10th Victim (1965) is just ridiculous. Set in The Future, Marcello Mastrioanni and Ursula Andress are pitted against each other in the Big Hunt - where humans are the prey, and each prey takes a turn as hunter.
It is directed by Elio Petri, who doesn't ring any bells, but produced by Carlo Ponti. He produced tons of stuff, but I seem to associate him with Euro-cool swinging 60s movies, like this one. I can sum it up in one image: Do you know the Ericofon, that odd horn-shaped plastic phone with the rotary dial on the underside of the base? This phone will be the standard in The Future. Also, Op Art, jumpsuits, hats with see-through plastic visors, and brassieres that shoot bullets.
It soon becomes obvious that this isn't a dystopia film like Logan's Run, but a sex farce. Sure, Ursula Andress is trying to kill Mastroianni, but isn't that always the way between a man and a woman?
This movie isn't quite up there with Modesty Blaise, Danger: Diabolik or Barbarella, but would make a good second feature for any of them.
Monday, February 16, 2015
Sunday, February 15, 2015
Dee-Lites
Speaking of streaming movies that one watches mainly because they are streaming and you don't have anything better in mind: Detective Dee: Rise of the Sea Dragon (2013). Not that there's anything wrong with it - it's Hark Tsui, after all.
It is a prequel of the first Detective Dee movie, so Dee is played by Mark Chao instead of Tony Leung Kar Fai, although Carina Lau reprises her role as empress. It takes place in the port city being threatened by a sea monster. The local Chamber of Commerce hires a courtesan, Angelababy (Tai Chi Zero) as a sacrifice. Newcomer Dee and the town's chief detective both fall under her spell - Tsui uses one of his surrealistic touch to show her as a Chinese goddess with slow motion ribbons in her hair. It gets even more surrealistic when she is nearly kidnapped by the Gill-Man.
The gimmick in the Detective Dee movies is that the amazing, mystical events have material causes; in this case, disgusting parasites, which only can be cured by drinking the urine of the royal eunuchs. So, along with fantastic elements, there's quite a bit of silly humor.
Also, great fights, but that goes more or less without saying.
Surrealistic fantasy, goofy humor and an attempt to provide real-life explanations for everything, all made with Hark Tsui's touch. This is a silly spectacle, and nothing more, which makes it a perfect streaming watch when you have nothing on your mind.
It is a prequel of the first Detective Dee movie, so Dee is played by Mark Chao instead of Tony Leung Kar Fai, although Carina Lau reprises her role as empress. It takes place in the port city being threatened by a sea monster. The local Chamber of Commerce hires a courtesan, Angelababy (Tai Chi Zero) as a sacrifice. Newcomer Dee and the town's chief detective both fall under her spell - Tsui uses one of his surrealistic touch to show her as a Chinese goddess with slow motion ribbons in her hair. It gets even more surrealistic when she is nearly kidnapped by the Gill-Man.
The gimmick in the Detective Dee movies is that the amazing, mystical events have material causes; in this case, disgusting parasites, which only can be cured by drinking the urine of the royal eunuchs. So, along with fantastic elements, there's quite a bit of silly humor.
Also, great fights, but that goes more or less without saying.
Surrealistic fantasy, goofy humor and an attempt to provide real-life explanations for everything, all made with Hark Tsui's touch. This is a silly spectacle, and nothing more, which makes it a perfect streaming watch when you have nothing on your mind.
Saturday, February 14, 2015
Take Me Home Mountain Road
As I said, Ms. Spenser has asked for and gotten more scary movies. Here's another one suggested by the man known as Curt from Mountain View (they call him that on podcasts because they can't pronounce his last name): Incident On and Off a Mountain Road (2005).
A woman driving along a lonely mountain road crashes into a car and soon finds herself stalked by a giant, disfigured slasher. Yep, this is a slasher film, and I am watching it. But it's not the average slasher film - this woman used to date a survivalist, and has some skills up her sleeve, as well as some inner strength.
