Somewhere in time and place...

...Although it's difficult to place exactly where and when.

It seems equally inspired by older older sci-fi classics, as it seems to have inspired others that came after...

...From the off, this tale of city populated mainly by robots who are eliminated when they step out of their allocated zone, gives very heavy Blade Runner vibes, as does the depiction of a grimy, beaten up, decrepit looking cityscape, albeit through some truly stunning background art, as well as use of the old-time jazz score, interspersed with a more frenetic noodly, avant-garde jazz... It even ends with a head-scratching, yet wonderfully effective use of the Ray Charles song: "I Can't Stop Loving You".
And all this seems couched in a broader context of a Fritz Lang Metropolis social commentary and world design, with the grimy futurist industrial layers and zones of social hierarchy, from the highest level, or zone, where some robots intermix with human society, before gradually going deeper underground to progressively more slave robot exclusive levels. There also seems to be a little of the old Sam Spade detective trope in there too.

On top, and indeed, even beneath this, there is a lofty human political faction battle for the rule of the city and the world, while down below, a robot uprising threatens at any moment to break out... and through all this, the adopted jealous, and zealous human son of Duke Red, head of one of the political factions, relentlessly hunts down his adoptive father's greatest creation: A Robot designed to save the world, by taking the throne of the city.

And although the world depicted is grimy looking, it is also, by turns, lurid, neon, and eye popping to look at.. I can strongly feel The Fifth Element in this regard, both in the vibrant look, but also that weird jazzy score, as well as the general eccentricity and eclecticism of the designs.

This is a really bizarre mix of earlier CGI animation, overlayed with traditional animation of a seeming mix of styles, form Tin-Tin-ish basic animation, to more Akira-Manga style, through to Ghibli.

It is not exactly pacy, more meandering and bobbing and weaving in the story telling, but it certainly is engrossing, captivating even, and you eventually fall into it's world, and immerse yourself in the mood and vibe. All of which, would have gotten a rating of about a seven from me, but for the last half hour, where it really pays off, tying all those threads together, and raising it's game to a degree where it is bordering on brilliant, worthy of the eight.

It's like a Sci-fi smoothie: Little bits of everything chucked in there, blended up, and what comes out, shouldn't really work on it's own, but does.

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The other half of that Grindhouse double feature, along with Tarantino's "Death Proof"...

...I didn't really go much on that one, it being a little too creepy and tedious for me.
And while this still is creepy (In light of the whole We----ein / McGowan thing), it is, at least, bags more fun.

A great, super gross-out, gory, absurd, ridiculous slapstick-ish zombie action festival, following the best tropes of the old Romero Dawn / Day Of The Dead, and some cool practical effects like in The Thing, and so on.

And more a great sequel to From Dusk Till Dawn than it is a companion to Death Proof.

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One of those that I'd always put off watching, because it was always around.

(If that makes any sense)

...Which is to say, that what with a mountain of movies to be seen, some, I see, seem always to be on TV or turning up on DVD etc. so I get to prioritise others, and never seem to get around to this one, which is perpetually knocked to the back of the queue.

So anyway, I finally decided to bite the bullitt... er sorry, I meant bullet (chuckle), and give it a watch.

And it turns out it's a brilliant prime slice of ultra-cool McQueen-ery, every bit the equal of Bullitt.

Very groovy split-screen late sixties set up credits, with cool jazz score and the immortal "Windmills of your mind" song, which then gives way to the tale of the bored millionaire playboy type (McQueen) who knocks over banks purely for kicks, being hunted by, not only pretty sharp police detective, but also the ultra-sharp, and super seductive bank insurance investigator (Dunaway), who quickly takes up with him, and a tale of cat and mouse ensues.

...But which is the cat, and which the mouse?

It's essentially what every super-cool hustle / heist movie since has clearly been inspired by (Ocean's 11, etc.), except this is has more of an effortless cool about it, as well as the sexiest game of chess ever committed to screen.

Excellent stuff.

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Independent review :read:

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Independent review :read:

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The world's longest set up for a movie that never plays.

This is another I picked up from the charity shop on the basis of having a somewhat bad reputation that put me off, but intrigue compelled me to see for myself.

It seems to be Ridley Scott's venture into the kind of tonal world that Sicario, or No Country For Old Men conjures, or inhabits... A simultaneously seedy, yet sophisticatedly lo-fi awfulness world of cartels and too highly polished, deluded sophisticates being too coolly criminal for their own good.

Michael Fassbender's "Councelor" is involved with some distinctly nefarious types, and wants a piece of action on the side for himself, to set himself up with new fiancé (Penelope Cruz) involving him with yet more seedy characters, and of course, a downward spiral into the quagmire ensues.

I could also mention movies like Scarface, or any Michael Mann style movie, to give you an idea of what this intends to be, but there is something distinctly lacking here... it's too monotone, too dull, even. And on top of that, it's too subtextual for it's own good. I usually appreciate, and pick up on such things well, but this is way too abstract, and many, if not most, will get to the end thinking like I was: "I think I got it at one point, but then.. no. In fact, what the hell just happened?!"

