It's funny that I'd never heard of Legend (1986) until I saw it in Netflix. It stars Tom Cruise, somewhat well known, and was directed by Ridley Scott, for goodness sake. I guess the American release was a bit of a hash, with a lot of cuts and a Tangerine Dream soundtrack. Maybe that's why I didn't here about it at the time.
This is a magic fantasy, with demons and ogres, princesses and forest boys. The demon is Darkness, a shadowy figure at first, but voiced by Tim Curry. He sends his most evil ogre (Alice Playten, with makeup inspired by Keith Richards) to kill the last unicorns and bring back their horns. The princess is Mia Sara, gamboling in the forest in full princess regalia - this isn't one of those realistic fairytale movies where people get dirty and have bad teeth.
She is secretly meeting with Tom Cruise, a long-haired ragged forest boy. He hops around on his haunches like a Sabu, and he takes his princess to see the unicorns. Unfortunately, the ogre gets one right about then, leaving her feeling very guilty. Also, winter falls in the middle of the summer.
Our young lovers get seperated, with Cruise falling in with a bunch of somewhat silly elves. Sara, on the other hand, is captured by the demon, who falls in love with her. Now we get to see him in his full demonic makeup and horns, and he's gorgeous. He seduces Sara with his riches and she seems to go over to his side, getting all goth and doing a lovely waltz, alone and with him. By the way, the score by Jerry Goldsmith is very striking - I can't imagine replacing it with synth-pop.
There are so many movies Legend calls to mind: various Disney movies, Willow with it's comic pixies (I would have liked to see Kilmer in the Cruise role), the Russo-Finnish movies that MST3K showed, like The Day the Earth Froze. Peter Beagle's Last Unicorn (haven't seen the animated movie). It has mystical unreality like Boorman's Excaliber. And of course, Labyrinth, with the young girl seduced by the goblin/demon. I didn't feel like these sources were ripped off, just lovingly referred to.
I have a feeling this movie isn't for everyone, or for every mood. You need to be able to accept a large amount of corny sentiment and fluffy ornament. Also, not everyone can stand Tom Cruise - he's not an embarrassment here, though. So keep an open mind and child-like sense of wonder and give it a spin.
Saturday, October 29, 2016
Thursday, October 27, 2016
This Robot Kronos
Kronos (1957) - one of the most perfect black and white SF movies we've ever seen. And it stars Jeff Morrow, Exeter from This Planet Earth. I didn't recognize him without his forehead.
It starts at Labcentral, a centrally located lab - I think it's near the Monolith Monsters set. Scientist Morrow, his photographer girlfriend, and George O'Hanlon are studying images of an apparent meteor heading for Earth. Little do they know that it has already taken over the mind of one of the other scientists, John Emery as the liltingly named Dr. Hubbell Eliot. You probably know of his telescope.
The trio figure that the meteor will land off the coast of Mexico and head on down for a little scientific fun in the sun. They are about to give up, when a giant robot comes stomping out of the sea. And when I say giant, I mean the size of an apartment building. Also, roughly the shape of an apartment building.
Meanwhile, Dr. Hub is acting weird. He has fits where he seems to be controlling the robot. Everyone in Labcentral thinks he's crazy, and Morris Ankrum (!) gives him shock treatment, which actually makes him lucid. That gives him a chance to explain the plot, which doesn't do much to convince them that he isn't crazy.
Meanwhile, our three scientists get into some AWESOME satin science jumspuits with "Labcentral" embroidered in script across the back. Seriously, I want one of those. They land their helicopter on the robot, which they decide to call Kronos and a radio DJ wonders if the name will catch on. They see some crazy stuff, mostly lucite models, but all I could see was the jumpsuits.
After the robot monster starts stomping towards LA, they discover A-bombs won't stop him! So they use the most sciency solution they can think of - they reverse the polarity. And that does it.
Such a good movie, full of treats and wonders. Really makes you want to head to Labcentral and build an interociter!
It starts at Labcentral, a centrally located lab - I think it's near the Monolith Monsters set. Scientist Morrow, his photographer girlfriend, and George O'Hanlon are studying images of an apparent meteor heading for Earth. Little do they know that it has already taken over the mind of one of the other scientists, John Emery as the liltingly named Dr. Hubbell Eliot. You probably know of his telescope.
The trio figure that the meteor will land off the coast of Mexico and head on down for a little scientific fun in the sun. They are about to give up, when a giant robot comes stomping out of the sea. And when I say giant, I mean the size of an apartment building. Also, roughly the shape of an apartment building.
Meanwhile, Dr. Hub is acting weird. He has fits where he seems to be controlling the robot. Everyone in Labcentral thinks he's crazy, and Morris Ankrum (!) gives him shock treatment, which actually makes him lucid. That gives him a chance to explain the plot, which doesn't do much to convince them that he isn't crazy.
Meanwhile, our three scientists get into some AWESOME satin science jumspuits with "Labcentral" embroidered in script across the back. Seriously, I want one of those. They land their helicopter on the robot, which they decide to call Kronos and a radio DJ wonders if the name will catch on. They see some crazy stuff, mostly lucite models, but all I could see was the jumpsuits.
After the robot monster starts stomping towards LA, they discover A-bombs won't stop him! So they use the most sciency solution they can think of - they reverse the polarity. And that does it.
Such a good movie, full of treats and wonders. Really makes you want to head to Labcentral and build an interociter!
Wednesday, October 26, 2016
Spoiler in the Title
I've been doing my best to read as little as possible about John Dies at the End (2012) to avoid spoilers. OK, there's one spoiler you can't avoid. But you might want to skip this one until you've seen it. Not so much because of the twists and surprises, just so that you go into it fresh.
No? Well, I warned you. It's about Dave Wong and his friend John. They are slackers who do some ghostbusting on the side - nothing serious, they usually bring in celebrity psychic Clancy Brown when things get serious. Anyway, John gets into some serious junk called "soy sauce", which does odd things to your brain. Also, time and space.
I should note that Dave Wong and John Cheese are real people, although those aren't their real names. They are editors for Cracked.com (which I guess is a lot better than the old Cracked magazine was). They are played by Chase Williamson and Rob Mayes. John is the one who fronts a punk band, Dave is the one who rescues him when he's strung out on sauce.
