Track the Films You Watch (2009)

Rush Hour
One's all talk...the other's all action!...Jackie Chan (Rumble in the Bronx, First Strike) and Chris Tucker (Money Talks, Friday) mix punches with punchlines in this hilarious action-comedy.

Cultures clash and tempers flare as these two cops from different worlds quickly discover one thing in common: they can’t stand each other. With time running out, they must join forces to catch the criminals -- if they don't kill each other first!

My Thoughts:
I felt like popping in a fun action movie. Something that I didn't have to think too much about... just be able to sit back and enjoy. Jackie Chan movies are great for such a mood. There is plenty of comedy as well as plenty of action. So yes I enjoyed every minute of this one. I thought Jackie Chan and Chris Tucker made a very good team... it was a lot of fun watching them together.

James A. FitzPatrick’s Traveltalks: Romantic Riviera (1953) (short)

Production: MGM         

 

Hitting all the hot spots along the French Ree-vee-air-a (as pronounced by Fitz), including Nice, Cannes and a rather charming little town called St. Paul, which sits in the foothills of the Maritime Alps.  In contrast to the casinos and boulevards of the Cote d’Azur, in St. Paul, locals play some kind of ball game, where the object is to bowl a big ball as close to a previously bowled smaller ball without touching it.  Naturally, thousands of people turn out for tournaments.  France! Am I right, folks?  Also in St. Paul, they don’t drive, the ‘roads’ are too narrow.  In a rare glimpse at Fitz’s mental state, he enviously tells us that the people of St. Paul may not have modern conveniences, but they do have peace of mind.  Overall, a bit scattershot and light on genuine sights. 

out of 4

Cecil B. DeMille: American Epic (2004) Dir: Kevin Brownlow

Production: Photoplay Productions/TCM

 

Excellent, well-rounded look at a very definite character from Hollywood’s history.  No hagiography here, while DeMille’s work is given mostly respectful treatment the film does not shy away from the complexities and contradictions that made the man different things to different people; both tyrant and great to work for, great father and bad husband (let’s call it an unconventional marriage), respected and reviled by colleagues.  We see his beginnings and the key lasting influence of impresario David Belasco.  There’s an interesting story about DeMille’s early flirtation with, and admiration of, communism.  Also, lesser known today is that DeMille was seen as washed up by 1931, much like Griffith, and it was THE SIGN OF THE CROSS and CLEOPATRA that marked his second coming.  Some of the modern talking heads include Martin Scorsese, Steven Speilberg and Elmer Bernstein and in archive footage we hear from among others, Gloria Swanson, dancer Agnes de Mille (his niece), Sam Goldwyn and a brief, hilarious anecdote from Henry Hathaway.  Swanson tells the story of being sent into a lion pit to shoot a scene while DeMille stood by holding a gun.  There is also a great behind-the-scenes look at the ‘parting of the red sea’ effect (and the two MASSIVE tanks used to accomplish it).  Kenneth Branagh narrates.

out of 4


 

A Crime Does Not Pay Subject No. 27: Know Your Money (1940) (short) Dir: Joseph M. Newman

Production: MGM 

 

Oooh, exciting! For the first time on any screen we are privileged to see “actual reproductions of United States currency.” Counterfeit money is the subject and we take a look at a typical criminal ring.  The key differences between real notes and phony money are highlighted--after all, it’s up to you vigilant viewer to ‘know your money’.  One area this short series excels in is the procedural aspects of an investigation and the crime lab is in fine form here.  I suppose if you don’t have time to watch the superior T-MEN, you could throw this on, it’s a digest version of the same story, more or less.

out of 4

1939 (2009) Dir: Constantine Nasr

Production: New Wave Entertainment/TCM

 

Nice doc on the so-called “greatest year” in Hollywood history.  There’s a decent attempt at putting the prolific year in context; the time between the decline of the escapist depression-era pictures of the 30’s and the rise of the more mature themes of the war years amounts to a clearly demarcated one or two years from which sprang a cycle of newfound variety and creativity informed by, among other things, European tensions and the rise of Nazism.  Even if you don’t buy that something in the social/political fabric was driving the uncommon burst of quality, the record is still rather amazing--it wasn’t just a good year for the studios, even the independent producers like Walter Wanger (STAGECOACH), Hal Roach (OF MICE AND MEN), Sam Goldwyn (WUTHERING HEIGHTS) and David Selznick (GWTW) were at the top of their game.  Making the case are critics like Leonard Maltin, F.X. Feeney, Joe McBride and Molly Haskell as well as archival interviews with George Cukor, Frank Capra, Doug Fairbanks, Jr. and Maureen O’Hara.  Among the more interesting assertions was a consideration of THE WIZARD OF OZ as ultimately an Arthur Freed production and a case to be made that UNION PACIFIC and JESSE JAMES had as much to do with the revival of the big budget, serious western as the often credited STAGECOACH.  Mr. Documentary, Kenneth Branagh, narrates.

out of 4

John Nesbitt’s Passing Parade No. 58: Our Old Car (1946) (short) Dir: Cyril Endfield

Production: MGM

 

Nesbitt presents, in his inimitable royal “we” narration, the brief history of the automobile through the eyes of his own family’s history (or the history of his family according to the guy who wrote the script).  Every time he says “you’ll recall” or “you’ll remember” you realize that most of the day’s audience really did recall the beginnings of the ‘horseless carriage’.  We run the gamut of machines from the $850 Columbus Roadmaster in 1900, to the 1905 Holzman, the Stanley Steamer in 1910, the 1913 Model T and eventually, the modern sedan.  Pleasant enough, but not much else.  Weaker entry.

out of 4

Sweethearts (1938) Dir: W.S. Van Dyke

Production: MGM

 

Oh goodie, a Jeanette MacDonald-Nelson Eddy operetta.  The sting is lifted a bit by the proceedings taking place in a present day Broadway setting.  Nelson and Jeanette play Ernest Lane and Gwen Marlowe, the husband-and-wife stars of a smash Broadway revival of Victor Herbert’s Sweethearts.  The night the production is celebrating its six year anniversary, Ernest and Gwen also celebrate their six year wedding anniversary.  The Broadway grind and the persistent demands on their time has them thinking about leaving, alerting the attentions of a Hollywood studio, while the producer of their show, Felix Lehman (Frank Morgan), conspires to keep his cash cows from leaving.

 

SWEETHEARTS was MGM’s first Technicolor film and the big sensation was the public’s first look at MacDonald’s red hair.  The picture looks quite good, there are even a handful of sweet shots of the city.  As to our stars, Jeanette at least has a little spunk to her, Eddy on the other hand is just dull.  Oddly enough, he reminded me of another drip, Gene Raymond, who MacDonald actually married, even though scuttlebutt was that she and Eddy were in love.  Paging Dr. Freud!  Anyway, when these things go wrong, it’s because they go too long with too many songs.  Well, this picture is almost 2 hours, padded with 13 songs that I usually zonked out on about 30 seconds into each one.  Occasionally the movie is brought to life by the supporting cast; Morgan of course, Herman Bing and Mischa Auer as the fictional bickering composer and librettist of Sweethearts, Ray Bolger does some Scarecrow-ish dancing in the opening number nearly stealing the film, Raymond Walburn and Gene Lockhart play boorish in-laws of Gwen and Ernest’s, and Terry Kilburn is funny as Gwen’s precocious, business-obsessed little brother.  There is a bit during the ‘break-up over a mix-up’ scenes where the William Tell Overture is used that is reminiscent of Preston Sturges.  It was also somewhat amusing to see a movie portray the Hollywood agents as buffoonish predators while anybody who would want to leave New York and the stage must be crazy (an obvious Dorothy Parker joke--she’s credited on the script).

out of 4

A Miniature: Master Will Shakespeare (1936) (short) Dir: Jacques Tourneur

Production: MGM

 

Carey Wilson narrates a brief but spirited look at the life of Shakespeare.  We trace his beginnings in Stratford where his home still stands.  Then we follow Will off to London where, like many a “budding Bernhardt treks her weary way to Hollywood only to bury her dreams beneath the uniform of a waitress”, he initially found work tending the horses of the Blackfriars Theatre patrons.  Then a moment of serendipity--Will feeds his own lines to actors on stage who had forgotten theirs, to much acclaim.  Command performances for Queen Bess (Elizabeth I) soon followed.  Let’s call it speculative history.  Exceedingly capable direction from a young Tourneur, with a good scene of Will pondering Romeo and Juliet while sitting in front of a tavern fireplace (leading into a brief plug for MGM’s ROMEO AND JULIET—hey! early cross promotion!--, which at least had the advantage of an actual woman playing Juliet, unlike the play as staged in Shakespeare’s time). 

out of 4

I Dream Too Much (1935) Dir: John Cromwell

Production: RKO Radio Pictures

 

Gee, I miss the trend of opera singers coming to Hollywood and having vehicles built around their talents.  This is the film debut of French opera singer Lily Pons, and when the camera is on her for any amount of time without dialogue for her to speak, it is not especially kind.  She plays Annette Manard, a sheltered young girl, trained by her uncle against her wishes to be an opera singer.  One night, drawn by the sounds of a carnival on the streets outside her window, she sneaks out to join in the revelry.  Annette meets an American, Jonathan Street (Henry Fonda), and together they party the night away.  Waking up the next morning with a hangover, Jonathan realizes he and Annette were married.  He resents her at first, as a struggling composer he wants his freedom, but she convinces him to stay and they fall in love.  Soon, Annette’s talent is revealed to a theatrical agent and her star is ascendant, while a frustrated Jonathan’s pride drives a wedge between them, and a sort of Parisian ‘Star is Born’ ensues.