It feels like some of those aforementioned movies where there's lots of threads set up at the start that you don't get, and are not really supposed to, in order to be bowled over by the gradual unfolding of the plot by way of little deposits of key information, leading to s sequence, or even one revelatory twist that leaves you breathless... except, here it never arrives, like the movie after this, if it were made, would be what this were leading to.

It's not a bad movie, as as such, it just ain't great, or even really good.

The plot, as said is too abstract, like an in-joke that all the characters are in on, but being an outsider as a viewer, you feel like: "...What?", and Ridley is too tuned into the more naval gazing aspects of the story to worry about the audience. Much of the more philosophical leanings are a bit much to be expected in reality from such low life characters, and feel a bit naïve from a director who doesn't get this kind of world. I suspect, as this is based on a Cormac McCarthy novel (Much as with Elmore Leonard), the more subtle stylings and subtextual elements would be more apparent in the reading, or rendered by some other director as a movie, but here, it just feels obscure, and lacking the kind of charisma that say, a Tarantino would offer.

It's a shame, as the performances from all the central cast are excellent (if you can get over Bardem's hair!), especially Cameron Diaz's suitably convincing icy snake-lady, and they are all doing their best, it just doesn't really come together the way those others do.

An intriguing, at times fascinating watch, even engaging at times, just a bit too random, and dull to really hit home.

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Guardian review :read:

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Still completely wonderful!

I have not seen this since I was made to go and see it at the cinema with my mum's co-worker, who took me and her - as it turned out - not only sickly, but terminally ill son when it came out...

(Let's see... I would have been nine years old at the time)

... And as if this fact was not bummer enough, there are some emotionally stretching moments here that for children of that age, as anyone already familiar with this movie will know, can be devastating to younger hearts and minds.

And for both of these reasons, I've wilfully avoided watching it since.

But now, as the nights draw in, and I feel exhausted watching new (to me, at least) movies, I feel I'm in the season where I need a little nostalgia, and something cosy and familiar, as well as being prompted by the urge to see if itwould still "get me" the way it it did first time around.

And while I do come to this now, with adult mind and soul, a little more objectively, this wonderful, magical fable of the relationship between fantasy and reality has lost none of it's imaginative potency, and still elicited a tear or two... or maybe there was just something in my eye.

While one particularly devastating scene (You know the one!) didn't quite reduce me to a blubbering mess the way it did when I was nine, it still made me go: "Ooh, that's a bit heavy to handle for kids!".

But the tale of a magical book, discovered by a bullied child who has lost his mother, and can't connect, or be sympathised with by his matter of fact father, and which causes him to escape into the world of magical fantasy still resonates to this day... more so, perhaps, in such all too real times as these.

Great practical effects, animatronics, and puppetry, well shot, and the story well told, in the finest traditions of the most earnest, un-cynical and non-meta fairy-tales of old, and time immemorial, still help to push aside the self referential, cynical , or all too real times in which we live.

So if, like me, you may be older now, or not having seen this for a good long spell, or think, even, that maybe you've grown out of this kind of thing a long time since... I'd urge you to revisit it again, perhaps for old time's sake, or even Auld Lang Sine.

Consider it a guilty pleasure, or even a much needed, long neglected treat.

Go on!... you deserve it! :)

(It maybe that you need it too :)

1 person found this review helpful.   ✔︎ Helpful Review?

Absolutely brilliant!

Those of us in the UK who were only familiar with Michael Winner being on the telly often, and principally known only (it seemed) for those God-awful Death Wish films, would never suspect he was capable of making anything like this!

This, on first impressions, seems like it's going to be pretty standard western fare... a vehicle for established Hollywood star to be the hero... roll into town, clean up the bad guys, before riding off into the sunset after a job well done...

...Except here, they've turned the whole thing on it's head, the titular "Lawman" is more the bad guy than the supposed baddies. Subsequent research reveals that the inspiration for the script for this was a quy read a quote to the effect that: "The only real hired killers in the west were the Lawmen" (paraphrased / misremembered), and that they often caused more trouble than they solved, if not actually were the source of the trouble in the first place.

It jumps straight in with the incident that causes all the hoo-ha from then on, as a bunch of cowboys get drunk in a town, shooting all over, as is the common trope and an old man gets accidentally killed during this incident.

But then we get to the ranch owner played thoughtfully, meditatively, even philosophically by Lee J. Cobb, who contrary to the usual pure evil overlord type you see in this role, is perfectly willing to make reparations to the townsfolk, for what his ranch-hands have done, as are the, again, counter-to-trope cowboys in his employ - all fully fleshed out characters, and proper humans, as opposed to the ye-ha! types we usually see here, and it even seems the townsfolk are willing to go along with it to.

All very reasonable, so far.

...Except, then Burt Lancaster, who gives an excellent performance as a coldly indifferent "lawman" shows up to see the law has it's pound of flesh. - He is all, and exclusively duty, and by the book, and is deaf to all other considerations, even if it would defuse this whole situation from the outset, and he is constantly advised to do so by all and sundry, but nothing is going to dissuade him.