Don Coscarelli (Bubba Ho-Tep) directs, and I would say he does a great job with the creepy Cronenbergian aspects of the movie. I understand that the Book is Better, but isn't it always? The trick of a drug that makes you in some way omniscient is handled well here, as opposed to Paycheck, say, where it just didn't. So you get a little bit of Odd Thomas (the ghostbusting), a little bit of Limitless, some Naked Lunch, but for the kids, and away we go.
By the way, we've been watching the Limitless TV series, and it's pretty fun too.
OK, I think I got through this without many spoilers. So what would you say if I told you that John actually dies ... in the middle!
No? Well, I warned you. It's about Dave Wong and his friend John. They are slackers who do some ghostbusting on the side - nothing serious, they usually bring in celebrity psychic Clancy Brown when things get serious. Anyway, John gets into some serious junk called "soy sauce", which does odd things to your brain. Also, time and space.
I should note that Dave Wong and John Cheese are real people, although those aren't their real names. They are editors for Cracked.com (which I guess is a lot better than the old Cracked magazine was). They are played by Chase Williamson and Rob Mayes. John is the one who fronts a punk band, Dave is the one who rescues him when he's strung out on sauce.
Don Coscarelli (Bubba Ho-Tep) directs, and I would say he does a great job with the creepy Cronenbergian aspects of the movie. I understand that the Book is Better, but isn't it always? The trick of a drug that makes you in some way omniscient is handled well here, as opposed to Paycheck, say, where it just didn't. So you get a little bit of Odd Thomas (the ghostbusting), a little bit of Limitless, some Naked Lunch, but for the kids, and away we go.
By the way, we've been watching the Limitless TV series, and it's pretty fun too.
OK, I think I got through this without many spoilers. So what would you say if I told you that John actually dies ... in the middle!
Tuesday, October 25, 2016
Scream and Scream Again!
When it comes to creepy movies, we think that nothing beats the old black and whites. We enjoyed a pleasant double bill the other night. First up: The Vampire Bat (1933). This was made by Majestic Studios, and has that good old Poverty Row feel. It is set in some Mittel Europa village, where people are dying, drained of blood. Everyone suspects vampires, but Melvyn Douglas, local police detective, scoffs at the notion. Local scientist Lionel Atwill isn't so sure - there are a lot of bats about and he does have some reference works from the 17th century. What does his lovely assistant (Douglas' girlfriend) Fay Wray think?
Well, she doesn't suspect half-wit Dwight Frye, who likes bats - they're so soft, he carries a few around in his coat. Everybody else does, of course, except for batty old Aunt Gussie (Maude Eburne) who just rattles of mumbled medical jargon for some reason.
The cast is great, even though Wray never does get to scream. And the amazing creature that is behind it all is - amazing (SPOILER - a throbbing sponge in an aquarium).
Then, House of Frankenstein (1944), the fifth and last of the Universal Frankenstein movies. We have Karloff as a student of Frankenstein, driven to the ruined castle where the monster lies frozen along with the Wolfman, for reasons we couldn't fathom because we have only see Frankenstein and Bride of Frankenstein. The monster, Glenn Strange, and Wolfie, Lon Chaney, Jr., get revived, of course, along with Dracula (John Carradine) who has been travelling with a freak show (proprietor George Zucco) as a skeleton. (The Dracula plot is kind of tacked on, as if it was made of scraps from another movie.)
The Wolfman plot actually gets the most depth, I think. He falls in love with Elena Verdugo, which lets them use the old "Can only be killed by someone who loves him" trick, as well as the "three full moons" theory.
And I haven't even mentioned J. Carrol Naish as Karloff's hunchbacked assistant.
We weren't expecting much from this 5equel, but it was a real romp. Now I suppose we'll need to watch the other two.
The other great thing about these "classics" is that they are short, so it isn't hard to take in a double feature on a cozy October night.
Well, she doesn't suspect half-wit Dwight Frye, who likes bats - they're so soft, he carries a few around in his coat. Everybody else does, of course, except for batty old Aunt Gussie (Maude Eburne) who just rattles of mumbled medical jargon for some reason.
The cast is great, even though Wray never does get to scream. And the amazing creature that is behind it all is - amazing (SPOILER - a throbbing sponge in an aquarium).
Then, House of Frankenstein (1944), the fifth and last of the Universal Frankenstein movies. We have Karloff as a student of Frankenstein, driven to the ruined castle where the monster lies frozen along with the Wolfman, for reasons we couldn't fathom because we have only see Frankenstein and Bride of Frankenstein. The monster, Glenn Strange, and Wolfie, Lon Chaney, Jr., get revived, of course, along with Dracula (John Carradine) who has been travelling with a freak show (proprietor George Zucco) as a skeleton. (The Dracula plot is kind of tacked on, as if it was made of scraps from another movie.)
The Wolfman plot actually gets the most depth, I think. He falls in love with Elena Verdugo, which lets them use the old "Can only be killed by someone who loves him" trick, as well as the "three full moons" theory.
And I haven't even mentioned J. Carrol Naish as Karloff's hunchbacked assistant.
We weren't expecting much from this 5equel, but it was a real romp. Now I suppose we'll need to watch the other two.
The other great thing about these "classics" is that they are short, so it isn't hard to take in a double feature on a cozy October night.
Sunday, October 23, 2016
Gone Goth
Another one for the Halloween season, Gothic (1986), Ken Russell's insane take on that rainy night in Switzerland when Mary Godwin (Natasha Richardson), Percy Shelley (Julian Sands), Lord Byron (Gabriel Byrne) and crew got together to take laudanum and tell ghost stories.
The movie starts with a group of Victorian tourists peering at Byron's villa through a telescope, discussing his scandals. Meanwhile, Shelley and Mary with Mary's half-sister and Bryon's lover Claire (Myriam Cyre) are rowing over - they arrive in a rainstorm, and Shelley is ambushed by amorous teenaged girls. This establishes our crew as famous, scandalous sex objects, especially the men.
