Track the Films You Watch (2005) - Page 57

Michael Elliott · 10-05-2005, 01:13 AM

10/01/05

Frankenstein (1910)

First version of this often filmed novel is a good way to start off this year’s challenge. Charles Ogle plays the monster quite well and the creation scene, while strange, actually holds up pretty well. If you’re a fan of horror you owe it to yourself to see where the genre got started.

Golem, The (1920)

In order to save his Jewish people a Rabbi creates a clay figured named The Golem but soon the creature turns on its maker. This is a very good German film that had a huge influence on future horror films especially James Whale’s Frankenstein. The use of shadows and the wonderful set pieces really pushes this over the top. Director, screenwriter and star Paul Wegener does a great job in the role of The Golem and the makeup effects make it one of the best monsters ever put on screen. This was my third viewing but this here was the first time I had seen the film with a music score and the correct tinting. It’s also the first time I’ve seen the full version and I think I prefer the edited version somewhat since it cuts out some of the more boring backstory.

Maniac (1934) BOMB

Even though I’m giving this sucker a BOMB this is a must see for any fan of exploitation since this was the first and probably the most outrageous. A wacky assistant (Bill Woods) kills his mentor, takes over his identity and then starts killing off his patients. This is easily one of the worst films ever made technically but if you can laugh at bad films then this one will have you on the floor. We get several nude scenes, a nervous breakdown, the doctor popping a cat’s eye out of its head and eating eat, two women fighting with needles and some insane dialogue as well. The performances are so bad and over the top that you’ll be howling in laughter. This is an outrageous film that has to be seen to believed.

Werewolf of London (1935)

On a trip to Tibet a scientist (Henry Hull) is bitten by a wolf and soon finds himself turning into a werewolf. The first werewolf picture fails miserably when compared to Universal’s The Wolf Man but on its own the thing isn’t too bad. Warner Oland plays the second wolf and steals the picture. Hull gives a decent performance but he doesn’t have too much to work with. The makeup effects are less than stellar due to censorship issues, making the wolf look more like Mr. Hyde. The biggest problem is the awful comic relief and the fact that Hull’s character is such a jerk it’s hard to really care about him.

Chloe, Love Is Calling You (1934) BOMB

Incredibly bad film and I’m really not sure what the hell it was suppose to be about. Chloe (Olive Borden), a mixed race girl, returns to the swamp with a voodoo priestess who might be her mother. The voodoo priestess then wants to use Chloe to kill the man who lynched her father. The side plot deals with Chloe not knowing if she should be black or white or something like that. The biggest issue with the film is that it’s confusing as hell and nothing ever really happens. Everything leads up to a voodoo sacrifice, which is just downright silly. This didn’t ever make it into theaters back in the day. Instead the producers would go around to black neighborhoods and show it. This was apparently done because it was a “black film” but perhaps they just didn’t want people seeing something this bad.

Devil’s Daughter, The (1939)

After her father’s death, a woman (Ida James) returns to Jamaica to run his banana plantation but her stepsister (Nina Mae McKinney) wants her out of the way and is willing to use voodoo. Film buffs will be more attracted to this film rather than horror fans since McKinney was the star of 1929’s Hallelujah. Unless you’re interested in seeing a rare horror film with an all black cast then there’s really nothing here. Very little horror and very little plot makes for a pretty boring film that actually manages to be slower than Dracula and White Zombie.

Audition (1999)

A widower (Ryo Ishibashi), being single for too long is talked into having an audition to find the right woman for him. Let’s just say the woman who catches his eye happens to have a dark side. This was my first Takasi Miike film and I really didn’t expect too much. I was expecting a cheap exploitation film with lots of violence and gore but I got quite the opposite. I was rather shocked at how much story was behind the madness, which occurs at the end. American films would never allow that much story to enter a film and that was the best thing here. The love story was wonderfully done and quite touching. The story of the man wanting to find love was a brilliant setup and it was perfectly executed by the director. I think the film could have ended in a different way but I guess this is a Miike spin.