 

Pons has a strange irritating way about her.  She’s certainly sweet natured and trying to be cute, but her amateur emoting and shrill voice work against her.  Fonda’s character is either being a rude jerk or a brat, even beyond the conventions of the time concerning gender roles.  This is his third film and I presume it was a performance he tried to forget.  Eric Blore appears with middling results as Annette and Jonathan’s eccentric neighbor who keeps a seal named Duchess in his apartment.  Lucille Ball has a brief scene as the daughter in a family of typically uncouth American tourists.  The songs collectively are among the more forgettable things Jerome Kern ever wrote.  And I always find it ‘off’ when operatic singers try to do what amounted at the time to pop music, as done here.  It’s like having Method Man sing George Strait.  Avoid.

out of 4

A Pete Smith Specialty: Studio Visit (1946) (short) Dir: Dave O’Brien

Production: MGM

 

Not much behind the scenes stuff or movie making magic on this ‘studio visit’, as it is more an excuse to put together a film clip with a few novelty acts.  Interestingly the clip is Lena Horne’s bubble bath number from CABIN IN THE SKY that was excised before it was released and supposedly never shown until THAT’S ENTERTAINMENT III.  Well, obviously it was shown in this short, wherever it played.  The first act is a shell game practitioner who is extremely good at what he does.  A shot from beneath a clear table shows how he pulls off his sleight of hand.  The final act is a three-year-old little girl with freakish, superhuman balancing ability, allegedly due to the abnormally large semi-circular canal in her head (either that or a nightmare dad that had been training her since birth).  She was pretty remarkable, nonchalantly going through her act while munching on an apple.  Typically wry PS narration rounds out the short.

out of 4

The Sign of the Ram (1948) Dir: John Sturges

Production: Columbia Pictures

 

A young woman takes a secretarial position with a wheelchair-bound poetess at her Cornish estate, upsetting the controlling, perverse relationship the writer has with her family.  Phyllis Thaxter plays Sherida Binyon, the personal secretary to the poet, Leah St. Aubyn (Susan Peters).  Sherida has moved in to the St. Aubyn family estate, on England’s western coast, where Leah lives with her husband, Mallory (Alexander Knox), and her three step-children, Logan (Ross Ford), Jane (Allen Roberts) and young Christine (Peggy Ann Garner).  At first everything is great, but Sherida soon realizes that her arrival has disrupted a rather disturbing dynamic in the household.  Leah, a paraplegic by way of an accident a few years earlier in which she saved Logan’s life, has managed to keep the family ‘together’ by way of guilt trips and psychological domineering.  As she is ‘imprisoned’ in a wheelchair, she has turned the family home into a prison for her husband and the kids, although they barely recognize what’s going on.  Leah begins to see Sherida as a rival for Mallory, and with Logan and Jane nearing the age to be married and moved out, she goes about eliminating the threats to her happy home. 

 

This film marked the return to the screen of actress Susan Peters (RANDOM HARVEST).  Three years earlier, she was hunting with her husband Richard Quine when she was paralyzed in a freak accident.  This comeback didn’t lead to much else, and sadly she died within a few years.  But here for this moment, she’s quite good.  The film is marked by fine performances.  Alexander Knox as the husband for one; he’s defeated by Leah’s machinations but almost oblivious to it.  Dame May Whitty also stands out as a tactless busybody who feeds Leah’s paranoia with her gossiping.  Special mention must be made of Peggy Ann Garner, playing the youngest daughter, who loves her step-mother a little too much.  Inappropriate!  Fine atmospherics (the setting lends itself to a lot of fog and stormy weather, used nicely) in the photography (by Burnett Guffey) and the production design.

out of 4

 


Edited by Pete York - 7/27/2009 at 06:07 am GMT

Mario: Some good stuff on that list (and a few stinkers).  Are those all ones you haven't seen before?


The Ladies Man - I plowed through a bunch of Jerry Lewis movies for about a week or two, shortly after college, in one of those ironic kitschy things that people of that age sometimes do. I never watched this one, though, and it's on the TSPDT list. And the truth is... I actually love Jerry Lewis. I haven't really watched him since that time some 15 years ago, and watching again now I can say, without irony, that he's fucking funny. I wouldn't blame anyone for hating him with a passion the same way I hate, say, W.C. Fields. But his insane antics and over-the-top mugging just makes me laugh. Besides Lewis (who also directed), the centerpiece of this film is the mammoth cut-away mansion set, a lavishly impressive playground for Lewis to frolic in, and an inspiration for Godard and Wes Anderson. Little attention is paid to plotting, the story is just a springboard for a series of slapstick routines and the occasional surreal dance number. When it's not funny, it grinds to a halt, but when it is funny, it's a riot. I can't deny that it's stupid humor ("Mrs. Welenmelon"), but it's my kind of stupid. I think it's time for another Jerry Lewis rental spree. Rating: 7


Prison (rewatch) - In his first outing as both writer and director, Bergman over-reaches. He's trying too hard to make an "important" film, which is felt most prominently in the weighty dialogue and blunt symbolism (Birgitta offers Thomas an apple when she first meets him, oh ho!). But the avant-garde touches and bold cinematography are definitely worth checking out, and the plot is engaging with strong characterization. Rating: 7


Mr. Thank You - Goddamn it, I have GOT to quit wasting time on the internet. I've got a huge stack of discs to watch, and I just spent an hour reading stuff I've ALREADY READ. Sigh. Anyway... it seems highly unlikely that Bunuel would have seen this film, so I'm sure it's just coincidence that it's so thematically similar to Mexican Bus Ride (a movie that, in hindsight, I surely judged too harsly for not being "Bunuellian" enough). The entire movie is a bus trip from rural mountain area to Tokyo. Although primarily a light travelogue comedy, the undercurrent of economic depression constantly lingers, particularly in the form of a teenage girl on her way to be sold into prostitution. The balance of comedy and drama (and a little romance) works pretty well and the film is breezily enjoyable. Not quite as interesting or entertaining as The Masseurs and a Woman, but there are moments, and the repeated point-of-view visual motif of the bus approaching and receding from pedestrians on the road is unique. Rating: 7


The Bothersome Man - Film Movement has been quietly doing its "DVD of the Month Club" for over 6 years now. My library seems to get them all, and every now and then I stumble across one that grabs my attention (including Who's Camus Anyway? which now has a happy space in my collection). I'm glad I stumbled over this one, it's the best films I've seen in quite a while. A surreal urban dystopia in the vein of Brazil and Songs from the Second Floor, it follows Andreas, a man inexplicably placed in a strange city (Hell? Heaven?). Everyone seems perfectly happy and content on the surface... but that's it. There's only surface. No conflict, no suffering, and no real emotions or empathy. That's all I'll say about the plot (and don't read the back of the case, it's kind of spoilerish) but it's brilliantly executed. Done with plenty of that dry Scandinavian wit, a variety of intriguing scenarios and arresting images, and a drained color palette that emphasizes the emotional emptiness of the environment. A fascinating and highly satisfying movie with a healthy dose of ambivalence. I'll be buying this one soon, and keeping my eyes open for more from Jens Lien. Rating: 10

The Day After Tomorrow
In this pulse-pounding action-thriller, global warming triggers the onset of a new Ice Age. As tornadoes flatten Los Angeles and a tidal wave engulfs New York City, the entire Northern Hemisphere begins to freeze solid. Now, climatologist Jack Hall (Dennis Quaid), his son Sam (Jake Gyllenhaal) and a small band of survivors must ride out the growing superstorm and stay alive.

My Thoughts:
This is the 3rd time I watched this movie since I bought it. Sure some of it is a bit over the top... but this is a very good natural disaster movie. There was some really amazing scenes to watch... such as the ship floating into the streets of New York. And the way the freezing air came down and froze the flag in mid-air. If there was anything I didn't like about this movie... it would be that jack-ass of a Vice President coming into power the way he did. If you never seen this movie it is definitely one I would recommend.

Shanghai Noon
Two cultures collide when East meets West in Shanghai Noon, a wildly hilarious, stunt filled action-comedy starring the death-defying action hero Jackie Chan (Rush Hour), Owen Wilson (Armageddon, The Haunting) and Lucy Liu (Payback, TV's Ally McBeal). Chan plays Chinese Imperial Guard Chon Wang (say it out loud) who hightails it to the wild and woolly West to rescue the beautiful kidnapped Princess Pei Pei (Liu). When he meets up with laid-back outlaw cowboy dude Roy O'Bannon (Wilson) -- the best mismatch ever made in the rough and tumble Old West -- the two face jail, brawls, bordellos and the vilest villains this side of the Great Wall. Spectacular stunts, outrageous irreverence and epic vistas reign as East meets West in a battle for honor, royalty and a fortune in gold! It's a real kick.