So, they settle down to drink laudanum, and play games. Dr. Polidori (Timothy Spall) is also at the party - a grinning buffoon with a comic accent whose virtuous Catholicism covers some very kinky urges. Our crew wanders about the spooky villa reading scary stories to each other, and generally getting cranked up. Bryon is a jerk to everyone except Shelley, who he is sexy towards. He beats his lover Claire, who loves it. Shelley gets weirder the more laudanum he takes (a lot). Mary is the normal one, but has her own quirks - she is haunted by the ghost of her and Shelley's dead baby.
Mary Godwin (she won't be able to take Shelley's name until he gets rid of his current wife) is perhaps the problem with this movie. She is portrayed as rather norma - she is a fan of free love, but only so she can sleep with Shelley. She was famously inspired to write Frankenstein on this trip, but Russell can't quite make the case.
Also, as the horror and hallucinations build, we can't forget that everyone in this movie lives out the weekend - the body count will be zero. Of course, all but Mary wind up tragically dead at an early age, but not in this movie.
Still, it's full of beautiful compositions, many based on Gothic paintings (like Fuesslie's "Nightmare", see on the bedroom wall and reproduced in the bed). Lots of atmospheric lighting and weird angles. I'd say this is Ken Russell at his peak. So if you like Russell, check it out.
The movie starts with a group of Victorian tourists peering at Byron's villa through a telescope, discussing his scandals. Meanwhile, Shelley and Mary with Mary's half-sister and Bryon's lover Claire (Myriam Cyre) are rowing over - they arrive in a rainstorm, and Shelley is ambushed by amorous teenaged girls. This establishes our crew as famous, scandalous sex objects, especially the men.
So, they settle down to drink laudanum, and play games. Dr. Polidori (Timothy Spall) is also at the party - a grinning buffoon with a comic accent whose virtuous Catholicism covers some very kinky urges. Our crew wanders about the spooky villa reading scary stories to each other, and generally getting cranked up. Bryon is a jerk to everyone except Shelley, who he is sexy towards. He beats his lover Claire, who loves it. Shelley gets weirder the more laudanum he takes (a lot). Mary is the normal one, but has her own quirks - she is haunted by the ghost of her and Shelley's dead baby.
Mary Godwin (she won't be able to take Shelley's name until he gets rid of his current wife) is perhaps the problem with this movie. She is portrayed as rather norma - she is a fan of free love, but only so she can sleep with Shelley. She was famously inspired to write Frankenstein on this trip, but Russell can't quite make the case.
Also, as the horror and hallucinations build, we can't forget that everyone in this movie lives out the weekend - the body count will be zero. Of course, all but Mary wind up tragically dead at an early age, but not in this movie.
Still, it's full of beautiful compositions, many based on Gothic paintings (like Fuesslie's "Nightmare", see on the bedroom wall and reproduced in the bed). Lots of atmospheric lighting and weird angles. I'd say this is Ken Russell at his peak. So if you like Russell, check it out.
Saturday, October 22, 2016
Diesel Power
Sometimes we just feel like watching some interchangeable action movie product. Since Vin Diesel stars in The Last Witch Hunter (2015), that's the one we picked.
It starts in Viking times, with a bunch of hairy warriors hunting the witches that brought the plague. They track them to a great tree, and proceed to scrap. Diesel (I think, hard to tell under the beard) kills the witch queen but before she dies, she curses him to live forever and hunt witches like her... She didn't think that through very well, I guess.
So we jump to present day. Diesel is still hunting witches, who have chilled out a bit. The witch council now keeps peace between witches and humans, and Diesel kicks butt if they don't. For a sidekick, Diesel has a priest called a Dolan, the 36th of his line. And it's Michael Caine! At that point, I'm ready to forgive a lot.
Then retires and dies that night. His replacement, who looks a lot like Elijah Wood, is Elijah Wood. Diesel drops him like a bad habit and heads out to some witch bar - like the bar in Deadpool or John Wick. And so on.
The movie wasn't bad at all, but it wasn't especially good. The talent all handled their roles well, the special effects were fine. There just wasn't a lot to it. Which is fine, as long as it has Vin Diesel, Michael Caine and Elijah Wood.
It starts in Viking times, with a bunch of hairy warriors hunting the witches that brought the plague. They track them to a great tree, and proceed to scrap. Diesel (I think, hard to tell under the beard) kills the witch queen but before she dies, she curses him to live forever and hunt witches like her... She didn't think that through very well, I guess.
So we jump to present day. Diesel is still hunting witches, who have chilled out a bit. The witch council now keeps peace between witches and humans, and Diesel kicks butt if they don't. For a sidekick, Diesel has a priest called a Dolan, the 36th of his line. And it's Michael Caine! At that point, I'm ready to forgive a lot.
Then retires and dies that night. His replacement, who looks a lot like Elijah Wood, is Elijah Wood. Diesel drops him like a bad habit and heads out to some witch bar - like the bar in Deadpool or John Wick. And so on.
The movie wasn't bad at all, but it wasn't especially good. The talent all handled their roles well, the special effects were fine. There just wasn't a lot to it. Which is fine, as long as it has Vin Diesel, Michael Caine and Elijah Wood.
Tuesday, October 18, 2016
Because I'm Frowning All The Time
No, not the band - the movie Black Sabbath (1964), that the band took it's name from. This is an Italian horror anthology, directed by the master of light and darkness, Mario Bava.
It is introduced by an avuncular Boris Karloff, who will be back soon. The first segment is "The Telephone." Swanky Michele Mercier is hanging about her chic apartment when the phone rings - but there is no one there. She hangs up but it rings again and again. The caller turns out to be her pimp who went to prison because of her, and now he's out and he knows everything she is doing. She calls her best enemy to come over, but she may be more dangerous than the caller.
This is a nice little mood piece, fluffy and frilly like Mercier's apartment, with a few nice twists. It is also an early giallo - those Italian slasher films known for stylish twists like black-gloved killers and sexy victims.