This is a one-hour, made for TV movie from the Masters of Horror series, directed by Don Coscarelli, I wouldn't have guessed it, but he directed Bubba Ho-Tep, the best Elvis-meets-the-Mummy film ever to star Bruce Campbell. He adapted Incident, like Bubba, from a story by Joe Lansdale. We've always like his Weird Wild West stuff, although it does give me nightmares.
I had to close my eyes for some scenes (one that involves eyes, in fact), but this is a smart, well-made slasher film for those who like that sort of thing. For those who don't it's only 60 minutes long.
A woman driving along a lonely mountain road crashes into a car and soon finds herself stalked by a giant, disfigured slasher. Yep, this is a slasher film, and I am watching it. But it's not the average slasher film - this woman used to date a survivalist, and has some skills up her sleeve, as well as some inner strength.
This is a one-hour, made for TV movie from the Masters of Horror series, directed by Don Coscarelli, I wouldn't have guessed it, but he directed Bubba Ho-Tep, the best Elvis-meets-the-Mummy film ever to star Bruce Campbell. He adapted Incident, like Bubba, from a story by Joe Lansdale. We've always like his Weird Wild West stuff, although it does give me nightmares.
I had to close my eyes for some scenes (one that involves eyes, in fact), but this is a smart, well-made slasher film for those who like that sort of thing. For those who don't it's only 60 minutes long.
Thursday, February 12, 2015
Good Night, Gracie
In exchange for all the girly movies (horror and suspense) I am watching , I'm making her watch guy films, mostly musicals, like Grace of My Heart (1996). I've been planning to watch this story of a singer-songwriter loosely based on Carol King, for a while, and an interview with the star Illeana Douglas on Projection Booth brought it all home.
It starts in the fifties with Douglas the teen daughter of a wealthy family. She is going to a talent show where her mother wants her to sing "You'll Never Walk Alone" in a white prom dress. But another contestant, a black girl singing the blues, convinces her to sing "Hey There, You with the Stars in Your Eyes", and trades her the white dress for a slinky black cocktail number.
This blues singing inspiration, by the way, is played by Jennifer Leigh Warren, who I went to school with. Never would have recognized her, but she is great, even though she didn't do her own songs. Neither does Douglas, she's dubbed by Kristen Vigard. But that's fine.
So Douglas wins the talent show and gets to go to New York with a recording contract. But nobody will record her: Female singers aren't selling that season and nobody wants a singer who records her own songs. Finally, John Turturro (in a role inspired by Phil Spector) gets her to let a male doo-wop group record her song. When it's a hit, he moves her into the Brill Building and it's off to the races.
The film is a mix of Douglas' quest to be recognized as a singer and a songwriter, her problems with men, and the changes in the world as the sixties roll in. Her first husband is her self-centered writing partner Eric Stoltz. Then she had an affair with married older man Bruce Davison. Finally, she moves out to California with Brian Wilsonish Matt Dillon. She gets something from each of them, but really, she needs better taste in men. She does stay in touch with Jennifer Warren, and gets an English songwriting partner, Patsy Kensit. In fact, one of the best little scenes is those two doing a song for Bridget Fonda as a Leslie Gore type, a deeply closeted lesbian coming apart at the seams. Her song, "My Secret Love" was actually written by Leslie Gore, along with Larry Klein and David Baerwald.
Most of the songs, in fact, are written by a writer from the day paired with a modern day writer. Carol Sager with Dave Stewart, Larry Klein and Gerry Goffin, and the first pairing of Elvis Costello and Burt Bacharach. It's the songs that the movie lives or dies on. I don't even think that they are really that great songs. But they are sold with utter conviction and beautiful production. Illeana Douglas even says at one point, "It's very melodramatic," and she's right - beautifully, breathtakingly melodramatic.
