prime Video here*
*Get Joanna Pacula wall decor on Amazon here*
*Get Michael Moriarty "Law and Order" wall decor on Amazon here*
Suffering from a title that sounds like an old episode of "Murder, She Wrote," this typical straight-to-video erotic thriller is neither erotic, nor thrilling, nor good.
Elizabeth (Joanna Pacula) is married to old drunk Cole (Michael Moriarty). Elizabeth is also sleeping with Cole's younger business partner Tony (Boyd Kestner). Elizabeth also dabbles in painting, mostly anonymous seascapes of the surrounding Seattle-set, Vancouver-BC-shot area. Willie (Peter Onorati) arrives on the scene with some photos of Tony and Elizabeth, er, opening each other's galleries, and blackmails the duo. At the first payment drop, things go bad. Elizabeth ends up shooting Willie. Tony and Elizabeth hide Willie's body in the lake, but curiosity gets the better of our Liz. She goes to Willie's isolated cabin and finds more photos of herself. Concluding that Willie was obsessed with her, she burns the place to the ground- which only creates further problems. Is it me, or is this reading like a soap opera plot summary you find in the newspaper TV listings?
The video box claims Elizabeth "seems to have it all." It mentions the rich hubby, the big manse, and the affair. This is what a woman having it all gets? Are women supposed to cheer for Elizabeth's predicament, instead of tiring of a spoiled adulterous seascape painter? Moriarty plays a drunk well. In fact, I would hazard to guess that is not just iced tea in the glasses of booze he swills. He looks physically ill, his voice is a raspy whisper, and I would worry about this actor if I were a friend or family member. Poor Kestner is handsome and dashing, but is asked to play a dumb pretty boy role. Onorati is also a talented actor I have seen before, but he gets the one-note jerk villain role here. Comparisons to a soap opera are not that far off. Cut the few nude scenes and a couple of curse words, and you would have a special hour and a half episode of "Passions" or "Another World," or any other now-forgotten sudser. The direction is standard, television episode quality; Preuss does not try to do anything with the bland script.
Despite the title, "The Art of Murder" has little to do with art. Sure, there is murder, but watching that old episode of "Murder, She Wrote" might be more challenging than this shallow take. I can guarantee the acting and writing would be on the same level.
Stats:
(1999) 100 min. (*) out of five stars
-Directed by Ruben Preuss
-Screenplay by Anthony Stark & Sean K. Smith
-Cast: Michael Moriarty, Joanna Pacula, Boyd Kestner, Peter Onorati, Frank Gorshin, Nathaniel DeVeaux, Kathryn Anderson, Betty Linde, Mark Brandon, Thomas Miller, Jaclynn Grad, John Nelson, John Tierney, Kim Stern
(R)
Wednesday, October 16, 2024
Brother Sun, Sister Moon (1972)
*Get a physical copy of "Brother Sun, Sister Moon" on Amazon here*
*Get a physical copy of "Francesco" on Amazon here*
*Watch "Brother Sun, Sister Moon" on Amazon Prime Video here*
*Get a physical copy of the "Brother Sun, Sister Moon" Original Motion Picture Soundtrack on Amazon here*
With all the parallels between this movie and the Hippie generation, it is ironic that it's major strengths are its good old fashioned film standards.
Sadly, this film has no real plot to summarize. Graham Faulkner is very good as St. Francis of Assisi, a merchant's son who discovers God one day in the 1200's. He shuns all possessions, lives in poverty, and begins gathering devoted followers as he rebuilds a decrepit church on the outskirts of the city. Pope Innocent III (Alec Guinness) decides an audience with Francis is in order, especially after the local bishop's troops try to burn down the church. The final scene between Francis and the pope is very good and very touching.
Everyone seemed to hate Faulkner's performance except me. He is very good as Francis, wide eyes and seemingly insane, but without being goody-goody. Guinness, looking like Obi Wan Kenobi, is Pope Innocent III, who eventually sees that Francis is living the Christian life so many others crave but are afraid to try. His scene is very good and too short. My main complaint about this film is its lack of story. The pictures are very pretty, the music is nice, but not much happens here. This is a surprise considering the cowriters included the director and Lina Wertmuller, the diva of European cinema. Donovan's songs are no worse than the song compilations that pass themselves off as film soundtracks today. If anything, they are slightly inappropriate considering the time and subject matter, but I will listen to them another hundred times before I hear "Who Let the Dogs Out" on one more movie preview. Judi Bowker as Clare, Francis' comrade in Christ, is absolutely wasted. Her character is the back half of the title of the film, and she is given little to do besides look at Francis coquettishly, and join his gang in time for the film to end.
If anything, the film will have you thinking about your own life and your hold on material possessions. This is not a perfect film, but on par with the Mickey Rourke/Helena Bonham Carter film "Francesco," which covered the same lives.
Stats:
(1972) 121 min. (* * * 1/2) out of five stars
-Directed by Franco Zeffirelli
-Original Story and Screenplay by Suso Cecchi D'Amico, Lina Wertmuller, Franco Zeffirelli, English Dialogue by Kenneth Ross
-Cast: Graham Faulkner, Judi Bowker, Alec Guinness, Leigh Lawson, Kenneth Cranham, Lee Montague, Valentina Cortese, Michael Feast, Nicholas Willatt, Adolfo Celi, Peter Firth, Francesco Guerrieri
(PG)
*Get a physical copy of "Francesco" on Amazon here*
*Watch "Brother Sun, Sister Moon" on Amazon Prime Video here*
*Get a physical copy of the "Brother Sun, Sister Moon" Original Motion Picture Soundtrack on Amazon here*
With all the parallels between this movie and the Hippie generation, it is ironic that it's major strengths are its good old fashioned film standards.
Sadly, this film has no real plot to summarize. Graham Faulkner is very good as St. Francis of Assisi, a merchant's son who discovers God one day in the 1200's. He shuns all possessions, lives in poverty, and begins gathering devoted followers as he rebuilds a decrepit church on the outskirts of the city. Pope Innocent III (Alec Guinness) decides an audience with Francis is in order, especially after the local bishop's troops try to burn down the church. The final scene between Francis and the pope is very good and very touching.
Everyone seemed to hate Faulkner's performance except me. He is very good as Francis, wide eyes and seemingly insane, but without being goody-goody. Guinness, looking like Obi Wan Kenobi, is Pope Innocent III, who eventually sees that Francis is living the Christian life so many others crave but are afraid to try. His scene is very good and too short. My main complaint about this film is its lack of story. The pictures are very pretty, the music is nice, but not much happens here. This is a surprise considering the cowriters included the director and Lina Wertmuller, the diva of European cinema. Donovan's songs are no worse than the song compilations that pass themselves off as film soundtracks today. If anything, they are slightly inappropriate considering the time and subject matter, but I will listen to them another hundred times before I hear "Who Let the Dogs Out" on one more movie preview. Judi Bowker as Clare, Francis' comrade in Christ, is absolutely wasted. Her character is the back half of the title of the film, and she is given little to do besides look at Francis coquettishly, and join his gang in time for the film to end.
If anything, the film will have you thinking about your own life and your hold on material possessions. This is not a perfect film, but on par with the Mickey Rourke/Helena Bonham Carter film "Francesco," which covered the same lives.
Stats:
(1972) 121 min. (* * * 1/2) out of five stars
-Directed by Franco Zeffirelli
-Original Story and Screenplay by Suso Cecchi D'Amico, Lina Wertmuller, Franco Zeffirelli, English Dialogue by Kenneth Ross
-Cast: Graham Faulkner, Judi Bowker, Alec Guinness, Leigh Lawson, Kenneth Cranham, Lee Montague, Valentina Cortese, Michael Feast, Nicholas Willatt, Adolfo Celi, Peter Firth, Francesco Guerrieri
(PG)
...Around (2010)
*Get a physical copy of "Dark Exorcism" on Amazon here*
*Watch "Dark Exorcism" on Amazon Prime Video here*
*Watch "The Cat's Cradle" on Amazon Prime Video here*
*Watch "Fairytale" on Amazon Prime Video here*
As a fan of the documentary "Cinemania," I am aware of a segment of the population that loves film. Films, movies, cinema, motion pictures- whatever you call it, it is the center of their lives. This kind of obsessive love of an art form is what I expected from David Spaltro's "...Around," but in fact, I got a whole lot more.
Doyle Simms (Robert W. Evans) is a New Jerseyite from a broken home who's itching to go to nearby New York City and enroll in film school. That home life is a nightmare, where he and his sister (Ali Tobia) are terrorized by a very bitter mother (Berenice Mosca). Doyle has a dream, no real life plan, and packs up his belongings in plastic bags and departs. His first year is a bit rough, he returns for the summer, then heads back to New York for another eventful year. This year, he was late with some paperwork and denied financial aid. Doyle finds himself homeless, paying his tuition with credit cards, but living out of public restrooms and lockers. He shoplifts, and begins learning how to survive on the street, thanks in part to Saul (Ron Brice), who has accepted his lot in life and wishes Doyle would do the same. Doyle gets an awful part-time job in a restaurant and meets Allyson (Molly Ryman), a wannabe actress who he has already seen nude thanks to conning his way into an anatomy drawing class at his art school. Allyson is very weary of the charming Doyle, but eventually warms up. Doyle keeps returning home to be berated by his increasingly unstable mother, then flees back to his new burgeoning relationship with Allyson. He eventually saves up enough for a tiny apartment, keeps trying to come up with a film thesis, but in his brain, he is still "homeless," feeling trapped when inside. Saul's forecast of "Movie Star"'s life- Saul nicknamed him after hearing Doyle is in film school- looks like it is coming true. Despite new friends and surrogate family members, Doyle's life is not coming together as he and others imagined it would.
Writer/director David Spaltro based his film on actual experiences, and it is clear the he is showing us his story. He tells us in his film that everyone has a story, but unexpectedly never crosses into touchy-feely territory. I've never been homeless (came close years ago), only went to film school for a semester- all film study courses, never touched a camera, but I still completely associated with Doyle's outlook on life, and those life experiences. The film is dark and depressing, but I found it watchable, as Spaltro gets the audience to care about someone who many would have written off a long time ago. Evans as Doyle is excellent. While some of the casting and aging is a little awkward with the cast, Evans and company carry the picture. Molly Ryman is also wonderful in her role, never playing Allyson as an unattainable love interest. Ron Brice and Marcel Torres add gravity as Doyle's friends, and Spaltro gives them great material, so they never become just "supporting friend characters." Mosca is also great, her scenes with Evans in the hospital are also familiar and universal, even though I have never experienced anything like them in my personal life. Spaltro's direction is fantastic and the editing is very professional, making good use of what he shot. My only complaints concern technical aspects, really. Some of the dialogue is a bit hard to understand, and a few scenes sag here and there, especially the Mona the dancer subplot, which seems unnecessary. There was also some confusion about the wrap-around scenes on the bus. I like that Spaltro used actual New York City locations, and wish more productions would. The city has a look and feel that cannot be duplicated in Toronto or other stand-ins.
The title "...Around" comes from an answer Doyle gives when asked where he lives. The film is so much more than a story of a homeless guy who gets through film school. It addresses the definitions of friendship, family, and life. Spaltro and his cast and crew do a nice job, creating characters I came to care about.
Stats:
(2010) 104 min. (* * * *) out of five stars
-Directed and Written by David Spaltro
-Cast: Robert W. Evans, Molly Ryman, Ali Tobia, Berenice Mosca, Ron Brice, Marcel Torres, Veronica Heffron, David Joseph Boyd, Erin Sullivan, Amy Hoerler, Julie Tran, Shawn Mahoney, Steve Grgas, Kristopher Torres
(Not Rated)
*Watch "Dark Exorcism" on Amazon Prime Video here*
*Watch "The Cat's Cradle" on Amazon Prime Video here*
*Watch "Fairytale" on Amazon Prime Video here*
As a fan of the documentary "Cinemania," I am aware of a segment of the population that loves film. Films, movies, cinema, motion pictures- whatever you call it, it is the center of their lives. This kind of obsessive love of an art form is what I expected from David Spaltro's "...Around," but in fact, I got a whole lot more.
Doyle Simms (Robert W. Evans) is a New Jerseyite from a broken home who's itching to go to nearby New York City and enroll in film school. That home life is a nightmare, where he and his sister (Ali Tobia) are terrorized by a very bitter mother (Berenice Mosca). Doyle has a dream, no real life plan, and packs up his belongings in plastic bags and departs. His first year is a bit rough, he returns for the summer, then heads back to New York for another eventful year. This year, he was late with some paperwork and denied financial aid. Doyle finds himself homeless, paying his tuition with credit cards, but living out of public restrooms and lockers. He shoplifts, and begins learning how to survive on the street, thanks in part to Saul (Ron Brice), who has accepted his lot in life and wishes Doyle would do the same. Doyle gets an awful part-time job in a restaurant and meets Allyson (Molly Ryman), a wannabe actress who he has already seen nude thanks to conning his way into an anatomy drawing class at his art school. Allyson is very weary of the charming Doyle, but eventually warms up. Doyle keeps returning home to be berated by his increasingly unstable mother, then flees back to his new burgeoning relationship with Allyson. He eventually saves up enough for a tiny apartment, keeps trying to come up with a film thesis, but in his brain, he is still "homeless," feeling trapped when inside. Saul's forecast of "Movie Star"'s life- Saul nicknamed him after hearing Doyle is in film school- looks like it is coming true. Despite new friends and surrogate family members, Doyle's life is not coming together as he and others imagined it would.
Writer/director David Spaltro based his film on actual experiences, and it is clear the he is showing us his story. He tells us in his film that everyone has a story, but unexpectedly never crosses into touchy-feely territory. I've never been homeless (came close years ago), only went to film school for a semester- all film study courses, never touched a camera, but I still completely associated with Doyle's outlook on life, and those life experiences. The film is dark and depressing, but I found it watchable, as Spaltro gets the audience to care about someone who many would have written off a long time ago. Evans as Doyle is excellent. While some of the casting and aging is a little awkward with the cast, Evans and company carry the picture. Molly Ryman is also wonderful in her role, never playing Allyson as an unattainable love interest. Ron Brice and Marcel Torres add gravity as Doyle's friends, and Spaltro gives them great material, so they never become just "supporting friend characters." Mosca is also great, her scenes with Evans in the hospital are also familiar and universal, even though I have never experienced anything like them in my personal life. Spaltro's direction is fantastic and the editing is very professional, making good use of what he shot. My only complaints concern technical aspects, really. Some of the dialogue is a bit hard to understand, and a few scenes sag here and there, especially the Mona the dancer subplot, which seems unnecessary. There was also some confusion about the wrap-around scenes on the bus. I like that Spaltro used actual New York City locations, and wish more productions would. The city has a look and feel that cannot be duplicated in Toronto or other stand-ins.
The title "...Around" comes from an answer Doyle gives when asked where he lives. The film is so much more than a story of a homeless guy who gets through film school. It addresses the definitions of friendship, family, and life. Spaltro and his cast and crew do a nice job, creating characters I came to care about.
Stats:
(2010) 104 min. (* * * *) out of five stars
-Directed and Written by David Spaltro
-Cast: Robert W. Evans, Molly Ryman, Ali Tobia, Berenice Mosca, Ron Brice, Marcel Torres, Veronica Heffron, David Joseph Boyd, Erin Sullivan, Amy Hoerler, Julie Tran, Shawn Mahoney, Steve Grgas, Kristopher Torres
(Not Rated)
Attack of the Doc! (2023)
*Watch "Attack of the Doc!" on Amazon Prime Video here*
*Visit the film's website, and get a physical copy of "Attack of the Doc!" here*
*Get a physical copy of "My Big Fat Independent Movie" on Amazon here*
*Listen to the Film Threat Podcast on Amazon here*
This documentary covers the cult show "Attack of the Show!" on the old G4 cable television channel. After watching the film, and doing a little reading online, the internet troll vitriol was sometimes more entertaining than the film.
I never saw "Attack of the Show!" or anything else on the G4 network. My first marriage had ended four days before the 9/11 attacks, and I was too busy sulking in a basement apartment or renting a spare bedroom from my best friend to sit down and watch cable television much, when I could afford basic cable at all. I was not a gamer anyway, getting that out of my system back in high school thanks to popping quarters into arcade machines or suffering through the Intellivision system at home. I didn't know AOTS was a thing, and I'm not even sure if G4 was on my system. One thing I was familiar with, however, was Chris Gore. I used to frequent a rundown little gas station in my then-hometown because they carried Film Threat magazine for some ungodly reason that I never figured out. I read and re-read every issue I could get my hands on, along with the Film Threat Video Guide, before loaning my collection to a friend and never seeing them again. I was going to be a film maker back then, carrying around well-worn issues of FT, Entertainment Weekly, Movieline, Premiere, and reading Variety and Film Comment at my alma mater university library. I wrote and directed one music video of a friend's song, graduated from college with a degree in Broadcasting (no, everyone in my life, it's not "the same thing" as film making), and never pursued my chosen career. Writing about film, on the other hand...
When I was in elementary school in the late 1970's and early 1980's (I'm the epitome of Generation X), I used to flip through Leonard Maltin's TV and Movie Guide. I started writing capsule reviews on 3x5 inch index cards, and put them in a little recipe file box. It was stuffed full by the time I got to high school, but it eventually disappeared during one of the many moves in my life as an Air Force Brat. Once I discovered the internet, all bets were off. I wrote reviews for Epinions, and then eFilmCritic/HollywoodBitchslap- those sites are long gone now. I had 10,000 TV and film rankings on IMDb, which consistently crashed my local library's computer. I'm now on Letterboxd, where I have over 6,600 films ranked, and I have almost a thousand old reviews there, as well as spread out on an archive blog, IMDb, TMDB, Amazon, and Rotten Tomatoes. All told, I've made approximately $1.75 from my decades of online film criticism.