The middle story is probably the best and most famous: "The Wurdulak." A wanderer (Mark Damon) in the Czar's Russia comes upon a corpse with a dagger in its heart. He takes the dagger to the nearest farmhouse and finds that it came from their collection. They tell him that the father was out hunting wurdulak, an undead creature that kills who it loved most in life. When father gets home, there is some concern because he was out past the time limit he himself imposed. Is the father now a wurdulak? Hint: He is played by Boris Karloff. The story is allegedly based on a story by Tolstoy, but I don't know how closely it follows it.
The last story, "A Drop of Water" is another mood piece. A woman (Jacqueline Pierreux) is at home in a small room with a glass of something, a gramaphone and her knitting. But she is called out to a creepy old mansion where a medium has died. She has been called to lay out the corpse. In the process, she steals a ring, and knocks over a glass of water. Soon, she is haunted by water droplets and the buzzing of a fly.
I liked the setting a lot - the cozy apartment, the creepy mansion, but the water drop/buzzing fly bugaboo was a little too random for me. Neither is that scary and they aren't really linked. Oh well.
Then Uncle Boris comes out to wish us good night, and don't let the vampires bite.
It is introduced by an avuncular Boris Karloff, who will be back soon. The first segment is "The Telephone." Swanky Michele Mercier is hanging about her chic apartment when the phone rings - but there is no one there. She hangs up but it rings again and again. The caller turns out to be her pimp who went to prison because of her, and now he's out and he knows everything she is doing. She calls her best enemy to come over, but she may be more dangerous than the caller.
This is a nice little mood piece, fluffy and frilly like Mercier's apartment, with a few nice twists. It is also an early giallo - those Italian slasher films known for stylish twists like black-gloved killers and sexy victims.
The middle story is probably the best and most famous: "The Wurdulak." A wanderer (Mark Damon) in the Czar's Russia comes upon a corpse with a dagger in its heart. He takes the dagger to the nearest farmhouse and finds that it came from their collection. They tell him that the father was out hunting wurdulak, an undead creature that kills who it loved most in life. When father gets home, there is some concern because he was out past the time limit he himself imposed. Is the father now a wurdulak? Hint: He is played by Boris Karloff. The story is allegedly based on a story by Tolstoy, but I don't know how closely it follows it.
The last story, "A Drop of Water" is another mood piece. A woman (Jacqueline Pierreux) is at home in a small room with a glass of something, a gramaphone and her knitting. But she is called out to a creepy old mansion where a medium has died. She has been called to lay out the corpse. In the process, she steals a ring, and knocks over a glass of water. Soon, she is haunted by water droplets and the buzzing of a fly.
I liked the setting a lot - the cozy apartment, the creepy mansion, but the water drop/buzzing fly bugaboo was a little too random for me. Neither is that scary and they aren't really linked. Oh well.
Then Uncle Boris comes out to wish us good night, and don't let the vampires bite.
Monday, October 17, 2016
Let Us Prey
Don't know why we decided it was time to watch Predator (1987) - It was something to do with Dolph Lundgren... who isn't in this, so never mind.
It stats with Carl Weathers (yay!) recruiting search and extractions expert Arnold Schwarzenegger and team to rescue a diplomat is the South American country of Val Killme. The team includes quiet scary Bill Duke, loud blustery Jesse Ventura, comic relief Shane Black, and Sonny Landham, the Indian of the group.
They get in-country find another rescue team skinned and hung upside down. They take a revolutionary woman (Elpidia Carrillo) captive and try to figure out what's happening as they start getting killed one by one.
We get a killer's eye view for some of this - hazy thermal imaging that makes you wonder how the Predator ever manages to kill anything. Then we get to "see" the monster - in quotes because it uses some form of camoflage to blend in with the jungle. Neither of these effects is that impressive, but they are fun and iconic.
There's a nice ensemble feel to the movie, with the various team members getting generous screen time, until they are all dead or safe across the border and it's Arnold vs. Predator, mano a thingo. We get to see Arnold carefully setting up kill box full of booby traps and... I won't spoil it.
Now I remember why we wanted to see this - so we could watch Predator 2 (Pred in the Big City)! Dolph Lundgren isn't in that either, I guess. Also, we'll watch some Shane Black soon. Why not?
It stats with Carl Weathers (yay!) recruiting search and extractions expert Arnold Schwarzenegger and team to rescue a diplomat is the South American country of Val Killme. The team includes quiet scary Bill Duke, loud blustery Jesse Ventura, comic relief Shane Black, and Sonny Landham, the Indian of the group.
They get in-country find another rescue team skinned and hung upside down. They take a revolutionary woman (Elpidia Carrillo) captive and try to figure out what's happening as they start getting killed one by one.
We get a killer's eye view for some of this - hazy thermal imaging that makes you wonder how the Predator ever manages to kill anything. Then we get to "see" the monster - in quotes because it uses some form of camoflage to blend in with the jungle. Neither of these effects is that impressive, but they are fun and iconic.
There's a nice ensemble feel to the movie, with the various team members getting generous screen time, until they are all dead or safe across the border and it's Arnold vs. Predator, mano a thingo. We get to see Arnold carefully setting up kill box full of booby traps and... I won't spoil it.
Now I remember why we wanted to see this - so we could watch Predator 2 (Pred in the Big City)! Dolph Lundgren isn't in that either, I guess. Also, we'll watch some Shane Black soon. Why not?
Sunday, October 16, 2016
Mao or Tao?
Mojin: The Lost Legend (2015) is another time-waster - a Chinese martial arts fantasy with nothing in particular special about it, except that it is new.
The Mojin are tomb raiders, but for the people. In times of famine, they are authorized to go into the tombs of the ancients to get gold to buy food for the people. They have practiced this craft since ancient times, learning all the tricks to avoid the traps and possible spirits of the tombs.
Our group includes Kun Chen, the studious, serious guy with the long wispy hipster beard and Bo Huang (Journey to the West), the goofy braggart. The girl in the mix is Qi Shu. After a disastrous raid, they are sort of hiding out in New York, selling dubious antiquities on the street. Dandified Yu Xia, a sort of tomb raiding agent, pulls them back to Mongolia for another try at the treasure. And they will find out what happened to Angelababy, the Maoist cadre that they thought had died in the first raid.