I should mention that the movie is full of great performances, and Douglas is a lot of fun to watch. She's funny looking, as at least one character in the movie says, but beautiful. She hasn't been in very many movies, but she's great in this.
It starts in the fifties with Douglas the teen daughter of a wealthy family. She is going to a talent show where her mother wants her to sing "You'll Never Walk Alone" in a white prom dress. But another contestant, a black girl singing the blues, convinces her to sing "Hey There, You with the Stars in Your Eyes", and trades her the white dress for a slinky black cocktail number.
This blues singing inspiration, by the way, is played by Jennifer Leigh Warren, who I went to school with. Never would have recognized her, but she is great, even though she didn't do her own songs. Neither does Douglas, she's dubbed by Kristen Vigard. But that's fine.
So Douglas wins the talent show and gets to go to New York with a recording contract. But nobody will record her: Female singers aren't selling that season and nobody wants a singer who records her own songs. Finally, John Turturro (in a role inspired by Phil Spector) gets her to let a male doo-wop group record her song. When it's a hit, he moves her into the Brill Building and it's off to the races.
The film is a mix of Douglas' quest to be recognized as a singer and a songwriter, her problems with men, and the changes in the world as the sixties roll in. Her first husband is her self-centered writing partner Eric Stoltz. Then she had an affair with married older man Bruce Davison. Finally, she moves out to California with Brian Wilsonish Matt Dillon. She gets something from each of them, but really, she needs better taste in men. She does stay in touch with Jennifer Warren, and gets an English songwriting partner, Patsy Kensit. In fact, one of the best little scenes is those two doing a song for Bridget Fonda as a Leslie Gore type, a deeply closeted lesbian coming apart at the seams. Her song, "My Secret Love" was actually written by Leslie Gore, along with Larry Klein and David Baerwald.
Most of the songs, in fact, are written by a writer from the day paired with a modern day writer. Carol Sager with Dave Stewart, Larry Klein and Gerry Goffin, and the first pairing of Elvis Costello and Burt Bacharach. It's the songs that the movie lives or dies on. I don't even think that they are really that great songs. But they are sold with utter conviction and beautiful production. Illeana Douglas even says at one point, "It's very melodramatic," and she's right - beautifully, breathtakingly melodramatic.
I should mention that the movie is full of great performances, and Douglas is a lot of fun to watch. She's funny looking, as at least one character in the movie says, but beautiful. She hasn't been in very many movies, but she's great in this.
Sunday, February 8, 2015
Fear of the Hunter
It turns out that neither Ms. Spenser nor I had seen the Robert Mitchum Cape Fear (1962). We remedied that recently. For those who haven't seen it, or the De Niro re-make, it stars Gregory Peck as a lawyer in picturesque Cape Fear NC. Robert Mitchum is Max Cady, a man that Peck put in prison. He has just gotten out and wants lets Peck know that he plans to make him suffer, along with his wife and daughter.
Peck is connected in the community - he gets the police chief to try to roust Cady, but all attempts fail. Even when he brutally beats a B-girl, she won't testify. She's too scared. So the only thing left to do is set a trap and kill him.
Maybe someone else can clarify, is Peck's reaction supposed to be kind of sleazy? First, try to use your political connections. When that doesn't work, try to kill him. I guess restraining orders hadn't been invented.
Anyway, he's scared. Everyone is scared. Mitchum is one scary guy. He's big, he loves violence and he "doesn't give a damn." This would be a good film with someone else in the role: it's got some pretty locations and the tension is kept high. But Mitchum takes it to another level.
However, Ms. Spenser wanted to see his "Love/Hate" knuckle tattoos, so we queued up The Night of the Hunter (1955). It introduces us first to the environment with an aerial view of a river in the midwest - the Ohio? Then we meet Mitchum who is thanking the Lord God for the widows that he's killed, for the good Lord provideth. We also meet John and Pearl, two little kids whose dad (Peter Graves!) just committed murder with robbery and lets the kids know where the money if they promise not to tell anyone, including their mother (Shelley Winters!), who he figures is soft-headed.