Silver Bullet (1985)

I know An American Werewolf in London and The Howling usually get all the praise but for my money this is the best werewolf film of the 1980s. I thought everyone loved this film until getting the internet and reading how many people actually didn’t enjoy it but I still love it. I think the film works well as a coming of age story with all the horror elements thrown in for good measure. Kinda like a horror version of The Goonies with Corey Haim and Gary Busey doing great work together. The supporting cast of actors also serve well in the story. The scene in the fog and the ending are full of wonderful tension as well.

10/02/05

Grudge, The (2004)

I’m all for remakes whenever they actually try to do something different, tell the story from a different point of view or whatever. However, I can not stand when a remake is basically nothing more than a scene for scene remake of the previous film. I watched Ju-On: The Grudge about a week earlier and found it to be a flawed, if creepy little horror film. This American remake just got on my last nerves because nothing new is really tried. It’s rather shocking that the man who directed the Japanese version also directed this. It would seem that he would look at his original and try to fix the things that didn’t work it in but instead he pretty much just repeated them here or made things worse. Unlike the original, this one here has no atmosphere, no creepy moments and the only real benefit is Sarah Michelle Gellar is hotter than the women in the original.

Humanoids From the Deep (1980)

Outrageous sci-fi/horror film about half man/half salmon creatures coming on shore in a small town to kill all the dogs, children and men while mating with all the big breasted women. This here is one of my favorite “B” movies of the decade. Produced by the legendary Roger Corman this sucker has his style all over it, which certainly adds to the fun. Gory violence, fun monsters and nudity…what else do ya need?

Murders in the Rue Morgue (1932)

Dark, gritty horror film has Bela Lugosi playing a mad scientist trying to mix the blood of his killer gorilla with that of a woman. The film is a bit too low moving for its own good but that’s made up for by Lugosi’s very good performance and Robert Florey’s nice direction. The set design, shadows and overall tone keeps the film going even though some of the slower numbers.

Chandu the Magician (1932)

Chandu (Edmund Lowe) must stop a madman (Bela Lugosi) from blowing up the world with his death ray. Action, horror and fantasy elements are scattered throughout this film but none of those elements ever come together to make a very interesting movie. There’s non-stop action but it’s all rather boring, although a few of the magic tricks are nice. Lugosi is good in his role but the character never really gets to do too much. Lowe is downright boring as Chandu and this hurts the film a lot. The serial/sequel The Return of Chandu has Lugosi playing Chandu and is a lot more entertaining.

Return of the Ape Man (1944)

A scientist (Bela Lugosi) and his assistant (John Carradine) travel to the arctic, find the missing link, bring him home, thaw him out and then he goes on a rampage. Extremely cheap, but enjoyable Monogram film isn’t Citizen Kane but it’s not suppose to be. Lugosi and Carradine work well together and both men are good in their roles playing it straight. The actual ape man is rather silly and gets plenty of laughs but this just adds to the entertainment value.

Sleepaway Camp (1983)

Outrageous horror film is a mix between Friday the 13th and Animal House and has to rank as the most politically incorrect film of the decade. On a technical level pretty much everything here is bad but the politically incorrect humor really pushes it over the edge with all the laughs. The dialogue is insane especially coming from children. The most outrageous and hilarious character has to be the child molesting cook and his minority “slaves” as portrayed in the film. Even with all the trash it also has an ending just as shocking as Psycho.

Sleepaway Camp 2 (1988)

Once in a while a sequel comes along that’s actually better than the original and I think this film falls into that category, although it’s probably not fair to compare the two since they went for different things. What really makes this film so good is that it pokes fun at summer camp, teen flicks and the slasher genre. The film has a high nudity count and a high body count, which is what the 80’s slashers were all about. The comedy hits on all the right spots due in large part to the cheerful performance by Pamela Springsteen, Bruce’s sister. The toilet death is probably the highlight, although the AIDS joke stands out.

Sleepaway Camp 3 (1988)

Third and final (although another is coming soon) in the series has Pamela Springsteen returning to take care of some naughty kids. I never cared too much for this entry, although it played out a lot better today than it did when it was first released. The biggest problem is that the series was really out of fresh ideas so the film pretty much only has the killings without much else. There’s some good jokes about the rich and poor to start the film off but this too gets tiresome after a while. It was funny seeing Michael J. Pollard in a film like this.