The action and CGI is all fine, very good in fact, but not really special. Two special points are:
The politics don't really stand out much, just in one or two scenes. Adds a little spice to a fun but ordinary movie.
The Mojin are tomb raiders, but for the people. In times of famine, they are authorized to go into the tombs of the ancients to get gold to buy food for the people. They have practiced this craft since ancient times, learning all the tricks to avoid the traps and possible spirits of the tombs.
Our group includes Kun Chen, the studious, serious guy with the long wispy hipster beard and Bo Huang (Journey to the West), the goofy braggart. The girl in the mix is Qi Shu. After a disastrous raid, they are sort of hiding out in New York, selling dubious antiquities on the street. Dandified Yu Xia, a sort of tomb raiding agent, pulls them back to Mongolia for another try at the treasure. And they will find out what happened to Angelababy, the Maoist cadre that they thought had died in the first raid.
The action and CGI is all fine, very good in fact, but not really special. Two special points are:
- The Mongolian setting, with lots of throat-singing, yurts, etc. Exotic and colorful.
- The Communist setting. We see our heroes setting out into Mongolia in a truck full of cadres in green, waving their little red books and arguing the dialectics of grave robbing.
The politics don't really stand out much, just in one or two scenes. Adds a little spice to a fun but ordinary movie.
Saturday, October 15, 2016
Weird Scenes Inside the Goldmine
Although Velvet Goldmine (1998) was directed by Todd Haynes, it is scarcely the Douglas Sirkian melodrama I insisted were his metier. Rather, it is a glittery, decadent story about the rise and fall of Glam Rock.
It is written from the point of view of Christian Bale, a rather beat-down reporter in New York, 1984. He is assigned to do a "Where are they now" on Brian Slade (Jonathan Rhys Meyers). In a flashback we see all the young dudes and dollies heading for his big 1974 show, including Bale and a shadowy figure referred to as Jack Fairy. This is going to be Slade's last show as his alter-ego Maxwell Demon. As he goes on stage and takes the mike, Bale sees that shadowy figure shoot him dead and blow him a kiss.
So right off I'm thinking, it's Eddie and the Cruisers for glam rockers. But no, the whole world finds out that is was just a prank, and Slade slowly fades from the public eye. Bale interviews whoever he can find, each one delivering a long flashback about Slade's early life. Playing the festival in a frock. Meeting crude American thrash-rocker Curt Wild (Ewan McGregor). Losing his wife (Toni Collette) to a life of gay sex, drugs and decadence. Then vanishing.
We also see Bale growing up in small town England, deeply closeted. We see him going to London, spreading his wings, joining the glam rockers and loving it. We don't see how he wound up a New York media drone, but that beautiful time couldn't have lasted forever.
There's also a series of odd bits about Oscar Wilde being a space alien orphan child and a piece of green costume jewelry that has passed from hand to hand - "Everybody stole from Jack Fairy". A lot of the dialog is quotes from Wilde. This touch of surrealism is nice, keeps you from taking it too seriously.
One of the fun things about this movie is the roman a clef feel. Slade is obviously Bowie, but his name references Bryan Ferry and the band Slade. Curt Wild is mostly Iggie Pop and a little Lou Reed, but there is a touch of Kurt Cobain in his name and hair styling. (Plus of course, Kurt Weill.) The kids waiting to see the Maxwell Demon farewell show looked so much like the kids in the Pennebaker documentary that I'm sure it was used as reference. All this with the gayness turned up to 11.
But, you ask, what about the music? The first cut is Brian Eno's "Needle in a Camel's Eye" from Here Come the Warm Jets. That got us going for sure. There's a lot of Eno, Roxy Music, T. Rex, Lou Reed, and the Stooges, original versions or covers. There's even a cut of Andy Pratt, an obscure favorite from our college days - where is he now? The bands have some real heavy hitters, including Thom York and Thurston Moore. There's a preponderance of dramatic ballads, where we might have preferred more up-tempo rockers, but it's not like Bowie didn't ever sing Jacques Brel or anything.
If you have an sparkel of glitter in your blood stream, you should watch this. I was a fan, but Ms. Spenser was an actual glam girl, and she endorses.
It is written from the point of view of Christian Bale, a rather beat-down reporter in New York, 1984. He is assigned to do a "Where are they now" on Brian Slade (Jonathan Rhys Meyers). In a flashback we see all the young dudes and dollies heading for his big 1974 show, including Bale and a shadowy figure referred to as Jack Fairy. This is going to be Slade's last show as his alter-ego Maxwell Demon. As he goes on stage and takes the mike, Bale sees that shadowy figure shoot him dead and blow him a kiss.
So right off I'm thinking, it's Eddie and the Cruisers for glam rockers. But no, the whole world finds out that is was just a prank, and Slade slowly fades from the public eye. Bale interviews whoever he can find, each one delivering a long flashback about Slade's early life. Playing the festival in a frock. Meeting crude American thrash-rocker Curt Wild (Ewan McGregor). Losing his wife (Toni Collette) to a life of gay sex, drugs and decadence. Then vanishing.
We also see Bale growing up in small town England, deeply closeted. We see him going to London, spreading his wings, joining the glam rockers and loving it. We don't see how he wound up a New York media drone, but that beautiful time couldn't have lasted forever.
There's also a series of odd bits about Oscar Wilde being a space alien orphan child and a piece of green costume jewelry that has passed from hand to hand - "Everybody stole from Jack Fairy". A lot of the dialog is quotes from Wilde. This touch of surrealism is nice, keeps you from taking it too seriously.
One of the fun things about this movie is the roman a clef feel. Slade is obviously Bowie, but his name references Bryan Ferry and the band Slade. Curt Wild is mostly Iggie Pop and a little Lou Reed, but there is a touch of Kurt Cobain in his name and hair styling. (Plus of course, Kurt Weill.) The kids waiting to see the Maxwell Demon farewell show looked so much like the kids in the Pennebaker documentary that I'm sure it was used as reference. All this with the gayness turned up to 11.