My Thoughts:
After watching Rush Hour yesterday... I was reminded of Shanghai Noon. Knowing I haven't seen this movie in years I decided to watch it today. Like most of Jackie Chan's movies... this one is fun to watch. I do think I like Rush Hour a little better. But not by much. I remember when I first watched this movie I didn't know who Lucy Liu was. So it was fun to watch this one again now that I am more familiar with her. Definitely worth watching... a good way to waste a couple hours.

I just watched that a couple days ago for the same reason, hadn't seen it in a long time. It still holds up well with some great fights and some great lines. :)

Owen: No you said wet shirt don't break, not piss shirt bend bar!

El Dorado
Legendary producer-director Howard Hawks teams with two equally legendary stars, John Wayne and Robert Mitchum, in this classic Western drama. Mitchum plays to perfection an alcoholic but gutsy sheriff who relentlessly battles the dark side of the wild West, ruthless cattle barons and crooked "bussinessmen". The Duke gives an equally adept performance as the sheriffs old friend who knows his way around a gunfight. Filled with brawling action and humor, El Dorado delivers the goods. James Caan and Ed Asner co-star.

My Thoughts:
This movie was recommended to me several times after I commented how much I enjoyed Rio Bravo. So I was thrilled when my good friend Roger offered to give me the extra copy he had of it so I could check it out. As much as I enjoyed the movie Rio Bravo... I have to say... I enjoyed El Dorado even more! I loved every minute of this movie! It had a terrific story... lots to laugh at... and loaded with lots of great Western  action. And best of all... no singing cowboy... because I just don't care for those singing cowboys. Unfortunately the only extra on this DVD is the Theatrical Trailer. It would have been nice to see a few more extras on this one... but hey... we do collect DVDs for the movies themselves. Everything else is just icing on the cake.

Well - this must be the week that my mind connects with those of other HTFers!

Martin, I don't like Jerry Lewis and yet I've just got hold of 9 of his solo movies! Let me rephrase that a little: I used to like Jerry Lewis a lot as a kid and still fondly remember childhood viewings of JUMPING JACKS (1952), SCARED STIFF (1953), YOU'RE NEVER TOO YOUNG (1955) and, especially, Frank Tashlin's eye-popping ARTISTS AND MODELS (1955). Sometime last year I even acquired all of the SE DVDs released by Paramount of Jerry's work with Dino and his later solo stuff (free of charge through a friend, in case you're wondering)...but haven't sat down to revisit any of them yet! As it happened, last week I conveniently came across some of Jerry's lesser stuff and, knowing that my afore-mentioned friend didn't have any of them in his collection, I thought I'd return the favor! For the record, this is what the latest Jerry booty consisted of:

THE SAD SACK (1957); THE GEISHA BOY (1958); VISIT TO A SMALL PLANET (1960); IT'S ONLY MONEY (1962); and WHO'S MINDING THE STORE? (1963) - all of which I'm already familiar with

and the never-before-seen BOEING BOEING (1965) WAY...WAY OUT (1966); THE BIG MOUTH (1967); and HOOK, LINE AND SINKER (1969).

Are you envious or what? 

The thing is that, in spite of my fond childhood memories, I found Jerry quite painful to watch when I sampled some of his work fairly recently - like 3-RING CIRCUS (1954) and WHICH WAY TO THE FRONT? (1970) - and his face-twisting shtick was just plain unfunny. Oh, well...all those adoring French critics can't be wrong, can they? 


P.S. I adore W.C. Fields myself. Go figure!

I threw of bunch of Jerry (and Dean & Jerry) movies in my Netflix and library queues.  I can't remember all the ones I've seen before... I know there was The Caddy, Artists & Models, The Nutty Professor, and The Disorderly Orderly.  There were probably one or two others, but I can't recall.  A few years ago I watched At War With the Army because it came with the TotalMovies DVD pack.  That one was terrible, but I have fond memories of the others.  I think Jerry just sells it so well... it becomes funnier because you can tell he thinks it's funny, if that makes any sense at all.



A Bay of Blood - This wasn't one of the Bavas recommended to me, but it was on the library shelf so I checked it out. It could be considered one of the earliest slasher flicks... although it differs dramatically in one key aspect (which I won't name for fear of spoilage) it contains several hallmarks of the genre. Remote wooded location, blades coming out of nowhere to slice up their victims, horny teenagers (including one guy with the most godawful hairstyle I've ever seen, some kind of hideous afro/mullet hybrid) getting diced up, et cetera. It also has the major flaw that most slashers share: when people aren't getting killed or being chased, it's dreadfully boring. It does have a plot, but it's a tedious web of greed, murder and real estate involving characters we don't really care about. But the kills come pretty often so it doesn't completely sink the film. There's a few excellent moments involving the camerawork and the editing, a very good score, and a delightfully ghastly application of a squid. I found other facets of the movie intriguing as well, but in general I wasn't all that thrilled. Rating: 6


An American in Paris - I'm trying to get used to lengthy ballet sequences, since so many of the iconic musicals seem to employ them. But man, they're just a buzzkill for me. A 15+ minute ballet is like a drum solo... technically impressive, but you just keep waiting and waiting for the rest of the band to kick in again. The ballet in An American in Paris is probably one of the better ones: colorful and lively, doesn't linger in any one section for too long. Still I couldn't wait for it to be over. The other show-stopper is a 5-minute bit where Oscar Levant (as a struggling concert pianist) fantasizes himself as an entire orchestra. It feels tacked on as a bone thrown to Levant. And while I'm griping, I might as well mention that I don't think Leslie Caron is compelling enough to be a leading lady. Despite all of the above, I was still won over by this movie. The Gershwin classics are married perfectly with Gene Kelly's fancy stepping, the characters have winning personalities, and it's funny and charming with a simple but engaging storyline. It's just an exuberant, feel-good kind of movie. I'll probably end up buying the Blu-Ray. Rating: 9


The Outlaw Josey Wales - At first glance, it's tough to make a case for this film's greatness. It doesn't bring anything new to the genre. Compared to Eastwood's own Unforgiven, it lacks psychological complexity or thematic depth. It doesn't even get mentioned in the same breath as the iconic Westerns. So what's so great about it? Great characters brought to life by memorable performances, great dialogue, great scenarios, and great little character moments. It's a movie more about individual scenes and instances than the overarching plot (although the plot itself is a wholly satisfying cat-and-mouse game) but it wastes no time moving from one riveting moment to the next. Relentlessly entertaining, no complaints at all (except for one dumb gag about a guy falling in a pile of horseshit). I'll probably buy this one too. Rating: 9


Rabid Dogs - Another Bava from the library shelf. Not as distinctive as the other two I've seen, but a solid hostage thriller. Three things stood out, two good and one bad. I thought the camerawork was really excellent... for a movie that takes place in a car for about 75% of it, you really forget that there's a camera there at all. Bava does a great job of putting you inside the tense atmosphere of the automobile. I also have to say that the ending was dynamite, really took me by surprise and puts everything in a whole new light. As for the bad, the characters of Bisturi and "Thirty-Two" were really obnoxious. All that gratuitous psychopathy and evil cackling was way over-the-top. Rating: 7


Although I didn't watch as many movies as I'd planned to, between The Bothersome Man, Outlaw Josey Wales, and American in Paris it was an excellent weekend for me.

Out of  

Been watching a lot of mediocre films lately.........

[Rec] 
Been waiting to see this one for two years so it was really not going to live up to expectation.  It's still an expertly made entry in the Cloverfield style about a zombie outbreak in an apartment block.  There are a couple of great moments in the build-up and a nerve-wracking last 15 minutes.  My son pronounced this one "freaky". 

Cherry 2000  1/2
Offbeat sci-fi B-movie follows a man's search for new parts for his broken robot wife and eventually deciding that Melanie Griffith is a better chocie.

Bullet for Sandoval 1/2
Ernest Borgnine enlivens this spaghetti Western with a strange ending.  Watch Buller for the General instead.

Whoever Slew Auntie Roo?
Enjoyable entry in the "scary old lady" horror subgenre.  This time it's Shelley Winters' turn to play a character who is just a little off and predictably goes crazy when a young girl reminds her of her long-dead daughter.  Also manages to work in the Hansel and Gretel story.

God Forgives.....I Don't 1/2
Great title, average spaghetti Western

Crazed Fruit 1/2
Dated Japanese New Wave movie about bored young men on a Summer vacation

Queen of Blood
Planet of the Vampires  1/2
Two movies with similar plots (and influence on Alien).  QoB has a boring first half but picks up in the second half when the "queen" is discovered and starts doing her vampire stuff.  The low-budget is painfully obvious although there are apparently some effects shots from a Russian space opera.  Also worth seeing for a young clean-cut Dennis Hopper.  PotV is the better film as Bava shows how to make a low budget go a long way with his clever special effects.  Love those space suits.

Secret Partner 
Fast-moving British crime drama with a clever twist.