10/03/05

Walking Dead, The (1936)

Michael Curtiz directed film about an innocent man (Boris Karloff) sentenced to death only to be brought back to life by a doctor and set out for revenge against those who framed him. The story is fairly simple but director Curtiz and star Karloff push it up to another level with some wonderful atmosphere and Karloff doing his usual best. Early in the film Karloff gives his character enough sympathy to where the viewer want to see him get his revenge.

Doctor X (1932)

Michael Curtiz directed film is a bit stale and is mainly remembered for being shot in 2-strip Technicolor. A serial killer stalks the streets when the moon is full so Dr. X (Lionel Atwill) comes up with an experiment to trap him. Fay Wray co-stars. Atwill and Wray are always worth watching and the brilliant ending almost saves things but the middle is a tad bit worn out due to some stupid comic relief by a reporter. The film could have been edited down 10-15 minutes, which would have helped things and could have cut out the reporter stuff.

Return of Doctor X, The (1939)

A reporter investigates a doctor who is using blood transfusions to bring the dead back to life. Here’s another forgotten horror film that’s only remembered due to the casting of Humphrey Bogart as a lab assistant. As a horror film this thing really isn’t anything too special but fans of Bogart should get a real kick seeing the legend playing a role like he does here. The slicked back hair with a white streak down the front will get plenty of laughs as will Bogart’s strange delivery. Plus, just wait to see you Bogart playing with his pet rabbit!!! There’s some controversy running through the horror community about comments Bogart made about horror films. This is the film that (I’ve read) Bogart went into Jack Warner’s office about cussing up a storm. After seeing how miscast he is I don’t blame him one bit. A strange but entertaining film. No connection to the 1932 film.

Mask of Fu Manchu, The (1932)

A group of scientists find the tomb of Genghis Khan only to have Dr. Fu Manchu (Boris Karloff) and his crazy daughter (Myma Loy) come after them. Here’s a good little MGM horror film that has some wonderful sets in the torture room as well as one of Karloff’s best performances. You can tell Karloff’s having loads of fun and this comes to the screen very well. Loy is very good as his beautiful but deadly daughter and Lewis Stone is good as well.

Abbott and Costello Meet Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde (1953)

This is probably the most underrated of all of the A&C “Meet” films. Boris Karloff is terrific in the role of Henry Jekyll. As usual, Karloff brings all sorts of sympathy to the role, which makes his character quite loveable. Abbott isn’t as good as usual here but Costello hits all of his marks. The highlight is certainly the scene where Costello turns into a mouse.

Black Room, The (1935)

Very good thriller has Boris Karloff playing twins who soon start to feel the curse put on their family. The first half of the film is overly talky and drags somewhat but all of that picks up in the second half. What the whole film has going for it is the brilliant duel performances from Karloff. He nails the good twin and the bad twin perfectly and his transformation towards the end is great to watch. The set design is beautiful to look at as well. 1935 was one hell of a year for Karloff with this, The Raven and Bride of Frankenstein.

Brides of Dracula, The (1960)

The Brides of Insomnia would have been a better title for this one. The Count is out looking for women but Van Helsing (Peter Cushing) is there to save the day. Technically this is a very beautiful film and Cushing is good as always but the movie moves too damn slowly and could have been wrapped up in a thirty-minute short film. The opening sequence runs thirty minutes but it’s full of talk, talk, talk and more talk. The talk isn’t very interesting and just slows things down even more.

Curse of the Werewolf, The (1961)

A woman gets raped by a beggar and soon gives birth to a child who grows up to be a werewolf. Once again we’ve got a beautiful looking film that doesn’t have too much story to go with it. I’m not sure what the hell the director was thinking but why do you make a werewolf film and not feature the creature? The makeup effects looked terrific so why only show them at the end of the movie? I think the screenwriter was trying to go for something deeper than just your typical horror film. The middle of the film is full of “talk” but none of it is very interesting. It probably would have been a better idea to just show the werewolf when he was a kid or teenager.