I've been watching and reading Chris Gore since he had dark hair, and I had any hair. I don't have time to do entire podcasts, I'm a stay-at-home Dad and recovering victim of three decades in the Corporatethink/Big Box Retail field, but I enjoy Film Threat's clips on YouTube and Rumble, and reading the written reviews on their website. Gore pops up on Film Courage's YouTube channel as well, and his long interviews have me nodding in agreement consistently. I found a kindred spirit in Chris Gore and his Film Threat sidekicks, as well as Heath Holland at Cereal at Midnight, The Critical Drinker, Ryan George at Pitch Meeting, and Jeremy Jahns, and they're among my must-watches. I don't necessarily agree with them all of the time, but I like hearing their views on film, television, and physical media collecting- I own almost a thousand shiny discs and about as many books.
But what about the film?! Sorry, I'm talking about the film maker more than the film- something most of the reviews I read online are guilty of, too. "Attack of the Doc!" is a fun, nostalgic trip down memory lane for a show I had no memory of. Gore couldn't get interviews with the most famous hosts (Kevin Pereira and Olivia Munn), and I don't know why. He covers it well, though, with plenty of old footage from the show as well as voiceover interviews with people involved in the production. Gore himself appeared on over eighty episodes, according to IMDb, and he appears onscreen in recently shot footage. I was never bored, the show seemed like something I could have watched in between episodes of "The State," "Mystery Science Theater 3000," "The Whitest Kids U'Know," "The Kids in the Hall," and all the other subversive comedy I absorbed, if I had known the show existed.
The trolls lambast Gore for an anti-woke section of the film. From my reading, I expected an hours-long diatribe, and was laughing out loud at the very few sentences I heard. They really couldn't do a lot of the material found on AOTS today, and it was funny to read about how "alt-right" Gore is: "A biased Gore inserts himself into the documentary on a show he was barely on and made it all about himself!" I'm hard pressed to think of a documentary that is unbiased, and when it comes to a film maker putting himself into a documentary, have the names Michael Moore or Nick Broomfield, as well as almost every "reality show," been completely forgotten? I wouldn't call eighty episodes "barely on" the show. Gore is criticized more for his honest takes about current pop culture, which is something I appreciate in the left-leaning world of Hollywood and film criticism. Sometimes I just want to read a writer's thoughts on a film without detrimental comparisons to the latest Trump rally, which has nothing to do with the film being reviewed in the first place. This is why I also frequently read John Nolte, Armond White, Bret Easton Ellis, and Christian Toto, and old material from Pauline Kael, Roger Ebert, and Gene Siskel. I don't agree with any of them all the time, but I'm not insulted for being a Middle America Conservative either.
So yes, if you were a G4 fan back in the day, you'll like this film. If you are like me and had no idea what the show or network were about, I think you'll still like this film. Chris Gore is "doing the work" as Gary Vaynerchuk preaches, and I appreciate that.
Stats:
(2023) 87 min. (* * * 1/2) out of five stars
-Written and Directed by Chris Gore
-Featuring: Chris Gore, Kevin Pereira, Olivia Munn, Candace Bailey, Sara Jean Underwood, Morgan Webb, Eric Andre, James Cameron, John Cena, Jimmy Fallon, Alison Haislip, Tom Green, Chris Hardwick, Tony Hawk, Stan Lee
(Not Rated)
*Visit the film's website, and get a physical copy of "Attack of the Doc!" here*
*Get a physical copy of "My Big Fat Independent Movie" on Amazon here*
*Listen to the Film Threat Podcast on Amazon here*
This documentary covers the cult show "Attack of the Show!" on the old G4 cable television channel. After watching the film, and doing a little reading online, the internet troll vitriol was sometimes more entertaining than the film.
I never saw "Attack of the Show!" or anything else on the G4 network. My first marriage had ended four days before the 9/11 attacks, and I was too busy sulking in a basement apartment or renting a spare bedroom from my best friend to sit down and watch cable television much, when I could afford basic cable at all. I was not a gamer anyway, getting that out of my system back in high school thanks to popping quarters into arcade machines or suffering through the Intellivision system at home. I didn't know AOTS was a thing, and I'm not even sure if G4 was on my system. One thing I was familiar with, however, was Chris Gore. I used to frequent a rundown little gas station in my then-hometown because they carried Film Threat magazine for some ungodly reason that I never figured out. I read and re-read every issue I could get my hands on, along with the Film Threat Video Guide, before loaning my collection to a friend and never seeing them again. I was going to be a film maker back then, carrying around well-worn issues of FT, Entertainment Weekly, Movieline, Premiere, and reading Variety and Film Comment at my alma mater university library. I wrote and directed one music video of a friend's song, graduated from college with a degree in Broadcasting (no, everyone in my life, it's not "the same thing" as film making), and never pursued my chosen career. Writing about film, on the other hand...
When I was in elementary school in the late 1970's and early 1980's (I'm the epitome of Generation X), I used to flip through Leonard Maltin's TV and Movie Guide. I started writing capsule reviews on 3x5 inch index cards, and put them in a little recipe file box. It was stuffed full by the time I got to high school, but it eventually disappeared during one of the many moves in my life as an Air Force Brat. Once I discovered the internet, all bets were off. I wrote reviews for Epinions, and then eFilmCritic/HollywoodBitchslap- those sites are long gone now. I had 10,000 TV and film rankings on IMDb, which consistently crashed my local library's computer. I'm now on Letterboxd, where I have over 6,600 films ranked, and I have almost a thousand old reviews there, as well as spread out on an archive blog, IMDb, TMDB, Amazon, and Rotten Tomatoes. All told, I've made approximately $1.75 from my decades of online film criticism.
I've been watching and reading Chris Gore since he had dark hair, and I had any hair. I don't have time to do entire podcasts, I'm a stay-at-home Dad and recovering victim of three decades in the Corporatethink/Big Box Retail field, but I enjoy Film Threat's clips on YouTube and Rumble, and reading the written reviews on their website. Gore pops up on Film Courage's YouTube channel as well, and his long interviews have me nodding in agreement consistently. I found a kindred spirit in Chris Gore and his Film Threat sidekicks, as well as Heath Holland at Cereal at Midnight, The Critical Drinker, Ryan George at Pitch Meeting, and Jeremy Jahns, and they're among my must-watches. I don't necessarily agree with them all of the time, but I like hearing their views on film, television, and physical media collecting- I own almost a thousand shiny discs and about as many books.
But what about the film?! Sorry, I'm talking about the film maker more than the film- something most of the reviews I read online are guilty of, too. "Attack of the Doc!" is a fun, nostalgic trip down memory lane for a show I had no memory of. Gore couldn't get interviews with the most famous hosts (Kevin Pereira and Olivia Munn), and I don't know why. He covers it well, though, with plenty of old footage from the show as well as voiceover interviews with people involved in the production. Gore himself appeared on over eighty episodes, according to IMDb, and he appears onscreen in recently shot footage. I was never bored, the show seemed like something I could have watched in between episodes of "The State," "Mystery Science Theater 3000," "The Whitest Kids U'Know," "The Kids in the Hall," and all the other subversive comedy I absorbed, if I had known the show existed.
The trolls lambast Gore for an anti-woke section of the film. From my reading, I expected an hours-long diatribe, and was laughing out loud at the very few sentences I heard. They really couldn't do a lot of the material found on AOTS today, and it was funny to read about how "alt-right" Gore is: "A biased Gore inserts himself into the documentary on a show he was barely on and made it all about himself!" I'm hard pressed to think of a documentary that is unbiased, and when it comes to a film maker putting himself into a documentary, have the names Michael Moore or Nick Broomfield, as well as almost every "reality show," been completely forgotten? I wouldn't call eighty episodes "barely on" the show. Gore is criticized more for his honest takes about current pop culture, which is something I appreciate in the left-leaning world of Hollywood and film criticism. Sometimes I just want to read a writer's thoughts on a film without detrimental comparisons to the latest Trump rally, which has nothing to do with the film being reviewed in the first place. This is why I also frequently read John Nolte, Armond White, Bret Easton Ellis, and Christian Toto, and old material from Pauline Kael, Roger Ebert, and Gene Siskel. I don't agree with any of them all the time, but I'm not insulted for being a Middle America Conservative either.
So yes, if you were a G4 fan back in the day, you'll like this film. If you are like me and had no idea what the show or network were about, I think you'll still like this film. Chris Gore is "doing the work" as Gary Vaynerchuk preaches, and I appreciate that.
Stats:
(2023) 87 min. (* * * 1/2) out of five stars
-Written and Directed by Chris Gore
-Featuring: Chris Gore, Kevin Pereira, Olivia Munn, Candace Bailey, Sara Jean Underwood, Morgan Webb, Eric Andre, James Cameron, John Cena, Jimmy Fallon, Alison Haislip, Tom Green, Chris Hardwick, Tony Hawk, Stan Lee
(Not Rated)
Sunday, October 13, 2024
The Turning Point (1977)
*Get a physical copy of "The Turning Point" on Amazon here*
*Get the "The Turning Point" Original Motion Picture Soundtrack on Amazon here*
*Get a physical copy of The Turning Point by Arthur Laurents on Amazon here*
*Get "The Turning Point" wall decor on Amazon here*
The year 1977 was very good for director Herbert Ross. Not only did Ross direct this film, which was nominated for eleven Academy Awards, but he also helmed "The Goodbye Girl," which received five nominations. Out of the twenty Oscar acting nominees that year, seven were from his two films. If you love ballet, you will love "The Turning Point." If you have flashbacks to elementary school and suffering through your little sister's bit part in "The Nutcracker" the same way military veterans flashback to combat, you might still like "The Turning Point."
Deedee (Shirley MacLaine) is a former dancer now running a ballet school with her husband Wayne (Tom Skerritt) in Oklahoma City. The American Ballet Company comes through, and Wayne and Deedee reunite with all their old friends and rivals- both incarnated in Emma (Anne Bancroft). Emma and Deedee competed for the same part back in the day, but Deedee ended up pregnant and Emma went on to be a star of the company.
Deedee, however, gave birth to Emilia (Leslie Browne), who is now a supreme dancer in her own right and joins the company. Deedee and Emilia move to New York City for a summer where childless Emma makes herself Emilia's surrogate mom, and Deedee finds herself in the arms of old crush Rosie (Anthony Zerbe), never living the life Emma lives. The two head for a collision course on the night of Emilia's onstage lead debut.
While I am not a big ballet fan, I am a big fan of good acting. MacLaine and Bancroft nail their parts and Ross never lets one actress overshadow the other. Both of them are equally heroic and flawed, so the viewer cannot come down on one side or the other. Leslie Browne is hot and cold as Emilia, letting her great dancing speak for her character. Mikhail Baryshnikov is very effective in a clicheed role as the company horndog Yuri, who quickly beds Emilia. While Wayne is wishy-washy, we find out why at the end of the film, and Skerritt holds his own.
As with "The Goodbye Girl," Ross directs with a vengeance, never letting the camera stop. He is not show-offy or pretentious, but he keeps things going at a fast clip, even the dance sequences. They do not run too long or too short, but are brief enough where you can still appreciate the pure athleticism of the performers. I have not been in awe of dancers like this since I sat through the original "West Side Story." Watch for a wonderfully edited sequence where a fantasy dance between Yuri and Emilia turns into the two making love, a perfect blend of cuts and musical accompaniment. I do complain that the film runs about fifteen minutes too long, and some closure with Deedee and Rosie would have been nice.
"The Turning Point" is not everyone's cup of tea, but the actors and direction save it from being just another melodrama.
Stats:
(1977) 119 min. (* * * *) out of five stars
-Directed by Herbert Ross
-Written by Arthur Laurents
-Cast: Shirley MacLaine, Anne Bancroft, Tom Skerritt, Leslie Browne, Mikhail Baryshnikov, Anthony Zerbe, Martha Scott, Antoinette Sibley, Alexandra Danilova, Starr Danias, Marshall Thompson, James Mitchell
(PG)
*Get the "The Turning Point" Original Motion Picture Soundtrack on Amazon here*
*Get a physical copy of The Turning Point by Arthur Laurents on Amazon here*
*Get "The Turning Point" wall decor on Amazon here*
The year 1977 was very good for director Herbert Ross. Not only did Ross direct this film, which was nominated for eleven Academy Awards, but he also helmed "The Goodbye Girl," which received five nominations. Out of the twenty Oscar acting nominees that year, seven were from his two films. If you love ballet, you will love "The Turning Point." If you have flashbacks to elementary school and suffering through your little sister's bit part in "The Nutcracker" the same way military veterans flashback to combat, you might still like "The Turning Point."
Deedee (Shirley MacLaine) is a former dancer now running a ballet school with her husband Wayne (Tom Skerritt) in Oklahoma City. The American Ballet Company comes through, and Wayne and Deedee reunite with all their old friends and rivals- both incarnated in Emma (Anne Bancroft). Emma and Deedee competed for the same part back in the day, but Deedee ended up pregnant and Emma went on to be a star of the company.
Deedee, however, gave birth to Emilia (Leslie Browne), who is now a supreme dancer in her own right and joins the company. Deedee and Emilia move to New York City for a summer where childless Emma makes herself Emilia's surrogate mom, and Deedee finds herself in the arms of old crush Rosie (Anthony Zerbe), never living the life Emma lives. The two head for a collision course on the night of Emilia's onstage lead debut.
While I am not a big ballet fan, I am a big fan of good acting. MacLaine and Bancroft nail their parts and Ross never lets one actress overshadow the other. Both of them are equally heroic and flawed, so the viewer cannot come down on one side or the other. Leslie Browne is hot and cold as Emilia, letting her great dancing speak for her character. Mikhail Baryshnikov is very effective in a clicheed role as the company horndog Yuri, who quickly beds Emilia. While Wayne is wishy-washy, we find out why at the end of the film, and Skerritt holds his own.
As with "The Goodbye Girl," Ross directs with a vengeance, never letting the camera stop. He is not show-offy or pretentious, but he keeps things going at a fast clip, even the dance sequences. They do not run too long or too short, but are brief enough where you can still appreciate the pure athleticism of the performers. I have not been in awe of dancers like this since I sat through the original "West Side Story." Watch for a wonderfully edited sequence where a fantasy dance between Yuri and Emilia turns into the two making love, a perfect blend of cuts and musical accompaniment. I do complain that the film runs about fifteen minutes too long, and some closure with Deedee and Rosie would have been nice.
"The Turning Point" is not everyone's cup of tea, but the actors and direction save it from being just another melodrama.
Stats:
(1977) 119 min. (* * * *) out of five stars
-Directed by Herbert Ross
-Written by Arthur Laurents
-Cast: Shirley MacLaine, Anne Bancroft, Tom Skerritt, Leslie Browne, Mikhail Baryshnikov, Anthony Zerbe, Martha Scott, Antoinette Sibley, Alexandra Danilova, Starr Danias, Marshall Thompson, James Mitchell
(PG)
Doc (1971)
*Get a physical copy of "Doc" on Amazon here*
*Watch "Doc" on Amazon Prime Video here*
*Get a physical copy of "Tombstone" on Amazon here*
*Get a physical copy of "Wyatt Earp" on Amazon here*
Before the duelling biopics of "Tombstone" and "Wyatt Earp" in the 1990's, this 1971 effort had already decided to set the record straight about John "Doc" Holliday, Wyatt Earp's best friend and participant in the gunfight at the OK Corral. Just over an hour and a half, this film skips a lot of the epic western cliches and goes right into its meaty story.
Doc Holliday (Stacy Keach) buys prostitute Katie Elder (Faye Dunaway) from local bad boy Ike Clanton (Michael Witney), and takes her to Tombstone, Arizona Territory where he meets up with his best friend Wyatt Earp (Harris Yulin). Earp has political aspirations in the territory, and wants to control the law while Holliday would control the gambling. Elder and Holliday break up briefly, but then shack up on the edge of town, much to the chagrin of Earp's upstanding wife. Earp and Holliday begin drifting apart, both over Elder and law enforcement, but reunite in time for the climactic shootout in the infamous corral, resulting in the deaths of some major characters.
A few scenes are played a little too quietly, and move a little too slowly. The real success here is with the lead actors- professionals, all. Keach is excellent as a Doc Holliday we have never seen before. His physical moves are smooth and suave, like a professional gambler should be, and Keach takes us along on an acting job that looks effortless. Dunaway is Katie Elder, the lifelong prostitute who finds it hard to change herself just to please everyone else's idea of what a couple should be. Dunaway is unglamorous, and never stumbles into the "hooker with a heart of gold" stereotype. Yulin, who is better known as a character actor, is great as Wyatt Earp. He is mean, delivering threatening lines with menace, and also not a clearcut hero. His speech to the crowd after the gunfight, as he stands near a dead body and renews his promise to clean up Tombstone, is great. Aside from a couple of slow spots and spotty editing, "Doc" is a terrific and underrated western that deserves a cult audience. I highly recommend it. Also known as "'Doc'."
