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.

4 people found this review helpful.   ✔︎ Helpful Review?

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 :).

1 person found this review helpful.   ✔︎ Helpful Review?

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

2 people found this review helpful.   ✔︎ Helpful Review?

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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There seems to be an attempt underway to redeem, or position this as a "cult classic".

Cult... maybe. classic... no.

Rewatching it after all these years, it's just as disappointing. The music, cinematography, and dialogue are cheap, and bad sub-tv standard. Effects look equally cheap, even for the time too.

The real problem is Rik Mayall's manic, gross out for-kids performance looks embarrassing in this cheap environment, and the subject matter is too adult for kids, but the execution is too juvenile for adults, especially when it tries to deal with topics concerning "mental health issues", and it is therefore borderline insulting.

Phoebe Cates characterisation too, of the woman who's childhood imaginary friend returns later in life when she is having a hard time in life - Overbearing mother, philandering husband, losing her job etc. is too flat, and monotone - no evident sadness when depressed, no apparent joy when happy (er), which only serves to highlight, in a negative way, how loopy Mayall is.

The dialogue is grossly misjudged, seeming spiteful and psychotic , in attempting to say things kids who don't know what the meaning of what they are saying really come from the mouths of adults, which is just plain sinister.

There are a couple of good points though, such as the other imaginary friends of patients in a psychiatrists waiting room can each only be seen by the people who's imaginary friend they are, so to those people, their imaginary firend appears to have an imaginary firend... which is quite original. And the end, too borders on the poetic.

But it is an obvious attempt to try and make a Tim Burton style movie, by someone who isn't Tim Burton...oh dear.

I can't help but imagine how truly great this story could have been if Tim Burton himself had actually made it.

Remake, anyone?

But this is mostly rubbish.

1 person found this review helpful.   ✔︎ Helpful Review?

What it's all about.

This is a deliberately cheap. low budget looking love letter to the people who love movies... but more, it's about the sense of community that comes through the medium of movies, and people's love for them.

To understand this, it's best to consider the word: Media.

(Physical Media being the term that is increasingly becoming the catch-all buzzword of our age, not just for the ranks of collectors of various media, be it records, CDs, or DVDs - I 'd lay money on it that this term will be entered into the Oxford Dictionary before too long!)

For, beyond the specific media, or medium (VHS, DVD, CD etc.), collectively, these are a medium for something else: Social interaction, and connection, with other people.

Whether it be gathering at your local record store, Blockbuster, or other, these media facilitate this reason to connect, that the content provides.

Ironically, the prime thing that streaming, and the internet as a whole, has taken away from us, and the one thing we really needed from them.

Now, all this pretentious waffle of mine only serves to illustrate what this movie is about, and encapsulate... the desire to reconnect with others around you in person, physically present. AS when Jerry (Jack Black) becomes magnetised after an attempt to disrupt a local power station he suspects is sending out subliminal signals to influence his mind, he returns to the desperately struggling VHS video store he works at with long suffering friend Mike (Mos Def), and owned by Mr. Fletcher (Danny Glover) and his magnetic presence causes all the tapes to be blanked.

Mike quickly formulates a plan for him and Jerry to make their own versions of the movies lost, and rent those out instead.

Ghostbusters is their first attempt, and unexpectedly, creates a cult like stir in the community, who are soon knocking at the door for their other favourites to be "Sweded", or remade by the duo. And as things go, the ore they draw in others in the community to help them out.

This is not a laugh out loud, tears streaming down your face, side splitting type of comedy, but rather a very quirky, surreal-ish eccentric smiling movie, that has you chuckling all throughout, while leaving you feeling very warm and cosy at the heart-warming, and uplifting finale.

As well as making you want to immediately go out and "Swede" your own favourites :)

Sweet, sublime, and really quite a beautiful little film.

2 people found this review helpful.   ✔︎ Helpful Review?

What on earth were they thinking?!!!

...Not regards the movie itself, but giving this great movie this crappy title.

If you want to hamstring your movie before it's even released, why not give it the same principle title as an already cult classic movie (Starring Harvey Keitel), to make people think it's a sequel to that one... not only that, add the extra qualifiers in there too, to make it sound like cheapo, straight to DVD bargain bin fodder movie that is going to be Godawful?

And I imagine it is this very thing that has put people off watching this from the get go, and why it continues to be overlooked.

Of course, it shares the idea of a "Bad Lieutenant" as does the other one, but this has plenty of it's own beats.