Psycho 2 (1983)

Very good follow up to Alfred Hitchcock’s masterpiece keeps the integrity of the original without having to resort to gory violence of the 80’s slasher. I actually first saw this before the original film and I think it plays well on its own but even better as an actual sequel. I think the story is quite good in continuing the events of the previous film twenty-three years later. The mystery works very well on its own and the film has some very good supporting performances by Vera Miles, Meg Tilly, Robert Loggia and Dennis Franz. I’ve seen Anthony Perkins in a few films outside this series and he never really struck me as a very good actor. With that in mind, God must have opened up the skies and shined a light on him so that he could play Norman so well. He’s wonderful here and it’s pretty remarkable that he could pick up on the character after all those years.

10/04/05

Psycho 3 (1986)

Anthony Perkins is back as Norman and he must once again take care of mother. Once again Perkins gives a wonderful performance and he also does a very fine job of directing. This is a rather weird film with its strange music score and religious elements but these all work. The subplot mystery of wondering if mother is really alive or not doesn’t work but that’s doesn’t stop the fun. The screenplay has a lot of fun with the material, which leads to some nice humor scattered throughout. Diane Scarwid and Jeff Fahey do good work in their supporting parts.

Haunted House, The (1921)

Two reeler has Buster Keaton going into a legendary haunted house to battle ghosts, the devil and a group of bank robbers. The staircase scenes are probably the best remembered thing about this Keaton film but I love the reactions he gives to seeing the devil and the various ghosts. Plenty of laughs throughout even though this isn’t one of Keaton’s best.

Phantom of the Opera, The (1962)

Hammer’s remake doesn’t even come close to the Chaney or Rains versions. As usual, the opening hour is pure boredom as the Phantom whispers to the leading singer and we’ve got the usual bad guys and romantic lead. The final twenty minutes are excellent as we get to see the backstory of the Phantom and I don’t mind the ending too much, although some hate it.

Paranoiac (1963)

A brother (Oliver Reed) tries to drive his sister insane so that he can collect their full inheritance but he’s in for a shock when their dead brother returns. I wasn’t expecting too much out of this film but I found myself quickly caught up in the rather interesting story, although I wish they had kept the secret hidden a tad bit longer. The second secret didn’t work as well but it’s still a nice little film with elements borrowed from Vertigo. Reed’s horribly over the top performance doesn’t help matters.

Mark of the Vampire (1935)

Tod Browning’s remake of his very own 1927 movie London After Midnight is a dull and boring mess. An investigator (Lionel Atwill) and vampire expert (Lionel Barrymore) try to track the case of recent murders, which appear to have been committed by a vampire. All fingers point to Bela Lugosi and his sexy daughter. As with other Browning films of this period, the direction is so lackluster that not a single drop of energy is in the film, which is a real shame considering the great cast. The story never gets too interesting and the shock ending feels more like a cheat than anything else.

Humanoids From the Deep (1996)

Remake of the 1980 film pretty much has the same story as chemicals turn regular salmon into walking killers. The 80’s film was a lot of fun due to the violence, gore, nudity, sex and outrageous politically incorrect humor but pretty much all of that is missing here. The director throws out all sorts of gore but he forgets to make the film very fun. David Carradine is horrid in the lead but Clint Howard has a pretty funny role. Stick with the original.

Voodoo Woman (1957)

Really bad film about a mad scientist in the African jungle turning a woman into a monster by using voodoo. I love these old “B” movies and AIP was always one of the best but this film here is just downright boring, slow and not interesting in anyway. Everything about the film from the screenplay to the acting is bad but sadly it never gets bad enough to where you can laugh at it.