Son of Dr Jekyll 1/2
Not really a horror movie (or a sequel to a movie) as the son tries to prove his Dad's theories correct but someone has a different agenda.

Roadblock 
Noir supporting player, Charles McGraw, moves up to top billing.  He plays an insurance agent who turns to crime to pay for his wife's expensive tastes.  However it turns out that she married for love and did not care money.

In a Lonely Place   1/2
Gloria Grahame and especially Humphrey Bogart give top-class performances in this story of two Hollywood types who embark on a doomed love affair amid a murder investigation.  I think I need to see moe Nicholas Ray films.

Splinter  1/2
Very original monster (which is never really fully explained) in a good horror flick undermined by its low-budget and some stupid scenes.

The Prodigy 
This was a pleasant surprise.  It's a gangster movie detailing the search for a mysterious hitman but what makes the film unique is that the hitman is treated as a horror movie villain who kills in bloody fashion and has a rather grandiose scheme involving the films' hero.  It's kind of a combination of Saw and Usual Suspects with a bit of Boondock Saints thrown in.  This low-budget independent film was made in Dallas, makes good use of locations, has a creepy atmosphere, adequate acting and some stylish scenes. 

The Vagrant 
Odd comedy

Breaking and Entering 
This film flew under the radar but is worth a watch.

Well, while recently accumulating the selected works of William Dieterle I tried to think of places where that kind of behavior would be understood, no less accepted, and the list was pretty small.    Actually, I always intended to periodically check in here to see if things would improve for me, and while accessing the first page still bites my crank, at least making a single post and editing it is no longer some Kafka-esque nightmare where I sit down to post and a half hour later I leave not having accomplished a thing.  

 

 

James A. FitzPatrick’s Traveltalks: Rural Hungary (1939) (short)

Production: MGM

 

A trip through rural Hungary, a nation that devotes ¾ of its land to agriculture.  The big event in most of the villages is a Sunday visit to church and we see a typical congregation outfitted in their elaborate, handmade outfits.  A young girl’s wealth can be measured by the number of petticoats she wears in her best outfit, sometimes up to 10-20, and no doubt looking very much like the Michelin Man.  After church, a gathering with folk music and dancing amounts to the main social interaction.  Then it’s back to work.  And if you think because you’re a little girl you’re going to get out of hauling around huge bails of wheat, you got another thing coming, little miss! In general, the Traveltalks fall into two categories; there are those that highlight scenery and sights and then there are those that amount to mini anthropologic studies of a culture, of which this particular one is the latter.  We’re basically taking a look at simple farmers, admirable people, salt of the earth no doubt, with a way of life that while a tad interesting, is not exactly wild fun.

out of 4 

 

 

 

Tortilla Flat (1942) Dir: Victor Fleming

Production: MGM

 

Steinbeck’s short novel turned into a film about dimwitted, wine drinking loafers--the paisanos of Tortilla Flat--who are led around on a series of bumbling, comic misadventures by the least dimwitted of them, Pilon (Spencer Tracy).  After the meandering, episodic first hour with characters that are supposed to be irascible and likable but aren’t, the film settles into two co-narratives that improbably got me interested and caring about what was happening.  In one of them, we follow Danny (John Garfield) and the tempestuous relationship he has with ‘Sweets’ Ramirez (Hedy Lamarr), much to the consternation of Pilon, who can’t understand why his friend is interested in “that Portagee girl”.  The other is about a firewood peddler called ‘The Pirate’ (Frank Morgan), and his pack of mangy dogs, who the paisanos befriend because they are convinced he is sitting on a small fortune that they might be able to bilk him out of.                   

 

Obviously, the first thing that jumps out is the stunt casting, although of course there was nothing odd about it in the day.  Supposedly the studio bought the property because Tracy was hot to appear in a Steinbeck adaptation after missing out on THE GRAPES OF WRATH.  Anyway, at times Tracy and Garfield overact in a way that only serious white actors playing Hispanic characters can.  Tracy plays the typical Hollywood shorthand--he’s Hispanic because he doesn’t use contractions when he talks and he starts sentences with adverbs (“Always you are thinking”, “Already you are acting”).  Garfield plays ‘lust for life’ with a lot of phony full throated laughter.  Some of the other actors try (Frank Morgan, Akim Tamiroff), others don’t (Sheldon Leonard, Allen Jenkins, Henry O’Neill).  Others can only do so much, like Hedy with her Viennese accent (Rita Hayworth was considered for the role) and John Qualen, still more Norse than Mexican.  The problem is these kinds of performances end up being amusing, in a deflating-to-the-story sense.  At the same time, by the end of the film I was somewhat invested in the resolution and that is a testament to Tracy, Garfield and Morgan and their abilities beyond the silly baggage they’re saddled with.  Another ‘pro’ is some fine photography by Karl Freund. 

out of 4               

 

 

 

 

James A. FitzPatrick’s Traveltalks: Old New Mexico (1940) (short)

Production: MGM

 

We open with a look at Santa Fe, the oldest capital city in the United States, dating back to 1610.  The unique Santa Fe architecture is also noted, a combination of the Pueblos and the Franciscans.  New Mexico’s rich landscape for archaeology produced evidence of an advanced 1000-year-old civilization that unfortunately didn’t develop a written history to leave notice.  In Taos, we observe Natives living relatively unchanged from how their ancestors lived and also visit the final resting place of Kit Carson, uh, ‘Indian conqueror’.  Finally we visit the 14,000,000 acre reservation of the Navajo, a “naturally industrious and resourceful” people.  They’d have to be.

out of 4

 

 

 

My Man and I (1952) Dir: William Wellman

Production: MGM

 

A Mexican-American laborer works and falls in love, a story most notable for a somewhat enlightened treatment of the main character.  The one thing in the world Chu Chu Ramirez (Ricardo Montalban) treasures above everything else is his ‘letter from the President’ congratulating him on his citizenship. Chu Chu is proud to be an American, something contrasted in the attitudes of those he meets who were born here.  There is Nancy (Shelley Winters), a cynical, depressed barfly/prostitute whom Chu Chu falls in love with; Ansel Ames (Wendell Corey), a bitter racist who hires Chu Chu and then cheats him out of a month’s pay; Mrs. Ames (Claire Trevor), the other half of the toxic marriage, a bored lush who throws herself at Chu Chu only to turn on him when he rebuffs her advances; and finally, there is Chu Chu’s new homeland, who goes after him in a case built on lies.  In Chu Chu’s favor is his integrity and optimism.  It doesn’t seem like a fair fight.   

 

The film rather provocatively portrays Chu Chu as desirable not only to Nancy but also Mrs. Ames.  Montalban and Trevor have a sexually charged early scene where she is clearly enthralled with his shirtless presence, while casually mentioning how glad she is that he’s not a “dirty rag head or chink”.  Corey and Trevor are the best things about the movie, basically because they’re so nasty.  He is a (mostly) unrepentant prick and she fires off some brilliant poison tipped one-liners (there’s also a strange joke about a cat that Mrs. Ames loves--it dies and the death is played for black comic laughs, I think, I mean I laughed).  Shelley Winters baffles me, what made her a star? Is it that perpetual ‘duhhhhh’ look on her face? I suppose she’s a fine actress, here she gets to play the whole Oscar bait checklist--she’s drunk, she’s sick, she’s suicidal, hits bottom, etc.  Typically bad Hollywood jurisprudence, where absurd notions like evidence could’ve saved everyone a lot of trouble, and plagued with one of those weak endings that feature miraculous changes of heart, but interesting as a film that did its small part in dragging everyone a little bit forward.

out of 4

 

 

A Pete Smith Specialty: Reducing (1952) (short) Dir: Dave O’Brien

Production: MGM       

                     

“These days, people, especially women, are more weight conscious then ever.” Gee, I wonder why? Possibly the comparisons with the Battleship Missouri.  Hilariously un-PC (fat woman can’t see scale, breaks it) short about a big girl desperately trying to lose weight.  265-lb “fatso”, “heavyweight”, “hulk”, “broad and beefy” Maggie Mishmosh tries getting rid of candy and chocolates, eating smaller portions, taking her mind off eating by reading, even exercise, all to no avail.  When she tries jumping rope, she causes a small earthquake. The end.  A brilliant ‘F.U.!’ to the school of thought that says you shouldn’t motivate someone by mentally torturing them (or just a stream of 2^nd grade-level fat jokes).

out of 4

Martin,


Re: BLACK SUNDAY (1960)


Much  like  Tod  Browning's  DRACULA  (1931)  before it, Mario Bava's BLACK SUNDAY  was not the first Italian horror film to be made but it was the one that captured the imagination of Italian producers and audiences alike and opened  the  floodgates  wide  open  to create a veritable new genre within Italian  cinema  that  would  survive for the next 50 years - from Riccardo Freda's  I  VAMPIRI  (1956;  completed by Mario Bava) to Dario Argento's LA TERZA  MADRE (2007; his belated 2nd follow-up to SUSPIRIA [1977]). Although BLACK  SUNDAY was  not  Bava's  first  real  driectorial effort, it is his official  debut  and  must  surely rank among the finest ever. Italians are known  to  rip-off...er...inspire themselves from Hollywood pictures but in the case - despite some obvious plot similarities to John Llewellyn Moxey's almost-as-impressive THE CITY OF THE DEAD aka HORROR HOTEL (1960) - I doubt how  much Bava would have been aware of it because, its minor genre classic status notwithstanding,  the  British  film  was  not  a  box office phenomenon or anything of the kind. Ironically enough, although I've seen the movie twice so  far,  both times were via the slightly trimmed English-language versions available on the Image and Anchor Bay DVDs; even though I have subsequently also  purchased  the  2-Disc  edition from the distinguished Italian outfit Ripley's  Home  Video  -  entitled LA MASCHERA DEL DEMONIO which is roughly equivalent to  the film's other almost equally well-known English title of THE MASK OF SATAN - that contains the full-length Italian language version, I  have  yet  to  see that one! I keep setting myself the goal of seeing it come every Halloween but, so far, it hasn't happened...