Stats:
(1971) 96 min. (* * * * 1/2) out of five stars
-Directed by Frank Perry
-Written by Pete Hamill
-Cast: Stacy Keach, Faye Dunaway, Harris Yulin, Michael Witney, Denver John Collins, Dan Greenburg, John Scanlon, Richard McKenzie, John Bottoms, Philip Shafer, Penelope Allen, James Greene, Antonia Rey, Marshall Efron
(PG)
*Watch "Doc" on Amazon Prime Video here*
*Get a physical copy of "Tombstone" on Amazon here*
*Get a physical copy of "Wyatt Earp" on Amazon here*
Before the duelling biopics of "Tombstone" and "Wyatt Earp" in the 1990's, this 1971 effort had already decided to set the record straight about John "Doc" Holliday, Wyatt Earp's best friend and participant in the gunfight at the OK Corral. Just over an hour and a half, this film skips a lot of the epic western cliches and goes right into its meaty story.
Doc Holliday (Stacy Keach) buys prostitute Katie Elder (Faye Dunaway) from local bad boy Ike Clanton (Michael Witney), and takes her to Tombstone, Arizona Territory where he meets up with his best friend Wyatt Earp (Harris Yulin). Earp has political aspirations in the territory, and wants to control the law while Holliday would control the gambling. Elder and Holliday break up briefly, but then shack up on the edge of town, much to the chagrin of Earp's upstanding wife. Earp and Holliday begin drifting apart, both over Elder and law enforcement, but reunite in time for the climactic shootout in the infamous corral, resulting in the deaths of some major characters.
A few scenes are played a little too quietly, and move a little too slowly. The real success here is with the lead actors- professionals, all. Keach is excellent as a Doc Holliday we have never seen before. His physical moves are smooth and suave, like a professional gambler should be, and Keach takes us along on an acting job that looks effortless. Dunaway is Katie Elder, the lifelong prostitute who finds it hard to change herself just to please everyone else's idea of what a couple should be. Dunaway is unglamorous, and never stumbles into the "hooker with a heart of gold" stereotype. Yulin, who is better known as a character actor, is great as Wyatt Earp. He is mean, delivering threatening lines with menace, and also not a clearcut hero. His speech to the crowd after the gunfight, as he stands near a dead body and renews his promise to clean up Tombstone, is great. Aside from a couple of slow spots and spotty editing, "Doc" is a terrific and underrated western that deserves a cult audience. I highly recommend it. Also known as "'Doc'."
Stats:
(1971) 96 min. (* * * * 1/2) out of five stars
-Directed by Frank Perry
-Written by Pete Hamill
-Cast: Stacy Keach, Faye Dunaway, Harris Yulin, Michael Witney, Denver John Collins, Dan Greenburg, John Scanlon, Richard McKenzie, John Bottoms, Philip Shafer, Penelope Allen, James Greene, Antonia Rey, Marshall Efron
(PG)
101 Dalmatians (1996)
*Get a physical copy of "101 Dalmatians" (1996) on Amazon here*
*Get a physical copy of "102 Dalmatians" (2000) on Amazon here*
*Get a physical copy of "101 Dalmatians" (1961) on Amazon here*
*Get a physical copy of "Cruella" on Amazon here*
Disney live action remakes of their animated films is nothing new. Back in 1996, they plumbed the depths and created this one hundred minute commercial for their Dalmatian products.
Glenn Close perfectly embodies Cruella DeVil, the fashion designing boss of Anita (Joely Richardson). Roger (Jeff Daniels) has a Dalmatian, like Anita, but he is unsuccessful as a video game designer- living in London, that hotbed of video game designing. Anita and Roger meet overly cute, and their dogs Pongo (his) and Perdy (hers) fall in love, too. Anita and Roger marry, and get pregnant. Pongo and Perdy marry, and get pregnant. Poor Perdy squeezes out fifteen puppies, under the watchful eye of Nanny (a slumming Joan Plowright), when Cruella returns and offers to buy the puppies. Inspired by one of Anita's designs, she plans to make a giant fur coat out of them, needing these final fifteen for her frock. Anita and Roger do not sell so the puppies are dognapped by henchmen Jasper (Hugh Laurie) and Horace (Mark Williams), who look exactly like their animated counterparts from the better Disney film. The very long finale is one giant rescue scene, as the puppies are helped by other animals to escape, with Cruella, the henchmen, and a psychotic mute taxidermist named Skinner (John Shrapnel) on their collective tails.
Screenwriter John Hughes apes his "Home Alone" ingredient of having grown men injured by cute creatures so often, I though I was watching an unauthorized sequel. Director Stephen Herek is no Chris Columbus, however. While Columbus can direct (usually), Herek is all over the place, not quite sure what he should be capturing in order to double the audience over with laughter. The scene where Anita and Roger meet after wrecking their bikes thanks to their runaway dogs is milked for all it is worth and runs way too long. The editing is not tight, as Herek switches back and forth between multiple cameras, and capturing extreme close-ups of "funny business" instead of just letting the actors be funny. Daniels and Richardson get lost in the shuffle, making no impression on the audience whatsoever. Glenn Close is just right for the part, with some amazing costumes and hair, but she seems reined in as well. The film makers cannot decide if their audience is innocent children or their tired parents. Some of the dialogue is harsh, like the villains' plans for the puppies, but that is offset by sugar coating too many scenes, including the finale. There are also a couple of clips from other Disney films in the movie, but this does not seem like an inside joke so much as free advertising for other Disney videos back then.
In the end, "101 Dalmatians" fails to deliver on its intent. Close almost breaks free from the shackles of marketing mediocrity, but the real loser here is the audience. The puppies are adorable, though. Followed by a sequel.
Stats:
(1996) 103 min. (* *) out of five stars
-Directed by Stephen Herek
-Screenplay by John Hughes, based on the novel by Dodie Smith
-Cast: Glenn Close, Jeff Daniels, Joely Richardson, Joan Plowright, Hugh Laurie, Mark Williams, John Shrapnel, Tim McInnerny, Hugh Fraser, Zohren Weiss, Mark Haddigan, Michael Percival, Neville Phillips, John Benfield
(G)
*Get a physical copy of "102 Dalmatians" (2000) on Amazon here*
*Get a physical copy of "101 Dalmatians" (1961) on Amazon here*
*Get a physical copy of "Cruella" on Amazon here*
Disney live action remakes of their animated films is nothing new. Back in 1996, they plumbed the depths and created this one hundred minute commercial for their Dalmatian products.
Glenn Close perfectly embodies Cruella DeVil, the fashion designing boss of Anita (Joely Richardson). Roger (Jeff Daniels) has a Dalmatian, like Anita, but he is unsuccessful as a video game designer- living in London, that hotbed of video game designing. Anita and Roger meet overly cute, and their dogs Pongo (his) and Perdy (hers) fall in love, too. Anita and Roger marry, and get pregnant. Pongo and Perdy marry, and get pregnant. Poor Perdy squeezes out fifteen puppies, under the watchful eye of Nanny (a slumming Joan Plowright), when Cruella returns and offers to buy the puppies. Inspired by one of Anita's designs, she plans to make a giant fur coat out of them, needing these final fifteen for her frock. Anita and Roger do not sell so the puppies are dognapped by henchmen Jasper (Hugh Laurie) and Horace (Mark Williams), who look exactly like their animated counterparts from the better Disney film. The very long finale is one giant rescue scene, as the puppies are helped by other animals to escape, with Cruella, the henchmen, and a psychotic mute taxidermist named Skinner (John Shrapnel) on their collective tails.
Screenwriter John Hughes apes his "Home Alone" ingredient of having grown men injured by cute creatures so often, I though I was watching an unauthorized sequel. Director Stephen Herek is no Chris Columbus, however. While Columbus can direct (usually), Herek is all over the place, not quite sure what he should be capturing in order to double the audience over with laughter. The scene where Anita and Roger meet after wrecking their bikes thanks to their runaway dogs is milked for all it is worth and runs way too long. The editing is not tight, as Herek switches back and forth between multiple cameras, and capturing extreme close-ups of "funny business" instead of just letting the actors be funny. Daniels and Richardson get lost in the shuffle, making no impression on the audience whatsoever. Glenn Close is just right for the part, with some amazing costumes and hair, but she seems reined in as well. The film makers cannot decide if their audience is innocent children or their tired parents. Some of the dialogue is harsh, like the villains' plans for the puppies, but that is offset by sugar coating too many scenes, including the finale. There are also a couple of clips from other Disney films in the movie, but this does not seem like an inside joke so much as free advertising for other Disney videos back then.
In the end, "101 Dalmatians" fails to deliver on its intent. Close almost breaks free from the shackles of marketing mediocrity, but the real loser here is the audience. The puppies are adorable, though. Followed by a sequel.
Stats:
(1996) 103 min. (* *) out of five stars
-Directed by Stephen Herek
-Screenplay by John Hughes, based on the novel by Dodie Smith
-Cast: Glenn Close, Jeff Daniels, Joely Richardson, Joan Plowright, Hugh Laurie, Mark Williams, John Shrapnel, Tim McInnerny, Hugh Fraser, Zohren Weiss, Mark Haddigan, Michael Percival, Neville Phillips, John Benfield
(G)
Saturday, October 12, 2024
My Top 10 Favorite Films of All Time
Out of about 7,000 films I have seen:
Ranking, Title, (Year of Release) Director
1. Cabaret (1972) Bob Fosse
2. Halloween (1978) John Carpenter
3. One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest (1975) Milos Forman
4. Mystery Science Theater 3000: The Movie (1996) Jim Mallon
5. Dear Zachary: A Letter to a Son About His Father (2008) Kurt Kuenne
6. Pixote (1980) Hector Babenco
7. The Thing (1982) John Carpenter
8. All That Jazz (1979) Bob Fosse
9. Poltergeist (1982) Tobe Hooper
10. Lawrence of Arabia (1962) David Lean
Worst Film I've Ever Seen: Luna Park (2013) Steven Vasquez
Ranking, Title, (Year of Release) Director
1. Cabaret (1972) Bob Fosse
2. Halloween (1978) John Carpenter
3. One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest (1975) Milos Forman
4. Mystery Science Theater 3000: The Movie (1996) Jim Mallon
5. Dear Zachary: A Letter to a Son About His Father (2008) Kurt Kuenne
6. Pixote (1980) Hector Babenco
7. The Thing (1982) John Carpenter
8. All That Jazz (1979) Bob Fosse
9. Poltergeist (1982) Tobe Hooper
10. Lawrence of Arabia (1962) David Lean
Worst Film I've Ever Seen: Luna Park (2013) Steven Vasquez
The Ape (1940)
*Get a physical copy of "The Ape" on Amazon here*
*Watch "The Ape" on Amazon Prime Video here*
*Get a copy of Boris Karloff: A Gentleman's Life by Scott Allen Nollen on Amazon here*
*Get a copy of The Karloff Compendium: The Films, TV, Radio, Theatrical Work and More of Boris Karloff by Stephen Jacobs on Amazon here*
Boris Karloff is a subdued, mad scientist trying to cure a debilitating disease despite the best efforts of local townsfolk, his patient's simple-minded boyfriend, and an escaped circus primate.
Dr. Bernard Adrian (Boris Karloff) is a reclusive physician whose house the neighborhood kids regularly vandalize. He lost his wife and daughter to a "paralysis disease" (polio is mentioned on one video box), and he is treating the wheelchair-bound Frances (Maris Wrixon). A cut-rate circus comes to town, and Frances and beau Danny (Gene O'Donnell) gleefully react to stock footage of clowns and trapeze artists. The circus' ape attacks a cruel trainer after the show, and a fire erupts from a dropped cigar. The trainer is taken to Dr. Adrian's, where the doc is able to continue his experiments on this gift of fate, in the film's one memorable scene. The trainer dies, but suddenly Frances can feel her legs, thanks to some spinal serum the doctor was able to extract. The ape attacks the doctor's home, and Adrian subdues him. As the local sheriff and fedora-brandishing posse search for the murdering ape, Adrian both hides the animal and works for an ever-improving Frances' cure.
This cheap little Monogram production runs just 62 minutes, and the majority of the budget may have gone to the ape suit an uncredited Ray Corrigan must wear. The film is almost too lean, the story moves so briskly that the big climax is hilarious. After three-second shots and characterization lumped into goofy lines of dialogue- Danny confesses that he hates things he doesn't understand- the film makers try to slow things down for emotional scenes full of Scooby-Doo-like unmaskings and medical miracles. It doesn't work. The cast is alright, given the material (which was inspired by a play?). Karloff is very good, not playing his role as evil but sympathetic. Even his body language is interesting- hunched over and trying not to be noticed. Nigh's direction is standard- nothing showy.
"The Ape" is cheap, fast, and too controlled. It won't touch you, change you, or challenge you.
Stats:
(1940) 62 min. (* *) out of five stars
-Directed by William Nigh
-Screenplay by Curt Siodmak and Richard Carroll, suggested from the play by Adam Shirk
-Cast: Boris Karloff, Maris Wrixon, Gene O'Donnell, Dorothy Vaughan, Gertrude Hoffman, Henry Hall, Selmer Jackson, Ray Corrigan, George Cleveland, Billy Bletcher, Jessie Arnold, Mary Field, Jack Kennedy, Buddy Swan
(Not Rated)
*Watch "The Ape" on Amazon Prime Video here*
*Get a copy of Boris Karloff: A Gentleman's Life by Scott Allen Nollen on Amazon here*
*Get a copy of The Karloff Compendium: The Films, TV, Radio, Theatrical Work and More of Boris Karloff by Stephen Jacobs on Amazon here*
Boris Karloff is a subdued, mad scientist trying to cure a debilitating disease despite the best efforts of local townsfolk, his patient's simple-minded boyfriend, and an escaped circus primate.
Dr. Bernard Adrian (Boris Karloff) is a reclusive physician whose house the neighborhood kids regularly vandalize. He lost his wife and daughter to a "paralysis disease" (polio is mentioned on one video box), and he is treating the wheelchair-bound Frances (Maris Wrixon). A cut-rate circus comes to town, and Frances and beau Danny (Gene O'Donnell) gleefully react to stock footage of clowns and trapeze artists. The circus' ape attacks a cruel trainer after the show, and a fire erupts from a dropped cigar. The trainer is taken to Dr. Adrian's, where the doc is able to continue his experiments on this gift of fate, in the film's one memorable scene. The trainer dies, but suddenly Frances can feel her legs, thanks to some spinal serum the doctor was able to extract. The ape attacks the doctor's home, and Adrian subdues him. As the local sheriff and fedora-brandishing posse search for the murdering ape, Adrian both hides the animal and works for an ever-improving Frances' cure.
This cheap little Monogram production runs just 62 minutes, and the majority of the budget may have gone to the ape suit an uncredited Ray Corrigan must wear. The film is almost too lean, the story moves so briskly that the big climax is hilarious. After three-second shots and characterization lumped into goofy lines of dialogue- Danny confesses that he hates things he doesn't understand- the film makers try to slow things down for emotional scenes full of Scooby-Doo-like unmaskings and medical miracles. It doesn't work. The cast is alright, given the material (which was inspired by a play?). Karloff is very good, not playing his role as evil but sympathetic. Even his body language is interesting- hunched over and trying not to be noticed. Nigh's direction is standard- nothing showy.
"The Ape" is cheap, fast, and too controlled. It won't touch you, change you, or challenge you.
Stats:
(1940) 62 min. (* *) out of five stars
-Directed by William Nigh
-Screenplay by Curt Siodmak and Richard Carroll, suggested from the play by Adam Shirk
-Cast: Boris Karloff, Maris Wrixon, Gene O'Donnell, Dorothy Vaughan, Gertrude Hoffman, Henry Hall, Selmer Jackson, Ray Corrigan, George Cleveland, Billy Bletcher, Jessie Arnold, Mary Field, Jack Kennedy, Buddy Swan
(Not Rated)
Arlington Road (1999)
*Get a physical copy of "Arlington Road" on Amazon here*
*Get the "Arlington Road" Original Motion Picture Soundtrack on Amazon here*
*Get "Arlington Road" wall decor on Amazon here*
*Get a copy of The Dude and the Zen Master by Jeff Bridges and Bernie Glassman on Amazon here*
While the original theatrical trailer pretty much gave away the entire plot of the film, I do not want to spoil this for anyone who has not seen it. Just because I don't like a film doesn't mean I should ruin it for you.
Michael Faraday (Jeff Bridges) is a terrorism expert and college professor, who begins to suspect something a little funny about new neighbors Oliver (Tim Robbins) and Cheryl (Joan Cusack) Lang. As he begins investigating Oliver, he must convince those around him that none of this has to do with his FBI agent wife's death in a shootout. Eventually, Michael suspects Oliver might be a terrorist, and tries to get his new girlfriend Brooke (Hope Davis) and his wife's old boss to believe him. As his son is put in danger, the film winds down to a tense finale with a surprise ending that crumbles upon further thought.
The script somehow won a Nicholl Fellowship from the Academy Awards people, an award handed to promising new screenwriters. Bridges' character is an intense professor teaching a class on terrorism and in one impossible scene, he takes his class on a field trip to the place where his wife was killed. While the scene is well acted, directed, and edited, it put me over the edge of credibility. The film is full of scenes like that. The script seems to have started with the very good twist ending, and then constructed backward until the story was there. Watch as Bridges calls up state vital statistics bureaus and gets information right over the phone from name change applications and death certificates. If you have ever done any sort of genealogical research like I have pre-internet, you would know death certificates must be requested by mail and sent to you after you make a claim as to relationships and reasons behind the search. I wish it were as easy as calling someone up and getting information. Bridges also seems to be making these calls at night, when these state offices would be closed.