Graves ends up in prison with Mitchum who's just doing a few months for car-theft. (Do they really put death-row inmates in with short-timers? Maybe they did in the Depression.) When Graves is executed and Mitchum gets out, he decides to go meet the widow. His courtship and marriage to Winters is one of the most chilling parts of the movie - he convinces her that she is an unclean sinner in a way that is almost as menacing as Max Cady beating the loose woman.
I want to go light on spoilers - if you haven't seen this, you should. But he eventually starts chasing the children and they set off down the river. The film takes a somewhat impressionist feel here. This was Charles Laughton's first and only time directing. He doesn't always seem like he's completely in control of his medium - there's a touch of amateurism here. But the movie is full of odd touches - the unfamiliar lullabies and children's songs, the glimpses of the animal world, the world of shadows and moonlight, and they get much stronger here. But there are other scenes of rare beauty and horror, like the underwater corpse with the flowing hair.
Here's a little spoiler: In the end, when Mitchum gets what's coming to him, it's pretty slapstick. It starts out tension-filled and scary, with Mitchum lurking around singing an old hymn, and the children's protector harmonizing along. But when it ends, it was like waking up from a nightmare and wondering what was so frightening.
Night of the Hunter was really fascinating, Cape Fear really scary. I suppose we should watch the De Niro version next. We'll see if we can stand the tension.
Peck is connected in the community - he gets the police chief to try to roust Cady, but all attempts fail. Even when he brutally beats a B-girl, she won't testify. She's too scared. So the only thing left to do is set a trap and kill him.
Maybe someone else can clarify, is Peck's reaction supposed to be kind of sleazy? First, try to use your political connections. When that doesn't work, try to kill him. I guess restraining orders hadn't been invented.
Anyway, he's scared. Everyone is scared. Mitchum is one scary guy. He's big, he loves violence and he "doesn't give a damn." This would be a good film with someone else in the role: it's got some pretty locations and the tension is kept high. But Mitchum takes it to another level.
However, Ms. Spenser wanted to see his "Love/Hate" knuckle tattoos, so we queued up The Night of the Hunter (1955). It introduces us first to the environment with an aerial view of a river in the midwest - the Ohio? Then we meet Mitchum who is thanking the Lord God for the widows that he's killed, for the good Lord provideth. We also meet John and Pearl, two little kids whose dad (Peter Graves!) just committed murder with robbery and lets the kids know where the money if they promise not to tell anyone, including their mother (Shelley Winters!), who he figures is soft-headed.
Graves ends up in prison with Mitchum who's just doing a few months for car-theft. (Do they really put death-row inmates in with short-timers? Maybe they did in the Depression.) When Graves is executed and Mitchum gets out, he decides to go meet the widow. His courtship and marriage to Winters is one of the most chilling parts of the movie - he convinces her that she is an unclean sinner in a way that is almost as menacing as Max Cady beating the loose woman.
I want to go light on spoilers - if you haven't seen this, you should. But he eventually starts chasing the children and they set off down the river. The film takes a somewhat impressionist feel here. This was Charles Laughton's first and only time directing. He doesn't always seem like he's completely in control of his medium - there's a touch of amateurism here. But the movie is full of odd touches - the unfamiliar lullabies and children's songs, the glimpses of the animal world, the world of shadows and moonlight, and they get much stronger here. But there are other scenes of rare beauty and horror, like the underwater corpse with the flowing hair.
Here's a little spoiler: In the end, when Mitchum gets what's coming to him, it's pretty slapstick. It starts out tension-filled and scary, with Mitchum lurking around singing an old hymn, and the children's protector harmonizing along. But when it ends, it was like waking up from a nightmare and wondering what was so frightening.
Night of the Hunter was really fascinating, Cape Fear really scary. I suppose we should watch the De Niro version next. We'll see if we can stand the tension.