Undead, The (1957)

Interesting Roger Corman film could have been a lot more with a bigger budget. A psychic researching pays a hooker to be hypnotized but he accidentally sends her back to the Dark Ages. While talking with the woman he learns that she was a witch who’s to be executed. The film has a lot of interesting ideas but this is one film where the low budget actually works against Corman. There’s some nice atmosphere throughout and Allison Hayes is always worth watching. Also stars Pamela Duncan, Richard Garland, Dick Miller and Mel Welles.

george kaplan · 10-06-2005, 12:04 AM

Pygmalion

I was pretty unimpressed by this. It was interesting to see all the lines in the play that ported over to My Fair Lady, but almost uniformly the acting was very wooden compared to My Fair Lady. I know a lot of people think this is better than My Fair Lady, but I just don't get that - unless those people are musical haters. But cut out all of the music in My Fair Lady and you still have better acting almost across the board. Mrs. Pearce might have been slightly better in Pygmalion, but Eliza, Higgins, Alfred Dolittle, Karpathy, Pickering were all much better acted in My Fair Lady. Plus, the music is great and has lyrics that complement the dialogue, and are much funnier than the dialogue.

Adam_S · 10-06-2005, 01:29 AM

agreed completely, George.

Jim_K · 10-06-2005, 07:57 AM

First time viewings in Red

Woman in the Moon (1929)
Influential Lang Silent about a rocketship journey to the moon, in which the blast off sequence 3….2….1… was copied by NASA. As it stands it’s a bit tedious & overlong. “Houston, we have a problem.”

The Mayor of Hell (1933)
Reformed hood James Cagney gets put in charge of a boy’s reformatory.

The Return of Dr X (1939)
Laughable D grade Horror schlock has nothing to do with the pretty good Dr X film of a few years earlier. Pasty faced with a skunk stripe in his hair, Humphrey Bogart looks rightfully embarrassed to be in this turkey.

The Letter (1940)
Excellent Hitchcockian opening scene quickly gets forgotten as we descend into standard Bette Davis soap territory.

Stranger on the Third Floor (1940)
Decent murder/mystery given credit for being one of, if not the first so-called Noir films. Peter Lorre is suitably creepy as the Stranger.

The Great Flamarion (1945)
Flashbacks galore as Eric Von Stroheim & the wife of an alcoholic plot murder against her husband - Dangerous Dan Duryea. Seems like I’ve seen this plot a couple dozen times already.

Gentleman’s Agreement (1947)
Gregory Peck is a reporter pretending to be Jewish to write about anti-Semitism.

Silver River (1948)
Errol Flynn gets booted out of the Cavalry and goes into the Silver mining business. Standard fare.

Mogambo (1953)
Remake of the earlier & better Red Dust again stars Clark Gable. His love interests this time are played by Ava Gardner & Grace Kelly.

Between Heaven and Hell (1956)
Busted for striking his commanding officer, Robert Wagner gets assigned to a remote outfit on a Pacific Island with an insane CO from Hell. Good WWII yarn.

Major Dundee (1965)
Sam Peckinpah’s butchered classic gets a reconstruction of sorts. The new score is an improvement but rather generic. The new cut fleshes out many of the sub-plots & character backgrounds but it’s still a flawed work. Unfortunately we’ll never see Peckinpah’s original vision but this will do. A must-see for Western film buffs & Peckinpah aficionado’s – which I’m both.

Story of a Prostitute (1965)
Anti-War film about a young woman’s experience on the Manchurian front circa 1937 as she serves as a prostitute to the Commanding Officer.

Young Torless (1966)
Typically dour Euro film of the time, this one is about the sadism in an Austrian boarding school.

The Gypsy Moths (1969)
Burt Lanchaster & Gene Hackman star in this passable character study of a trio of skydivers.

Shogun’s Samurai (1978)
When the Shogun dies, his son’s, samurai warriors, etc, all vie for power. OK but nothing I haven’t seen before.

Fire and Ice (1983)
Ralph Bakshi & Frank Frazetta team up in this animated Robert E Howard like Sword & Sorcery tale. I would’ve liked this better had I seen this back when I was a teenager ala Heavy Metal, Conan, etc. Without the Nostalgia factor it doesn’t hold much interest for me.

The Cat Returns (2002)
Studio Ghibli’s shallow attempt at Alice in Wonderland. A bit of a disappointment.

Infernal Affairs III (2003)
The final film in the HK crime trilogy picks up the story of Ming (Andy Lau) after the events of the first film. This one suffers a bit from too many flaskbacks but it’s still a solid thriller & well worth watching for those who enjoyed the first film.