Bridges' distrust of the FBI because of his wife's death is not explored adequately either, resulting in the viewer just wishing he would tell his suspicions to someone else besides his girlfriend, who finds the absolute weakest reasons not to believe him. Pellington's direction is excellent, and he somehow manages to build suspense despite the script's shortcomings. Angelo Badalamenti's musical score is perfect. Jeff Bridges is good in a very difficult role that requires this much suspension of belief. He keeps the weaker scenes grounded, since his pain and suspicion is evident on his face. Tim Robbins and Joan Cusack are good playing people who may not be what they seem, but sometimes their innocent act went too far.
"Arlington Road" is a well done film. It is an exciting, well acted film. It can raise questions about how much we really know about people around us, and how far we would go to protect others. It is also not well written, sloppy, and a supreme disappointment. Do not be so taken with the outrageous ending as to ignore the messy hour and a half that came before. The horrible script totally negated any positive aspects I found in "Arlington Road."
Stats:
(1999) 117 min. (*) out of five stars
-Directed by Mark Pellington
-Written by Ehren Kruger
-Cast: Jeff Bridges, Tim Robbins, Joan Cusack, Hope Davis, Robert Gossett, Mason Gamble, Spencer Treat Clark, Stanley Anderson, Viviane Vives, Lee Stringer, Darryl Cox, Loyd Catlett, Sid Hillman, Auden Thornton
(R)
*Get the "Arlington Road" Original Motion Picture Soundtrack on Amazon here*
*Get "Arlington Road" wall decor on Amazon here*
*Get a copy of The Dude and the Zen Master by Jeff Bridges and Bernie Glassman on Amazon here*
While the original theatrical trailer pretty much gave away the entire plot of the film, I do not want to spoil this for anyone who has not seen it. Just because I don't like a film doesn't mean I should ruin it for you.
Michael Faraday (Jeff Bridges) is a terrorism expert and college professor, who begins to suspect something a little funny about new neighbors Oliver (Tim Robbins) and Cheryl (Joan Cusack) Lang. As he begins investigating Oliver, he must convince those around him that none of this has to do with his FBI agent wife's death in a shootout. Eventually, Michael suspects Oliver might be a terrorist, and tries to get his new girlfriend Brooke (Hope Davis) and his wife's old boss to believe him. As his son is put in danger, the film winds down to a tense finale with a surprise ending that crumbles upon further thought.
The script somehow won a Nicholl Fellowship from the Academy Awards people, an award handed to promising new screenwriters. Bridges' character is an intense professor teaching a class on terrorism and in one impossible scene, he takes his class on a field trip to the place where his wife was killed. While the scene is well acted, directed, and edited, it put me over the edge of credibility. The film is full of scenes like that. The script seems to have started with the very good twist ending, and then constructed backward until the story was there. Watch as Bridges calls up state vital statistics bureaus and gets information right over the phone from name change applications and death certificates. If you have ever done any sort of genealogical research like I have pre-internet, you would know death certificates must be requested by mail and sent to you after you make a claim as to relationships and reasons behind the search. I wish it were as easy as calling someone up and getting information. Bridges also seems to be making these calls at night, when these state offices would be closed.
Bridges' distrust of the FBI because of his wife's death is not explored adequately either, resulting in the viewer just wishing he would tell his suspicions to someone else besides his girlfriend, who finds the absolute weakest reasons not to believe him. Pellington's direction is excellent, and he somehow manages to build suspense despite the script's shortcomings. Angelo Badalamenti's musical score is perfect. Jeff Bridges is good in a very difficult role that requires this much suspension of belief. He keeps the weaker scenes grounded, since his pain and suspicion is evident on his face. Tim Robbins and Joan Cusack are good playing people who may not be what they seem, but sometimes their innocent act went too far.
"Arlington Road" is a well done film. It is an exciting, well acted film. It can raise questions about how much we really know about people around us, and how far we would go to protect others. It is also not well written, sloppy, and a supreme disappointment. Do not be so taken with the outrageous ending as to ignore the messy hour and a half that came before. The horrible script totally negated any positive aspects I found in "Arlington Road."
Stats:
(1999) 117 min. (*) out of five stars
-Directed by Mark Pellington
-Written by Ehren Kruger
-Cast: Jeff Bridges, Tim Robbins, Joan Cusack, Hope Davis, Robert Gossett, Mason Gamble, Spencer Treat Clark, Stanley Anderson, Viviane Vives, Lee Stringer, Darryl Cox, Loyd Catlett, Sid Hillman, Auden Thornton
(R)
Broken Blossoms (1919)
*Get a physical copy of "Broken Blossoms" on Amazon here*
*Watch "Broken Blossoms" on Amazon Prime Video here*
*Get a physical copy of the D.W. Griffith Silent Classics Collection (Orphans of the Storm/Intolerance/Way Down East/Birth of a Nation/Broken Blossoms) on Amazon here*
*Get a copy of Limehouse Nights by Thomas Burke on Amazon here*
The years have not been kind to D.W. Griffith, the father of American film direction.
"Birth of a Nation," an average but still landmark film, is better known for its racism than its technical achievements. "Broken Blossoms" is also not politically correct, but I am recommending it as an example of Griffith's skill. Lucy (Lillian Gish) is a teenage girl in the Limehouse district of London. Her father, Battling Burrows (an excellent Donald Crisp), is a boxer more concerned with boozing and broads, much to the chagrin of his manager (Arthur Howard). Since a boxer can't hit his scolding manager, Burrows takes out his frustration and anger on Lucy, consistently beating her with a short whip. Cheng Huan (Richard Barthelmess) lives in the Chinatown section of the city, above the small shop he runs. Years before, he was a devout Buddhist in China, leaving his homeland to spread his naive message of peace to all. Now, he is in England, spiritually broken and smoking opium. He sees Lucy here and there, even saving her from the lecherous Evil Eye (Edward Peil Sr.). Burrows must leave to train for a fight, and beats Lucy so severely that she wanders the streets in a daze, collapsing in Huan's shop. Huan takes her upstairs and dotes on her, giving her food, clothing, and a new name- White Blossom. As Lucy heals, she and Huan grow closer, until a nosy friend of Burrows tells the boxer what his daughter has been up to.
Let's get the racism out of the way first. The entire title of the film is "Broken Blossoms, or The Yellow Man and the Girl." It is based on a short story by Thomas Burke that features a derogatory term for the Chinese in its title. Huan is referred to as the Yellow Man in the credits, and often called the same derogatory term instead of his name. The main Chinese characters, Huan and Evil Eye, are portrayed by white men. At least Gish is playing Lucy as a teenager, and not a twelve year old girl like in the short story on which the film is based. Most notable about the film is Griffith's style. So many of the angles and shots we take for granted today were invented by the man, who was never given his due. Many of the scenes are tinted, adding to the drama. Sadly, in order for Gish to appear younger, her scenes look as if they are shot through a filter, almost five decades before the comical "Mame" featuring red-headed blob Lucille Ball filmed through a seemingly Vaseline-smudged lens. One closeup of Barthelmess allows the viewer to observe his Oriental makeup, and the shape of his natural eyebrows. Griffith was a great believer of acting with the eyes, as opposed to the often laughable flailing that you might see in other silent films. The editing here is clean, and the special effects are both quaint and nostalgic. Gish is good in her role, Barthelmess tries underneath his makeup, but Crisp is superb. His performance is modern in its rage and bravado, and although you never hear him speak, Crisp uses his physicality and Griffith's camera to give us a fully realized character.
"Broken Blossoms" was shot in eighteen days for a cost of just $91,000 in California despite its Asian and European settings. If you can get past the controversial racial elements, and appreciate the direction and performances, then I think you will be in for a surprise.
Stats:
(1919) 90 min. (* * * *) out of five stars
-Directed by D.W. Griffith
-Written by D.W. Griffith adapted from "The Ch!nk and the Child" by Thomas Burke
-Cast: Lillian Gish, Richard Barthelmess, Donald Crisp, Arthur Howard, Edward Peil Sr., George Beranger, Norman Selby
(Not Rated)
*Watch "Broken Blossoms" on Amazon Prime Video here*
*Get a physical copy of the D.W. Griffith Silent Classics Collection (Orphans of the Storm/Intolerance/Way Down East/Birth of a Nation/Broken Blossoms) on Amazon here*
*Get a copy of Limehouse Nights by Thomas Burke on Amazon here*
The years have not been kind to D.W. Griffith, the father of American film direction.
"Birth of a Nation," an average but still landmark film, is better known for its racism than its technical achievements. "Broken Blossoms" is also not politically correct, but I am recommending it as an example of Griffith's skill. Lucy (Lillian Gish) is a teenage girl in the Limehouse district of London. Her father, Battling Burrows (an excellent Donald Crisp), is a boxer more concerned with boozing and broads, much to the chagrin of his manager (Arthur Howard). Since a boxer can't hit his scolding manager, Burrows takes out his frustration and anger on Lucy, consistently beating her with a short whip. Cheng Huan (Richard Barthelmess) lives in the Chinatown section of the city, above the small shop he runs. Years before, he was a devout Buddhist in China, leaving his homeland to spread his naive message of peace to all. Now, he is in England, spiritually broken and smoking opium. He sees Lucy here and there, even saving her from the lecherous Evil Eye (Edward Peil Sr.). Burrows must leave to train for a fight, and beats Lucy so severely that she wanders the streets in a daze, collapsing in Huan's shop. Huan takes her upstairs and dotes on her, giving her food, clothing, and a new name- White Blossom. As Lucy heals, she and Huan grow closer, until a nosy friend of Burrows tells the boxer what his daughter has been up to.
Let's get the racism out of the way first. The entire title of the film is "Broken Blossoms, or The Yellow Man and the Girl." It is based on a short story by Thomas Burke that features a derogatory term for the Chinese in its title. Huan is referred to as the Yellow Man in the credits, and often called the same derogatory term instead of his name. The main Chinese characters, Huan and Evil Eye, are portrayed by white men. At least Gish is playing Lucy as a teenager, and not a twelve year old girl like in the short story on which the film is based. Most notable about the film is Griffith's style. So many of the angles and shots we take for granted today were invented by the man, who was never given his due. Many of the scenes are tinted, adding to the drama. Sadly, in order for Gish to appear younger, her scenes look as if they are shot through a filter, almost five decades before the comical "Mame" featuring red-headed blob Lucille Ball filmed through a seemingly Vaseline-smudged lens. One closeup of Barthelmess allows the viewer to observe his Oriental makeup, and the shape of his natural eyebrows. Griffith was a great believer of acting with the eyes, as opposed to the often laughable flailing that you might see in other silent films. The editing here is clean, and the special effects are both quaint and nostalgic. Gish is good in her role, Barthelmess tries underneath his makeup, but Crisp is superb. His performance is modern in its rage and bravado, and although you never hear him speak, Crisp uses his physicality and Griffith's camera to give us a fully realized character.
"Broken Blossoms" was shot in eighteen days for a cost of just $91,000 in California despite its Asian and European settings. If you can get past the controversial racial elements, and appreciate the direction and performances, then I think you will be in for a surprise.
Stats:
(1919) 90 min. (* * * *) out of five stars
-Directed by D.W. Griffith
-Written by D.W. Griffith adapted from "The Ch!nk and the Child" by Thomas Burke
-Cast: Lillian Gish, Richard Barthelmess, Donald Crisp, Arthur Howard, Edward Peil Sr., George Beranger, Norman Selby
(Not Rated)
Friday, October 11, 2024
No Safe Place: Six Lives Forever Changed (2003)
*Get a physical copy of "No Safe Place: Six Lives Forever Changed" on Amazon here*
*Get a copy of OCT 7: The War Against Hamas Through the Eyes of an Israeli Commando Officer by Capt. Elkana (Kuno) Cohen on Amazon here*
*Get a copy of A New Shoah: The Untold Story of Israel's Victims of Terrorism by Giulio Meotti on Amazon here*
*Get a copy of The Bus on Jaffa Road: A Story of Middle East Terrorism and the Search for Justice by Mike Kelly on Amazon here*
This too-brief documentary looks at the lives of six people changed by terrorism in Israel. Nicely and unobtrusively narrated by Kelsey Grammer, we see the people behind the news channel tickers that roll across the bottoms of our television screens.
Pnina Aizenman was not only injured when terrorists attacked a group of Israelis on the street, her mother and five year old daughter were killed. She grieves to the point of obsession, and her little girl's belongings still litter the home she shares with her husband and surviving child. Netanel Hamamy's father was killed in a hotel attack during Passover while Netanel was there. He is just a child, waking up at night to vomit for no medical reason, and now does not act appropriately at school. His mother does not allow television or radio news in the house, fearing Netanel might hear of more attacks. The entire family is seeing a therapist. Michal Ganon had both of her legs blown off, and her best friend was killed in the attack she survived. She was suicidal from the constant pain, and while she is learning to use prosthetic legs, Michal's mother is close to hysterical about the attack and the constant pain her daughter is in. Rony Plaut did not survive an attack per se. He is a bus driver, and after giving up his route to another driver, watched as that bus was bombed and the driver killed. Plaut still drives the same bus route, and his family is in constant fear for his life, despite the security measures initiated. Ilana Silvan's story is a miracle. The bomb that exploded in her bus was right at her feet, and she now has burns over half of her body. She has been in rehabilitation for over a year at the time this documentary was made, and just wants a normal life again. Oded Zinger was in the Israeli Defense Force when his father was on his way to pick him up. Oded's father's car was ambushed, but his dad made a frantic phone call to his nearby son before being shot at point blank range. Oded refuses to talk about the attack to his siblings or mother.
According to the documentary, between September 2000 and January 2003, almost six hundred people died from terrorist attacks in Israel, with almost 3500 injuries. Almost a hundred children died, as well. The film alternates between interviews with the survivors, news footage of the confusion following the attacks, and video and photographs of the victims, all to very good effect. Every story is heartbreaking, even the bus driver's paranoia about going to work. Shanit's direction is good, and the editing of the film is excellent. I do wish more time had been given to each subject. This only runs fifty minutes, and I wanted to know more about each and every survivor, as well as the victims who were taken from them.
"No Safe Place: Six Lives Forever Changed" puts a human face on the victims of terrorism. More films like this should be made and shown to a public that becomes increasingly numbed by the subject matter.
Stats:
(2003) 50 min. (* * * *) out of five stars
-Directed by Nimrod Shanit
-Written by Jay Sanderson
-Cast: Kelsey Grammer
(Not Rated)
*Get a copy of OCT 7: The War Against Hamas Through the Eyes of an Israeli Commando Officer by Capt. Elkana (Kuno) Cohen on Amazon here*
*Get a copy of A New Shoah: The Untold Story of Israel's Victims of Terrorism by Giulio Meotti on Amazon here*
*Get a copy of The Bus on Jaffa Road: A Story of Middle East Terrorism and the Search for Justice by Mike Kelly on Amazon here*
This too-brief documentary looks at the lives of six people changed by terrorism in Israel. Nicely and unobtrusively narrated by Kelsey Grammer, we see the people behind the news channel tickers that roll across the bottoms of our television screens.
Pnina Aizenman was not only injured when terrorists attacked a group of Israelis on the street, her mother and five year old daughter were killed. She grieves to the point of obsession, and her little girl's belongings still litter the home she shares with her husband and surviving child. Netanel Hamamy's father was killed in a hotel attack during Passover while Netanel was there. He is just a child, waking up at night to vomit for no medical reason, and now does not act appropriately at school. His mother does not allow television or radio news in the house, fearing Netanel might hear of more attacks. The entire family is seeing a therapist. Michal Ganon had both of her legs blown off, and her best friend was killed in the attack she survived. She was suicidal from the constant pain, and while she is learning to use prosthetic legs, Michal's mother is close to hysterical about the attack and the constant pain her daughter is in. Rony Plaut did not survive an attack per se. He is a bus driver, and after giving up his route to another driver, watched as that bus was bombed and the driver killed. Plaut still drives the same bus route, and his family is in constant fear for his life, despite the security measures initiated. Ilana Silvan's story is a miracle. The bomb that exploded in her bus was right at her feet, and she now has burns over half of her body. She has been in rehabilitation for over a year at the time this documentary was made, and just wants a normal life again. Oded Zinger was in the Israeli Defense Force when his father was on his way to pick him up. Oded's father's car was ambushed, but his dad made a frantic phone call to his nearby son before being shot at point blank range. Oded refuses to talk about the attack to his siblings or mother.
According to the documentary, between September 2000 and January 2003, almost six hundred people died from terrorist attacks in Israel, with almost 3500 injuries. Almost a hundred children died, as well. The film alternates between interviews with the survivors, news footage of the confusion following the attacks, and video and photographs of the victims, all to very good effect. Every story is heartbreaking, even the bus driver's paranoia about going to work. Shanit's direction is good, and the editing of the film is excellent. I do wish more time had been given to each subject. This only runs fifty minutes, and I wanted to know more about each and every survivor, as well as the victims who were taken from them.
"No Safe Place: Six Lives Forever Changed" puts a human face on the victims of terrorism. More films like this should be made and shown to a public that becomes increasingly numbed by the subject matter.
Stats:
(2003) 50 min. (* * * *) out of five stars
-Directed by Nimrod Shanit
-Written by Jay Sanderson
-Cast: Kelsey Grammer
(Not Rated)
Thursday, October 10, 2024
Arizona Dream (1993)
*Get a physical copy of "Arizona Dream" on Amazon here*
*Watch "Arizona Dream" on Amazon Prime Video here*
*Get "Arizona Dream" wall decor on Amazon here*
*Get the "Arizona Dream" Original Motion Picture Soundtrack on Amazon here*
Axel (Johnny Depp) is a young man who comes to Arizona to be his uncle Leo's (Jerry Lewis) best man in his wedding, and stays on to sell cars at the local family Cadillac dealership.