So do yourself a favour, and ignore the title!

Look instead, at the fact that this has, perhaps, the most Nicholas Cage performance Nicholas Cage has ever given... in that it is all, and everything he is and does in one movie, like this is what he's been aiming at all his career, as his character begins somewhat soberly enough, although somewhat morally corrupt, but then goes spiralling out of control with ever crazier antics, and behaviour - Cage goes bouncing off the walls eventually, but it's his portrayal of a man trying to contain it at first, and then the transition to Mr. crazy man that blows you away.

Add to that, it's Directed by Werner Herzog.

Werner Herzog... Nicholas Cage.

....Nicholas Cage... Werner Herzog.

That's the movie you're getting.

....And that's got to be worth a couple of hours of anyone's time.

5 people found this review helpful.   ✔︎ Helpful Review?

What a weird movie.

It seems to be, on the face of it, chumming along with the kind of Breakfast Club / John Hughes, 80s teen angst / melodrama kind of audience, and yet has a more substantial, and even darker heart in the story, aimed at a more adult audience.

In fact the whole teen romance bit between Cusack and Skye seems to fall by the wayside toward the end, focusing more on the relationship between her and her father's "tax troubles", with Cusack eventually receding into the background altogether.

Heavy subject matter for the audience you'd expect this to be aimed at. and the kind of movie who's clothes this superficially appears to wear...

...And other than the general look of the film, the two leads and one highly oversold moment (The boombox moment), which lasts possibly less than ten seconds and has precisely zero impact on story or anything, yet has become a cultural touchstone, not least through the likes of Deadpool and Family Guy etc. referencing it, this lacks all the kind of feel of those other movies, the zing, and the dynamic eighties style editing, and so forth...indeed, I'd go as far as to call it quite...flat, by comparison.

It almost feels, like this was a more seriously intentioned movie with some great, strong dramatic ideas of it's own, that was either co-opted, or re-purposed to try and shoe-horn it into a John Hughes category of movie, and for that audience.

If it had gone either way more completely, it might have been a great movie on it's own: Heavily toward the Dramatic, adult aspects, and it might have been an Oscar worthy movie... treated more lightly, and it it would have been sitting alongside Ferris Bueller in the collective affections, but ends up just befuddling, and underwhelming.

One moment, does not a movie make.

Meh.

4 people found this review helpful.   ✔︎ Helpful Review?

I've "Seen" this twice before, but only watched it for the first time today.

Well, I saw a few minutes of it back in the day, off the back of the whole Tarantino thing, but found it boring, and switched it off...then, about ten years ago, I gave it another go, and fell asleep.

But now, I thought I'd give it another go, and find it is one of the best things I've seen recently.

I think this is because I'm now ready for it - more mature (ish) - as can be evidenced by the fact that among the Tarantino movies, Jackie Brown is the one that has been creeping up through the ranks of my favourite movies of his, as it operates on a more slow burn, lo-fi - effortlessly cool basis, rather than all the pizazz of his other works...

...And that's exactly the kind of space this operates in; If possible, even more effortlessly cool, and lo-fi than Jackie Brown - but not boring.

I've also read an Elmore Leonard novel now (Maximum Bob - quite funny!) , and so am more tuned into his intricate yet easy, and naturalistic storytelling... the vibe he was giving in his work, and which both Jackie Brown and this, both adaptations of Leonard's work capture extremely well.

This tale of the Hapless bank robber, and prison escapee who comes across the cool, calm, and composed FBI agent, and sparks fly between them, causing her to question her duty to the law while at the same time, trying to catch him , is coolly, and seductively told, against a backdrop of a planned heist among some nefarious yet engaging characters does everything with ease, and without trying too hard to say: "look how cool this movie is eh!?!!!" the way some adaptations of Leonard's work do, or how the Ocean's 11 series do, which are a bit too goofy and overt for my taste. This is more straight up, and is the better for it.... more... subtle.

Given I've only really just seen it, is it right that I should add it to my list of favourite nineties movies now? .... ah, what the hell, it's going on there, as I think this getting a few rewatches.

(Not only that, I've ripped the movie to hard drive, and I'm keeping this DVD! :)

2 people found this review helpful.   ✔︎ Helpful Review?

Quaint British, quirky, light hearted comedy farce, concerning a village power struggle over an illegally bred pig in the time of post-war rationing... principally: Pork.

Quite fun, if light, piece of comedy fluff.