Tuesday, February 3, 2015
Neighbor of the Beast
We continue to delve into the Joe Dante oeuvre with The Burbs (1989). It stars Tom Hanks as an ordinary guy who wants to spend his vacation week at home in his little cul-de-sac. His wife (Carrie Fisher) thinks he should go to the lake, but his obnoxious slob of a neighbor, Rick Ducommum, is happy to hang out with him and raid his pantry.
The neighborhood seems like a nice place - the worst menace might be the old guy (Gale Gordon!) who lets his poodle poop on other people's lawn. There's survivalist gun-nut Bruce Dern and his hot wife Wendy Schall and stoner Corey Feldman who is sort of painting his family's house while they are away. Oh yes - then there's that house at 669 Mayfield that is kind of run-down, dark and menacing, with the funny noises and lights in the basement. Nobody knows who lives there - they never come out. But Hanks' son has seen them, late at night, in the rain, digging in the backyard...
It is kind of a comedy of manners mixed with horror. The neighbors all speculate about the creepy family like kids talking about a haunted house, then start daring each other to ring the doorbell. It goes on from there. The only hint as to what they find that I will give you is that it involves Henry Gibson.
This is all very Joe Dante - the look is very stylized, all on one studio lot. The script is clever and layered, with a nice mix of normalcy and doom. There's even a Dick Miller role. Some people consider this one of his best.
I wouldn't go that far. It's good, but not best. I loved it while watching, but I'm not sure it's as rich or deep as it could have been, or as biting. It reminds me a lot of the Belushi-Ackroyd Neighbors from 1981, which I also liked but didn't love. The same kind of suburbia disturbed comedy.
In conclusion, the Corey Feldman character, who treats the whole disaster as a spectacle, is my favorite.
The neighborhood seems like a nice place - the worst menace might be the old guy (Gale Gordon!) who lets his poodle poop on other people's lawn. There's survivalist gun-nut Bruce Dern and his hot wife Wendy Schall and stoner Corey Feldman who is sort of painting his family's house while they are away. Oh yes - then there's that house at 669 Mayfield that is kind of run-down, dark and menacing, with the funny noises and lights in the basement. Nobody knows who lives there - they never come out. But Hanks' son has seen them, late at night, in the rain, digging in the backyard...
It is kind of a comedy of manners mixed with horror. The neighbors all speculate about the creepy family like kids talking about a haunted house, then start daring each other to ring the doorbell. It goes on from there. The only hint as to what they find that I will give you is that it involves Henry Gibson.
This is all very Joe Dante - the look is very stylized, all on one studio lot. The script is clever and layered, with a nice mix of normalcy and doom. There's even a Dick Miller role. Some people consider this one of his best.
I wouldn't go that far. It's good, but not best. I loved it while watching, but I'm not sure it's as rich or deep as it could have been, or as biting. It reminds me a lot of the Belushi-Ackroyd Neighbors from 1981, which I also liked but didn't love. The same kind of suburbia disturbed comedy.
In conclusion, the Corey Feldman character, who treats the whole disaster as a spectacle, is my favorite.
Sunday, February 1, 2015
East and West
I admit it - these were a couple of bagatelles I watched on streaming when I didn't have anything else in particular to watch.
Chinese Zodiac (2012) is more or less the latest Jackie Chan action film. It may be his last big stunt oriented movie, but we've heard that before. Last or not, it is a return to his Armor of God style - Jackie is a treasure hunter looking for the twelve bronze sculptures that the British looted from the Summer Palace. Like is Armor of God, he has a couple of cute women working with him: art historian Helen Yao and Laura Weissbecker, a descendant of the original looters.
The movie starts with a ridiculous rocket-powered street-luge-suit escape scene, and there are several equally amazing set pieces throughout. In between these stunts, there are plenty of the usual fights, done with the usual joy and charm. The credit sequence includes stunts from past films instead of the usual out-takes. I admit, I got a little misty. This trip down memory lane seems to indicate that there will be no more of these crazy movies.