Re: A BAY OF BLOOD (1971)


The  same  language  situation  I mentioned in connection with BLACK SUNDAY applies  here  as  well:  I've  seen  A  BAY OF BLOOD twice in English but, despite  owning  the  Raro Video  Italian  DVD  entitled REAZIONE A CATENA (meaning  "Chain  Reaction")  which  contains the Italian-language version (that even incorporates some alternate takes), I have yet to see it in that guise! Although Mario Bava has firmly been my favorite Euro-Cult film-maker for   some  time  now  (and  I'm  proud  to  carry  his  name),  somewhat embarrassingly  I  have  to admit  that, at first, I didn't deem his films worthy  of  a  second  vieiwng!!  In  fact, I erased my VHS recordings of I VAMPIRI,  BLACK  SABBATH  (1963),  BLOOD AND BLACK LACE (1964; which, in my opinion, is his masterpiece) and A BAY OF BLOOD itself right after watching them  in  the  mid-1990s!  Much  like  BLACK  SUNDAY,  BAY  is also equally well-known  in  English-speaking  countries  under  the more lurid title of TWITCH  OF  THE  DEATH NERVE(along with a couple of other lazy alternative monikers  like  CARNAGE  and  THE  LAST HOUSE ON THE LEFT PART II[!]) and, to further  confuse  matters,  was also known on its home turf as ECOLOGIA DEL DELITTO (meaning "Ecology Of Murder")! Funnily enough, for once, it was the Americans  who  borrowed from the Italians when Sean S. Cunningham made the first  FRIDAY  THE  13TH  (1980)  and copied, not just the template for the 'body count' movie, but also one memorable method of killing outright! Some hardcore  fans  consider  A BAY  OF  BLOOD  as  being  the  zenith of this much-maligned  subgenre  but I believe that the film's subversive streak of dark  humor  throughout  (culminating  in  that  ultra-ironic ending) also qualifies it as a black comedy...


Re: RABID DOGS (1974)


I  find  it  very  sad  that,  what  could  have easily provoked a complete turnaround  in  Bava's  career,  was  virtually nullified in its infancy. I don't  know  how  well-versed  you  are in Bava's career as a whole or this film's  production  history in particular but  I  think  it's  as  fascinating as it is frustrating.  Although  Bava  was best-known for his horror movies (be they Gothic or Giallos), he dabbled with varying degrees of success in most of the  other  genres  currently fashionble  in  Italian cinema: peplum (with HERCULES  IN  THE  HAUNTED  WORLD  [1961] being  the best example), sci-fi (PLANET OF THE VAMPIRES [1965]), comedies ( DR. GOLDFOOT AND THE GIRL BOMBS [1966]  -   which,  despite  the  presence  of  Vincent Price,  was  quite dreadful!),  comic  strip  adaptations (DANGER: DIABOLIK [1968])  Spaghetti Western  (I've  only  seen the so-so ROY COLT AND WINCHESTER JACK [1970] so far but also  have THE ROAD TO FORT ALAMO [1965] at my disposal) and even arthouse material (LISA AND THE DEVIL [1973]). The latter's uniqueness proved a hard sell to distrbutors and the film only saw the light of day two years later as a revamped (and wretched) EXORCIST clone entitled THE HOUSE OF EXORCISM. As if this wasn't bad enough, production money ran out on the production of what eventually was released 23 years later on a German DVD as RABID DOGS and the film's opening scene was completed by other hands around that time; therefore, the film never received a proper theatrical release as it was confiscated by creditors! By 1974, the hot genre in Italian cinema was poliziotteschi - cop thillers in the mould of DIRTY HARRY and THE FRENCH CONNECTION (both 1971) - and, true to form, Bava tried his hand at it, too. What eventually emerged all those years later however was infinitely superior (and very different) to its contemporaries: instead of violent action and breathless car chases, Bava bravely had practically the whole film shot inside a car and, in place of the perennially pissed-off, teeth-gnashing policeman (often portrayed by Franco Nero and Maurizio Merli), Bava's leading man was (for most of the film) a meek-looking, mostly silent common man. Driven by Stelvio Cipriani's wonderfully throbbing music score, it proved to be one of the director's finest achivements and the artistic zenith of its entetaining but often lacklustre genre. As for  the villains being "obnoxious", I'd say that's down to the vivid charactrizations of Don Backy (a famous Italian singer atypically appearing in a film - as Bisturi - under his real name of Aldo Caponi) and prolific Euro-Cult regular George Eastman (who also played "32" under his real name of Luigi Montefiori). Following this double debacle, Bava had little choice but to go back to his "bread-and-butter" horror origins with SHOCK (1977) and the vastly underrated gem (made in collaboration with his son Lamberto), LA VENERE D' ILLE (1978; TV).  I don't want to seem boringly repetitive but, again, I have yet to watch the 2006 revamped version of RABID DOGS entitled KIDNAPPED...even though I possess two distinct DVD editions of it!!  

Edited by Mario Gauci - 7/27/2009 at 03:22 pm GMT
Edited by Mario Gauci - 7/27/2009 at 03:24 pm GMT

Fallen Angel  1/2
Dana Andrews plays an embittered guy who arrives in a California town with $1 and gets involved with a fake mentalist (John Carradine), a waitress and an heiress.  This film noir takes a few unexpected turns and Andrews' character is pretty unlikeable.  Linda Darnell is great as the dangerous waitress.

King of Hearts   
This 60s film is terribly dated and naive - but is still worth a watch as a comedic farce.  It's set at the end of WWI where a British soldier has to prevent a French town being blown up with the help of asylum residents.  Yes, it's one of those movies that tries to convince us that those in the asylum are saner than the rest of us because we fight wars.  At the end they retreat back to the asylum and the soldier joins them.

Johnny Got Hs Gun  1/2
The stream-of-consciousness style of the book does not translate well to film which is tough going at times.  Don't bother, Metallica fans.

Nothing But The Night 
Given the talent involved, this movie should be a lot better.  It seems heavily influenced by Wicker Man - it involves a closed society in a Scottish setting being investigated bya policeman - but never comes close. 

The Hitcher (2007)  1/2
Lean, mean remake is better than I expected.

Watcher in the Woods  1/2
Lame Disney "horror" movie with three bewildering endings.

Grosse Point Blank    
Hitman attends high school reunion while on a job in this offbeat action comedy.

Metropolis (2001)     1/2
Not a big anime fan but this one stands out because for once the plot is easy to follow and the characters are quite involving.  It is inspired by Lang's silent epic but is ultimately more concerned with issues of humanity vs robots.  Features wonderful use of the Ray Charles song "I Can't Stop Loving You" during an eye-popping climax.

Some good stuff in there, Sandro - although I seem to have invariably liked them more than you did, namely:


1.FALLEN ANGEL (1945) *** - http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0037691/usercomments-38

2.KING OF HEARTS (1966) ***1/2 - N/A

3.JOHNNY GOT HIS GUN (1971) *** - http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0067277/usercomments-56

4.NOTHING BUT THE NIGHT (1973) **1/2 - 
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0069024/usercomments-10

5.THE WATCHER IN THE WOODS (1980) *** - N/A

Being on first shift for training has cut my foreign films down to pretty much zero.  It's rather hard to watch a foreign movie at 4pm with the kids running around and girlfriend screaming at you that she needs her back rubbed.

Last weekend had me back at the theater for THE INVISIBLE MAN and THE BLACK CAT.  Neither films were as packed as the previous weeks movies but that was somewhat to be expected.  I was shocked to see that there were so many in THE BLACK CAT, which seemed to go over very well with the crowd.  There were three women sitting behind us and were apparently Lugosi lovers as they gave an extremely loud "gasp" when he first appeared on screen.  Then, for some reason, the three got very annoying as they kept saying his character's name whenever he would appear on the screen, which was pretty much the entire film.  There were a couple mild laughs at Lugosi's expressions early on but as the film got weirder it appears the majority of the crowd was really eating it up.  THE INVISIBLE MAN also went over pretty well but then again it is one of the greatest films of the era.  This too seemed to work extremely well with the crowd as they were laughing at all the right moments and you could tell a lot of newbies were there because of the gasps of shock when the character throws over the baby carriage. 