2 people found this review helpful.   ✔︎ Helpful Review?

Rank this among the movies it's most important for you to see...

...Alongside the likes of 12 Angry Men etc.

I'd been meaning to see this for as long as I can remember, and it didn't let me down. In fact, it exceeded my expectations by a long chalk, and for one very odd, and specific reason:

Irony.

The irony here consists in the fact that for those, like me, who have long heard of it, but never seen it, it is notorious for the scene in which the ageing news anchor has an on air break-down, instructing the viewing populace to join him in screaming from their windows:

"I'M MAD AS HELL!!! - AND I'M NOT GOING TO TAKE IT ANYMORE!!!!!!"

...But little else substantively about the film.... Which is, of course, kind of the satirical point of the movie, that only a sensationalised moment is able to break through to the general consciousness, and all else of substance goes by the wayside.

Indeed, when this was made, it was to be considered the most biting satire, but only a few years later, might have been considered purely cynical... Now, of course, it is sadly neither of these to any great degree, so much as it has become mere observation.

Observation of an objective fact.

A demented, desperate, scurrilous "news" network breaking free form the high minded standards of reporting of the time...

(If you believe these ever really existed in this "profession" in the first place)

...In favour of playing on the most primal and primitive parts of the human consciousness: Primarily: FEAR. And so becoming the collection of crazed Disaster Porn Junkies we know and love to despise today, and indeed, duping the populace into becoming such themselves.

After initially trying to push their beleaguered news anchor away from themselves like a turd on a stick, the psychopathic, and / or Sociopathic news director (Dunaway) determines how to employ it for the network's (her own, principally) advantage in the ratings war - she's practically having orgasms over stealing the numbers away based on her colleague's psychological, messiah based breakdown, and distress, while Holden, playing his friend watches on with dismay as he is made to become the hero to the masses / cult leader / prophet / seer, believing in his own righteousness.

On top of all this, we get to see the various machinations of the most Machiavellian variety of the network hierarchy in attempting to exploit the situation, each of the higher ups jockeying for position off the back of it.

What could possibly go wrong?

This movie was, at the technical level, most impressive to me for a couple of reasons, over and above each well defined character being played brilliantly by every actor, full of breath-taking monologues and set pieces, and all to a cinematic score of.... nothing. That's right, there's no music in this film, so you just lean right into the dialogue and the scenes unaided by musical manipulation.

It will shock any modern audience as to just how prescient it was, and how painfully accurate it's speculations were regarding this morally bankrupt industry.

A real eye opener!

5 people found this review helpful.   ✔︎ Helpful Review?

A reasonable Hitchcock clone... but lacking that certain something.

Robert Wagner's character: college kid, Bud, finds himself in a dilemma when his girlfriend gets pregnant and wants to get married, so he decides she needs to have an "accident" (in particular, a fatal one), and so the first half of this is following him in his convoluted attempts to make this happen...

...The second half then turns into a kind of Agatha Christie Sleuth kind of movie, as the focus shifts away from him, and onto the girlfriend's sister, who won't take "accident" for a reasonable explanation, and begins to hunt down her killer, unknowingly coming into contact with Wagner, who then attempts to weasel his way into her affections... and, by way of marriage, daddy's mining empire.

There's an odd cheeriness to the title card music which doesn't seem to fit the movie, and I was more than aware as the movie went along that if you took the music score away, the action is really rather pedestrian, and somewhat lacking in that most essential Hitchcock ingredient:

Suspense.

There's no real tension in this, and I couldn't help but wonder what kind of masterpiece this would have been if Hitchcock himself had actually made it!

But overall, a fairly decent stab at this kind of thing.

(Cinematography in places is breath-taking though.. especially the scenes where a car is present)

2 people found this review helpful.   ✔︎ Helpful Review?

Not Goodfellas, and definitely not The Godfather!

I remember being somewhat underwhelmed at the prospect of this at time of release, and so was never inspired to watch it.

And to be honest, even after the first five minutes, I had a bit of a sinking feeling, as it seemed to channelling a "knock-off Goodfellas" vibe, with a somewhat hammy Al Pacino, seeming like he was way past this kind of thing, and perhaps only signing on to associate himself with the rise in cache of the then fresh, young superstar of Johnny Depp...

...But then...


.....A little bell went off in my head: "Oh, I get it!"

