Saturday, August 20, 2011

Don't be fooled by Star Godzilla(ps it;s kinda the real 100th post,but shh)

Due to sickness Ive just been kinda laying around the house enjoying the mindless boredom,while trying to find something to watch, I finally threw in the towel and went with a Godzillathon. Nothing takes away head pains and fever, then good old giant monsters destroying shit and being loud.



After sitting thur Terror Of MechaGodzilla(1975) for the 100Th time,a great movie that isn't hurt from it's lack of big G,I jumped around the net and discovered the 1970s Japanese TV show Zone Fighter,where Godzilla shows up as a side kick for The hero of that show. This opened my eyes to other Godzilla shows or films i didn't know about due to my real lack of research. Next thing I found was Star Godzilla.From the review at the great site Stomp Tokyo.com,it seemed to be a real Godzilla film that was really lost due to it's Hong Kong ripoff background.



And since the review had photos and a real Variety ad for it, I thought it was real,silly me. I then actually tried to research it for 30 mins, and after finding a YouTube video for it, I couldn't wait to see this lost film.



I was then Rick rolled!

Tragically it isn't a real film, and after rereading the review, I discovered that the good people at Stomptokyo.com were playing a April Fools joke,and if you at the bottom of the review they put Hint on it,so that shows my dumbness.By other Internet sources the Godzilla suit photos are from One Crazy Summer(1986) and the monster he fights is from Infra man(1975),now of course i have to get those two films.

All in all it wasn't too bad, I discovered Zone Fighter(1973,TV) and those 2 films,all 3 i have to track down. So for anyone who Ran into Star Godzilla as well it's ok, I know the feeling.

With that check out StompTokyo.com for that review and other great reviews of scifi madness,Godzilla Beastness, and other great and down right cheesy films.

Wednesday, August 10, 2011

Lazy Week and post

Just been busy at work and home, but i did watch Batman and Robin(1997), and died laughing when i found out that Director Joel Schumacher apologized for it in a making of video.

here's the apology video


Also I watched a great episode of French and Saunders that spoofed Fellini,Spot on riff of 8 1/2(1963)

Enjoy!

Sunday, July 24, 2011

Interview with Reb Brown for Night Claws(2011)

Found this on a lazy sunday while messing around youtube. It's amazing being able to to say soon i can see a "new" Reb movie instead of finding a copy of his older work.

Reb on the set of Night Claws(2011)

Monday, July 18, 2011

trailer for a non bs art movie: Kwaidan(1965)

Heres a trailer for the amazing jhorror classic Kwaidan


Wtf Interview with Abel Ferrara

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wr2RIzgr8GY&playnext=1&list=PLBCD634EAF48A2C40

Couldnt upload it, theres the link above. Conan's greatest interview. Abel just looks drunk as hell

Sunday, July 17, 2011

Super quick thoughts on Long Live Your Death(1971 aka Don't Turn the Other Cheek)



Franco Nero plays a so called russian prince who with a crazy Irish woman and a Mexican bandit(played by Eli Wallach),join forces to find a large amount of gold during a Mexican revolution.



And that in a nutshell is the plot for Long Live Your Death. It's a western slapstick affair,where the jokes go from funny to just mind numbing painful. Franco plays the slap stick well,but the dubbing is so over done that most of his one liners just don't work.Eli Wallach on the other hand doesn't have these issues,he comes off as funny and it's just a low grade repeat of his role as Taco/Ugly from The Good,The Bad,and The Ugly(1966),but it works for him.Lynn Redgrave is just hit and miss the whole time as the Irish woman,her accent being the biggest handicap,she just drops it at odd times in the movie.



Another odd turn in the movie is the plot point involving the gold location being a map on a man's ass(that's why the title don't turn the other cheek). This is only movie i know of that uses that as a main plot point. The action in the movie is a major highlight in my book, and theres some great shootouts in this, the wishing well shootout is amazing and inventive. The ending revolt and getaway were good too.

In sum Long Live Your Death is just hit and miss, great action, but lots of unfunny jokes, it's at least worth one view

Absolutely Fabulous..more random bad taste and late happy bday

My top 5 favorite Murder My Sweet(1944) quotes



NOTE: Thanks for IMDB for spelling

Dick Powell as Ramyond Chandler's Philip Marlowe
Claire Trevor as Mrs.Helen Grayle aka Velma
Anne Shirley as Ann Grayle

1.Philip Marlowe: I caught the blackjack right behind my ear. A black pool opened up at my feet. I dived in. It had no bottom. I felt pretty good - like an amputated leg

2.Philip Marlowe: She had more than a figure too. Not a beautiful face, but a good face. She had a face like a Sunday School picnic. You have any idea what kind of face that is, Nulty?

Detective Nulty: I wouldn't know.

3.Lt. Randall: [during an interrogation] How do you feel?

Philip Marlowe: Like a duck in a shooting gallery.

4.Helen Grayle: It's a long story and not pretty.

Philip Marlowe: I got lots of time and I'm not squeamish.

5.Ann Grayle: You know, I think you're nuts. You go barging around without a very clear idea of what you're doing. Everybody bats you down, smacks you over the head, fills you full of stuff... and you keep right on hitting between tackle and end. I don't think you even know which SIDE you're on.

Philip Marlowe: I don't know which side anybody's on. I don't even know who's playing today.

Wednesday, July 13, 2011

Claude Chabrol, why isn't he as well known?