The whole thing spirals out of control, with the Townsfolk deciding to do something about him administering the law, even at the expense of justice, and even the local Marshal (Played brilliantly by Robert Ryan) tries to talk him out of making a mess by pursuing this course, but Burt ain't having none of it... he's almost like the Anti-Terminator, fighting for what he sees as the good, ruthlessly relentlessly, and without a grain of compromise.

In the end, it's a tragedy, of how being too "by the book", and un-merciful can see justice, in the true sense, fall by the wayside.

A real Winner.

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A movie with a bad reputation, for all the wrong reasons.

One I've been meaning to see for some years, mainly to see what all the fuss was about. General, common cultural consciousness will hold this in a place of infamy due to proclaimed obscenity, and lately, a controversy over one of it's most infamous scenes, and the making of that scene. And while I find myself on that side of the fence where if I know something icky has happened on the set during the making of it, it colours my view of the movie as a whole, in this case, and quite in spite of myself, I come out the other side if this convinced it's a masterpiece.. as a movie, and as a piece of storytelling.

The story of a lost man who's wife has recently committed suicide, for reasons he can't understand, leaving him broken, confused, and kind of in freefall, meeting a much younger woman / girl in a flat, as she is looking for a place, and setting in motion almost instantly a questionable, and purely sexual relationship is, it seems, now that I have seen it, wholly misinterpreted, and the reputation it has for "obscene" scenes wildly over-exaggerated.

Admittedly, the opening scene of their meeting and first sexual encounter would surely be considered rape, as would the scene with the butter stick (I'll say nay more on that!), as well as the scene when she sticks her fingers up Brando's ass, but as with the shower scene in Psycho, it's more about what we know is going on, than what it actually shows...

(The girl is frequently nude, but only ,mostly from the waist up, and you only get the brief glimpse of Brando's flabby ass, but not in any sexual context)

In fact, the movie is deeper than that, and the sexual element is only a cipher for deeper meanings, concerning loss and tragedy, the broken-ness and desolation of a person when their world falls apart. A refuge, you might say, when nothing seems to matter any more.

It seems a bit shonky and third rate at the beginning, camera-work, directing, the whole shebang, but thoroughly engrossing as it goes along, and not for those sexual reasons.

The last half hour or so are positively brilliant, as, after a key scene where Brando visits, and has a stunning monologue at the bedside of the corpse of his dead wife, as she lies in state (Tom Cruise's best performance in Magnolia is a straight lift of this scene) , the tone suddenly lifts, like he's got something off his shoulders, and it becomes quite a charismatic affair, full of life and zest, even optimism...

...For him, at least.

And having raised you up in such a way, it abruptly drops you emotionally down a metaphorical elevator shaft right at the end.

Seriously, I don't think a creeping grin has dropped so suddenly from my face in any movie.

breathtakingly tragic.

You can feel the influence of this movie in many modern movies, like Blue Is The Warmest Colour, and one scene is shot where (Now) Elliot Page's dream architect does that thing with the mirrors under the viaduct in Inception (I bet Nolan just wanted to film there because of the aesthetic from this).

So if you can get over the reputation and disturbing elements of the movie's production, you have a brilliant move here.

3 people found this review helpful.   ✔︎ Helpful Review?

MGM tries to do Disney, and misses the mark, somewhat.

Fans of James Herbert's novels will acknowledge this, while not being his greatest novel, does hold a place of deep affection in their hearts... as it is, not his usual horror fare, but more of a poetically tragic tale of a man who, once he dies after a tragic car accident, is resurrected as a puppy, born to a stray, and form there, haunted by memories of his former life as a man, tries to find his way back to his human family.

Already you can see this is a little too heavy for what the DVD cover here suggests.

That seems to present the idea of a more: "Turner and Hooch", or "Beethoven" style "Awww!"-fest. And I think that was what MGM was aiming for: That those kinds of movies were killing it at the box office at the time, tuned in superficially to this novel, as "being in the ballpark" of that kind of story, and so went with it. But while it may be among the more earnest, even tragically sentimental of Herbert's work, it really isn't Disney material, and a little strong and odd for kids.

I made the mistake of watching with headphones on, so all I could see in my head while the voice overs for the real dog's thought dialogue was the image of Samuel L. Jackson in a booth, with fag on the go and a glass of whiskey while he phoned in this afternoon's work for a fat paycheck / paycheque (as you will)... That really breaks the illusion.

(Still better than a modern CGI talking dog effect though... at least it's honest!)

It does engage you more in the last twenty minutes or so though, and is, on occasion there, touching... but that's due to James Herbert's story, rather than the mis-matched Disney style movie presentation, which even that, could not entirely dispel.

I would therefore encourage people to give the movie a miss perhaps - or go into it with no expectations at least - and instead, read the book... It's pretty lo-key great.

3 people found this review helpful.   ✔︎ Helpful Review?

This is a deeply weird and and unpleasant movie.

It aims for the kind of black humour that War of the Roses had, but it's aim is wildly off. Imagine The Farelly brothers trying to do a Tarantino movie, and creating only a mess.