This is intentional in terms of style, as shorn of the kinetic, dynamic (some would say: Glamorous) film-making style of Martin Scorsese, this band of bozos look just like the cheap band of hoods they really are: A bunch of kids who never really grew up, and wanted to play "gangs" - bargain basement Goodfellas - scuzz-oids doing their best impression of mafia men, which makes them all seem a little sad - albeit brutal - to the extent that they even have the expression: "Forget about it!" highly emphasised, and constantly repeating as a wry running joke. The FBI surveillance team even have an actual joke about it in one scene.

And now Pacino's performance makes total sense, as the older "passed over" gangster channelling a kind of Midnight Cowboy's Ratso... a quite pathetic, tragic figure at once trying to ease his way out of this lifestyle, and dreaming a little dream of a life elsewhere, while still, either by habit or compulsion, due to the dangers of stepping out of line, or character, playing the part of gangster in that cartoonish way to keep the younger guys from suspecting him.

And it is this, that is Depp's FBI character tunes in on, as he allows Pacino to take him under his wing, whilst infiltrating this crew, and the broader mob.

Initially Depp himself seems to be doing some kind of Erol Flynn impression, in terms of look, but Pacino gradually knocks him into shape as a wise guy, without realising he is being played by Depp.

And this is what this story is, and what makes it it's own thing, rather than an attempt to imitate Goodfellas, or a cheap Godfather clone... This is about the genuine bond that develops between Pacino and Depp, around issues of trust and betrayal against a constant background of danger.

...And this is what makes this both refreshing in a gangster movie, and well worth watching.

So put Goodfellas and The Godfather out of your mind, in terms of expectation when going in, else you will be disappointed, but taken for what it is, it's really rather great, as you find yourself increasingly entranced in the development of this relationship, and the anticipation how this story will play out.

I would also draw attention to the incredible performance by Anne Heche as Depp's long suffering wife... I don't know what awards she got for this, but it's one of those: Should definitely have gotten an Oscar for best supporting actress performances... And reminds us of the tragedy of the career she could have had based on this.

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Yeah, not bad...

... Usual heartwarming, life affirming / rite of passage fare of the kind Disney usually makes... In fact, if always thought it was a Disney movie!

I have avoided it all these years as I was seventeen or eighteen when it came out, so it wouldn't have been my kind of thing, but it's a pretty well made movie regardless of target audience. Fairly tight, efficient storytelling that doesn't have much flab and is one of the better examples of it's kind.

So a super solid family movie, with nothing to make a parent's teeth set on edge, but adults can enjoy it too.

This particular adult had two specific reasons to enjoy it:

Firstly, a young, point break era Lori Petty... Ahem... Very warm today isn't it... Phew! :)

... And secondly, the total surprise of seeing no less a luminary than Michael Ironside in it! - legend! -

(And if you include Michael Madsen, that makes three)

Although it didn't have me balling my eyes out exactly, there may have been the suggestion if a tear in one or two places.

(I think I'm getting soft on my older age)

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Still a powerful race relations / gangs- cop movie, which I suspected had aged badly, but really hasn't at all... Except the soundtrack is severely dated, which is otherwise the only thing that takes you out of the movie.

But a truly great dramatic story, nevertheless.

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I found this as part of a three-movies-on-a-disc set by bootleg dvd outfit: 23rd century...

(The others being: Ape Man, and Mesa - haven't watched yet)

... Pretty decent looking DVD, I have to say!

It's not really a "horror" movie, to be honest, as, while there are some disturbing (unsettling) images, there are no real jump scares of graphic horror scenes... It's just more a woozy, hallucinatory tone - the dread Dr Doom speaks of is most accurate -

It starts abruptly, with a woman in a car being run off the road and into a river... She survives, but is haunted by fleeing glimpses of a weird looking man who seems to be silently stalking her. After getting out of town she comes to another town and takes a room in a boarding house, but is increasingly obsessed with an abandoned old pavilion she saw on her way into town.

The movie basically follows her around...

(not many other characters to speak of - bar a priest, a psychologist, the landlady, and the real creep if the story: the guy taking the room across the hall from her's)

... And this intimate portrait of her doubt, and decent into possible madness if the real, true horror of the story... Eerie.

The performances are pretty wooden, yet precise, and they have to be, as the real stars of this show are the director, cinematographer, and ultimately, the editor, who conspire to elevate this way above a mere horror movie, but even worthy of being considered a with of cinematic art:

Every shot is like a perfectly composed photographic portrait, the actions and words of the characters move fluidly in a brilliantly visually poetic way of telling the story, and the editing... Wow! Spot on.