There, Axel and buddy Paul (Vincent Gallo) meet up with Grace (Lili Taylor) and her weird stepmother Elaine (Faye Dunaway). Grace and Elaine hate each other, living in a big house in the country and arguing continuously. Axel eventually falls for Elaine, and is drawn into her weird little world, where she dreams of flying, and moving to Papua New Guinea. Grace has her own set of mental quirks- she worships turtles and wants to die so she can come back as one. Paul fancies himself a serious actor, one good scene has him recreate the crop duster scene from "North by Northwest," on stage at a local talent contest. Millie (Paulina Porizkova) is given nothing to do as Leo's very young fiancee.
We have all these weird characters in a weird little comedy. There are funny scenes. Grace tries to hang herself with pantyhose from a second floor balcony, and bungees up and down as Axel tries to save her. Axel, Grace, Elaine, and Paul play a hilarious game of footsie at a dinner table. Grace begins wandering around the house playing the accordion. Axel and Elaine begin building flying machines, trying to fulfill Dunaway's girlhood dream. The screen fills with weird special effects and tons of magical realist images. The Eskimo prologue, a fish that swims in the sky- really interesting stuff. About halfway through the film, everything takes an ugly turn. Two characters play a game of Russian Roulette. One character overdoses on pills, guilt-ridden because they drove the car in an accident that killed people. Eventually, not a whole lot of plot happens. Instead, the film becomes obsessed with suicide, wallowing in the characters' unhappiness to the point that I almost removed the COMEDY sticker from the video case and wrote MANIC DEPRESSIVE on it. The cast, especially Taylor, is good- too good. I felt like they really understood their respective characters and the director's overall vision but it's too bad they did not let the viewer in on it. I felt undermined by the cast and crew, and could not wait for the film to end. The infamous final scene is a confusing ending to a confused film.
Stats:
(1993) 142 min. (*) out of five stars
-Directed by Emir Kusturica
-Screenplay by David Atkins, Story by David Atkins & Emir Kusturica
-Cast: Johnny Depp, Jerry Lewis, Vincent Gallo, Lili Taylor, Faye Dunaway, Paulina Porizkova, Michael J. Pollard, Candyce Mason, Alexia Rane, Polly du Pont Noonan, Ann Schulman, Patricia O'Grady, James R. Wilson
(R)
*Watch "Arizona Dream" on Amazon Prime Video here*
*Get "Arizona Dream" wall decor on Amazon here*
*Get the "Arizona Dream" Original Motion Picture Soundtrack on Amazon here*
Axel (Johnny Depp) is a young man who comes to Arizona to be his uncle Leo's (Jerry Lewis) best man in his wedding, and stays on to sell cars at the local family Cadillac dealership.
There, Axel and buddy Paul (Vincent Gallo) meet up with Grace (Lili Taylor) and her weird stepmother Elaine (Faye Dunaway). Grace and Elaine hate each other, living in a big house in the country and arguing continuously. Axel eventually falls for Elaine, and is drawn into her weird little world, where she dreams of flying, and moving to Papua New Guinea. Grace has her own set of mental quirks- she worships turtles and wants to die so she can come back as one. Paul fancies himself a serious actor, one good scene has him recreate the crop duster scene from "North by Northwest," on stage at a local talent contest. Millie (Paulina Porizkova) is given nothing to do as Leo's very young fiancee.
We have all these weird characters in a weird little comedy. There are funny scenes. Grace tries to hang herself with pantyhose from a second floor balcony, and bungees up and down as Axel tries to save her. Axel, Grace, Elaine, and Paul play a hilarious game of footsie at a dinner table. Grace begins wandering around the house playing the accordion. Axel and Elaine begin building flying machines, trying to fulfill Dunaway's girlhood dream. The screen fills with weird special effects and tons of magical realist images. The Eskimo prologue, a fish that swims in the sky- really interesting stuff. About halfway through the film, everything takes an ugly turn. Two characters play a game of Russian Roulette. One character overdoses on pills, guilt-ridden because they drove the car in an accident that killed people. Eventually, not a whole lot of plot happens. Instead, the film becomes obsessed with suicide, wallowing in the characters' unhappiness to the point that I almost removed the COMEDY sticker from the video case and wrote MANIC DEPRESSIVE on it. The cast, especially Taylor, is good- too good. I felt like they really understood their respective characters and the director's overall vision but it's too bad they did not let the viewer in on it. I felt undermined by the cast and crew, and could not wait for the film to end. The infamous final scene is a confusing ending to a confused film.
Stats:
(1993) 142 min. (*) out of five stars
-Directed by Emir Kusturica
-Screenplay by David Atkins, Story by David Atkins & Emir Kusturica
-Cast: Johnny Depp, Jerry Lewis, Vincent Gallo, Lili Taylor, Faye Dunaway, Paulina Porizkova, Michael J. Pollard, Candyce Mason, Alexia Rane, Polly du Pont Noonan, Ann Schulman, Patricia O'Grady, James R. Wilson
(R)
Are You in the House Alone? (1978)
*Get a DVD copy of "The Initiation of Sarah"/"Are You in the House Alone?" on Amazon here*
*Get a VHS copy of "Are You in the House Alone?" on Amazon here*
*Get a copy of Are You in the House Alone? by Richard Peck on Amazon here*
*Get a copy of Are You in the House Alone?: A TV Movie Compendium 1964-1999, edited by Amanda Reyes on Amazon here*
Doe-eyed high school student Gail (Kathleen Beller) is found beaten and assaulted in the opening scenes of this made-for-TV movie.
The film then flashbacks to the few days before the assault, as Gail is harassed by a stranger. Gail and Steve (Scott Colomby), and her best friend Allison (Robin Mattson) and Phil (Dennis Quaid) are double dating early on. Beller's anxious parents, laid-back Neil (Tony Bill) and shrill Anne (Blythe Danner), wait at home wringing hands and so on. Right away, the 1970's makes its dated entrance, as the young couples discuss the romance and love in "Three Days of the Condor." Gail, an amateur photographer, begins getting threatening notes slipped into her locker at school. The film makers wisely give us a whole slew of suspects: Gail's new boyfriend, Allison's boyfriend, Beller's dad, Beller's ex-boyfriend, and what about that overly friendly photography class teacher who wants Gail to be a little more sexy in her self-portraits? I knew who the attacker was because the old Worldvision Video company VHS video box has a picture of the attack on the back cover, destroying any suspense in that regard (I always found that copy in the HORROR section of my old video stores). The movie then heads south as Gail makes like Nancy Drew to catch the perp.
The suspense here is very real, without going over the top into horror movie territory. Beller is very good, and watch for her and Mattson's scene in an abandoned theater- both do great jobs. The film is full of familiar faces, including Ellen Travolta in a small role, and everyone is professional. This was made in 1978, and some of the attitudes are embarrassing. The teacher who tells Beller to be sexy is never made to explain what exactly he had in mind. Nowadays, if any high school teacher said that, then THAT would have been a made-for-TV movie on its own. After Gail is raped, the rapist is still a part of her life, as warrants are issued, blah, blah, blah. There may not be a case because Gail is not a virgin, and cannot prove she was raped by whom she said. Many of these problems have been addressed with modern technology and policing efforts, but this film obviously knew it would have a chance to add to the reform debate. Sexual assault is an act of violence that has not gone away, but efforts today to catch the attackers are miles ahead of decades ago. The problem is the anti-rape angle feels tacked on as an afterthought. Before that, we have a tight little suspenser that has real characterization. After the assault, everything changes filmwise, and not for the better. I remember Beller from the '70's and '80's, she was very good way back then.
I will recommend "Are You in the House Alone?" based on the acting alone, with a reluctant nod to at least the first two-thirds of the film. If you want to relive 1970's made-for-TV high school life, this is your cup of Tab.
Stats:
(1978) 96 min. (* * * 1/2) out of five stars
-Directed by Walter Grauman
-Teleplay by Judith Parker based on the novel by Richard Peck
-Cast: Kathleen Beller, Scott Colomby, Robin Mattson, Dennis Quaid, Tony Bill, Blythe Danner, Ellen Travolta, Tricia O'Neill, Alan Fudge, Randy Stumpf, Magda Harout, David Keith, S. Pearl Sharp, Lois Hamilton
(TV-14)
*Get a VHS copy of "Are You in the House Alone?" on Amazon here*
*Get a copy of Are You in the House Alone? by Richard Peck on Amazon here*
*Get a copy of Are You in the House Alone?: A TV Movie Compendium 1964-1999, edited by Amanda Reyes on Amazon here*
Doe-eyed high school student Gail (Kathleen Beller) is found beaten and assaulted in the opening scenes of this made-for-TV movie.
The film then flashbacks to the few days before the assault, as Gail is harassed by a stranger. Gail and Steve (Scott Colomby), and her best friend Allison (Robin Mattson) and Phil (Dennis Quaid) are double dating early on. Beller's anxious parents, laid-back Neil (Tony Bill) and shrill Anne (Blythe Danner), wait at home wringing hands and so on. Right away, the 1970's makes its dated entrance, as the young couples discuss the romance and love in "Three Days of the Condor." Gail, an amateur photographer, begins getting threatening notes slipped into her locker at school. The film makers wisely give us a whole slew of suspects: Gail's new boyfriend, Allison's boyfriend, Beller's dad, Beller's ex-boyfriend, and what about that overly friendly photography class teacher who wants Gail to be a little more sexy in her self-portraits? I knew who the attacker was because the old Worldvision Video company VHS video box has a picture of the attack on the back cover, destroying any suspense in that regard (I always found that copy in the HORROR section of my old video stores). The movie then heads south as Gail makes like Nancy Drew to catch the perp.
The suspense here is very real, without going over the top into horror movie territory. Beller is very good, and watch for her and Mattson's scene in an abandoned theater- both do great jobs. The film is full of familiar faces, including Ellen Travolta in a small role, and everyone is professional. This was made in 1978, and some of the attitudes are embarrassing. The teacher who tells Beller to be sexy is never made to explain what exactly he had in mind. Nowadays, if any high school teacher said that, then THAT would have been a made-for-TV movie on its own. After Gail is raped, the rapist is still a part of her life, as warrants are issued, blah, blah, blah. There may not be a case because Gail is not a virgin, and cannot prove she was raped by whom she said. Many of these problems have been addressed with modern technology and policing efforts, but this film obviously knew it would have a chance to add to the reform debate. Sexual assault is an act of violence that has not gone away, but efforts today to catch the attackers are miles ahead of decades ago. The problem is the anti-rape angle feels tacked on as an afterthought. Before that, we have a tight little suspenser that has real characterization. After the assault, everything changes filmwise, and not for the better. I remember Beller from the '70's and '80's, she was very good way back then.
I will recommend "Are You in the House Alone?" based on the acting alone, with a reluctant nod to at least the first two-thirds of the film. If you want to relive 1970's made-for-TV high school life, this is your cup of Tab.
Stats:
(1978) 96 min. (* * * 1/2) out of five stars
-Directed by Walter Grauman
-Teleplay by Judith Parker based on the novel by Richard Peck
-Cast: Kathleen Beller, Scott Colomby, Robin Mattson, Dennis Quaid, Tony Bill, Blythe Danner, Ellen Travolta, Tricia O'Neill, Alan Fudge, Randy Stumpf, Magda Harout, David Keith, S. Pearl Sharp, Lois Hamilton
(TV-14)
Wednesday, October 9, 2024
Bride of the Monster (1955)
*Get a physical copy of "Bride of the Monster" on Amazon here*
*Get a copy of Ed Wood's Bride of the Monster by Gary D. Rhodes with Tom Weaver on Amazon here*
*Get a physical copy of "Ed Wood" on Amazon here*
*Watch "Mystery Science Theater 3000: Bride of the Monster" on Amazon Prime Video here*
Bela Lugosi is evil mad scientist Dr. Vornoff. His ultimate, insane goal? Not sure.
Vornoff and his Igor-like assistant, Lobo (Tor Johnson), kidnap local citizens who wander around the duo's lab/abandoned house in the middle of a swamp. The victims are fitted with a funny hat, have a piece of photograph processing equipment aimed at them, and are then fed to the giant rubber octopus out back. Spunky gal reporter Janet (Loretta King) decides to investigate the locals' disappearances much to the collective chagrin of her straight arrow fiance, detective Dick (Tony McCoy), and his partner Captain Robbins (Harvey B. Dunn). Janet is captured by Lobo and held prisoner. Dick and his partner follow convenient victim Professor Strowski (George Becwar) to the swamp. For some unknown reason, perhaps to explain the title, Janet is eventually dressed in a wedding gown. Soon, Dick and Janet do battle with Vornoff and Lobo as Robbins and half a half-dozen cops close in.
Written and directed by Ed Wood, this film is awful but not as technically inept as "Plan 9 from Outer Space." Wood does let his cast aspire to whole new depths of lousy acting- the entire cast is stiff and the audience's sympathy falls squarely on Lugosi. His performance is not just bad, it is sad. As mentioned, the "bride" in "Bride of the Monster" is King, but who is she supposed to be marrying? Vornoff? Lobo? The rubber octopus? There is a throw away line about her being the bride of an atom, which makes no sense. Ed Wood is looked upon with fondness today thanks to the Tim Burton biopic, and some might say he simply made films that are child-like and innocent. I have seen most of his films, and they are instead both childish and insolent. Leave this Bride at the altar.
Stats:
(1955) 69 min. (*) out of five stars
-Directed by Edward D. Wood, Jr.
-Story and Screenplay by Edward D. Wood, Jr. and Alex Gordon
-Cast: Bela Lugosi, Tor Johnson, Tony McCoy, Loretta King, Harvey B. Dunn, George Becwar, Paul Marco, Don Nagel, Bud Osborne, John Warren, Dolores Fuller, Ann Wilner, William 'Billy' Benedict, Ben Frommer
(Not Rated)
*Get a copy of Ed Wood's Bride of the Monster by Gary D. Rhodes with Tom Weaver on Amazon here*
*Get a physical copy of "Ed Wood" on Amazon here*
*Watch "Mystery Science Theater 3000: Bride of the Monster" on Amazon Prime Video here*
Bela Lugosi is evil mad scientist Dr. Vornoff. His ultimate, insane goal? Not sure.
Vornoff and his Igor-like assistant, Lobo (Tor Johnson), kidnap local citizens who wander around the duo's lab/abandoned house in the middle of a swamp. The victims are fitted with a funny hat, have a piece of photograph processing equipment aimed at them, and are then fed to the giant rubber octopus out back. Spunky gal reporter Janet (Loretta King) decides to investigate the locals' disappearances much to the collective chagrin of her straight arrow fiance, detective Dick (Tony McCoy), and his partner Captain Robbins (Harvey B. Dunn). Janet is captured by Lobo and held prisoner. Dick and his partner follow convenient victim Professor Strowski (George Becwar) to the swamp. For some unknown reason, perhaps to explain the title, Janet is eventually dressed in a wedding gown. Soon, Dick and Janet do battle with Vornoff and Lobo as Robbins and half a half-dozen cops close in.
Written and directed by Ed Wood, this film is awful but not as technically inept as "Plan 9 from Outer Space." Wood does let his cast aspire to whole new depths of lousy acting- the entire cast is stiff and the audience's sympathy falls squarely on Lugosi. His performance is not just bad, it is sad. As mentioned, the "bride" in "Bride of the Monster" is King, but who is she supposed to be marrying? Vornoff? Lobo? The rubber octopus? There is a throw away line about her being the bride of an atom, which makes no sense. Ed Wood is looked upon with fondness today thanks to the Tim Burton biopic, and some might say he simply made films that are child-like and innocent. I have seen most of his films, and they are instead both childish and insolent. Leave this Bride at the altar.
Stats:
(1955) 69 min. (*) out of five stars
-Directed by Edward D. Wood, Jr.
-Story and Screenplay by Edward D. Wood, Jr. and Alex Gordon
-Cast: Bela Lugosi, Tor Johnson, Tony McCoy, Loretta King, Harvey B. Dunn, George Becwar, Paul Marco, Don Nagel, Bud Osborne, John Warren, Dolores Fuller, Ann Wilner, William 'Billy' Benedict, Ben Frommer
(Not Rated)
Tuesday, October 8, 2024
Arakimentari (2004)
*Get a physical copy of "Arakimentari" on Amazon here*
*Get "Arakimentari" wall decor on Amazon here*
*Get Araki on Amazon here*
*Get Araki by Araki on Amazon here*
With over three hundred photography books to his credit, artist Nobuyoshi Araki might be mistaken for an extreme case of quantity over quality in regard to his output. That couldn't be further from the truth.
Nobuyoshi Araki was born in Tokyo in 1940, and still loves his country. He came into prominence in the 1970's, shooting conservative street scenes based on Italian realism. He also married, taking candid nude and sexual shots on his honeymoon and afterward. As he tells it, in the 1980's he rebelled against himself. He began shooting nude models, bondage, vaginal closeups, and actual penetration. Japanese censors would cover up the female genitalia with shapes, or blur out the offending image, so Araki one-upped them with a series he called "Spermanko." The photographer would censor himself by climaxing (metaphorically) on his photographs, covering everything deemed extreme with a white liquid. This is the kind of work Araki is doing to this day, and film maker Travis Klose gets inside this demure man's world. Araki is not a brooding artist, he is constantly laughing and joking. He wears round glasses, his thinning hair looks like a bird's nest, and he is the center of activity in every room he enters. While some professional artists who photograph nudes are careful not to violate the model's space or make them feel uncomfortable, Araki thinks nothing of ogling and groping his subjects. He applies make-up where needed himself, and there are even a couple of shots of him styling pubic hair. He is the epitome of hands-on.
