Joe Karlosi

I never saw the 1913 version. I didn't care for the Barrymore film, but the Fredric March version of JEKYLL is one of the absolute greatest early horror pictures for me personally. I think March is sensational, especially as Mr. Hyde.

SteveGon

Cube Zero (2004)

Viewed 3/29/2005 (first viewing)

Okay prequel to the previous two Cube films takes us outside the Cube and into the lives of two Cube technicians, one of whom has begun to question the motives of his employers. Gets a bit silly with the introduction of mad scientist Jax, who is played too broadly. Several cool new deathtraps are introduced.

out of


The Yes Men (2003)

Viewed 3/29/2005 (first viewing)

Documentary on the Yes Men, two pranksters who traveled the world posing as representatives of the World Trade Organization. Eventually the pranks give way to attempts to expose the WTO's cynical greed. Some hilariously absurd moments, but the film could have used a little more meat on its bones.

out of


The I Inside (2003)

Viewed 3/29/2005 (first viewing)

Psychological thriller about a man who wakes up after a mysterious accident with no memories of the last two years. One thing he CAN remember is that he may have murdered his brother! Decent of its type, but nothing special. Guess I'm a sucker for Sarah Polley.

out of


Finding Neverland (2004)

Viewed 3/29/2005 (first viewing)

Pretty good biopic of J.M. Barrie, the creator of Peter Pan. The film centers on Barrie's relationship with a young widow and her four sons and how they inspired his classic fantasy tale.

out of


Closer (2004)

Viewed 3/29/2005 (first viewing)

Well-acted drama about sex and relationships in London. Ultimately seems pointless, but engaging enough.

out of

Recently viewed films:

Onechanbara **
Night of the Living Jews **
White Heat ****
Dead Set ***
Working Stiffs ***

Zombie Movie Appreciation Thread

Joe Karlosi

Mario -- I see you've given Lugosi's INVISIBLE GHOST , but I'd be curious if you could go into more detail about what you thought of it. I've always thought Joseph Lewis' direction was quite good on this, considering the type of film it is. And Lugosi actually turned in a sympathetic yet dual-natured performance. I ask your opinion because I know you've said that you often rate the films on technicality, and that you may actually enjoy them more than the star rating would suggest.

Mario Gauci

Joe,


Even before you asked me, I still intended to do a little write-up on the 2 Bela Lugosi films I've watched yesterday because I knew you wouldn't be satisfied with a mere ** rating for them!


So, on with INVISIBLE GHOST (1941): you're right about many things in your last post - I did find Joseph H. Lewis' direction better than usual for this type of film (especially his flair for shooting at a low angle from inside fireplaces, his constant and logic-defying panning from one room to the next as if there were no walls, the pan down following the butler's look, going under a table, to where the gardener's body was found, etc.), but, in truth, having watched 4 other films directed by Lewis, I kind of expected this - and I do hope that you get to rent GUN CRAZY (1949) and THE BIG COMBO (1955) one of these days just to make sure INVISIBLE GHOST was no fluke; Bela was indeed sympatethic in this one and impressively restrained most of the time; and, finally, I did enjoy it quite a bit and perhaps more than that ** rating would suggest.

However - and this always annoys me and eventually affects my rating - the plot is very weak and the dialogue pretty banal: how come Mrs. Kessler had the power to hypnotize her husband into committing those murders (such ability was never brought to bear in the film) and would one little look really provoke such a hynotized murder rampage?; what motive was there at all for the murders (wouldn't bumping off your staff, not to mention family members, create a SLIGHT inconvenience in having to look for new cooks, butlers, gardeners practically every other day)?; shouldn't the police have done something about this whole affair long ago given the regularity of these murders, instead of waiting for the butler's call averting them to the latest one every time (or even give in to an emininent personality's sentimental attachment to his dear departed darling's abode)?

I realize that we're talking about an unassuming, low-budget programmer here and one isn't supposed to analyse ANYTHING in detail let alone the plot contrivances but I have to say that the sight of a hynotized Bela making his way to his intended victims' rooms did provoke some unintentional laughter! By the way, in the "DVD Drive-in" review of this film, it is suggested that Bela is not actually "hypnotized" but merely that his mind "snaps" every so often but then, why those he walk around so S-L-O-W-L-Y with outstretched arms (this should perhaps have alerted Universal to the fact that, physically, he was just wrong for the role of the Frankenstein monster) and fails to remember anything of his little misdemeanors the next day?