The timing of the edits are absolutely perfect... Leading from one scene, or frame to the next beautifully. A well as the juxtapositions of the cuts. Perfection.

No, this is more than a b-movie, or horror movie... It looks, feels, and movies not like a cross between an Alfred Hitchcock movie, and a Stanley Kubrick movie...

... In fact, not only would I say that if either of those filmmakers had made this, they might consider it among their best work, I could well believe they both saw this and wished they'd made it themselves!

I could even go so far as to say that this might well be the reason The Shining exists at all, not to mention others if a similar standard, like the sixth sense, or Jacob's ladder

Masterpiece.

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All you need is Brains!


Just about as good a zombie movie as you'd wish to see.

Very simple set up:

Young guy gets new job in a cadaver and scientific specimen storage facility, and the older h=guy there showing him the ropes, and bragging a little (oops), tells him about the story behind the original Living Dead movie, and how those pickled zombies are now in the basement, having been contained there by the military...

...Naturally, young guy doesn't believe, older guy, showing off, takes him down to see the "safe as houses" containers, and.... well.... you can guess what from there.

Wotsit hits the doodah, and the rest of the movie is just an escalation of events from there.

I realise, from this, the essential ingredient in most (although not all, admittedly) zombie movies, over and above keeping the movie tight, economical, and short, is a healthy dose of humour, which this has in spades...

(Zombie movies that take the subject, and themselves too seriously are generally an eye-rolling yawn-fest)

...Either satire (social or otherwise) or straight up comedy suits the genre well, and allows you to enjoy the gross -out horror with a big fat grin on your face!

This one sits somewhere, humour wise, between the raised eyebrow / knowing satire of those classic Romero movies and Shaun Of The Dead, this latter one being the most obviously influenced by the tone of the humour in this, although this, itself, clearly in feel, look, and tone, feels a perfect fit with those Romero ones.

Aside from the mindless fun, this does have a pretty darn impressive thread of zombie lore and bio-logic running through it, which they didn't have to put in there, but is really well thought out, and appreciated, nonetheless.

Pretty cool alt / metal / punk soundtrack, a gang of hapless youth-punk / street trash waste-oids, brilliantly pleasing practical horror effects. which are both gross and hilarious, no nonsense, straight in zombie fest.

Hugely entertaining, great fun, and and excellent hour and a half all round.

(Another tough to find DVD too!)

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A pretty awful movie that feels like it was meant to be something else, but was bodged to get it out the door in some kind of movie shape.

Subsequent reading online reveals this story takes it's cue from a true story, about a player's strike in the NFL in the eighties, and therefore replacement players were brought in for the final games of the season...

...And I think this was originally intended to be a straight up dramatic movie about that, but the fact that the names of teams and individuals have been (barely) altered indicates they couldn't do that for some reason. I think, also, the fact that you have Keanu Reeves (fresh off The Matrix) and Gene Hackman in this rubbish is otherwise inexplicable, excepting that they were signed on to the original concept, and perhaps couldn't back out.

And there is a serious dramatic thread around the characters they play that strongly suggests the original intent - meaning to make a movie of the more recognisable true story / underdog inspirational tale of the kind that we are all familiar with, and has been done infinitely better elsewhere.

...And outside of that central thread, is where this really goes off the rails:

An almost cartoonish set of "comedy" characters of the most basic, unfunny, toe curling, paint by numbers kind, couched in a whacky movie tone totally at odds with the central feel these characters at times give - painful to watch, especially as the absurd comedy idea is done to perfection in: The Waterboy, and makes this look way out of its class by comparison, in respect of this comedy element. Add to that the utterly bizarre soundtrack, which is mostly Euro-dance tunes that even then were at least a decade out of date... Good fit for a quintessentially American NFL story eh?

So i get the feeling this started life as something better, and more meaningful, all contracts were signed, people committed, and the movie ready to roll, when the rug was pulled out from under them, and they had to rehash and bodge a brand new movie around it, and from it, which seems like it was either done in five minutes, without any thought or imagination or originality, or entirely spontaneously - on the spot...

...Not, perhaps with even the original scriptwriters, producers etc. But maybe the.... uh...


...Replacements.

Artless and dumb.

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The most eighties movie you will ever see.

(...And that's some stiff competition!)

This is a movie who's name ha entered my consciousness only in the last few months, on account of being mentioned here and there as a tough one to find on DVD...