But, you ask, what about the music? The first cut is Brian Eno's "Needle in a Camel's Eye" from Here Come the Warm Jets. That got us going for sure. There's a lot of Eno, Roxy Music, T. Rex, Lou Reed, and the Stooges, original versions or covers. There's even a cut of Andy Pratt, an obscure favorite from our college days - where is he now? The bands have some real heavy hitters, including Thom York and Thurston Moore. There's a preponderance of dramatic ballads, where we might have preferred more up-tempo rockers, but it's not like Bowie didn't ever sing Jacques Brel or anything.
If you have an sparkel of glitter in your blood stream, you should watch this. I was a fan, but Ms. Spenser was an actual glam girl, and she endorses.
Thursday, October 13, 2016
Twelve Dreams
I promised Ms. Spenser a good old-fashioned horror double bill: The Old Dark House/Mr. Sardonicus (1963/1961)? Once again, I owe her a horror movie.
The Old Dark House is a loose remake of the 1932 James Whale creepy house story, directed and produced by shock-schlock meister William Castle. About the only things he kept were the setting and the name of the family that lived in the house: the titter-worthy Femms. Made for Hammer Films, it starts in a London casino where American Tom Poston is looking for his flatmate Peter Bull. Poston lives in the flat at night, Bull during the day - something he explains several times but can't explain. They make a run up to the ancestral home, but when Poston arrives, he finds Bull dead - or is he?
We meet the whole creepy family, although some are kept locked away. Robert Morely plays the head of the family, a gun collector. Mervyn Johns is the meek religious nut. Janette Scott is the sweet girl who doesn't really fit in, while Fenella Fielding is the nympho black widow type who does. Fielding has a very sexy, husky voice, similar to Glynnis Johns. Lovely name too.
As you might guess, this is a farce, not a horror movie (although there is a body count). It's pretty funny too, and you don't need to have seen the original. They probably overdid the comedy sound effects and silly music though.
Mr. Sardonicus is the real thing. It starts with William Castle with his signature cigar in foggy London introducing the movie. It stars prominent physician Ronald Lewis, who gets a letter from his lost love Audrey Dalton. She beseeches him to visit her and her husband in the tiny country of Gorbsmak, just past Fredonia. It seems that her husband, the Baron Sardonicus (Guy Rolfe) has a problem, and he thinks Lewis can help. You see, he has a hideous skull-like rictus, like The Man Who Laughed. If Lewis can cure him, he can have the Baron's wife. If not, their brutish man-servant Krull (Oscar Homolka!) will torture her. He has a thing he does with leeches to the maid-servant...
This is quite creepy and justly famous for it's makeup effects. It's also famous for one of Castle's goofy gimmicks - he stops the movie and tells everyone in the audience to hold up their glow-in-the-dark cards with thumbs up or thumbs down. Should the villain be punished or will the audience show mercy? It's no surprise that he only filmed one ending. He sure knew his audiences and what they want.
The Old Dark House is a loose remake of the 1932 James Whale creepy house story, directed and produced by shock-schlock meister William Castle. About the only things he kept were the setting and the name of the family that lived in the house: the titter-worthy Femms. Made for Hammer Films, it starts in a London casino where American Tom Poston is looking for his flatmate Peter Bull. Poston lives in the flat at night, Bull during the day - something he explains several times but can't explain. They make a run up to the ancestral home, but when Poston arrives, he finds Bull dead - or is he?
We meet the whole creepy family, although some are kept locked away. Robert Morely plays the head of the family, a gun collector. Mervyn Johns is the meek religious nut. Janette Scott is the sweet girl who doesn't really fit in, while Fenella Fielding is the nympho black widow type who does. Fielding has a very sexy, husky voice, similar to Glynnis Johns. Lovely name too.
As you might guess, this is a farce, not a horror movie (although there is a body count). It's pretty funny too, and you don't need to have seen the original. They probably overdid the comedy sound effects and silly music though.
Mr. Sardonicus is the real thing. It starts with William Castle with his signature cigar in foggy London introducing the movie. It stars prominent physician Ronald Lewis, who gets a letter from his lost love Audrey Dalton. She beseeches him to visit her and her husband in the tiny country of Gorbsmak, just past Fredonia. It seems that her husband, the Baron Sardonicus (Guy Rolfe) has a problem, and he thinks Lewis can help. You see, he has a hideous skull-like rictus, like The Man Who Laughed. If Lewis can cure him, he can have the Baron's wife. If not, their brutish man-servant Krull (Oscar Homolka!) will torture her. He has a thing he does with leeches to the maid-servant...
This is quite creepy and justly famous for it's makeup effects. It's also famous for one of Castle's goofy gimmicks - he stops the movie and tells everyone in the audience to hold up their glow-in-the-dark cards with thumbs up or thumbs down. Should the villain be punished or will the audience show mercy? It's no surprise that he only filmed one ending. He sure knew his audiences and what they want.
Wednesday, October 12, 2016
Unhand that Man! Hold your tongue!
Titus (1999) isn't quite a horror movie, although there are plenty of killings and a bit of cannibalism. It's Shakespeare for goodness sake. But this isn't polite Masterpiece Theater. It's Julie Taymor.
It is based on Titus Andronicus, Shakespeare's early tragedy. It is a tale of honorable general Titus coming to great grief after he sacrifices the son of Tamora, conquered Queen of the Goths. But Taymor starts with a boy eating cereal, watching tv and playing with war toys. As his play gets more violent and frantic, he is finally grabbed by a Roman soldier and taken to the scene of Titus' triumphal procession with his Gothic prisoners. He must sacrifice Tamora's son no matter how she begs because it is the Roman way. Even though some of these Romans wear togas, some trenchcoats.
Everything Titus does is out of honor. He rejects the imperial crown because he believes it should go to the old Caesar's son, even though he is a thug who demands the hand of Titus's beloved daughter. He even kills his own son who tries to prevent the marriage. He lives his life by what is honorable, proper, and best for Rome. The result is disaster, revenge, and tragedy. This includes rape and dismemberment, hand amputation, blinding and the climactic dinner scene.