Next up is THE RAVEN and BRIDE OF FRANKENSTEIN, which will probably be the greatest double feature I've personally seen at a theater. 


Re: Bava titles

Mario, I think you hit upon something with A BAY OF BLOOD (TWITCH OF THE DEATH NERVE) but I actually think the movie has lost a lot of the credit it deserves since being released to DVD.  Some horror fans would watch it and not see the big deal but they weren't giving it credit for starting so many cliches that would soon hit not only the slasher genre but also various black comedies and giallo films.  What I always noticed about the movie is that evil grin that is running throughout the humor.  I've always said, in a weird way, this movie is a love letter to be brutally murdered.  It's funny that Bava always did horror movies but none of them were overly graphic like this one.  BLOOD AND BLACK LACE has the violence but it's not the same.  It's not the same to the point where you could say neither film appears to be by the same director.  TWITCH is just a very bizarre "love story" to being butchered.  All of the murders are done in a very poetic way because it's like Bava is showing a romantic side of being slaughtered.  Perhaps it sounds deranged saying that there could be a love story to being butchered but this is where all the laughs (or charm) comes from. 

LISA AND THE DEVIL is considered by a few to be his "masterpiece" but I think it's a pretty boring film.  I love the atmosphere but a film needs more than that.  THE HOUSE OF EXORCISM is certainly an awful film but I'd probably watch this one before LISA just for the laughs. 

Holy mother of God I've got a lot of movies to watch (including some of the Bavas that were recommended to me, a couple of which you guys have mentioned). Not nearly as many as Mario, but quite a stack. I might call in sick tomorrow just to do some catching up.


Strangers When We Meet - My first impulse was to call this "Sirkian" but I worry that I might fall into a trap of labelling any melodrama "Sirkian". Sometimes a soap opera is just a soap opera. And this is pretty soapy... it certainly didn't have any of the transcendent quality of Sirk. Predictable suburban infidelity romance, nothing at all noteworthy about it (except that it's rather steamy for 1960). I didn't hate anything about it, but it didn't do much for me. Rating: 6


Kanal (rewatch) - For years I've wanted this movie in my collection, but it was only available (except as a cheapo import which I feared would be low-quality) as part of Criterion's Wajda box set. With a big Criterion sale at Barnes & Noble, I decided to grab the whole set and eBay the other two movies. But now I've decided to just sell the whole set. Not that this isn't a great movie... it certainly is. It's just not the kind of thing I'm ever going to feel like popping in for a new viewing. I don't know why exactly. I don't have an aversion to depressing movies or anything. I guess I just got everything I needed from it the first time. I no longer feel like the composer character is out of place. Rather, I feel like everyone going crazy (to lesser degrees than the composer, but still) feels a little bit phony. Nonetheless, a harrowing and incredibly well-photographed film. Rating: 9


My Friend Irma - Well, I said I wanted to watch a bunch of Jerry Lewis, so I'm starting at the beginning. This is the debut of Martin & Lewis, attached to a movie based on a popular radio about a New York social climber and her ditzy pal Irma. It's a cookie-cutter comedy with a bunch of stock characters and stock scenarios... nothing to get excited about, but enjoyable enough if you just go with the flow. Whenever Jerry opens his mouth, it's funny. Unfortunately he's pretty much a minor character, it's more a showcase for Dino's crooning. Rating: 6


My Friend Irma Goes West - More of the same, in this sequel that feels hastily slapped together. Jerry gets a little more to do here, but is still very much on the sidelines. Some of the (mildly) racist humor rubbed me the wrong way. Rating: 6

Masters of the Universe
Planet Eternia and the Castle of Greyskull are under threat from the evil Skeletor, who wants to take over the planet. A group of Freedom Fighters led by the heroic He-Man are accidentally transported to Earth by a mysterious Cosmic Key which holds the power to make Skeletor all-powerful. Once on Earth, He-Man joins alliances with two teenagers as they attempt to find the key and return home.

My Thoughts:
I originally watched this back in 1987 when it first came out. And I haven't watched it since... well till now. I went into this one remembering I enjoyed it... but at the same time was disappointed that it took place on Earth. And I went into it worried it would not hold up for me. After all these years the effects themselves really didn't hold up. But I still enjoyed the characters and the story. Though I would have preferred a storyline where they did not come to Earth... one that would have mirrored the series more... it was still entertaining. I know it is a real cheese-fest of a movie. But that can be fun at times... and it is in this case. At least for me. The cast was decent. I think Dolph Lundgren could have done better as He-Man. And I did enjoy seeing this early appearance of Courteney Cox... who I enjoyed in the short run series Misfits of Science not to mention the much more recent Friends. Though her character really was there for little more then to be chased after and to be manipulated. Over-all I did enjoy it... but I do think it lost a little something for me over the years. I would say it is a little above an average movie.

Meet John Doe
As a parting shot, fired reporter Ann Mitchell prints a fake letter from unemployed "John Doe," who threatens suicide in protest of social ills. The paper is forced to rehire Ann and hires John Willoughby to impersonate "Doe." Ann and her bosses cynically milk the story for all it's worth, until the made-up "John Doe" philosophy starts a whole political movement. At last everyone, even Ann, takes her creation seriously...but publisher D.B. Norton has a secret plan.

My Thoughts:
This is one of the movies in that 20 Disc/40 Movie boxset I got free for subscribing to Total Movie Magazine. I enjoyed the movie... though it was a little on the slow side. And it dropped the comedy that was present the first half of the movie. I think without the comedy that the first half had... the show became a little too slow and political for my taste. If it found a way to keep the comedy throughout the movie I think I would have enjoyed it more. Since this movie is a part of that box set I was expecting practically nothing when it came to the quality. But I was presently surprised as the movie looked and sounded very good. The best quality I have seen from that set so far.

Border Café (a.k.a. Café Transit) - An Iranian widow inherits a truck stop café near the Turkish border and is determined to run it herself. Her obstinate brother-in-law, who runs a competing (and far less successful) restaurant, is equally determined to shut her down, to protect his family "honor". Director Kambuzia Partovi stacks a deck a bit. Reyhan is an idealized heroine, fiercely independent and something of a cross-cultural wunderkind, bringing together Iranians, Turks, Greeks and Russians... while Nasser is villainous, bullying and close-minded. A little more complexity might have helped a little, but really, there's no way not to be on Reyhan's side as Nasser represents an outmoded, sexist, oppressive way of thinking. The film is done in a simple style with little flair but is loaded with great little story moments and an excellent cast. Rating: 8


That's My Boy - For the first time, Jerry gets the spotlight... but his character is so shy and restrained that he doesn't get to do what he does best, which is being completely spastic. The movie is unoriginal, predictable and really kind of boring. It's a slightly updated version of Buster Keaton's College, but still squarely in a pre-Revenge of the Nerds world, where the only way a geek can excel is by becoming a jock. Dino is quite the unlikeable tool in it as well. And at age 33, he's the least convincing college freshman ever. I'll give it some points for a few funny Jerry moments, but there aren't nearly enough of them. Rating: 4


Sailor Beware - I was starting to reconsider this Jerry spree, but this one turned out to be pretty good (except another mild bit of racist humor). The Dean/Jerry balance is how I like it, with Dean getting a few songs and Jerry allowed to run amok the rest of the time. He even gets a girl in this one. Again, it isn't brilliant or subtle comedy, and there's really nothing unique or original about it, but for Lewis fans it gets the job done. Rating: 7


Angel Face - To be honest, I wasn't too thrilled with this at first. It was a solid but lackluster noir, and in a lot of ways not very noir at all. Mitchum's performance was definitely the highlight, everything else about it was just slightly above average. But holy shit, the ending. You think it's going to lead up to a rather dull, possibly even disappointing, conclusion and then WHAM. The last minute of this movie is pure genius, and just enough to elevate it above the mediocre 7 score I would have given it otherwise. Rating: 8


The Girl Who Knew Too Much - Continuing my exploration of Bava, now getting into the films that are supposed to be the best. Gotta say I haven't been hugely impressed with anything since Black Sunday, but on the other hand, I haven't been terribly disappointed either. As one might guess from the title, this is a Hitchcockian mystery, done with a fair bit of humor... and by some accounts, the first (or one of the first) giallo films. John Saxon is always fun to watch, and there are some wonderful moments in the photography. It holds together pretty well, but I didn't connect all that much with it as either as a comedy or a thriller. The voice-over provides one or two funny bits, but is otherwise unnecessary, and the climax isn't that satisfying. Overall however, it's a film that holds your attention and has a few rewarding aspects. Rating: 7


Kill, Baby, Kill - This is a step up. Another gothic horror with a plot that's rather silly and hackneyed, but Bava maintains a creepy atmosphere throughout. Once again, there's some marvelous images (although some of the camerawork is a little rough) and although I thought it could have used more shadow, Bava makes excellent use of colored lighting. The "endless room" bit at the climax was clever, and there's a lot of fun stuff like that. I suspect this movie was a strong influence on The Shining, more especially in the ghostly appearance of a genteelly-dressed little girl (who often announces her presence with a rubber ball) and also some of the musical cues were quite similar. If this had a more compelling storyline, it might top Black Sunday... as it is, they're about even. Rating: 8


Lisa and the Devil - A frustrating film. So many intriguing ideas, buried in a movie that just plods along. Too random to be enjoyable as a mainstream horror/mystery, yet not random enough to be enjoyed as a surrealist fantasy. It seems to be fumbling for plot threads and doesn't ever hook the viewer... the last half hour almost has enough interesting shit going on, but then culminates in an ending that's simultaneously clever and disappointing. The color is nice and vivid, and there's a few good tricks, but otherwise I thought the cinematography didn't stand up to Bava's other work. Telly Savalas is a mix of amusing and annoying, while Alessio Orano (Maximillian) is just annoying. The rest of the cast is okay, except I've never been a big fan of Alida Valli. Somewhere in here is a good movie (although not, reportedly, in the re-edit known as The House of Exorcism) but I was fighting boredom most of the time. Rating: 5

JULY RECAP

52 new viewings
9 revisits

Best new discovery: The Bothersome Man
Worst new discovery: The Ballad of Cable Hogue


An excellent month for me, both in quantity and quality.  Other excellent new discoveries were La Ronde, Still Life, An American in Paris, and The Outlaw Josey Wales.