...And there's a reason for that, as it turns out:

It's crap.

......Well, I want to be fair, and say instead: mostly crap (...mostly :).

There is the kernel of a fairly good idea and story here, but for the most part it is buried under an avalanche of all the worst stereotypes and trope-oids of the eighties, from the horrifically toe-curling mega-eighties soundtrack, the "kid in school getting bullied" trope with your standard eighties high-school bullies (only played badly), very thin storytelling, wafer thin, paint by numbers characters, God-awful wooden acting which even makes No Retreat, No Surrender doubt it's claim to bad acting, and it seems to have borrowed everything around it at the time to "construct" this movie.

There's bullying thing (Karate Kid), The Time Travel (ish) element (Back To The Future), and a plethora of other stuff those familiar with the eighties will spot on sight... but all done waaaaaaaay worse.

And actually, for such a short movie (1hr:30mins), it feels long.

It does however, somewhat redeem itself in the last half hour, as I felt they finally started making something of their own, and the quality picks up a nudge, earning a couple more points over the 4 out of 10 I was going to give it, as it reveals something of genuine heart, and a poignancy in the relationship between returning from the dead 60's angel rocker type and the love of his life he lost when he died tragically in true "Leader Of The Pack" style stupidity at the beginning of the movie.

Most of the chatter I've heard about this mentions that maybe the almost simultaneous release of: Back To The Future at the time is the reason this all but vanished. Yeah... Let's say that's the reason!

(Not the fact that the the one note I mentioned aside - everything in this fails on every count).

All this said, it is definitely one of those that is in the camp of: So bad it's...erm... well, still pretty awful actually, but you have to admire it's awfulness, which is a kind of charm all it's own.

I think, if the budget was a little bigger -say, to the power of one hundred - the effects were anything more than less than amateur, the actors better, the story tightened up, with vastly better dialogue (not written on eighties version of AI, or whatever ape wrote it), you may even have something of a decent, if not great, movie here, as the idea is sound.

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Unholy Cow!

Was not expecting this from Kevin Smith (Clerks / Mallrats / Dogma etc.), as this doesn't look or feel like one of his movies... In fact, it doesn't even look or feel like the DVD cover / poster art would lead you to believe this movie was going to be...

...Because going by that, you may be expecting a Robert Rodriguez / Tarantino-ish type of hillbilly / horror chop up festival of the gross out kind of affair.

(Funny, I watched Tucker And Dale the other day, bought among the same batch of DVDs, so was expecting something a little more along those lines)

No, this is a more slow burn, unsettling, even serious (in premise) affair regarding a very Waco incident reminiscent movie, with a disturbingly believable religious sect entrapping a trio of horny teenagers who have one trekking on a promise of sex, causing the ATF (think I got that right?), led by John Goodman's agent to lay siege to their estate.

The brilliance of the story is that there are no clear heroes in relation to "the villain", as the government orgs are ever more dubious as it goes.

Michael Parks, as the cult's leader and religious head, absolutely steals the show as the quietly maniacal, manipulative, and superficially affable and charismatic top nut job, and this whole movie hangs on this faultless and stunning performance.

Put the idea of "Kevin Smith movie" out of your head, as well as the notions and impressions that the cover / DVD art may give you, and you will see a very subtly brilliant movie when you watch it.

1 person found this review helpful.   ✔︎ Helpful Review?

The joy of joylessness.

I only ever heard of Harvey Pekar relatively recently, and that was through something on tv about this film.

A really inventive, original movie about the everyday life of Mr Pekar, and his pursuit of the idea that those everyday happenings would be the perfect subject matter for a comic book - rejecting the idea that they should be the exclusive preserve of superheroes and the otherwise fantastical in nature... His creation: American Splendor, has since become something of a cult comic, and this movie, is about as meta as you can get...

...Paul Giamatti plays Harvey, and Harvey himself appears in this movie, often narrating, sometimes offering comment on the movie rendering of his life, and the actors, as they tell the tale of his development of this idea, and the events it led to, including the now infamous David Letterman show appearances, which then create a kind of feedback loop of life imitating art, and art imitating life, as his creation, detailing the everyday mundane, comes to reflect the un-everyday events in his life that the comic led to.

A lot of the real people depicted also appear in the movie, as well as the actors portraying them, oftentimes with moments of great mirth - my favourite being when actual Harvey is talking about sweets with his co-worker on a representation of the set used in the movie, but with Giamatti and and the actor playing the co-worker are seated in the background trying not to crack up at surreal conversation they are having about sweet flavours.