Like Robert Mapplethorpe, Araki is better known for his shocking nudes than his other work. He loves to shoot around his native Tokyo, and in order to deal with a traumatic death in his life, he would simply shoot cloud formations from his balcony. Flowers are another subject, it helps that some of them resemble the female anatomy. Araki was derided by many feminist groups for his bondage series, but the artist has a deep and lasting respect for the female sex. He believes that since we all come from females, they are automatically better than males both physically and spiritually. Some of the talking heads singing Araki's praises include Takeshi Kitano, Bjork, and Richard Kern- a controversial film maker and photographer in his own right. Klose gets some great behind-the-scenes shots of Araki at work. Araki doesn't seem to be playing for the camera, and we hear nothing but positive comments from his exhausted looking models. The most interesting aspect of Araki's work was his heat development series that coincided with the anniversaries of the dropping of the atomic bombs on Japan. Araki took some images and used heated liquid during development, making passe pornographic shots look like something occurring in a nuclear holocaust. Araki really opens up for Klose. The film is short, but extremely interesting. I found Araki to be quite the character. Many viewers will be put off by both his boorish working ways and subject matter, but the film makers should be congratulated for including this in the film. The documentary shows Araki in a positive light, but doesn't whitewash the man and his art. Toss in a great electronic score from DJ Krush and mix it with an overwhelming amount of nude Japanese women, and "Arakimentari" is a fascinating and artistic look at a fascinating artiste.
Stats:
(2004) 85 min. (* * * * *) out of five stars
-Directed by Travis Klose
-Created by Regis Trigano and Dylan Verrechia
-Featuring: Nobuyoshi Araki, Takeshi Kitano, Bjork, Richard Kern
(Not Rated)
*Get "Arakimentari" wall decor on Amazon here*
*Get Araki on Amazon here*
*Get Araki by Araki on Amazon here*
With over three hundred photography books to his credit, artist Nobuyoshi Araki might be mistaken for an extreme case of quantity over quality in regard to his output. That couldn't be further from the truth.
Nobuyoshi Araki was born in Tokyo in 1940, and still loves his country. He came into prominence in the 1970's, shooting conservative street scenes based on Italian realism. He also married, taking candid nude and sexual shots on his honeymoon and afterward. As he tells it, in the 1980's he rebelled against himself. He began shooting nude models, bondage, vaginal closeups, and actual penetration. Japanese censors would cover up the female genitalia with shapes, or blur out the offending image, so Araki one-upped them with a series he called "Spermanko." The photographer would censor himself by climaxing (metaphorically) on his photographs, covering everything deemed extreme with a white liquid. This is the kind of work Araki is doing to this day, and film maker Travis Klose gets inside this demure man's world. Araki is not a brooding artist, he is constantly laughing and joking. He wears round glasses, his thinning hair looks like a bird's nest, and he is the center of activity in every room he enters. While some professional artists who photograph nudes are careful not to violate the model's space or make them feel uncomfortable, Araki thinks nothing of ogling and groping his subjects. He applies make-up where needed himself, and there are even a couple of shots of him styling pubic hair. He is the epitome of hands-on.
Like Robert Mapplethorpe, Araki is better known for his shocking nudes than his other work. He loves to shoot around his native Tokyo, and in order to deal with a traumatic death in his life, he would simply shoot cloud formations from his balcony. Flowers are another subject, it helps that some of them resemble the female anatomy. Araki was derided by many feminist groups for his bondage series, but the artist has a deep and lasting respect for the female sex. He believes that since we all come from females, they are automatically better than males both physically and spiritually. Some of the talking heads singing Araki's praises include Takeshi Kitano, Bjork, and Richard Kern- a controversial film maker and photographer in his own right. Klose gets some great behind-the-scenes shots of Araki at work. Araki doesn't seem to be playing for the camera, and we hear nothing but positive comments from his exhausted looking models. The most interesting aspect of Araki's work was his heat development series that coincided with the anniversaries of the dropping of the atomic bombs on Japan. Araki took some images and used heated liquid during development, making passe pornographic shots look like something occurring in a nuclear holocaust. Araki really opens up for Klose. The film is short, but extremely interesting. I found Araki to be quite the character. Many viewers will be put off by both his boorish working ways and subject matter, but the film makers should be congratulated for including this in the film. The documentary shows Araki in a positive light, but doesn't whitewash the man and his art. Toss in a great electronic score from DJ Krush and mix it with an overwhelming amount of nude Japanese women, and "Arakimentari" is a fascinating and artistic look at a fascinating artiste.
Stats:
(2004) 85 min. (* * * * *) out of five stars
-Directed by Travis Klose
-Created by Regis Trigano and Dylan Verrechia
-Featuring: Nobuyoshi Araki, Takeshi Kitano, Bjork, Richard Kern
(Not Rated)
The Bride of Frankenstein (1935)
*Get a physical copy of "The Bride of Frankenstein" on Amazon here*
*Watch "The Bride of Frankenstein" on Amazon Prime Video here*
*Get a physical copy of "Frankenstein: Complete Legacy Collection" on Amazon here*
*Get a copy of Frankenstein by Mary Shelley on Amazon here*
This sequel to the classic "Frankenstein" proves that some films are timeless, even when looking at them for the first time.
Elsa Lanchester is Mary Shelley, recounting what happened after the events of the first film, on a dark and stormy night with her famous husband (Douglas Walton) and Lord Byron (Gavin Gordon). The film makers wisely recap the highlights of the first film, reminding the audience of the basic plot.
While better than the original "Frankenstein," this film is still not technically perfect. There are quite a few editing gaffes, where someone is doing something in one shot, but not another. Whale's direction really does not come alive until the last creation scene, which has wonderful off-center and shadowed shots. Even Karloff's monster makeup appears softened compared to the first film. On the positives, however, the black and white atmosphere works well here. Sets or not, the high ceilings and creepy Euro look are chilling. The special effects also rival modern films, they are excellent and not cheesy in the slightest. While Karloff is good, Lanchester is excellent in her too brief role as the bride. Una O'Connor is a scream (literally) as the cowardly housekeeper who always seems to meet up with the Monster at the wrong time. Dwight Frye is underused as a lab assistant. Colin Clive is kept in the background as Frankenstein. He seems ill at ease, and the actor died a few years later as a result of alcoholism. By the way, the book and film "Gods and Monsters" got their title from this film, and a toast made by Pretorious (Ernest Thesiger).
While this film has garnered a nearly flawless reputation in the last seven decades, it does deserve accolades. "The Bride of Frankenstein" may not terrify you like it did audiences of the past, but it is interesting to see the inspiration behind almost every monster movie made afterward. Also known as "Bride of Frankenstein."
Stats:
(1935) 75 min. (* * * * 1/2) out of five stars
-Directed by James Whale
-Screenplay by William Hurlbut, Adapted by William Hurlbut and John L. Balderston, Suggested by the original story written by Mary Shelley
-Cast: Boris Karloff, Elsa Lanchester, Ernest Thesiger, Colin Clive, Douglas Walton, Gavin Gordon, Dwight Frye, Una O'Connor, Valerie Hobson, E.E. Clive, Lucien Prival, O.P. Heggie, Reginald Barlow, Mary Gordon
(Not Rated)
*Watch "The Bride of Frankenstein" on Amazon Prime Video here*
*Get a physical copy of "Frankenstein: Complete Legacy Collection" on Amazon here*
*Get a copy of Frankenstein by Mary Shelley on Amazon here*
This sequel to the classic "Frankenstein" proves that some films are timeless, even when looking at them for the first time.
Elsa Lanchester is Mary Shelley, recounting what happened after the events of the first film, on a dark and stormy night with her famous husband (Douglas Walton) and Lord Byron (Gavin Gordon). The film makers wisely recap the highlights of the first film, reminding the audience of the basic plot.
While better than the original "Frankenstein," this film is still not technically perfect. There are quite a few editing gaffes, where someone is doing something in one shot, but not another. Whale's direction really does not come alive until the last creation scene, which has wonderful off-center and shadowed shots. Even Karloff's monster makeup appears softened compared to the first film. On the positives, however, the black and white atmosphere works well here. Sets or not, the high ceilings and creepy Euro look are chilling. The special effects also rival modern films, they are excellent and not cheesy in the slightest. While Karloff is good, Lanchester is excellent in her too brief role as the bride. Una O'Connor is a scream (literally) as the cowardly housekeeper who always seems to meet up with the Monster at the wrong time. Dwight Frye is underused as a lab assistant. Colin Clive is kept in the background as Frankenstein. He seems ill at ease, and the actor died a few years later as a result of alcoholism. By the way, the book and film "Gods and Monsters" got their title from this film, and a toast made by Pretorious (Ernest Thesiger).
While this film has garnered a nearly flawless reputation in the last seven decades, it does deserve accolades. "The Bride of Frankenstein" may not terrify you like it did audiences of the past, but it is interesting to see the inspiration behind almost every monster movie made afterward. Also known as "Bride of Frankenstein."
Stats:
(1935) 75 min. (* * * * 1/2) out of five stars
-Directed by James Whale
-Screenplay by William Hurlbut, Adapted by William Hurlbut and John L. Balderston, Suggested by the original story written by Mary Shelley
-Cast: Boris Karloff, Elsa Lanchester, Ernest Thesiger, Colin Clive, Douglas Walton, Gavin Gordon, Dwight Frye, Una O'Connor, Valerie Hobson, E.E. Clive, Lucien Prival, O.P. Heggie, Reginald Barlow, Mary Gordon
(Not Rated)
The Breed (2001)
*Get a physical copy of "The Breed" on Amazon here*
*Watch "The Breed" on Amazon Prime Video here*
*Get a physical copy of "Highlander: The Complete Series" on Amazon here*
*Get Bai Ling wall decor on Amazon here*
Capable cast and really cool art direction are negated by a wrongheaded script and more than a nod to John Woo.
Set in the near future, "The Breed" opens with NSA agent Steve Grant (Bokeem Woodbine) investigating a girl's disappearance with his luckless partner. The girl is found dead, and a bald man with a hat attacks Grant and kills his partner. Of course, since the bald guy climbs a wall after biting the partner's neck, vampirism may be involved. Grant finds out vampires are really just genetic mutations who want to be integrated into human society. I don't know why, since this futuristic society is a mixture of Nazi Europe and "1984." A vampire cop, Aaron Gray (Adrian Paul), is assigned to work with Grant to find the killer, generating a typical serial killer film investigation. Grant falls for vampire Lucy Westenra (Bai Ling), as the two find out who the real killer is, and the entire reasoning behind the crimes.
"The Breed" is one frustrating film. The Budapest, Hungary locations are astonishing. I could feel the cold, all the buildings are crumbling, and not a beam of sunshine is evident. Roy Hay's heavy techno music is more than appropriate, coming in at all the right times. Oblowitz's direction is good, although I saw a lot of "The Matrix" in the action scenes. Cool guys with long coats levitating in the air while shooting two guns simultaneously was getting a little stale in the early 2000s. On the other hand, Woodbine, who was so good in "Jason's Lyric," is hampered with a lousy character. Grant should be hard boiled and tough, instead Woodbine is given a part that seems to have been written for Martin Lawrence or Chris Tucker. He is also the lousiest shot in cinematic history, as his action scenes become style over substance. After you get over the fact that Adrian Paul looks just like John Waters, his Gray is very restrained and well done. Likewise with Lucy, although her character- femme fatale who knows more than she lets on- has been done a thousand times before. The film makers also make a fatal mistake, since the viewer will identify the killer immediately, ending the suspense in that subplot.
Technically incredible, but academically a failure, "The Breed" is pretty to look at, and a completely unchallenging film. It falls right in the middle, which is a shame.
Stats:
(2001) 91 min. (* * 1/2) out of five stars
-Directed by Michael Oblowitz
-Written by Christos N. Gage & Ruth Fletcher
-Cast: Adrian Paul, Bokeem Woodbine, Bai Ling, Peter Halasz, James Booth, Ming Lo, William Hootkins, Zen Gesner, Paul Collins, Debbie Javor, Reed Diamond, John Durbin, Istvan Goz, Brandy Miller, Donte Calarco, John Rado
(R)
*Watch "The Breed" on Amazon Prime Video here*
*Get a physical copy of "Highlander: The Complete Series" on Amazon here*
*Get Bai Ling wall decor on Amazon here*
Capable cast and really cool art direction are negated by a wrongheaded script and more than a nod to John Woo.
Set in the near future, "The Breed" opens with NSA agent Steve Grant (Bokeem Woodbine) investigating a girl's disappearance with his luckless partner. The girl is found dead, and a bald man with a hat attacks Grant and kills his partner. Of course, since the bald guy climbs a wall after biting the partner's neck, vampirism may be involved. Grant finds out vampires are really just genetic mutations who want to be integrated into human society. I don't know why, since this futuristic society is a mixture of Nazi Europe and "1984." A vampire cop, Aaron Gray (Adrian Paul), is assigned to work with Grant to find the killer, generating a typical serial killer film investigation. Grant falls for vampire Lucy Westenra (Bai Ling), as the two find out who the real killer is, and the entire reasoning behind the crimes.
"The Breed" is one frustrating film. The Budapest, Hungary locations are astonishing. I could feel the cold, all the buildings are crumbling, and not a beam of sunshine is evident. Roy Hay's heavy techno music is more than appropriate, coming in at all the right times. Oblowitz's direction is good, although I saw a lot of "The Matrix" in the action scenes. Cool guys with long coats levitating in the air while shooting two guns simultaneously was getting a little stale in the early 2000s. On the other hand, Woodbine, who was so good in "Jason's Lyric," is hampered with a lousy character. Grant should be hard boiled and tough, instead Woodbine is given a part that seems to have been written for Martin Lawrence or Chris Tucker. He is also the lousiest shot in cinematic history, as his action scenes become style over substance. After you get over the fact that Adrian Paul looks just like John Waters, his Gray is very restrained and well done. Likewise with Lucy, although her character- femme fatale who knows more than she lets on- has been done a thousand times before. The film makers also make a fatal mistake, since the viewer will identify the killer immediately, ending the suspense in that subplot.
Technically incredible, but academically a failure, "The Breed" is pretty to look at, and a completely unchallenging film. It falls right in the middle, which is a shame.
Stats:
(2001) 91 min. (* * 1/2) out of five stars
-Directed by Michael Oblowitz
-Written by Christos N. Gage & Ruth Fletcher
-Cast: Adrian Paul, Bokeem Woodbine, Bai Ling, Peter Halasz, James Booth, Ming Lo, William Hootkins, Zen Gesner, Paul Collins, Debbie Javor, Reed Diamond, John Durbin, Istvan Goz, Brandy Miller, Donte Calarco, John Rado
(R)
Appetite (1998)
*Get a DVD copy of "Appetite" on Amazon here*
*Get a VHS copy of "Appetite" on Amazon here*
*Watch "Appetite" on Amazon Prime Video here*
*Get a copy of Make Your Own Damn Movie!: Secrets of a Renegade Director by Lloyd Kaufman on Amazon here*
I picked up the video box to this film in the horror section of a video store, and prepared myself for a good old fashioned British hotel haunting that will have me forgetting "The Shining" and promising never to visit England again. I watched the film, and felt like I should have sued the video company for false advertising.
Trevor Eve is Jay, a quiet but noble hotel owner. An assortment of weird guests are staying at his out-of-the-way hotel, which is located in the middle of Chinatown. Greta (Ute Lemper) is a former beauty who cannot seem to finish her suicide note so she can kill herself. Arthur (George Harris) is searching for the heroin dealer who made his son overdose. That dealer is the chef Wim (George Lenz), who works with the simple minded Godfrey (Detlef Bothe), who is saving his money in a box in the kitchen vent system. Susie (Yse Tran) is an adopted woman who plans to off herself if her birth mother does not show up by an appointed time. Jonathan (Edward Hardwicke) is a middle aged man obsessed with Susie, and final judgments. Nelson (Christien Anholt) is an angry Navy sailor who stirs up trouble as soon as he is thrown into this den of misfits. Everyone here has a history, and everyone's history is going to culminate in this hotel. A card game's loser, Susie, must spend the night in the haunted room of the hotel, where she has weird dreams that tell us a little bit about her. She survives the stay, more determined in her self-destructive decision. Greta and Jay draw closer, and she leaves him a girlie magazine she was in years before. Someone steals Godfrey's money, and Nelson steals the magazine. What follows are many scenes of accusations, and characters confronting other characters who have no idea what is going on.