July Re-cap

# of movies watched this month - 23

# of new movies - 12

Favourite movie this month - Wall-E

Other notable new movies watched - Stanley and Livingstone; Knowing

7/02 Quantum of Solace (2008) 
7/04 Executive Decision (1996) 
7/05 Spiderman (2002)    
7/06 The China Syndrome (1979)
7/06 Termination Point (2007) 
7/07 Brubaker (1980)     
7/08 Safari (1956)      
7/10 Edward, My Son (1949)  
7/11 Knowing (2009) 
7/11 Sunshine (2007) 
7/13 Die Hard (1988)      
7/16 Closing the Ring (2007)      
7/18 Stanley and Livingstone (1939)
7/19 Bowfinger (1999)     
7/19 Deep Impact (1998)
7/19 Meteor (2009) 
7/21 Australia (2008) 
7/23 Union Pacific (1939) 
7/24 Salome (1953) 
7/25 Wall-E (2008) 
7/26 Ghost Town (2008)
7/28 The Haunting in Connecticut (2009) 
7/29 The International (2009)

July Recap

60 films seen, 47 for the first time

Best films seen for the first time (out of )

In a Lonely Place   1/2
Student Prince in Old Heidelberg   1/2
Thieves' Highway
Once Upon a Time in the Midlands 
13 Tzameti
Edited by Sandro - 8/3/2009 at 10:09 pm GMT

Modern Cinderella, A (1932)
 

Roy Mack
 

Warner short has Ruth Etting playing a poor shop owner's daughter who is sent to a lavish party so that she can deliver a dress to a rich girl.  The stuck up one doesn't like the dress so she has Etting put it on who eventually gets mistaken for "one of them" and is asked to sing.  When Etting's name is brought up today it's usually because someone is mentioning Doris Day who played her in the classic LOVE ME OR LEAVE ME.  This here was my second or third short with Etting and I'm pretty much in the middle.  There's nothing bad about her but then again there's nothing overly great either.  She doesn't have the greatest voice in the world but it is a unique one and I did enjoy her big number here.  The film is well directed by Mack who keeps everything moving and the 17-minutes really flew by.  The supporting cast wasn't overly strong and that includes the comedy relief by the drunks.

 

Door to Silence (1991)
 

Lucio Fulci

Even though he was turning out one gore film after another, director Lucio Fulci ended his career with this psychological drama, which doesn't feature a drop of the red stuff.  In the film, John Savage (THE DEER HUNTER) plays a man leaving New Orleans where he went to visit his father's grave.  On the way home he keeps running into closed roads, a mysterious woman (Sandi Schultz) and a strange hearse.  Back in the day fans got excited when they learned Fulci was returning to the same grounds as his THE BEYOND but if anyone expects the same type of film then they're going to be very disappointed.  This film here plays out like an episode of The Twilight Zone and I'm sure that show was the main influence on the director here.  The biggest problem is that the movie runs nearly 90-minutes and the screenplay isn't smart enough to keep everything working.  The biggest problem is that we get the same stuff over and over.  Savage will run into the woman then see the hearse and then run into a closed road.  These thing happen at least eight or more times and we even get some stuff that's the same shot over and over.  There are also several goofs in the film or things that simply don't make sense.  Savage is in a hurry to get home but when his car breaks down the mechanic tells him it will be fifteen-minutes to fix it but what does Savage do since he's in a hurry?  He checks into a motel.  There are other, what I believe to be, goofs including a country hitchhiker wanting a ride to Memphis for a country music festival.  I'm guessing it was meant to be Nashville but the dubbing director didn't do any homework.  Savage actually turns in a fairly decent performance, although he doesn't have too much to do.  Schultz is also easy on the eyes and makes for a good mystery.  The rest of the cast are decent at best but that's what you expect in a movie like this.  Again, this isn't your typical Fulci film and I do take my hat off to him for trying something new and getting away from the gore.  His direction is quite nice here as he handles everything pretty well but the screenplay just really kills anything he has going.  Laura Gemser is credited as Costume Designer. 
 

Harvey Girls, The (1946)
 

George Sidney

Good girl Susan Bradley (Judy Garland) is on her way out West to marry a man she met by mail but has never seen.  On the train she is introduced to the Harvey Girls, a group of waitresses traveling out West to open a chain of restaurants.  Once in the town Susan doesn't go into the fixed marriage but instead joins the Harvey Girls but they have their own battles.  This here is another charming, if predictable, MGM Musical that features nice songs, good performances and a decent story.  The biggest key here to me were the performances with Garland once again delivering fine work with some great songs as well as some good acting work.  John Hodiak also turns in a fine performance as the love interest and Ray Bolger (THE WIZARD OF OZ) nearly steals the film with his wonderful comic timing and dancing.  Angela Lansbury and Preston Foster are also very good in their supporting roles.  The musical numbers aren't anything overly big but they are nice on the smaller scale, which sits well with the settings.  In the Valley, Wait and See and Swing Your Partner Round and Round are the highlights.  Sidney handles everything quite well and delivers a nice, fast paced film that fans of the genre should really eat up. 
 

Criminal is Born, A (1938)
 

Leslie Fenton
 

Hard-hitting entry in MGM's Crime Does Not Pay series takes a look at the parents responsibility in keeping their kids off the streets.  Four friends begin doing small crimes but one of their fathers gets him interested in fishing.  That friend drops out of the gang just in time because the other four start doing more serious crimes after they find a gun.  I'm a major fan of this series so if you find these movies over dramatic or too preachy then I'm sure you're going to feel the same way about this entry.  With that said, I think it's important to remember when this film was being released and with that in mind, the movie works very well.  I thought director Fenton did a good job at building up some suspense as the kids start doing more dangerous crimes.  There's one robbery where a clerk trips over a certain item that I won't mention here but the stunt really appears to have gone wrong and the stunt man got injured.  I have nothing to back this up but when you watch the film check the sequence out again.  The performances were pretty good with Warren McCollum really standing out as one of the punk kids.  The 20-minutes fly by at a very fast pace making this one of the better entries in the series.
 

It May Happen to You (1937)
 

Harold S. Bucquet

J. Carrol Naish gets top billing in this exciting entry in MGM's "Crime Does Not Pay" series.  Naish plays the leader of a gang who are stealing trucks of meat so that they can resell them and make some quick cash.  A poor boy at the meat plant joins the gang thinking he can make some good cash but soon people are dying because the meat is spoiled.  Fans of the series will certainly get a kick out this entry as it contains your typical good story, darker action and some fine performances with Naish clearly stealing the film.  It's rather amazing to watch his films because he never gets enough attention or respect for his acting skills.  He works so well in the gangster role that it's a shame he didn't get to play it again some of the Warner big guys like Cagney and Bogart.  The story here is certainly meant to make people think twice about the life of crime and it gets the message across just fine.  The cinematography is also worth mentioning here and I really enjoyed the dark style brought by director Bucquet. 
 

Opry House, The (1929)
 

Murray Roth
 

Early Vitaphone short shouldn't be confused with the Mickey Mouse short of the same name and released the same year.  This 9-minute musical is actually one of the best of its type as we get a few short songs and a closing dance number.  Red McKenzie sings "I Ain't Got Nobody Much (and Nobody Cares for Me)" and clearly steals with film with a unique voice and some great playing by his band.  The two other songs are quite as classic but they're still a pleasure to listen to. 
 

Private Screenings: Stanley Donen (2006)
 

Director Stanley Donen discusses his career as a director, which included films with such stars as Gene Kelly, Audrey Hepburn, Cary Grant and Fred Astaire.  Donen doesn't go into many great details about the making of his movies and at times he seems to be surprised about various stories going around the rumor mill on stuff such as SINGIN' IN THE RAIN and a disagreement he had with Hepburn on CHARADE.  ROYAL WEDDING, SEVEN BRIDES FOR SEVEN BROTHERS, MOVIE MOVIE and FUNNY FACE are also discussed.  We get a few nice stories about Kelly and Grant as well as getting to hear how MGM originally hired Donen as a dancer plus him getting fired from Columbia.  Again, Donen seems to have forgotten quite a bit of details over the years but it's still a pleasant interview.
 