In all, it's the story about a man who doesn't buy into the whole fantastical world of comics, and in general, is a pretty glum, depressive type who makes this ordinary world a note of the extraordinary, but also takes a turn when he discovers he has cancer, and this whole experience becomes the topic of a new comic: Our Cancer Year.

The occasional comic book cell framing and the general surreal meta meta nature of the movie really makes this stand out...

(In particular, when Giamatti's Harvey is watching a stage play rendering of his comic about himself is almost a hall of mirrors experience for the audience)

...Yet has the same sort of vibe as Ghost World, and movies of this sort.

A really great, absorbing watch, and likely to inspire those who see it to seek out the original comics - as I am :)

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The best of the bunch.

This was the last Cagney movie in the box set I have, and not the most well known (to me at least), having no particular notoriety for iconic moments or lines like White Heat, Angels With Dirty Faces, or The Public Enemy, but for me, this one is by far the best, most well rounded movie of them all.

Mostly, I think, precisely because it is Cagney's most naturalistic, subtle, and nuanced character and performance - not relying on meme-able moments.

This is a complete, and very interesting character - basically a good guy who finds himself winding up in the bad guy business - the hero cast as the baddy.

Again, I see huge influence on The Godfather in this regard, but instead of the young innocent Michael Corleone becoming ever more corrupted and lost, Cagney's character slips away somewhat, but ultimately recovers and redeems himself (although the good guy never entirely goes away).

Set against the backdrop of the great events of the time, it's a more intimate portrait of a handful of characters as they seek to influence the times, just as they are influenced by them...

(setting a personal tale / tragedy against great historical events is always the key to giving it a sense of the epic, in scale, and poignancy in my view, and all the best epic / personal stories do this - acting as a frame for the more intimate story being told)

...From the trenches of the first world war, Eddie returns home to find his job gone, and the influx of returning soldiers and the hardship of the cost of living, he falls into the less than legal activities which are made possible by prohibition, the Wall Street Crash, and finally the repeal of Prohibition, against which, his fortunes rise and fall.

And what with the other characters and the shifting dynamics between them over time, there's much more in this movie than those others.

Cagney is brilliant here, Bogart is an excellent bad guy, and the story is excellently told.

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Undeliverance.

I have a vague memory of this coming out at the time, and being rather dismissive of it, thinking it was just going to be a cheap, throwaway shlock-fest comedy horror... which it is, mainly, except for the throwaway part. As this has actually got a genius concept at it's heart, and does one of my favourite things in cinema:

Subvert the audience expectations and preconceived notions.

...Even use them to bamboozle the audience, and lead them down a wrong alley or two.

Most recently, Get Out was lauded, and is laudable for having done this very thing to great effect, but this has a truly great spin on expectations, as it uses the trope, the stereotype even of the down south hillbilly redneck types being weird, perverted savages as the basis of a misunderstanding between them who are the good guys, essentially, and the young and innocent college kids who go into their neck of the woods to camping, setting up what the experienced horror fan might expect to become a kind of Friday The 13th / murder on the lake slasher affair - and in fact, the college kids, who have this preconception of Tucker and Dale end up being the cause of the horror (mostly to themselves :), with their intolerant attitude causing them to demonise our heroes, and mistakenly set against them.

It's a horror comedy of errors, which actually could be Shakespearian in it's farce of misunderstandings, misconceptions and basically getting the wrong end of the stick (literally, in a couple of cases!).

But better than all of this, it's just great fun, and is a deserved modern cult classic.

It won't undo all the damage done to the image of our Southern American friends by movies like Deliverance, Southern Comfort, Easy Rider etc. but it must be nice for them at least, not to be on the end of a reputational kicking for a change, with a couple great affable guys in the movie to get behind.

Brilliant.

1 person found this review helpful.   ✔︎ Helpful Review?

This is a bad movie.

...Not bad in the sense that others are bad - say, Showgirls, The Room, or something, which are so hilariously bad they deserve some sort of attention for their badness alone. No, this is just bad film-making, with a weird concoction of attempted well worn elements shoe-horned into one film and ends up doing none of them well, if at all.

On the surface, it's a kind of a quirky, misunderstood eccentric genius sleuth (Sherlock style) pursuing a serial killer who's deeds are menacing a city, except, Kevin Kline's sleuth isn't really that quirky, and the puzzles (when he gets to them) are so simplistic and predictable even a 5 year old could deduce them (no need for a genius anyway).