I soon realized the horror angle had been a dupe, and I watched as the haunted room took a back seat to the psychological torture these characters are going through. The ending cannot be revealed, but the deaths of many of these troubled people is obvious, with the haunted room playing the smallest of roles. Every character here has a personality quirk, and they have this flaw when they arrive at the hotel. The hotel is not driving people crazy, the people are driving the hotel crazy. The entire haunted room subplot could have been removed and the film would not have been adversely affected. The whole film takes place in the hotel, and the set is very natural looking. Director Milton recalls Kubrick's "The Shining," right down to copying that film's fundamental flaw- characters who go nuts much too quickly. I was also reminded of Alan Parker's gliding shots in "Angel Heart," I would be interested to see Milton tackle straight horror with this kind of panache. Instead, we have a film that cannot decide if it is a character study or a suspenser, and it does not work at either level. The cast is excellent across the board. Standouts are Eve, Lemper, and especially Anholt. His part is not villainous so much as he is a first class jerk of the highest caliber, and one of the most unlikable characters in recent memory. The film is light on plot, relying on the characters to keep interest from flagging. Things really do not get going until the bloody finale, and the hopeful coda tacked on to the end feels as forced as it played.
I was disappointed with "Appetite." I went into it with the wrong expectations, and by the time I tried to understand what the film makers were trying to do, I found that did not work either. Aside from the acting, lose this "Appetite."
Stats:
(1998) 97 min. (* *) out of five stars
-Directed by George Milton
-Screenplay by George Milton & Charly Cantor, Story by George Milton
-Cast: Trevor Eve, Ute Lemper, George Harris, George Lenz, Detlef Bothe, Yse Tran, Edward Hardwicke, Christien Anholt, Eric MacLennan, Nicky Ladanowski, Denny Cain, Siew Ing Gould, Shane Barks, Katrina Verdon-Roe
(R)
*Get a VHS copy of "Appetite" on Amazon here*
*Watch "Appetite" on Amazon Prime Video here*
*Get a copy of Make Your Own Damn Movie!: Secrets of a Renegade Director by Lloyd Kaufman on Amazon here*
I picked up the video box to this film in the horror section of a video store, and prepared myself for a good old fashioned British hotel haunting that will have me forgetting "The Shining" and promising never to visit England again. I watched the film, and felt like I should have sued the video company for false advertising.
Trevor Eve is Jay, a quiet but noble hotel owner. An assortment of weird guests are staying at his out-of-the-way hotel, which is located in the middle of Chinatown. Greta (Ute Lemper) is a former beauty who cannot seem to finish her suicide note so she can kill herself. Arthur (George Harris) is searching for the heroin dealer who made his son overdose. That dealer is the chef Wim (George Lenz), who works with the simple minded Godfrey (Detlef Bothe), who is saving his money in a box in the kitchen vent system. Susie (Yse Tran) is an adopted woman who plans to off herself if her birth mother does not show up by an appointed time. Jonathan (Edward Hardwicke) is a middle aged man obsessed with Susie, and final judgments. Nelson (Christien Anholt) is an angry Navy sailor who stirs up trouble as soon as he is thrown into this den of misfits. Everyone here has a history, and everyone's history is going to culminate in this hotel. A card game's loser, Susie, must spend the night in the haunted room of the hotel, where she has weird dreams that tell us a little bit about her. She survives the stay, more determined in her self-destructive decision. Greta and Jay draw closer, and she leaves him a girlie magazine she was in years before. Someone steals Godfrey's money, and Nelson steals the magazine. What follows are many scenes of accusations, and characters confronting other characters who have no idea what is going on.
I soon realized the horror angle had been a dupe, and I watched as the haunted room took a back seat to the psychological torture these characters are going through. The ending cannot be revealed, but the deaths of many of these troubled people is obvious, with the haunted room playing the smallest of roles. Every character here has a personality quirk, and they have this flaw when they arrive at the hotel. The hotel is not driving people crazy, the people are driving the hotel crazy. The entire haunted room subplot could have been removed and the film would not have been adversely affected. The whole film takes place in the hotel, and the set is very natural looking. Director Milton recalls Kubrick's "The Shining," right down to copying that film's fundamental flaw- characters who go nuts much too quickly. I was also reminded of Alan Parker's gliding shots in "Angel Heart," I would be interested to see Milton tackle straight horror with this kind of panache. Instead, we have a film that cannot decide if it is a character study or a suspenser, and it does not work at either level. The cast is excellent across the board. Standouts are Eve, Lemper, and especially Anholt. His part is not villainous so much as he is a first class jerk of the highest caliber, and one of the most unlikable characters in recent memory. The film is light on plot, relying on the characters to keep interest from flagging. Things really do not get going until the bloody finale, and the hopeful coda tacked on to the end feels as forced as it played.
I was disappointed with "Appetite." I went into it with the wrong expectations, and by the time I tried to understand what the film makers were trying to do, I found that did not work either. Aside from the acting, lose this "Appetite."
Stats:
(1998) 97 min. (* *) out of five stars
-Directed by George Milton
-Screenplay by George Milton & Charly Cantor, Story by George Milton
-Cast: Trevor Eve, Ute Lemper, George Harris, George Lenz, Detlef Bothe, Yse Tran, Edward Hardwicke, Christien Anholt, Eric MacLennan, Nicky Ladanowski, Denny Cain, Siew Ing Gould, Shane Barks, Katrina Verdon-Roe
(R)
Monday, October 7, 2024
Breathless (Ddongpari) (2008)
*Get a physical copy of "Breathless" on Amazon here*
*Get a physical copy of "The King of Pigs" on Amazon here*
*Watch "The Poet and the Boy" on Amazon Prime Video here*
*Get a copy of Rediscovering Korean Cinema (Perspectives on Contemporary Korea), edited by Sangjoon Lee on Amazon here*
"Breathless" is not your average sit-down-and-gobble-a-bucket-of-popcorn movie. It is violent and depressing, and if not for a lot of flab in the first half of the film, a downright brilliant flick.
Sang-Hoon (writer/director Yang Ik-Joon) is muscle for small-time hood Man-Sik (Man-shik Jeong). Sang-Hoon has a lot of issues, and takes them out on the people he is sent to collect from. The film opens with violence, and the fighting is virtually non-stop throughout. Sang-Hoon lost his mother and sister thanks to an alcoholic father, who is being released from prison. He does have a half-sister and nephew, but his hatred for his father taints his relationship with them as well. He is consistently mean to the little boy, calling him horrible names before angrily dropping off financial assistance for the mother. Sang-Hoon gets into it with a high school girl, Yeon-Hee (Kim Kkobbi), who dishes out what she takes, thanks to her own messed up home life consisting of a father suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder who won't believe that his wife is dead, and a psychotically violent brother (Hwan Lee) who threatens Yeon-Hee with murder, and who looks like he might carry it out. Sang-Hoon and Yeon-Hee begin to hang out, but not in a romantic comedy sort of way. The two trade serious insults constantly, both afraid of what might happen if they let their respective guards down. The two are also connected when Yeon-Hee's brother comes to work for Man-Sik, and must learn the ropes from Sang-Hoon, who is not aware that he is Yeon-Hee's brother.
Yang Ik-Soon wrote and directed himself quite a juicy role. The audience is not expected to like Sang-Hoon, and doesn't. I spent most of the first half of the film wondering why I was subjecting myself to the constant barrage of violence and profanity, waiting for some kind of redemptive moment to come out in the main character. You feel terrible for Yeon-Hee, and everyone else who must deal with Sang-Hoon's constant physical and emotional abuse. The South Korean locations are excellent. No pretty scenery, just back streets in an unnamed urban location. The cast is awesome all around. Toward the end, some very melodramatic moments occur that could have killed the film. They may have read melodramatic on paper, but Yang Ik-Soon directs his cast so well, they are heart-wrenching and not silly. Strong scenes populate the film, and it does improve in the second half but again, that first half of the film had me numb to the violence to the point where I almost did not care what happened to Hang-Soon in the second half of the film. Luckily, the film makers brought me around.
"Breathless" (aka "Ddongpari) is an emotionally draining experience.
Stats:
(2008) 130 min. (* * * *) out of five stars
-Written and Directed by Yang Ik-joon
-Cast: Yang Ik-joon, Man-shik Jeong, Kim Kkobbi, Hwan Lee, Jeong-soon Park, Lee Seung-yun, Hee-soo Kim, Jin-sook Lee, Choi Yong-min, Gil Hae-Yeon, Kim Sang-won, Seon-ae Ji, Jeong Man-sik, Seung-Hoon Yoon, Jee-hye Oh
(Unrated)
*Get a physical copy of "The King of Pigs" on Amazon here*
*Watch "The Poet and the Boy" on Amazon Prime Video here*
*Get a copy of Rediscovering Korean Cinema (Perspectives on Contemporary Korea), edited by Sangjoon Lee on Amazon here*
"Breathless" is not your average sit-down-and-gobble-a-bucket-of-popcorn movie. It is violent and depressing, and if not for a lot of flab in the first half of the film, a downright brilliant flick.
Sang-Hoon (writer/director Yang Ik-Joon) is muscle for small-time hood Man-Sik (Man-shik Jeong). Sang-Hoon has a lot of issues, and takes them out on the people he is sent to collect from. The film opens with violence, and the fighting is virtually non-stop throughout. Sang-Hoon lost his mother and sister thanks to an alcoholic father, who is being released from prison. He does have a half-sister and nephew, but his hatred for his father taints his relationship with them as well. He is consistently mean to the little boy, calling him horrible names before angrily dropping off financial assistance for the mother. Sang-Hoon gets into it with a high school girl, Yeon-Hee (Kim Kkobbi), who dishes out what she takes, thanks to her own messed up home life consisting of a father suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder who won't believe that his wife is dead, and a psychotically violent brother (Hwan Lee) who threatens Yeon-Hee with murder, and who looks like he might carry it out. Sang-Hoon and Yeon-Hee begin to hang out, but not in a romantic comedy sort of way. The two trade serious insults constantly, both afraid of what might happen if they let their respective guards down. The two are also connected when Yeon-Hee's brother comes to work for Man-Sik, and must learn the ropes from Sang-Hoon, who is not aware that he is Yeon-Hee's brother.
Yang Ik-Soon wrote and directed himself quite a juicy role. The audience is not expected to like Sang-Hoon, and doesn't. I spent most of the first half of the film wondering why I was subjecting myself to the constant barrage of violence and profanity, waiting for some kind of redemptive moment to come out in the main character. You feel terrible for Yeon-Hee, and everyone else who must deal with Sang-Hoon's constant physical and emotional abuse. The South Korean locations are excellent. No pretty scenery, just back streets in an unnamed urban location. The cast is awesome all around. Toward the end, some very melodramatic moments occur that could have killed the film. They may have read melodramatic on paper, but Yang Ik-Soon directs his cast so well, they are heart-wrenching and not silly. Strong scenes populate the film, and it does improve in the second half but again, that first half of the film had me numb to the violence to the point where I almost did not care what happened to Hang-Soon in the second half of the film. Luckily, the film makers brought me around.
"Breathless" (aka "Ddongpari) is an emotionally draining experience.
Stats:
(2008) 130 min. (* * * *) out of five stars
-Written and Directed by Yang Ik-joon
-Cast: Yang Ik-joon, Man-shik Jeong, Kim Kkobbi, Hwan Lee, Jeong-soon Park, Lee Seung-yun, Hee-soo Kim, Jin-sook Lee, Choi Yong-min, Gil Hae-Yeon, Kim Sang-won, Seon-ae Ji, Jeong Man-sik, Seung-Hoon Yoon, Jee-hye Oh
(Unrated)
Sunday, October 6, 2024
CIA Covert Experiments (2015)
*Get a physical copy of "CIA Covert Experiments" on Amazon here*
*Watch "CIA Covert Experments" on Amazon Prime Video here*
*Get a copy of Acres of Skin: Human Experiments at Holmesburg Prison by Allen Hornblum on Amazon here*
*Get a copy of A Terrible Mistake: The Murder of Frank Olson and the CIA's Secret Cold War Experiments by H.P. Albarelli, Jr. on Amazon here*
This sloppy documentary about the 1951 mass poisoning of the small French village of Pont-Saint-Esprit isn't very convincing about whether the American CIA was responsible, but it does provide a good jumping-off point about the horrors our government has inflicted on innocent citizens in the United States and around the world.
In 1951, a couple of hundred people in the small town basically went completely insane, with seven people dying while under the influence. The cause of the outbreak was blamed on tainted bread from a local baker, who was cleared of any wrongdoing. Thanks to some declassified documents, the town is mentioned along with the name Frank Olson, who was synonymous with governmental wrongdoing and illegal experimentation. Did the American government spray the infected bread with LSD, just to see what would happen? Whether the CIA or any other governmental agency had anything to do with the case isn't proven, but the viewer is given a lot of testimony and proof of other activities, and our mealy-mouthed apologies decades later as other experimentation cases were dropped and forgotten.
The film is way too short to cover everything that the government did wrong in the past, and maybe should have stuck with just the mass poisoning. Scant attention is given to it as the viewer is bombarded with other names and events. Unfortunately, this isn't "proof" that the CIA is involved, but considering what they did to others, it is a possibility. Words like "Operation Paperclip" and "MKULTRA" are bandied about, and many of the interview subjects (especially the investigators and victims) know what they are talking about. You don't want to believe our government is capable of this, but considering the mountains of information exposed to the general public on a daily basis, the conspiracy theorists of yesterday are the independent journalists of today. "CIA Covert Experiments" isn't great filmmaking, but it's not easy to excuse. Originally an episode on French television's "Docs interdits" entitled "Un village empoisonné par la CIA? Pont Saint Esprit 1951."
Stats:
(2015) 55 min. (* * 1/2) out of five stars
-Directed by Olivier Pighetti
-Featuring Collin Ross, Allen Hornblum, Karen Wetmore, Victor Marchetti, Hank Albarelli, James S. Ketchum, Youssef
Unrated- Physical violence, mild sexual references, strong adult situations, very strong drug references, very strong drug use
*Watch "CIA Covert Experments" on Amazon Prime Video here*
*Get a copy of Acres of Skin: Human Experiments at Holmesburg Prison by Allen Hornblum on Amazon here*
*Get a copy of A Terrible Mistake: The Murder of Frank Olson and the CIA's Secret Cold War Experiments by H.P. Albarelli, Jr. on Amazon here*
This sloppy documentary about the 1951 mass poisoning of the small French village of Pont-Saint-Esprit isn't very convincing about whether the American CIA was responsible, but it does provide a good jumping-off point about the horrors our government has inflicted on innocent citizens in the United States and around the world.
In 1951, a couple of hundred people in the small town basically went completely insane, with seven people dying while under the influence. The cause of the outbreak was blamed on tainted bread from a local baker, who was cleared of any wrongdoing. Thanks to some declassified documents, the town is mentioned along with the name Frank Olson, who was synonymous with governmental wrongdoing and illegal experimentation. Did the American government spray the infected bread with LSD, just to see what would happen? Whether the CIA or any other governmental agency had anything to do with the case isn't proven, but the viewer is given a lot of testimony and proof of other activities, and our mealy-mouthed apologies decades later as other experimentation cases were dropped and forgotten.
The film is way too short to cover everything that the government did wrong in the past, and maybe should have stuck with just the mass poisoning. Scant attention is given to it as the viewer is bombarded with other names and events. Unfortunately, this isn't "proof" that the CIA is involved, but considering what they did to others, it is a possibility. Words like "Operation Paperclip" and "MKULTRA" are bandied about, and many of the interview subjects (especially the investigators and victims) know what they are talking about. You don't want to believe our government is capable of this, but considering the mountains of information exposed to the general public on a daily basis, the conspiracy theorists of yesterday are the independent journalists of today. "CIA Covert Experiments" isn't great filmmaking, but it's not easy to excuse. Originally an episode on French television's "Docs interdits" entitled "Un village empoisonné par la CIA? Pont Saint Esprit 1951."
Stats:
(2015) 55 min. (* * 1/2) out of five stars
-Directed by Olivier Pighetti
-Featuring Collin Ross, Allen Hornblum, Karen Wetmore, Victor Marchetti, Hank Albarelli, James S. Ketchum, Youssef
Unrated- Physical violence, mild sexual references, strong adult situations, very strong drug references, very strong drug use
Saturday, October 5, 2024
Hotel Transylvania 2 (2015)
*Get a physical copy of "Hotel Transylvania 2" on Amazon here*
*Get a physical copy of Hotel Transylvania 4-Movie DVD Collection (Hotel Transylvania/Hotel Transylvania 2/Hotel Transylvania 3: Summer Vacation/Hotel Transylvania: Transformania) on Amazon here*
*Get "Hotel Transylvania 2" wall decor on Amazon here*
*Get Hotel Transylvania Playset Figurines and other toys on Amazon here*
The gang from the smash-hit is back, in a film that screams for more hotel and less Adam Sandler screenwriting.
Dracula's (voice of Adam Sandler) daughter Mavis (voice of Selena Gomez) is living with her human dude husband Jonathan (voice of Andy Samberg) at the titular hotel, where Jonathan is given a social networking job to deal with the influx of humans into Transylvania. Mavis and Jonathan also have a toddler named Dennis (voice of Asher Blinkoff), who is half human and half vampire, and no one is sure if the boy will be a monster or not. Dracula wants Dennis' fangs to come in as soon as possible, but the protective Mavis is letting nature take its course. Jonathan loves his job at the hotel, so Drac sends the couple off to California to show Mavis how awful Jonathan's home state is- so the couple won't move away, and so he can work on turning the adorable Dennis into a bloodthirsty supernatural being. Dracula and his friends take Dennis on a road trip, exposing Dennis to all of Dracula's old haunts, which have changed since humans arrived, and each monster tries to demonstrate their evil with disastrous results. In the meantime, Mavis is enthralled by the human world, until she realizes what Dracula has been doing and flies back to Transylvania to confront her meddling father. Wait. There's more wackiness. Mel Brooks is introduced, much too late, as Dracula's estranged father Vlad. He is also worried that Dennis' fangs haven't come in, and no one has told him that Mavis married a human. Much like Jonathan disguising himself as a monster in the first film, Jonathan's visiting suburban family must all disguise themselves as monsters to fool the old vampire.