We get Shakespeare's grandeur, the gore of an Elizabethan revenge tragedy, and Julie Taymor's surrealism - in a very different vein than Across the Universe (heh-heh, "vein"). Anthony Hopkins plays Titus, as is proper for film's favorite cannibal. Jessica Lange plays Goth queen Tamora, giving it everything she's got. We also liked Harry Lennix as Tamora's secret Moorish lover.
It plays quite long, but it is always beautiful. Recommended.
It is based on Titus Andronicus, Shakespeare's early tragedy. It is a tale of honorable general Titus coming to great grief after he sacrifices the son of Tamora, conquered Queen of the Goths. But Taymor starts with a boy eating cereal, watching tv and playing with war toys. As his play gets more violent and frantic, he is finally grabbed by a Roman soldier and taken to the scene of Titus' triumphal procession with his Gothic prisoners. He must sacrifice Tamora's son no matter how she begs because it is the Roman way. Even though some of these Romans wear togas, some trenchcoats.
Everything Titus does is out of honor. He rejects the imperial crown because he believes it should go to the old Caesar's son, even though he is a thug who demands the hand of Titus's beloved daughter. He even kills his own son who tries to prevent the marriage. He lives his life by what is honorable, proper, and best for Rome. The result is disaster, revenge, and tragedy. This includes rape and dismemberment, hand amputation, blinding and the climactic dinner scene.
We get Shakespeare's grandeur, the gore of an Elizabethan revenge tragedy, and Julie Taymor's surrealism - in a very different vein than Across the Universe (heh-heh, "vein"). Anthony Hopkins plays Titus, as is proper for film's favorite cannibal. Jessica Lange plays Goth queen Tamora, giving it everything she's got. We also liked Harry Lennix as Tamora's secret Moorish lover.
It plays quite long, but it is always beautiful. Recommended.
Sunday, October 9, 2016
Horror Host in the House
Well, it's horror season chez Spenser. It starts with Ms. Spenser's birthday in late Sep, and goes through Halloween. Here's a double bill we kicked off with.
House (1977) is a surrealistic Japanese oddity. It's about 7 Japanese schoolgirls who visit the aunt of one of their number in a spooky house - and they begin to die one after another.
But that gives you no idea of what it is like. And that is hard to describe, except totally nuts. The girls, for instance, all go by nicknames: Gorgeous, Fanta (short for Fantasy), Prof (the studious one), Melody, Kung Fu, Sweet, and Mac (always eating - Big Mac?). They giggle and hug each other and sing songs with Melody, the musical one. They maintain this cute (kawaii) act even while they are being killed off. Their heart-throb is a teacher (played by Kiyohiko Ozaki, a Japanese enka/country singer) who wears big sideburns and drives a dune buggy. Gorgeous' father has remarried, a beautiful woman always seen in slo-mo surrounded by floating scarves.
The special effects and deaths are done in the crudest style, a combination of budget limitations and camp. Like when Melody gets eaten by the piano (SPOILER), one of the girls scolds her for showing her panties.
The soundtrack includes some psychedelic stuff by popular Japanese band Go-Diego. Gorgeous' dad writes film music and says at one point that Sergio (Leone) thinks he's better than Ennio (Morricone). So we're supposed to pay attention there.
Anyway, this is more of a comedy - with a pretty steep body count. When it was over, Ms. Spenser told me, "You owe me a horror movie."
So, we watched Korean monster movie, The Host (2006). This is much easier to describe - a hrrobile monster comes out of the river in Seoul, and wreaks havoc. It is seen from the viewpoint of a Korean family that runs a little snack shop by the river. It's run by an old man and his adult, but not very bright son ("He didn't get enough protein when he was young"), and the son's sweet grade school daughter. The old man's other son is a jobless college graduate, his daughter is an Olympic archer. This family is almost the set up for a comedy, with the witless son offering his daughter a beer to celebrate her aunt's Olympic trials. But then the monster erupts.
It's a great monster, kind of like a weaponized tadpole. It likes to hang from bridge infrastructure by its tail and slither into the water. It gulps people down and spits them out, or carries them away in its tail. There's some very gruesome stuff here.
It also has a great look - almost like a documentary of the Seoul urban riverside, with bridges, overpasses, sewers, and parks. The CGI monster looks great and fits right in. Altogether a superior monster movie with a touch of humor and social commentary. So Ms. Spenser was satisfied.
House (1977) is a surrealistic Japanese oddity. It's about 7 Japanese schoolgirls who visit the aunt of one of their number in a spooky house - and they begin to die one after another.
But that gives you no idea of what it is like. And that is hard to describe, except totally nuts. The girls, for instance, all go by nicknames: Gorgeous, Fanta (short for Fantasy), Prof (the studious one), Melody, Kung Fu, Sweet, and Mac (always eating - Big Mac?). They giggle and hug each other and sing songs with Melody, the musical one. They maintain this cute (kawaii) act even while they are being killed off. Their heart-throb is a teacher (played by Kiyohiko Ozaki, a Japanese enka/country singer) who wears big sideburns and drives a dune buggy. Gorgeous' father has remarried, a beautiful woman always seen in slo-mo surrounded by floating scarves.
The special effects and deaths are done in the crudest style, a combination of budget limitations and camp. Like when Melody gets eaten by the piano (SPOILER), one of the girls scolds her for showing her panties.
The soundtrack includes some psychedelic stuff by popular Japanese band Go-Diego. Gorgeous' dad writes film music and says at one point that Sergio (Leone) thinks he's better than Ennio (Morricone). So we're supposed to pay attention there.
Anyway, this is more of a comedy - with a pretty steep body count. When it was over, Ms. Spenser told me, "You owe me a horror movie."
So, we watched Korean monster movie, The Host (2006). This is much easier to describe - a hrrobile monster comes out of the river in Seoul, and wreaks havoc. It is seen from the viewpoint of a Korean family that runs a little snack shop by the river. It's run by an old man and his adult, but not very bright son ("He didn't get enough protein when he was young"), and the son's sweet grade school daughter. The old man's other son is a jobless college graduate, his daughter is an Olympic archer. This family is almost the set up for a comedy, with the witless son offering his daughter a beer to celebrate her aunt's Olympic trials. But then the monster erupts.