Greatest of respect to John Goodman (Legend), but I do not need the thought of him lusting after Liv Tyler in my head, let alone having sex with her... And that's basically what this movie is: Three guys scraping their knuckles after Liv Tyler, while she plays them to get what she wants, but she is essentially exploited for her sexuality at this time, and fetish-ising her, and dressing her up in various sexual fantasy wardrobe choices for horny teens.

Now this would be ok, if the movie was at all funny, but it isn't.

It produced only two mild chuckles from me, which isn't enough to forgive the movie's trying too hard, but failing too hard awfulness.

The only good things in this movie are Michael Douglas's "hair" (a wonder to behold!), and Reba McEntire... Everything else is a cringe-fest.

3 people found this review helpful.   ✔︎ Helpful Review?

This is one long-ass movie!

Finally plucked up the courage to watch this, thinking, since time of release, that it was absurd and hokey in concept... a bit of mock-worthy fluff.

I never imagined that what I was actually in for was a positively Tolkienian 2hrs, 45 mins of funerial, languid, bordering on the morbid, depression, and all n David Fincher's signature murky tones, minimalist direction and glacial pacing.

...I mean, it's actually a better story than I had expected, and better handled than the cringe fest I thought awaited me, but with all those previously mentioned factors at play, it just exhausts the viewer, so that by the end, I found myself drooping, and thinking: "Dude, I don't really care how this ends now, so long as it does end... at some point... soon!"

Subsequent research reveals something I didn't know about the story: That it was based on a short story by F. Scott Fitzgerald... I repeat: short story, of some only 45 pages long.

How on earth do you spin out a 45 page short story to heading toward three hours of movie?

And this tale of a man who ages in reverse, set against the fable like device of a clock that was built to run backwards by a man in grief at the loss of his son to war certainly does have an appealing notion at it's heart, and which should have made for a more engaging, and crucially, compelling tale. It actually feels like one of those short stories great novelists write from time to time, where they get a cute notion in their heads, and so jot it down... for fun.

I think what's happened here then, is whoever made this happen had too long to think about that notion, and all it's extensive implications, and spun the yarn out way too long.

Another odd thing, is when a particular director makes a movie not in his accustomed style, or of a different kind of genre, it often begins to look like another director's work slightly. Here: it has a faint whiff of Wes Anderson or the kind of magical fable telling of Guillermo del Toro, but alas, these allusions wilt under the weight of it's Finchery.

(Also, in this sense, Martin Scorcese's: Hugo, sprang to mind, except that is quite enjoyable)

So if you fillet this movie, and look at the bones of it, it's like Forest Gump minus the joy, emotional impact, fun, engaging quality, or entertainment value... and it should have been handed to a Zemeckis or a del Toro to make a better movie.

Drab, soul crushing, depressing... and ultimately disappointing, in that it could have been such a magical movie if someone else had done it... with a shorter runtime!

2 people found this review helpful.   ✔︎ Helpful Review?

A fairly decent slice of sci-fi action spectacular hocum, typical of it's age, and among the better movies of JCVD's, that holds up better than most among his filmography.

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Hardcore Parkour!

This is one of those frenetic thrill rides that jumps straight into the action from the off, and rattles along to the end without letting catch your breath much.

From the age when Parkour was, culturally speaking: "a thing" on everyone's lips, so naturally you get all these brain bending parkour set pieces and fights, but it also has a great premise, and fairly decent story to boot:

So, a local lad defies, and goes up against the local drug lord / warlord in his district, which, along with others, have been deemed "out of control" by the authorities, and so a wall has been built up around it to keep the mayhem in, and away form "decent folks" outside... Said lad fails in his attempt (though has a decent stab at it!), and is locked away by the corrupt police when he is delivered to them by said warlord... and to make matters worse, his sister is being held captive inside by the warlord and his crew.

But then... an action man / super cop is recruited to go into district 13 and retrieve and defuse a bomb that the warlord has stolen, and which will go off in a few hours, so naturally employs the help of the incarcerated local lad to guide him in, which also gives him the chance to recover his sister... Naturally, both are supremo Parkour super- bendy people, made of springs and general boing-y-ness, so that helps!

This is an absolute masterclass in how to cram a complete action story into just 1 hour, 24 mins without missing beat.

A super thrill ride actioner, great for a Saturday night in.

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Independent review :read:

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I'd always avoided this believing it was an over-wrought, schmaltzy, sugary-sentimental, overly earnest affair, leaning a little too heavily into the whole Hallmark card angels business...

...And to some extent, it is, but not schmalzy or over sugared. Certainly, they don't beat you over the head with the emotional manipulation I expected in true Hollywood style, but to such an extent that they may have gone a little too far away from any sentiment, so that it felt a tad... sterile, emotionally for me.

What they have done with this romantic fantasy tale of an angel who falls in love with a doctor, and wants to become human for her sake (plot taken care of!) is actually opted, wisely, and to my great delight and surprise, for a more sparse, almost minimalist tone, where everything is very lightly handled and done, from the photography, acting, story and dialogue. This gives the whole feel of the movie a more haunting, ethereal tone, so as not to damage it's poignancy.