As I've said before, I had watched THE CORPSE VANISHES (1942) a couple of years ago but I have to say that I was pleasantly surprised as to how watchable and engaging it was the second time around. Who'd have thought that such fare was worth a second look? If anything, I found CORPSE to be even livelier than GHOST (which did get to be repetitious and feel constrained by its one setting): although it is never explained why Lugosi is married to an 80-year old woman (except maybe to get into high society given that she's a "Countess") or why she needs to be youthful (it's not like she's parading her "look" anywhere except at the Lorenz household), the film offers an amusing throwback to those 30s hard-boiled reporter movies and predates such rejuvenation-themed horror movies as I VAMPIRI (1956).

I found the film to be quite atmospheric and enjoyable: it was nice to watch Lugosi surrounded by such familiar faces as Elizabeth Russell (from several Val Lewton films), Angelo Rossitto (one of Tod Browning's FREAKS [1932]) and Vince Barnett (who had a memorable supporting role in Hawks' SCARFACE [1932]) among others. That said, the campier elements of the film were sometimes too silly for words: Lugosi whipping his moronic assistant, the proverbial funereal organ-playing, the even more hilarious sight of Lugosi and Russell sleeping in coffins and the final shoot-out with the police in which, of all people, it's Lugosi's dwarfish henchman who gets it!


In the end, I guess I wouldn't mind watching Lugosi's other stuff from this period but I doubt if it will make me enough of a fan to go out and purchase them in their best available prints on DVD - not to mention those 48 Bowery Boys titles Warners have promised us in the future!!

Joe Karlosi

Thanks for the reply, Mario. I'm glad you had some fun with the movies, even if part of the reason was due to the unintended laughs


You took the words right out of my keyboard!

P.S. - I'm very happy to see your link to the IMDB; now I just hope you write more reviews there

Joe Karlosi

[b]The Man With Nine Lives (1940)
An enjoyable Boris Karloff film, where he's a doctor experimenting with frozen therapy for curing patients of cancer. In the midst of his work he disappears and is found 10 years later, mysteriously frozen in ice. Once revived he continues his experiments with an unwilling group of human subjects as his new guinea pigs. This is part of the Columbia Pictures series of "Mad Doctor Films" Boris made, and Columbia really needs to wake up and release all of them; they've only issued THE DEVIL COMMANDS thus far, but it was too high priced to generate much interest.

The Passion of the Christ (2004)
A very strong and powerful film from Mel Gibson, and far more than just the "gore show" many detractors claim it is. Yes, we experience the vivid pain and suffering that Jesus endured on his journey to the cross, but we also sense the impact of his life and teachings through well-done flashbacks between the tragedy. Jim Caviezel is very good, and I personally don't find the film anti-Jewish; the story adheres very faithfully to the written word in the New Testament. People's mileage for the film may vary depending on their personal religious beliefs.

The Robe (1953) 1/2
One of the earliest Cinemascope films (some say HOW TO MARRY A MILIONAIRE was made first, though THE ROBE was released ahead of it). An occasionally interesting story that's helped along by its actors: Richard Burton is sometimes effective, sometimes ineffective as the soldier who crucified Christ and is haunted by the robe Jesus wore; Victor Mature is good as his slave Demetrius who followed in Christ's footsteps; Michael Rennie makes a perfect Peter the disciple, though he was sadly under-used. Jay Robinson is a delight as the overly theatrical Caligula. I actually like the sequel, DEMETRIUS AND THE GLADIATORS, better.

Ruby Gentry (1952)
Jennifer Jones plays a feisty tomboy with a sadistic streak who's in love with young masochistic Charlton Heston and will do anything to have him - or to reject and ruin him at varying times, it seems - in this slight and silly offering from director King Vidor. Jones and Heston aren't bad, and Karl Malden is also a welcome asset to the cast in a supporting role. The ending is interesting amidst a well-photographed swamp background. But overall this is a dressed up and rather tacky melodrama that's much better directed than it probably had any right to be.

Bob Turnbull

Fireworks - Though otherwise unrelated, my first viewing of this Takeshi Kitano film was a similar experience to my first viewing of Antonioni's Blowup (from about a month ago). In other words - initial delight at the visuals overtaken by slight confusion and thoughts of a thumbs down review subsequently replaced by a positive view by the end and then increased thoughts of actually purchasing the disk the more I think about it after the fact (I've bought Blowup since). It's the story of cop who is dealing with the death of an old partner (possibly due to his negligence) and the terminal cancer his wife has. While visiting her, he is replaced by another cop who becomes paralyzed after being shot. Bursts of violence spring forth amidst the slow realization for several characters of the wonders of life.