After the opening scene, with the initial murder, the murderer, indeed the whole premise is essentially forgotten about for another 45 minutes - seriously, you forget that there even is one! - and all this time is taken up by giving dubious and contrived backstory his relationship with Susan Sarandon's character, who is in this for some reason, and his brother, played by Harvey Keitel, who is in this for some reason (does absolutely nothing throughout), his new acquaintance / love interest with friend of victim played by Mary Elizabeth Mastrantonio, who is in this for some reason, while his friend, played by Alan Rickman, who is in this for some reason, tags along... To round things out, you have two heavyweights of the acting world, Rod Steiger, and Danny Aiello, both capable of great subtlety and brilliance, trying to out-Nicholas Cage each other in wild, unnecessary, bonkers shouting and screaming contests, that are totally inappropriate to the given situation.

To make matters worse - that is worse even than the attempted slapstick humour, totally at odds with the noir-ish tone of the movie - the finale is, well let's say, so underwhelming as to to give underwhelming a bad name: "You mean I sat through this all the way for that!?!".

But it's principle sin, beyond the contrived, "designed" nature of the plot, phoned in performances by an inexplicably stellar cast, and it's general clunky oddness, is that it is boring... tedious, lacking any tension or dynamic, atmosphere or vibe.

...The only reason I watched all the way through was a kind of morbid fascination with it, like: "it's got to be going somewhere with all this, right?", and I was just entranced with seeing how it would tie up, and how this would all make sense in the end... It doesn't.

On the plus side. having found this in the Charity shop yesterday, I begin to see why some MGM dvds are hard to find now, or why you have to pay a little more on the open market for them, as possibly some 80% of the movies are, if not, almost but not quite good, then mostly awful (recent years releases anyway), and did poorly in the cinema, sold poorly on DVD etc. and so there are scarce any about, let alone will they ever appear on streaming services on this basis, or be reissued on physical formats by any major reissuer. Still, I can't help but have a growing fascination for MGM dvds because of it.

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Having seen Angels With Dirty Faces, and been more impressed than I thought I would be by James Cagney, I found a DVD box-set of four of his films - this amongst them... And it's a curious one to summarise my feelings about really...

...Right away, having seen White Heat just before this, I now see the pattern, dare I say : Schtick that Cagney was about - repeated themes of the troubled archetypal gangster type, what with minor twists and variations on that theme, and also, as an actor, repeated patterns of some of the most over the top, hammy and cartoonish acting ever, among other moments of genuine excellence (subtlety etc.).

This whole movie seems to be the same: Moments, indeed whole sections and ideas that are truly inspired and brilliant, among some otherwise generally awful acting, directing, and storytelling.

I partly put the "ouch" factor down to the fact that this is in talkies a relatively early attempt at such subject matter, and so a lot of the road maps and practices that would develop later just weren't around at this time, so the movie makers were at once "winging it" in being daring and innovative, but still within the constraints of more traditional, conservative, and even clunky methods.

Half the cast here either can't act a bean, or simply were not actors at all... just thought they'd "have a stab at it" - The guy who plays Cagney's brother is mind-bendingly bad, mumbling his way through lines in some stifled monotone, which would suffer by contrast to any other actor, let alone one of the most unique actors ever...

(There's a great monologue in this where a woman says to Cagney's: Tom, how strange and unique he is... how different form other guys, and it says better than anyone else can all that needs be said about Cagney himself - in fact, you get the distinct feeling, while watching it, that she is actually talking to him, not his character)

...And James Cagney is certainly that, you may love him or hate him as an actor, or sometimes, as I am both at the same time! - but he most certainly is perhaps the most distinctive, and singular actors ever- presence, and some powerfully compelling quality to him, despite all the cartoonish-ness.

The fact that this brother is almost a ringer for Al Pacino in The Godfather can't be entirely an accident though...

(He is even a brother of a gangster who joins the marines, and is even called Michael!)

...And this was my prevailing feeling throughout this movie, that I could see so many later movies of this type echoing right through it, that this has clearly been an enormously influential movie, and doubtless is where Coppola (and whoever wrote the Godfather book) Scorcese and countless others have taken huge chunks of inspiration.

So because of those later movies, you've probably seen all this before, and better, but this seems to be one to watch to grasp it's cultural impact alone, in terms of sourcing the origins of so much more that came after.

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