...But, as I said, I think it goes a little too far in this direction, making it feel a little thin, and fragile, and as with the footprints in the sand as the angels walk on the beach at sunset, it barely leaves any emotional impression... at least on first viewing.

It could have done with, let's say, more emotional punctuation - The odd scene where they did amp it up a little more, just to sell the rest of the story a bit more, rather than, therefore, emotional monotone through out. Of course, it does kind of elevate it a little towards the end, and may have suggested a tear or two (but only to my right eye! :), but I feel it needed a little more of something in there.

Finally, I must take issue with the key scene in the finale, which, rather than deliver the emotional punch it was aiming for, was poorly staged, weakly, and meekly acted, and was inclining slightly toward the curling of the toes (but only on my left foot!).

All told, this does have the feel of a movie that needs more than one viewing, as many who have seen it the once, will likely hold the same opinion as me, but, I suspect, will grow on you, or into you the more you see it... Eventually to become one that is held with great affection. So I'm going to keep this one about the place for a while, then watch it again sometime, to see if it's worked on me in the meantime.

(I am certainly inspired, on the strength of this, to seek out the movie it was based on: Wings of Desire - a German film, I believe)

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There's still time.. Brother.

Well, this is a pretty bleak movie!

In fact that's why I've been meaning to see it for a while, to see if it was as depressing as it's reputation suggests, and yup, it is pretty grim.

It's not graphic, or horrific to watch, obviously, due to the time it was made, primarily, as well as the stars who appear in it would never do anything like that...It's just the whole setup, the whole premise, and situation is quite a lot to invite into your brain, especially in times like these... But perhaps that's exactly what may make this the most timely movie to watch.

So, humanity has destroyed itself globally in a nuclear war, with only Australia surviving, and an American sub, captained by Gregory Peck is heading in there as their last resort... what with home being destroyed... but nobody in this part of the world has truly escaped, and are in fact, doomed anyway, as the global fallout radiation is heading their way in just a matter of months, when they will all die from that.

(Happy thoughts everyone!)

But this is not a Mad-Max type of post-apocalyptic mutant wars scenario; Rather this is a character study of people who, though they all know what is coming, are trying simultaneously to carry on as normally as possible - after all, what else can you do? - while trying to push such thoughts of impending doom aside.

Peck's Captain lives in denial that his wife and children have perished at home, and so refuses the attentions of a barely-holding-it-together Ava Gardner, who just wants companionship, and connection in her final months. Fred Astaire's scientist has invested his remaining time in building a Ferrari to race, and enjoy what remains to him, and bleakest of all, Anthony Perkins is trying both to keep composed, while planning for the end for him, his unaccepting wife, and baby through the procurement of certain pills to speed them painlessly on their way when the time comes.

The doom and uncertainty means there's no happy ending here, and the movie was clearly intended at the time to shock audiences into abandoning the lunacy of nuclear proliferation, by painting a very effective portrait of the un-survivable aftermath of such a final devastation.

All performances are strong, including Fred Astaire in a straight up dramatic, non-dancing or singing role, but especially Ava Gardner, who steals the whole movie with charm and charisma.

One of those movies that's perhaps important to watch, but once would probably be enough.

Otherwise a very powerful, haunting movie, who's pointedly significant motif lingers long in the memory after it's ended:

There's still time.. Brother.

2 people found this review helpful.   ✔︎ Helpful Review?

The best one since the first one!

In pantheon of infamy which is the Predator franchise >gag<...

(I always feel unwell using that word, along with other tummy bugging terms like: "IP" and the like)

...This is way above all the other sequels, and for one clear and obvious reason: They actually had a story to tell, in which the Predator appears, rather than: "Let's make a Predator movie, then tack "a story" on after.

For it's primarily an inspired coming of age tale for a young girl / woman of a Native American tribe who just wants to be a hunter, rather than just a home-maker etc. And so, the whole first 45 mins is about establishing her character, her world, and her relationships to others in the community, with only the brief scenes of Predator arriving and being Predator-y interspersed ere and there until their paths really cross, and she must prove herself, as well as survive.

Great storytelling, beautifully shot in some stunning countryside (Cinematography looks and feels more of the calibre of something like The Revenant crossed with Dances With Wolves than the usual mega CGI / green screen fare we've come to expect.

I rank this alongside the likes of Blade Runner 2049 and others of this rare breed of truly getting a sequel / prequel right.

Truly excellent.

(I'm sorry I was so dismissive of it when it came out... I just thought it was going to be another cruddy movie in the series)

2 people found this review helpful.   ✔︎ Helpful Review?

Great fun of course, but it feels a bit too much "Comic book nerd material" for me now, and while it is enjoyable, it's all gone way too meta.

Ultimately, a sugar rush of a movie, nice instant hit, but ultimately disposable pap that won't really bear repeated viewings.

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A very "talkie" drama.

Not much by way of cinematic pizzaz with regards dramatic visuals and scenes, mostly interior dialogue scenes, but very mesmerising nonetheless.

The story of a poor Spanish girl plucked from her hometown and transported to Hollywood to be transformed into a star by some mega-rich wannabe Howard Hughes type, with the intention of working with Bogart's down on his luck director.