Robots (2005)
Diverting CGI-animated kiddie flick about a world of you guessed it – ROBOTS.

The Amityville Horror (2005)
Awful remake of the mediocre 1979 Horror flick, has plenty of cheap jump scares to please the teen crowd. I don’t even what to touch on the miscasting of the always annoying Ryan Reynolds as the head of the household. Merits a star for some T&A from Melissa George.

SteveGon · 10-06-2005, 10:15 AM

Uncle Tom's Cabin (1927)

Viewed 10/1/2005 (first viewing)

Somewhat loose adaptation of the Harriet Beecher Stowe novel is both moving and entertaining despite some eye-rolling characterizations. The film is definitely a product of its time, though it also presents a sympathetic portrayal of the African-American plight during the time of slavery.

out of

Bohemian Life (1992)

Viewed 10/2/2005 (first viewing)

Aki Kaurismaki's spin on La Boheme chronicles the down and out lives of three Parisians: a painter, a writer, and a composer. None of the three are particularly bothered by their meager existence until the painter's girlfriend demands a better life. Pretty good, with appearances by Sam Fuller (as a crusty magazine publisher), Louis Malle (as a kindly restaurant patron), and Jean-Pierre Leaud (as the painter's sole benefactor).

out of

Dark Woods (2003)

Viewed 10/2/2005 (first viewing)

Good Finnish suspenser has a television producer taking his crew deep into the woods for a weekend of rough living. His tyrannical ways soon have everyone at odds until it becomes evident that a killer is on the loose! Well-done and beautifully shot on location.

out of

The Edukators (2004)

Viewed 10/3/2005 (first viewing)

German hit about three young friends who voice their deeply-held societal concerns by vandalizing the homes of the vacationing wealty. Then, one night, they are caught by one of their victims and forced into a kidnapping. Thought-provoking drama about the disparity between the rich and the poor is not without its conceits (the kidnap victim just happens to have once been a hippie protestor), but is still original enough to make it worth seeing. Your views on the three protagonists will likely depend on how old you are. Female lead Julia Jentsch is quite beguiling, sort of like a young Cate Blanchett.

out of

Dead and Breakfast (2004)

Viewed 10/4/2005 (first viewing)

The Scary Movie Challenge has its downside and this lame horror comedy is one of them. A group of friends is stranded in a small Texas town and as if that weren't bad enough, there's an outbreak of zombies (sort of). In the vein of Cabin Fever and just as bad, much of the humor is dumb and out of place. Decent gore and that's about it.

out of

The Interpreter (2004)

Viewed 10/4/2005 (first viewing)

Solid, if undistinguished thriller from Sydney Pollack. Nicole Kidman is a United Nations interpreter who discovers a plot to assassinate a visiting African dictator. But with her tragic ties to the intended victim, investigator Sean Penn isn't so sure she's not in on it. A decent time-killer.

out of

Buddy Boy (1999)

Viewed 10/4/2005 (first viewing)

Weird psychological drama about a repressed young man whose life centers around his invalid mother. When he finally scores a girlfriend, he becomes convinced that she's not what she seems. Or is it all in his head? A bit slow, but fans of David Lynch and Roman Polanski should check it out.

out of

Turtles Can Fly (2005)

Viewed 10/4/2005 (first viewing)

Lyrical Iraqi film focusing on an independent young boy and his relationship with an orphaned girl and her two brothers. He's smitten with the girl, but she remains distant and off-putting. What terrible secret does she carry with her? Very sad, but consistently engaging.

out of

The Fly (1986)

Viewed 10/4/2005

David Cronenberg's icky updating of the science fiction classic is unusually intelligent, with very good performances, though the omnipresent grossout scenes are overdone and distracting. I like gore as much as the next guy, but here it seems Cronenberg is pandering to the splatter crowd.

out of

The Coast Guard (2002)

Viewed 10/5/2005 (first viewing)

Rambling, original drama detailing the tragic repercussions after a gung ho South Korean army private shoots dead a civilian he suspects of being a North Korean spy. Well-directed by Ki-duk Kim, who also helmed 3-Iron and Spring, Summer, Fall, Winter... and Spring.

out of