Suicide Club - A wholly unsuccessful attempt at bringing forth a Buddhist philosophy into modern day Japan. As people realize they are unsatisfied with their daily lives, they commit suicide in hopes of finding a better life in the next one (I admit I didn't catch on to the Buddhist leanings until reading further about the film after viewing it). Doesn't work either as a plain old horror tale or one that delves into the "deeper" issues. Partially this is due to the portrayal of some of the suicides (in particular the opening scene where 50 schoolgirls jump in front of a train), but also due to the kitchen sink approach of the ending (bringing in ghosts, an insane cult leader and an all-girl Japan pop group).

Boiling Point - Another Kitano film which was more immediately enjoyable than Fireworks. More sudden bursts of violence and odd characters (in particular Kitano himself who plays a yakuza gangster). It strikes me as something Tarantino would quite enjoy as there is style galore to this film. The ending was a bit of a letdown, though I admit it was initially somewhat amusing.

Samurai III: Duel At Ganryu Island - The finale of the trilogy. Mifune once again gives it his all. I've come to accept the sudden change of heart of the character Otsu at the end of part 2, but she was REALLY getting on my nerves by the end of this film. I know it's a different time and place, but I just wish she'd stop whining!

Happy Together - Wong Kar-Wai's lovely telling of the up and down relationship of two gay men in South America. Starting out with a very monochromatic palette, the film explodes in bright oranges and blues for most of its running time. Not only does the film capture a disintegrating relationship, but also really gets across the sense of isolation these Japanese Hong Kong men must feel in a wholly different culture.

Bob The Flambeur - Noirish story of an old time gambler looking for one last big score. Great character sketches, mood and buildup to the heist.

Youth Of The Beast - More fun from one of my favourite directors Seijun Suzuki. I watched this with my Dad and as much as he enjoyed it, he kept mentioning how it borrowed heavily from the American films of the 50s. Indeed it does, but it molds and meshes all these things together and totally spins them on their heads. Suzuki's films seem to be more about creating impressions and feelings rather than completely clear narrative, but when they are this much fun to experience I can't argue with that approach.

The Incredibles - I can't add much more to most of the discussion already presented for this movie. Just that this was my second time viewing it and immediately after it finished, I would've been more than glad to watch it all over again.

Man With The Movie Camera - Gorgeous silent film from the late 20's documenting a day in the life of a Russian city and its people. It's really a series of beautifully composed visuals that (combined with the great Michael Nyman score I watched it with) appears to have been a great influence on Koyaanisqatsi. I believe there's a couple of other scores for this film out on DVD, so I may have to track the others down as well.

The Bird People In China - A gentle story of a Japanese businessman and a yakuza gangster trekking through the mountains of China in search of a valuable Jade deposit. They run across an old village that has old tales of people flying with hand made wings. Their discovery of the history of these tales proves to be life changing for them both. Definitely not the kind of film Takashi Miike is known for, but it's quite engaging.

Pepe Le Moko - Film noir before there was film noir...A French criminal is holding up in the Casbah district of Algiers to avoid capture from police. The maze of passages and crowded streets of the Casbah are really captured well and the sense of impending doom for our hero is prevalent.

Films Watched in 2008 , 2007 , 2006 , 2005
S&S List , HTF Top 20 Films
My Blog , My DVDs (horribly out of date)

Haggai

Pssst, Bob...the guys in Happy Together are from Hong Kong, not Japan.

I saw Bob le Flambeur when the DVD came out, and I wasn't all that into it, aside from the outstanding lead performance of Roger Duchesne as Bob. I might be in the minority around here in preferring The Good Thief, which, while being more slick and less gritty, has a good lead performance from Nolte, and (this is where it clearly outdistances the original) a really good Euro supporting cast.

I have Pepe Le Moko inching near the top of my Netflix queue, looking forward to it. Definitely a Gabin fan.

Films watched in 2007 | 2006 | 2005

Jim_K

thanks for the TCM reminder Michael.


Pepe Le Moko is one of my favorite french films from the 30's. It plays very good as a double feature with Casablanca with Gabin's Pepe as almost a prototype of Bogart's Rick. It was also remade twice by Hollywood (Algiers 1938 & Casbah 1948).


First time viewings in Red
Out of

The Last Man on Earth (1964) (7/10)
Vincent Price stars as the last human survivor of a plague that turned the world’s population into vampires.
This low budget adaptation of Richard Mattheson’s “I Am Legend” is the most faithful version put on screen (it’s much better than bland The Omega Man –IMO).

Death Takes A Holiday (1934)