Alas, she won't play the game the way Hollywood wants exactly, being strong willed, self possessed, yet lacking a certain something in her life.

Her story is told through the narrations of three principal characters at her funeral (not much of a spoiler, as that's where the movie begins!), as this tragic tale unfolds.

One impressive thing about this is the relationship between Bogart and Gardner's characters... initially threatening to be of a romantic nature, it then progresses and continues throughout the rest of the movie as a purely platonic relationship, in the manner of allies, confidants, and friends, although you do feel a strong love between them... not something you often see in a movie like this, or of this time, but it's excellently handled.

So a nice, easy paced, engrossing tale of a rise and fall of a tragic heroine.

1 person found this review helpful.   ✔︎ Helpful Review?

Better than I had been led to believe, if a little odd.

This always seemed to dwell, reputationally, in the long shadow cast by it's near contemporary: Easy Rider, and always seemingly readily dismissed as a bad movie.

But it's not that bad actually; In fact, in many ways, it's really rather good.

The problem it has, I think, is that people don't really know what to make of it, have gone in perhaps, with one set of expectations about what it is, and finding it's mostly something else.

Begin with that title, which leads you to believe this is a biker movie, in the style of what our more recent, and more modern understanding of what Hell's Angels are, and any movie about featuring them would be... And while there certainly are those elements present: Riding around en masse, fights, trouble with the law etc. What it really is, is a typically sixties psychedelic art movie, like an Andy Warhol movie, with zany, amateur-ish spiralling handheld camera views of crazy arty orgies, strange set piece scenes of mucking about on motorcycles and other trippy nonsense, all set, not to any expected hard rock soundtrack you may associate, but all the groovy, psychedelic, far out Hollywood approximations of the music of that specific era.

All of which, gives it a weird vibe: A psychedelic movie featuring Bikers? ... eh?

Like chocolate and cheese. Two things that you may like on their own, but would never consider putting together.

The "plot" consists, at least for the first hour, of a wash, rinse, repeat cycle of psychedelic orgy and love scenes, followed by a fight, followed by some riding, followed by another love / orgy scene, followed by a fight...etc. Once petrol station attendant Jack Nicholson ditches his job and takes up with the Hell's Angels.

And frankly, this first hour seems aimless, and pointless, and going nowhere... which is, as it turns out the point the movie is consciously making... the excellent song in this: Moving Going Nowhere, by a band called The Poor, makes this evident, in case you missed it!

...But the last 25 mins / half hour is where it all begins to make sense, and you go: "oh!.. I get it!"

And as such, it turns out to be a commentary on an itinerant, rebellious lifestyle. And given that this point was very much against the prevailing "free" spirit of the time it was made, it's actually quite bold, and ahead of it's time, in re-appraising the late sixties even while living it.

In fact, Jack Nicholson delivers the most salient line once he realizes he's dropped out of societal norms only to adopt, contrary to his expectations, a new set: "I won't wear your uniform!"

(A bit like when everyone and their dog gets a tattoo in order to be "different from everyone else", and express their "individuality" - Life Of Brian, anyone? ((Chuckle))

Not the greatest movie ever, but really rather good, nonetheless.

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A winter warmer.

I really liked this one, against all expectations.

Don't be fooled by the DVD cover, as this is not the ultra-slick production that cover suggests; Rather this is in the vein (pun!) of the kind of ultra-low budget, atmospheric, early seventies rural England style "horrors" that Hammer and others used to make - maybe think, in terms of look, style, and feel: The Devil Rides Out, and the 1978 movie: The Legacy (Both more my kind of horror movie, as opposed to modern horrors) - This has a lot of atmosphere, and character, due mainly to the incredibly meagre budget seemingly only stretching to the hire of a couple of cars, a caravan, some charity shop find costumery, and the use of an old manor house...

(Perhaps for a few mornings, where I guess they shot most scenes in a very short amount of time, to make the most of this access)

...These resources are utilised to great effect by shooting in those dank misty, autumnal / winteral mornings those of us in England are well acquainted with: damp brown, soggy leaves bestrewn among the baring, dead looking woodlands, an icy mist hanging perpetually in the air to the sound of the many ominous crowings of local rooks, ravens, and well... crows.

This weakness also is this movie's strength though too, actually, as not being able to do spectacular vampire effects (supernatural powers etc.), they basically dispense with all that, and concentrate on the "off-ness" of the two main female leads: besides the mostly tastefully shot, largely inoffensive soft-focus, soft porn lesbian sex scenes, and occasional romp with their lured, and ensnared male victims, there's plenty of stomping around in the misty woodland and graveyards sporting long flowing, black and purple velvet cloaks, before stomping back again moodily.

And aside form a hapless straight-laced couple in their caravan, one of the lured: the hapless Ted, who spends the movie, once ensnared, trying to free himself from their clutches, has the only real "effects" in the movie: A cosmetic cut on his arm the devilish duo extract their needed blood from. So it's all about mood, and not visual effects nonsense, or contrived variations on Vampiric folklore.