"Hotel Transylvania" worked because of the manic energy that Sandler and Samberg brought. That film moved, not allowing anyone to catch their breath, and brought some nice emotional moments as well. Its sequel lays there like a corpse. All of that energy is gone, and the two main plot thrusts of the film make it feel like two different films, therefore much longer. Gone is the poking fun at human conventions through the eyes of the monsters. Here, bad puns take over, and for a film called "Hotel Transylvania 2," we don't get a lot of time at the hotel. Some great ideas are touched on, but Sandler and Robert Smigel's script doesn't pursue them. The first film ended with a fun musical number, this film ends with a whimper- and makes the viewer sit through half the credits hoping another clip will pop up where they were saving the real laughs...we left once the cast list started rolling, possible mid-end credits joke be damned. To read that cast list, you would have thought the film would be a riot. It has a few laughs and too few great scenes, but those bright spots are overwhelmed by a cast and director turning in a half-hearted effort.
I checked out of "Hotel Transylvania 2" just after the opening title credit.
Stats:
(2015) 89 min. (*) out of five stars
-Directed by Genndy Tartakovsky
-Written by Robert Smigel & Adam Sandler
-Cast: Adam Sandler, Selena Gomez, Andy Samberg, Mel Brooks, Kevin James, Steve Buscemi, David Spade, Keegan-Michael Key, Jon Lovitz, Megan Mullally, Molly Shannon, Fran Drescher, Dana Carvey, Rob Riggle, Nick Offerman
(PG)
*Get a physical copy of Hotel Transylvania 4-Movie DVD Collection (Hotel Transylvania/Hotel Transylvania 2/Hotel Transylvania 3: Summer Vacation/Hotel Transylvania: Transformania) on Amazon here*
*Get "Hotel Transylvania 2" wall decor on Amazon here*
*Get Hotel Transylvania Playset Figurines and other toys on Amazon here*
The gang from the smash-hit is back, in a film that screams for more hotel and less Adam Sandler screenwriting.
Dracula's (voice of Adam Sandler) daughter Mavis (voice of Selena Gomez) is living with her human dude husband Jonathan (voice of Andy Samberg) at the titular hotel, where Jonathan is given a social networking job to deal with the influx of humans into Transylvania. Mavis and Jonathan also have a toddler named Dennis (voice of Asher Blinkoff), who is half human and half vampire, and no one is sure if the boy will be a monster or not. Dracula wants Dennis' fangs to come in as soon as possible, but the protective Mavis is letting nature take its course. Jonathan loves his job at the hotel, so Drac sends the couple off to California to show Mavis how awful Jonathan's home state is- so the couple won't move away, and so he can work on turning the adorable Dennis into a bloodthirsty supernatural being. Dracula and his friends take Dennis on a road trip, exposing Dennis to all of Dracula's old haunts, which have changed since humans arrived, and each monster tries to demonstrate their evil with disastrous results. In the meantime, Mavis is enthralled by the human world, until she realizes what Dracula has been doing and flies back to Transylvania to confront her meddling father. Wait. There's more wackiness. Mel Brooks is introduced, much too late, as Dracula's estranged father Vlad. He is also worried that Dennis' fangs haven't come in, and no one has told him that Mavis married a human. Much like Jonathan disguising himself as a monster in the first film, Jonathan's visiting suburban family must all disguise themselves as monsters to fool the old vampire.
"Hotel Transylvania" worked because of the manic energy that Sandler and Samberg brought. That film moved, not allowing anyone to catch their breath, and brought some nice emotional moments as well. Its sequel lays there like a corpse. All of that energy is gone, and the two main plot thrusts of the film make it feel like two different films, therefore much longer. Gone is the poking fun at human conventions through the eyes of the monsters. Here, bad puns take over, and for a film called "Hotel Transylvania 2," we don't get a lot of time at the hotel. Some great ideas are touched on, but Sandler and Robert Smigel's script doesn't pursue them. The first film ended with a fun musical number, this film ends with a whimper- and makes the viewer sit through half the credits hoping another clip will pop up where they were saving the real laughs...we left once the cast list started rolling, possible mid-end credits joke be damned. To read that cast list, you would have thought the film would be a riot. It has a few laughs and too few great scenes, but those bright spots are overwhelmed by a cast and director turning in a half-hearted effort.
I checked out of "Hotel Transylvania 2" just after the opening title credit.
Stats:
(2015) 89 min. (*) out of five stars
-Directed by Genndy Tartakovsky
-Written by Robert Smigel & Adam Sandler
-Cast: Adam Sandler, Selena Gomez, Andy Samberg, Mel Brooks, Kevin James, Steve Buscemi, David Spade, Keegan-Michael Key, Jon Lovitz, Megan Mullally, Molly Shannon, Fran Drescher, Dana Carvey, Rob Riggle, Nick Offerman
(PG)
Friday, October 4, 2024
April Fool's Day (2008)
*Get a physical copy of "April Fool's Day" (2008) on Amazon here*
*Watch "April Fool's Day" (2008) on Amazon Prime Video here*
*Get a physical copy of "April Fool's Day" (1986) on Amazon here*
*Watch "April Fool's Day" (1986) on Amazon Prime Video here*
This reimagining of the 1986 chestnut already has one strike against it before the disc even hits the DVD player- if a horror film involving gory murders takes place on April Fool's Day, then the viewer is going to be automatically suspicious of everything they see or hear.
On April 1, 2007, spoiled rich orphans Desiree (Taylor Cole) and Blaine (Josh Henderson) are throwing a society coming-out party for Torrance (Scout Taylor-Compton). Invitees include dimwitted future politician Peter (Samuel Child), his beauty queen wife Barbie (Jennifer Siebel Newsom, who is ironically married to Gavin Newsom), Desiree's enemy Milan (Sabrina Aldridge), video geek Ryan (Joe Egender) who has a crush on Milan, and gossip blogger Charles (Joseph McKelheer). The party gets going, but a prank played by Desiree and Blaine on Milan leads Milan to take a header out of a second floor balcony and die. One year later, and after court hearings exonerating everyone and giving estate control to Desiree, six of the remaining friends are summoned to Milan's gravesite. A delivered package contains a video of Charles being drowned in his pool, and a letter proclaims that unless one of the friends cops to Milan's murder, they will all die. The finger pointing and back stabbing begin immediately, but the film's focus is on the siblings, who make like Scooby and the gang and try to solve the murders before they are next.
This film is definitely not a shot-by-shot remake, or even a franchise reboot, although one can always wish for a Deborah Foreman cameo and get disappointed. Only the title and very loose plot is taken from the first film, which was merely good enough. Like I said, this version also has some baggage along, and the viewer immediately knows more than the characters in the film. Unfortunately, these characters are so immensely unlikable, I was hoping all the murders were real. I thought the screenwriter might go for a nasty "Cruel Intentions"-type vibe, but watching these whiny twentysomethings drive around Charlotte, North Carolina chasing ghosts gets real boring real quick. The actors cannot do anything with the poor script. Cole (who looks like a young Sharon Stone) and Henderson are okay, and the final final twist is a kicker, but we must suffer through too many scenes that do not work, or take their own sweet time padding out the film. Anyone else think the 2007 ball was going to be the whole movie? It takes forever. The technical aspects are excellent for such a small production, although the directors really really love that Steadicam rig, and the suspense is nonexistent. I think this new "April Fool's Day" fails.
Stats:
(2008) 91 min. (*) out of five stars
-Directed by Mitchell Altieri and Phil Flores (The Butcher Brothers)
-Teleplay by Michael Wigert, Story by Danilo Bach, Earlier Screenplay by Danilo Bach and Mitchell Altieri & Phil Flores (The Butcher Brothers)
-Cast: Taylor Cole, Josh Henderson, Scout Taylor-Compton, Samuel Child, Jennifer Siebel Newsom, Sabrina Aldridge, Joe Egender, Joseph McKelheer, Frank J. Aard, Sabrina Aldridge, Tom Barker, Michael Beasley
(Unrated)
*Watch "April Fool's Day" (2008) on Amazon Prime Video here*
*Get a physical copy of "April Fool's Day" (1986) on Amazon here*
*Watch "April Fool's Day" (1986) on Amazon Prime Video here*
This reimagining of the 1986 chestnut already has one strike against it before the disc even hits the DVD player- if a horror film involving gory murders takes place on April Fool's Day, then the viewer is going to be automatically suspicious of everything they see or hear.
On April 1, 2007, spoiled rich orphans Desiree (Taylor Cole) and Blaine (Josh Henderson) are throwing a society coming-out party for Torrance (Scout Taylor-Compton). Invitees include dimwitted future politician Peter (Samuel Child), his beauty queen wife Barbie (Jennifer Siebel Newsom, who is ironically married to Gavin Newsom), Desiree's enemy Milan (Sabrina Aldridge), video geek Ryan (Joe Egender) who has a crush on Milan, and gossip blogger Charles (Joseph McKelheer). The party gets going, but a prank played by Desiree and Blaine on Milan leads Milan to take a header out of a second floor balcony and die. One year later, and after court hearings exonerating everyone and giving estate control to Desiree, six of the remaining friends are summoned to Milan's gravesite. A delivered package contains a video of Charles being drowned in his pool, and a letter proclaims that unless one of the friends cops to Milan's murder, they will all die. The finger pointing and back stabbing begin immediately, but the film's focus is on the siblings, who make like Scooby and the gang and try to solve the murders before they are next.
This film is definitely not a shot-by-shot remake, or even a franchise reboot, although one can always wish for a Deborah Foreman cameo and get disappointed. Only the title and very loose plot is taken from the first film, which was merely good enough. Like I said, this version also has some baggage along, and the viewer immediately knows more than the characters in the film. Unfortunately, these characters are so immensely unlikable, I was hoping all the murders were real. I thought the screenwriter might go for a nasty "Cruel Intentions"-type vibe, but watching these whiny twentysomethings drive around Charlotte, North Carolina chasing ghosts gets real boring real quick. The actors cannot do anything with the poor script. Cole (who looks like a young Sharon Stone) and Henderson are okay, and the final final twist is a kicker, but we must suffer through too many scenes that do not work, or take their own sweet time padding out the film. Anyone else think the 2007 ball was going to be the whole movie? It takes forever. The technical aspects are excellent for such a small production, although the directors really really love that Steadicam rig, and the suspense is nonexistent. I think this new "April Fool's Day" fails.
Stats:
(2008) 91 min. (*) out of five stars
-Directed by Mitchell Altieri and Phil Flores (The Butcher Brothers)
-Teleplay by Michael Wigert, Story by Danilo Bach, Earlier Screenplay by Danilo Bach and Mitchell Altieri & Phil Flores (The Butcher Brothers)
-Cast: Taylor Cole, Josh Henderson, Scout Taylor-Compton, Samuel Child, Jennifer Siebel Newsom, Sabrina Aldridge, Joe Egender, Joseph McKelheer, Frank J. Aard, Sabrina Aldridge, Tom Barker, Michael Beasley
(Unrated)
Apartment 143 (2011)
*Get a physical copy of "Apartment 143" on Amazon here*
*Watch "Apartment 143" on Amazon Prime Video here*
*Get "Apartment 143" wall decor on Amazon here*
*Get a copy of Blood on the Lens: Trauma and Anxiety in American Found Footage Horror Cinema by Shellie McMurdo on Amazon here*
If it came out in the last decade or two, fell into the horror genre, and debuted on a streaming service, then you might have yet another "found footage/point-of-view" horror film.
Widower Alan (Kai Lennox) and his children Benny (Damian Roman) and Caitlin (Gia Mantegna) are experiencing odd phenomena in their new Los Angeles apartment- this was filmed in Barcelona, which makes a lousy substitute for southern California. Things go bump in the night, lights flicker, all the usual stuff. Stoic Dr. Helzer (Michael O'Keefe) and his assistants Ellen (Fiona Glascott) and Paul (Rick Gonzalez) move into the apartment and set up their equipment to capture the strange happenings. Right away, doors open on their own, pictures on the wall change position, and objects are strewn about, all of which is captured by Helzer's cameras and scientific readings. Caitlin hates Alan, presumably because of her mother's death, but Helzer digs deeper as the titular apartment turns into a vortex of paranormal activity.
If you have seen any episodes of any of those ghost hunting shows on basic cable television, then you are familiar with the terms 'poltergeist' and 'EVP', and occurrences like temperature drops and motion sensor alarms. The film makers still go about explaining it to the audience by having the researchers explain to Benny what all the neat lights and buttons do. This drags the film down, and introduces a routine- the ghost hunters set up some equipment and explain it, something shocking happens, and then we cut to the cast doing something innocuous as if everything was okay. I laughed out loud after one particularly violent episode, which segued into a nice quiet little breakfast scene. The good news is the film seems to have been scripted, as opposed to letting the cast improvise their story into a corner, which happens in tons of these types of films. Torrens can frame a jump scare well, although you still don't jump at that scare when you expect the scare. O'Keefe's character is an anomaly, I'm not sure if Dr. Helzer was a believer or a debunker. Lennox comes off best with one excellent scene- a long monologue about his relationship with his now-deceased wife and supposed spirit, which held my interest for longer than it should have thanks to his performance.
In the end, "Apartment 143" is an unsatisfying horror flick, helped immensely by some good acting and an unimprovised screenplay. You've seen it all before, and it's disheartening that as you read this, more ghost hunting and found footage stories are being filmed, zooming through the ether and directly into your living room via streaming services. Also known as "Emergo" and "143."
Stats:
(2011) 80 min. (* * *) out of five stars
-Directed by Carles Torrens
-Written by Rodrigo Cortes
-Cast: Michael O'Keefe, Kai Lennox, Damian Roman, Gia Mantegna, Fiona Glascott, Rick Gonzalez, Francesc Garrido, Laura Martuscelli, Fermi Reixach, Souleymane Diop, Alex van Kuyk
(R)
*Watch "Apartment 143" on Amazon Prime Video here*
*Get "Apartment 143" wall decor on Amazon here*
*Get a copy of Blood on the Lens: Trauma and Anxiety in American Found Footage Horror Cinema by Shellie McMurdo on Amazon here*
If it came out in the last decade or two, fell into the horror genre, and debuted on a streaming service, then you might have yet another "found footage/point-of-view" horror film.
Widower Alan (Kai Lennox) and his children Benny (Damian Roman) and Caitlin (Gia Mantegna) are experiencing odd phenomena in their new Los Angeles apartment- this was filmed in Barcelona, which makes a lousy substitute for southern California. Things go bump in the night, lights flicker, all the usual stuff. Stoic Dr. Helzer (Michael O'Keefe) and his assistants Ellen (Fiona Glascott) and Paul (Rick Gonzalez) move into the apartment and set up their equipment to capture the strange happenings. Right away, doors open on their own, pictures on the wall change position, and objects are strewn about, all of which is captured by Helzer's cameras and scientific readings. Caitlin hates Alan, presumably because of her mother's death, but Helzer digs deeper as the titular apartment turns into a vortex of paranormal activity.
If you have seen any episodes of any of those ghost hunting shows on basic cable television, then you are familiar with the terms 'poltergeist' and 'EVP', and occurrences like temperature drops and motion sensor alarms. The film makers still go about explaining it to the audience by having the researchers explain to Benny what all the neat lights and buttons do. This drags the film down, and introduces a routine- the ghost hunters set up some equipment and explain it, something shocking happens, and then we cut to the cast doing something innocuous as if everything was okay. I laughed out loud after one particularly violent episode, which segued into a nice quiet little breakfast scene. The good news is the film seems to have been scripted, as opposed to letting the cast improvise their story into a corner, which happens in tons of these types of films. Torrens can frame a jump scare well, although you still don't jump at that scare when you expect the scare. O'Keefe's character is an anomaly, I'm not sure if Dr. Helzer was a believer or a debunker. Lennox comes off best with one excellent scene- a long monologue about his relationship with his now-deceased wife and supposed spirit, which held my interest for longer than it should have thanks to his performance.
In the end, "Apartment 143" is an unsatisfying horror flick, helped immensely by some good acting and an unimprovised screenplay. You've seen it all before, and it's disheartening that as you read this, more ghost hunting and found footage stories are being filmed, zooming through the ether and directly into your living room via streaming services. Also known as "Emergo" and "143."
Stats:
(2011) 80 min. (* * *) out of five stars
-Directed by Carles Torrens
-Written by Rodrigo Cortes
-Cast: Michael O'Keefe, Kai Lennox, Damian Roman, Gia Mantegna, Fiona Glascott, Rick Gonzalez, Francesc Garrido, Laura Martuscelli, Fermi Reixach, Souleymane Diop, Alex van Kuyk
(R)
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
Is This Necessary?, Written by Charles T. Tatum, Jr.
* Get a copy of How to Be a Christian Without Being Religious by Fritz Ridenour on Amazon here * * Get a copy of Meditations: A New Transl...
-
* Get a physical copy of "Blood Tide" on Amazon here * * Get a copy of James Earl Jones: Voices and Silences by James Earl Jones...
-
* Get a physical copy of "Baby: Secret of the Lost Legend" on Amazon here * * Get a copy of the "Baby: Secret of the Lost Le...
-
* Get a physical copy of "Babylon A.D." Raw and Uncut on Amazon here * * Get the "Babylon A.D." Original Motion Picture...