Journey to the West (2013) is Stephen Chow's latest (more or less) crazy movie. It strikes me as a little Kung Fu Hustle, a little White Snake. Zang Wen plays a mop-headed demon hunter, who tries to subdue demons by reading them kiddy songs to bring out their goodness. He doesn't have much luck with this, but one of his gorgeous competitors, Qi Shu (So Close) keeps showing up to bail him out. His master sends him to find the Monkey King demon, who was imprisoned by the Buddha long ago.
Lots of adventures, demons, kung fu, and silliness. Zang Wen maintains a humble, good-hearted attitude throughout, although he always doubts his skill when he always needs Qi Shu to save his skin. But it ends with a very sweet cosmic Buddha cameo, and shows how this is a prequel to the classic Monkey tale of a monk travelling east to bring back sutras with the assistance of demon companions.
I've mentioned before that I am a Buddhist, and I always get a little thrill when a movie features Buddhist themes, instead of the Christ figures we always get in American and European movies. Of course, Buddhism can be used in a shallow, cliche way just like Christianity. I'm not judging Journey, just saying your mileage may vary.
Finally, one last - 14 Blades (2010), a Donnie Yen costumer about the brutal imperial secret police and the powerful swords they are entrusted with. I can't say this is worse than the usual stuff, but it isn't better. It's a small thing, for instance, but I didn't care for the art design of the weapons or the ubiquitous seals and sigils the factions used to identify themselves. Too contemporary and somewhat clunky. So this one turned out to be just a time-filler.
The other two were worth watching though.
Chinese Zodiac (2012) is more or less the latest Jackie Chan action film. It may be his last big stunt oriented movie, but we've heard that before. Last or not, it is a return to his Armor of God style - Jackie is a treasure hunter looking for the twelve bronze sculptures that the British looted from the Summer Palace. Like is Armor of God, he has a couple of cute women working with him: art historian Helen Yao and Laura Weissbecker, a descendant of the original looters.
The movie starts with a ridiculous rocket-powered street-luge-suit escape scene, and there are several equally amazing set pieces throughout. In between these stunts, there are plenty of the usual fights, done with the usual joy and charm. The credit sequence includes stunts from past films instead of the usual out-takes. I admit, I got a little misty. This trip down memory lane seems to indicate that there will be no more of these crazy movies.
Journey to the West (2013) is Stephen Chow's latest (more or less) crazy movie. It strikes me as a little Kung Fu Hustle, a little White Snake. Zang Wen plays a mop-headed demon hunter, who tries to subdue demons by reading them kiddy songs to bring out their goodness. He doesn't have much luck with this, but one of his gorgeous competitors, Qi Shu (So Close) keeps showing up to bail him out. His master sends him to find the Monkey King demon, who was imprisoned by the Buddha long ago.
Lots of adventures, demons, kung fu, and silliness. Zang Wen maintains a humble, good-hearted attitude throughout, although he always doubts his skill when he always needs Qi Shu to save his skin. But it ends with a very sweet cosmic Buddha cameo, and shows how this is a prequel to the classic Monkey tale of a monk travelling east to bring back sutras with the assistance of demon companions.
I've mentioned before that I am a Buddhist, and I always get a little thrill when a movie features Buddhist themes, instead of the Christ figures we always get in American and European movies. Of course, Buddhism can be used in a shallow, cliche way just like Christianity. I'm not judging Journey, just saying your mileage may vary.
Finally, one last - 14 Blades (2010), a Donnie Yen costumer about the brutal imperial secret police and the powerful swords they are entrusted with. I can't say this is worse than the usual stuff, but it isn't better. It's a small thing, for instance, but I didn't care for the art design of the weapons or the ubiquitous seals and sigils the factions used to identify themselves. Too contemporary and somewhat clunky. So this one turned out to be just a time-filler.
The other two were worth watching though.
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