In fact, it has a kind of cosy, familiar feel to it, great for a night tucked in with a little snifter when the rain's coming down outside.

The only thing that really has me scratching my head is the opening scene, after the initial sex bout between the pair, they are shot by a dark figure... who? we never find out, or how this leads them to become vampires, or by what mechanisms...

(I did say they dispensed with all that establishing of premise etc... and as you can see, I mean ALL of it)

...But once over that, you have a gently titillating early seventies rural English gothic mood piece.

All good fun :)

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Another classic tale of revenge...

...Set in motion by our (anti) "hero" defying the big cheese / Shogun, and having his wife murdered, and so setting off to basically kill everyone the Shogun has ever met, or seemingly ever even looked at!

He takes with him his infant son, in a cart / pram, and they just continually travel around, dicing all who the Shogun has sent to assassinate him and his son.

This includes a pack of ninjas, another group of female ninjas, and three ominous beings known as the: "Masters of death"...

(Three dudes with huge hats and individual fighting gimmicks that will immediately call to mind three such individuals to any who have seen: Big Trouble In Little China!)

...But fortunately, our hero is, of course, the ultimate badass!

A few points of consideration though:

Firstly, this movie, shall we say, doesn't seem to have any actual resolution, which is odd. Also, while this is technically a samurai / martial arts / revenge movie... in look, feel tone and style, I would actually describe this as more of a genuine piece of 60s / 70s psychedelia...

...It has a very trippy, hypnotic, and mesmeric quality to it, further enhanced by the oddly John Carpenter-esque synth score, which I presume, of course, was not part of the original, and much earlier two parts welded together to make this single movie in 1980.

And so, this odd time shifted psychedelic splatter-fest, which is not without some great story points, and poignant moments, is probably best watched whilst smoking a "cigarette" or two .

(wink :).

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The movie that "inspired" Kill Bill.

(Not that Tarantino ripped it off at all, oh no, he doesn't do that... he "pays homage to...")

A child born for, and to vengeance...

...In a prison, to a mother who promptly dies after giving birth, and swearing the child to fulfil this vow of vengeance on those who killed her husband, and created the circumstances of her lifetime of incarceration.

The child, of course, grows to be "Lady Snowblood", a cool, ruthless, sword wielding angel of revenge.

All the beats, style, and look that you will recognise from later Kill Bill are here, but in the authentic 70s fashion:

Some truly beautiful photography / cinematography, transition shots, and other innovative, and stunning visuals frame the essential fountains of blood, spewing comically all over the place, yet this is a more engrossing, easier paced, slow burner of a tale of revenge, as opposed to the more frenetic Tarantino style.

The scene at the end, at a European style period ballroom dance is strongly reminiscent of Stanley Kubrick's style, and I wonder if he was an influence on the moviemaking style here... it seems so.

Excellent.

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An unofficial Turkish remake of The Exorcist.

I expected this to be entertaining but made to the same inept standard as the infamous Turkish Star Wars

The production values are actually much better and it's reasonably acted. The only bit they seem to struggle with is making decent demonic vomit - it looks like plasticine!

Well worth a watch if you're familair with the original

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A cut above the rest.

Finally took the plunge, and snagged myself a DVD copy of this - frankly exhausted waiting for it to reappear on TV...

...And having rewatched it, I can now see there is definitely very good reason for that:

This is probably one of those movies that parents do not want their kids to see, and any network is terrified of showing for that reason - That in the current climate, and in this modern world where teens in particular seem to be very nihilistic, not top mention "stabby" and "shooty" - with scarcely a week going by when they are not having at each other - seriously, it seems like it's becoming a hobby or a pastime for "kids these days" (<old man speaking! :)...

...But perhaps I shouldn't make light of this topic... But then, this does exactly that.

Whereas other movies deal with such issues in a lighter manner, such as Mean Girls, and The Craft (Both clearly inspired by this): A gang of popular girls set against the protagonist and making life hell for all the other kids at the school, and you may say that behind the serious frowny face they give, there's something of a wry smile, this is the opposite: having, as it does, behind the wry smile of a jet black humour, something more, well despairing and malignant.

So, with the "Heathers" running the place, one girl, on the periphery of the group, uneasy about being in their clique, takes up with "rebellious", edgy new guy, played by Christian Slater, and thence ensues a Bonnie and Clyde exacting of revenge on them, but kicks up a gear in the final third when she tries to free herself now, not from their influence, but his, as her turns out to be a genuine psycho, way beyond any romantic, Romeo And Juliet visions she had or conceptions of what they were about together... and form there, it turns into a prototype Joker and Harley Quinn dynamic: She's trying to stop him manipulating her, and at the same time, stopping his psychotic, evil schemes.

The one liners in this are grade A writing, my faves being deadpan nuggets like: "Well F"$k me gently with a chainsaw!", and: "Did you have a brain tumour for breakfast?"

In style and tone, I can only describe it as being like a John Hughes teen drama counterpoint in the style of Mean Girls, but scripted and produced by the Coen brothers and directed by David Lynch, in one of his more "Blue Velvet" moments.