Holiday from Rules (1958)
 

W.H. Murray
 

Extremely bad educational short has four kids breaking several rules when our narrator gets on them.  The kids then wish that they could live somewhere where there weren't any rules and they get their wish but soon they learn why rules are good.  Hey, I like a good educational film as much as the next person but this one here is pretty bad because of how annoying all four kids are.  The "messages" are so in your face and are presented so corny that you can't help but want to turn the film off and laugh.  The sets are done so that some animation could be added and this here is a mildly interesting thing that keeps the film from being a total bomb.

 

Hollywood: Style Center of the World (1940)
 

Oliver Garver
 

MGM short tries to teach us how styles in Hollywood eventually find their way to the mid-West but instead it turns out to be just another promo for several of their features.  The film starts off with a woman wanting her dad to buy her a dress that looks like the one Joan Crawford wore in SUSAN AND GOD.  We then get the narrator explaining how modern women can wear what their favorite actresses do on the big screen.  Clips from NEW MOON, ANDY HARDY MEETS DEBUTANTE and THE MORTAL STORM are just a few that we see.  The "story" here is pretty weak and the previews themselves aren't all that entertaining considering they're just chopped down versions of the trailer.  The strangest part of the film is when we get a clips from the latest Dr. Gillespie and Tarzan flicks but they certainly don't show any "fashion" that women would want to copy.
 

Out of 

Broken Blossoms  1/2
Very delicately handled but a little too much straining for pathos.

Step Brothers 
Lots of problems with this movie - main one is that it's just not that funny.

Once Upon a Time in the Midlands 
Entertaining and flavorful comedy-drama (from Shane Meadows) which is also a homage to Spaghetti Westerns.  The story concerns a petty thief trying to win back his wife and daughter.  The SW homage is a little mystifying since it only really consists of the title and score and a couple of confrontations.  Nice performance from Rhys Ifans. 

This is England 
Shane Meadows creates a moving film dissecting childhood innocence amidst the Falklands War.  Although some people criticised this as liberal propoganda, I thought it was very even-handed and actually avoided being political in certain ways.  All characters are well-drawn and there is humor along the way to the inevitable tragic conclusion. 

Out of the Past 
I consider this the best example of the classical noir - crackling, smart dialog, the femme fatale, the sense of fate and of course the cinematography.

Push 
First half is good but then it sinks under the plot complications, changes the rules as it goes along and has a unsatisfying ending.  Very nice candy-colored photography and art direction

Student Prince in Old Heidelberg   1/2
Super silent movie from Ernst Lubitsch with comedy, romance and a poignant (and unexpected) conclusion

Hunting Party 
Brutal Western with Gene Hackman, Oliver Reed and Candice Bergen.  Reed and his gang blow into town and kidnap Bergen so that Reed can learn to read.  Unfortunately she is married to rich cattle baron Hackman who sets out with his buddies to hunt down the gang with long-range rifles.  Ignoring the rather silly set-up this Western delivers some tough violence (an attack at a watering-hole is particularly bloody), character depth (Hackman's motives are not as pure as they seem) and interesting conclusion.  There are echoes of Peckinpah and the Spaghetti Western (score is by Riz Ortolani) and as with many other Westerns of the era, the film contains some commentray on Vietnam.  

Bob Le Flambeur 
Very atmospheric and elegant look at an inveterate gambler and his attempt to rob a casino.  

The International 
This is a throwback to the kind of thriller that develops logically and intelligently where the action is part of the story and not just thrown in to keep our attention.  The story is slickly handled (if unlikely).

House of Whipcord 
Sly and outrageous horror movie from Pete Walker has a unique set-up where morally dubious young women are bought to the titular institution, imprisoned and punished.  Exploitation movie-making of the highest order with many digs at the British establishment. 

Orphan (2009)

I expected this to be just another "evil child" film, but it turned into a very pleasant surprise and is one of the finest new horror movies I've seen in quite awhile, from the maker of 2005's HOUSE OF WAX (which I also enjoyed).  A young couple with two children adopt a very unique little Russian girl who turns out to be a terror with a past history nobody could have known. The first half hour or so plays like a typical "bad seed" formula movie, but once it kicks into gear it remains intense, intriguing, and frightening, with a twist. Performances are top notch all the way around, with young Isabelle Fuhrman especially effective as the title character. I'm not sure whether or not this is a remake of anything that's gone before, but if it is it's a damn good one. Also contains one memorable movie quote delivered by the Orphan one evening when she confronts her new stepbrother in his room. 

The Lost Skeleton of Cadavra
Remember the good old days when anyone with a camera, a few thousand bucks, and more ambition than talent could schlep up to Bronson Canyon and quickly make a cheap sci-fi/horror movie? Well, they're back! THE LOST SKELETON OF CADAVRA is an affectionate, meticulous re-creation of those notoriously cheesy clunkers, as a gaggle of beloved stereotypes pursue "that rarest of all radioactive elements - atmosphereum." Writer/Director Larry Blamire heads a superb cast - including Fay Masterson (Eyes Wide Shut), Andrew Parks (Donnie Brasco), Brian Howe (Catch Me If You Can) and Jennifer Blaire (The Majestic) - that faced a daunting task: having to be brilliant and terrible at the same time! It's one of the most original, clever, and hilarious comedies to come along in eons of your Earth years!

My Thoughts:
This is one of the many movies a good friend of mine sent me this month. This is an independent movie that I have heard got a lot of praise. It is an homage to the old '50s Sci-Fi movies that was made back in 2001... to the point that they actually made it in black and white. I went into this one really not expecting a lot... but was hopeful. Of course this is a very cheesy film.  But even so... it is very entertaining in an odd way. If you ever seen some of those '50s Sci-Fi films you can't help to laugh at this movie. Though I would admit this is definitely a movie you would have to be in the mood to watch. I couldn't imagine trying to watch a movie this silly and cheesy without being in the mood for it. I doubt I would enjoy it half as much.

The Edge of Heaven - A moving film with interesting characters, solid performances and poignant moments... but annoyingly overloaded with tragic irony. Enough near-miss encounters and poetic coincidences to choke a horse, the kind of thing that's supposed to make you go "oh look, they're standing right next to each other and they have no idea how intertwined their lives are!" or "oh, IF ONLY he hadn't taken down that poster!". It also pushes the cross-cultural thing way too forcefully, and feels a lot like Babel and its ilk. Still, I guess I liked it despite being mildly irritated by it. A low 7. Rating: 7


The Man Who Would Be King - I always thought this movie was about either Jesus Christ or King Arthur, which shows how much I know. No, it's about two late 19th-century British scoundrels who decide to take over a region in or near Afghanistan... and find that their scheme works a little too well. It works as a fun adventure, a statement on hubris, and a comic critique of imperialism. The film's successes are largely due to the winning performances by Sean Connery and Michael Caine, but Huston shows that he's quite capable of directing an epic-style picture. It didn't sweep me off my feet, but it was a pretty good time and I have no complaints. Rating: 8


The Friends of Eddie Coyle - A realistic, understated study of cops & criminals in 70's Boston, where the hottest commodities are guns and information. Mitchum's performance is good... actually everything about is good, but nothing really stood out. I'm glad I saw it and nothing at all annoyed me about it, but it didn't do anything special for me, either. Rating: 7


This Is Spinal Tap (rewatch, Blu-Ray) - There's a blurb on the back on the case that says "This one goes to eleven on Blu-Ray!" and there was a sticker on the outside that said something like "The Blu-Ray that goes to 11!" and pretty much whenever anyone talks about the movie they say something about going to 11. THERE ARE SOME OTHER GODDAMN JOKES IN THE MOVIE. In conclusion, shit sandwich. Rating: 9

Oops, missed two others I watched this weekend. I thought my post felt a little short....


Thirst (rewatch) - Starting off the month with my weekly Bergman flick. You can see glimspes of his style in the earlier films, but this is the first one that really feels like a Bergman film. That empathetic exploration of the dark areas of the soul, the mad circus of bitterness, spite, regret, insecurity and vulnerability. My notion that all his films get even better on the second viewing seems to be holding true, and I now consider this one of his minor masterpieces (despite its criminally low score on iMDB). Even the flashbacks/side stories didn't bother me this time, with the exception of Valborg the pushy lesbian, who feels a little forced. But the rest of it is brimming with truth, intensity and insight... and coupled with stunning camerawork. Rating: 9


Man of the West - Not as stunning as The Furies but not as bland as The Far Country, Man of the West occupies a comfortable middle ground. It's a little simplistic in its good vs. evil themes... oh, they try to make it look like Gary Cooper is conflicted, but you know all along he's a good guy and he's going to do the right thing. And it's odd to put Julie London in a movie, label her character as a singer, and not even give her one tune. She's got a great set of pipes (and a great set of, ahem, something else) so let her use 'em. But it's an entertaining flick, and I've fully warmed up to Cooper after my initial distaste from Meet John Doe some years ago. Rating: 7