It's a great monster, kind of like a weaponized tadpole. It likes to hang from bridge infrastructure by its tail and slither into the water. It gulps people down and spits them out, or carries them away in its tail. There's some very gruesome stuff here.
It also has a great look - almost like a documentary of the Seoul urban riverside, with bridges, overpasses, sewers, and parks. The CGI monster looks great and fits right in. Altogether a superior monster movie with a touch of humor and social commentary. So Ms. Spenser was satisfied.
Sunday, October 2, 2016
Seven Up
Seven Men from Now (1956) completes the trilogy of Budd Boetticher/Randolph Scott westerns. It moves pretty fast. By the time the first scene is over, it's down to five men.
Randolph is a lone rider coming from Silver Springs, where there was a bank robbery that resulted in some deaths. He helps out a young couple of greenhorn pioneers, Gail Russell (The Uninvited) and Walter Reed. She is beautiful and he is admittedly out of his depth. Reed asks Scott if they can tag along with him, presuming on his kindness. Together, and against the advice of the Cavalry (who are riding the other way), they head through Arizona to Flora Springs.
As usual, Boetticher's themes are honor, courage, and masculinity. This is the first of his Scott pictures. It was intended for John Wayne, who was tied up doing The Searchers. He wound up producing and suggesting Scott for the role. He is amazing in it, much better than I imagine Wayne would be. Wayne's schtick has always struck me as a little knowing, self-conscious. Scott is dead serious.
Like The Tall T, this was filmed in the beautiful Lone Pine area. The budget was small but the look is big. Any other favorite Westerns we should look at next?
Randolph is a lone rider coming from Silver Springs, where there was a bank robbery that resulted in some deaths. He helps out a young couple of greenhorn pioneers, Gail Russell (The Uninvited) and Walter Reed. She is beautiful and he is admittedly out of his depth. Reed asks Scott if they can tag along with him, presuming on his kindness. Together, and against the advice of the Cavalry (who are riding the other way), they head through Arizona to Flora Springs.
As usual, Boetticher's themes are honor, courage, and masculinity. This is the first of his Scott pictures. It was intended for John Wayne, who was tied up doing The Searchers. He wound up producing and suggesting Scott for the role. He is amazing in it, much better than I imagine Wayne would be. Wayne's schtick has always struck me as a little knowing, self-conscious. Scott is dead serious.
Like The Tall T, this was filmed in the beautiful Lone Pine area. The budget was small but the look is big. Any other favorite Westerns we should look at next?
Saturday, October 1, 2016
Keeping it Civil
I keep reading complaints about how terrible it is that all movies are just heroes in tights and CGI explosions. I wish more of them were - if only every movie could be Captain America: Civil War (2016).
I'm not sure why this is a Captain America movie - in most ways, it's an Avengers movie. It starts with Cap, Black Widow, Falcon, and Scarlet Witch doing an op in Lagos Nigeria that goes bad. Wanda sort of saves the day, but there are casualties. After the scuffle in Sokovia, this leads to the adoption of the Sokovia Accords, requiring superheroes to register and operate under UN control. Iron Man goes along, but Cap won't sign.
Then at the UN, a bomb kills the hereditary leader of Wakanda, leaving his son T'Challa as presumptive heir and revenger - the Black Panther. Let's pause to say the Chadwick Boseworth as Black Panther is awesome. We get a bit of him, but mostly this is a tease for his movie, coming out next year.
It turns out that Bucky, the Winter Solider. has been re-activated by Col. Zemo - not quite the old Nazi from the comics, but close. We get a fair amount of Bucky in this one. He's a good guy (but conflicted) unless his brainwashing is working, and then he's bad. Ms. Spenser thought he was too cute to be particularly fearsome, and I'd probably agree. Sorry, Sebastian Stan.
Like so many of these Marvel movies, Civil War is overstuffed with characters and set pieces. We get Agent Carter's funeral, a romance between Cap and Carter's niece, a foot chase through traffic, a sweet domestic scene between Vision and Wanda (who aren't romantic yet in the movies, but I'm shipping them hard), the last minute addition of Tom Holland Spider-Man, and some sweet Wakanda scenes.
By the way, with Don Cheadle as War Machine and Anthony Mackie as Falcon, this movie has a little more soul than some superhero shows. Appreciate it.
It all winds up with the big battle royale at the airport. Really ends on a high note. When it was over, I wanted to watch it over again, or re-watch all the Marvel films leading up to it.
I'm not sure why this is a Captain America movie - in most ways, it's an Avengers movie. It starts with Cap, Black Widow, Falcon, and Scarlet Witch doing an op in Lagos Nigeria that goes bad. Wanda sort of saves the day, but there are casualties. After the scuffle in Sokovia, this leads to the adoption of the Sokovia Accords, requiring superheroes to register and operate under UN control. Iron Man goes along, but Cap won't sign.
Then at the UN, a bomb kills the hereditary leader of Wakanda, leaving his son T'Challa as presumptive heir and revenger - the Black Panther. Let's pause to say the Chadwick Boseworth as Black Panther is awesome. We get a bit of him, but mostly this is a tease for his movie, coming out next year.
It turns out that Bucky, the Winter Solider. has been re-activated by Col. Zemo - not quite the old Nazi from the comics, but close. We get a fair amount of Bucky in this one. He's a good guy (but conflicted) unless his brainwashing is working, and then he's bad. Ms. Spenser thought he was too cute to be particularly fearsome, and I'd probably agree. Sorry, Sebastian Stan.
Like so many of these Marvel movies, Civil War is overstuffed with characters and set pieces. We get Agent Carter's funeral, a romance between Cap and Carter's niece, a foot chase through traffic, a sweet domestic scene between Vision and Wanda (who aren't romantic yet in the movies, but I'm shipping them hard), the last minute addition of Tom Holland Spider-Man, and some sweet Wakanda scenes.
By the way, with Don Cheadle as War Machine and Anthony Mackie as Falcon, this movie has a little more soul than some superhero shows. Appreciate it.
It all winds up with the big battle royale at the airport. Really ends on a high note. When it was over, I wanted to watch it over again, or re-watch all the Marvel films leading up to it.
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