Probably one of those like Joker, that powers that be are terrified it's target audience will watch, as it may strike too close to home, and makes everyone distinctly uneasy about, in case it "puts ideas in people's heads - but conversely, maybe that's the exact reason it should be watched, having grown, disturbingly, in relevance over time.

Well, at least it's not a musical... that would be misguided, cynical, and truly sinister.

(I hate musicals, by the way, with a fiery passion... drama, or music dude? pick a lane!)

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Strange one this...

...I've always liked it since seeing it in the cinema, but haven't seen it again in quite few years, so wanted to see how well it held up.

The essential premise is another one of those Hitchcock pastiches: A guy falls for a woman and suspects her motives, and begins to think she's out to murder him - but played for laughs, very much the same as the later Mike Myers movie: So I Married An Axe Murderer (Also good)...

...She being a Romanian accused of murder, with a strong suggestion of espionage and murky international political intrigue as her motive - Selleck, being a fading, down on his luck schlock, dime store crime fiction writer, attending court for inspiration, beholds her as she is presented to court, and is instantly smitten... So much so he puts himself forward as "her alibi", and takes her in, where all the comedic farce of suspicion ensues.

Granted the premise itself is a bit creepy now, and there are more than a few "yikes" moments throughout, but otherwise it's still funny, and amusing, with a great framing device, of his narration of events (in his capacity as a writer) inspired by what's happening, and of course, placing himself as the hero in this wildly exaggerated "version" of events, contrasts wildly with the reality of his bungling, haphazard, and comical behaviour, gives it a knowing, self aware, and self deprecating tone.

A fairly short movie, somewhat absurd, but still fun.

..And with the added bonus of one of those end credit songs I'd long forgotten, but instantly recognised when it played, and now can't get out of my head... that being this one, by Randy Newman:

[YouTube Video]

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I feared the worst... and was very, very pleasantly surprised.

For those younger movie fans, you will be familiar with this guy via an end credits scene in one the Avengers movies, where "The Collector" has a Duck in a glass case, smoking a cigar, and mutters something I forget (A little easter egg for all us old enough to remember Howard).

I recall having seen it a couple of times on a pirate VHS back in the day, and not being enitirely unhappy with it, according to memory, although intervening years seem to have played to the cirtics opinion of the time, that it is one of the worst movies ever made.

It isn't. Far from it.

Granted, it is not a masterpiece, by any stretch, but great fun, and worthy of an amused smile thoughout.

Duck gets accidentally transported through space form his duck homeworld, via earthman laser, which also accidently unlocks and transports a demon form nether regions of space, and Howard must become the hero.

Of course, it's absurd, stupid, and surreal, but, I think, knowingly so... I must place the caveat here that my recent watch was of the "uncut" version, which internet reveals has more adult oriented humour added (nothing obscene, just more of style only adults will get), and this context allows you to enjoy it for what it is - the 12 certificate is technically accurate, but i'd say that's stretching it a bit for that age group, maybe a couple of years older might allow them to "get" the self effacing, self depredating absurdist element a bit better.

I was worried about one thing, which I thing had been implanted as a false memory in my mind in the intervening years, I think through popular urban myth: That Lea Thompson's character has sex with Howard...the duck. Phew, thankfully not, but it does for a moment, seem like it's going that way, until it is revealed as a tease, or "prank" by Thompson's character, so you can rest assured on that one, but it does indicate the level of humour this movie operates at.

The animatronics and effects are still top notch, and the whole production is great quality for the time, given this is a Lucasfilm production too.

And the DVD I watched it from, looks cracking, really crisp, clean and spiffy, even on a big telly.

Worth revisiting, and reappraising, if you've not watched it for a while.

1 person found this review helpful.   ✔︎ Helpful Review?

Still great fun, after all these years!

A really quite short movie (1hr 27 mins by my clock), that just gets straight to it, moves briskly through, in what a more highbrow critic might call "dumb fun", but suits me down to the ground.

A young Sean Astin is digging a hole in his garden for a pool, in order to up his cool factor at school, and accidentally unearths (with the aid of a minor earthquake, and chum Pauly Shore) a block of ice, with a cave man (Fraser) inside...

...He goes off to school, and upon his return, discovers the Ice has melted, and said cave man is loose in his house. Astin and Shore (Dave and Stoney) befriend him decide to modernise him, and take him to school and help them become popular. The uncivilised Fraser (Link) introduces a little anarchy and lots of amusing hijinks.

The basic set up of uncool kid seeking popularity, especially with childhood sweetheart, in opposition to school bully is certainly not new, and is indeed, a hang over from the eighties of the kind of John Hughes style teen drama, but for laughs.

Brendan Fraser's largely mute performance, bar occasional grunting, and the odd word, is charismatic and engaging nevertheless, even, at one point, quite touching, when he realises he's been stranded out of his time.

Even Pauly Shore gives a relatively muted performance, thankfully, as you can certainly have enough of that guy, and whatever that Schtick of his was back then.

For fans of said eighties teen dramas, but in a comedy sense, as well as movies like Airheads, Empire Records, and other throwaway cheap and cheerful, fun comedies of the nineties.

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