The history and look of cinema was changed forever when the French New wave(aka:Nouvelle Vague) hit. As many movie buffs know, it was started by really 5 main critics turned directors:Francois Truffaut and Jean-Luc Godard being the 2 that are most remembered. Both there debuts, The 400 Blows(1959) and Breathless(1960) blew movie goers away and were quick hits. But for some strange reason people forget the other 3:Éric Rohmer, Claude Chabrol, and Jacques Rivette. I haven't seen any of Rivette's movies, and just recently saw Rohmer's My Night at Maude's(1969). But let me say Ive seen a few from Chabrol, and he has to be my favorite New wave director.




Every film ive seen from him so far, from A Double Tour(1960) to Le Boucher(1969) have all been slow burn movies that stay in my head for days, the mark of a good director. So it's strange he isn't as well known as Truffaut or Godard. And hes Le Beau Serge(1959) was the first new wave film to be relased. Lucky The great people at Criterion are going to reasle some of his early work soon, and hopefully the word will speard.



The Critic and The Blue Angel

Lately Ive been watching more of the great TV show The Critic, and finally saw the 1930 German classic The Blue Angel with the star making role of Lolalola played by the screen goddess Marlene Dietrich.





From the pilot of "The Critic", Rabbi PI being the greatest Arnold movie never made!


Marlene Dietrich singing Falling in love again from The Blue Angel(1930)

Tuesday, July 12, 2011

From tv: Robert Blake randomness

After seeing David Lynch's Lost Highway(1996) again, I'm still blown by how creepy he was in that movie, pretty much playing the grim reaper. Sadly i haven't seen much of Robert Blake's movies or TV shows. Tho now I own The Boxer starring him.

Here's a opening for his my famous role,TVs Baretta, gotta love his disguises:



also heres just the title song by Sammy Davis jr

Quick thoughts on Dangerous Game(1993)



Director Eddie Israel(played by Harvey Keitel) is obsessed with making a movie about spiritual redemption.To be edgy it take place with a central woman who's tired of sex,drugs, and violence.This mirrors his and the stars life,fitting for the title of that film to be Mother of Mirrors.His two main stars(played by Madonna and James Russo)are playing there roles too good, and soon there fights from the screen come into the real world.Eddie isn't too hot either,as hes life is starting to fall apart too,as his years of cheating on his wife are coming back at him.



Before i go into detail on the movie,heres how i came into be to get the film. At a local Kmart near my house,this DVD has been sitting on the shelf there for the past 4 years. When i did go to Kmart, something always catches my eye away from it. Over that time i started discovering Abel Ferrara and his beautiful dark and twisted films. After King of New york(1990),I was hooked. So after checking and finding out this was a Ferrara movie, I had to get it. Finally last week i picked it up and watched it.



The movie is kinda like Fellini's 81/2(1963) on crack in many spots,and it justs around from the plot to the movie within the movie. The acing is great in that respect, because they jump nicely from acting and acting like acting(if that makes any seance). Harvey Keitel is the stand out here,at times it seems like him at his bleakest from Bad Lieutenant(1992),but other then that he seems kinda numb which adds to the state of mind of the director. Years of being unfaithful and lieing to himself have finally came up to catch him with his guard down.

Other then Keitel, the other 3 main characters are also given great performances. James Russo is just a mad man, with the other big letdown being that he seems to be the same thurout the whole movie. Nancy Ferrara(the wife of Abel Ferrara in real life) is surpisly great as Eddie's caring wife. The scene where she loses it when Eddie tells how many affairs his had is just amazing and raw. That leaves me with the biggest shocker, Madonna is actually great in a second billing role! Madonna really sales her role as a two faced bitch, yet at the same time is the only one who knows how stupid and self absorbed Hollywood is, she knows how to live the L.A. life. To bad Madonna hated the movie and insulted it when it came out.



The tone of the movie, Like i said earlier is a kind of numbness that shoots out violence at us. The abuse thats happening in the movie within the movie, is brutal and real. Drug use is also detailed and handled as just a normal thing for actors to do when bored or to get there edge. As a whole it's just shot as real life with a mix of strange under pining. Also to the way the movie is told, it jumps from rough shot on low grade video for the interviews within the film to jumping editing for the tkes within the movie.

Also it's never clear when the take is going or if real life is going on. My faorite scene that shows that is when Keitel's Eddie is screaming at Madonna to help her with keeping her lines in order, it soon gets out of control and soon hes just ripping her a new one, and they fouces less on the scene and more on Eddie vocaly raping Madonna's character.



One Intersting thing I found in the movie that has nothing reaily to this movie, is how in a strange way, connects both the Bad Lieutenant films. After the Nick Cage version came out, Abel hated it and how it was made by Werner Herzog, yet in this movie made years before that verson had connections to it. The star of the old one is Harvey Keitel and its Ferrara. To add to this theres two scenes in this movie that ferance the new Nick Cage one.

1. After a scene where Harvey Keitel and Madonna have sex,theres a shot looking outside, at a billboard for The Nick Cage movie Amos and Andrew(1993).

2. When Keitels Eddie is about to kill himself,hes watching a scene from the documentary Burden of Dreams, showing Director Werner Herzog on the set of Fitzcarraldo(1982).

Dangerous Game was a strange surpise of a movie, it's a hard dark look at Hollywood. Tho it isn't the best film about it, it is the best one with Madonna.

Saturday, July 9, 2011

Star Truck..Star Trek Animaniacs style

Heres a amazing parody of Star Trek by The Animaniacs, the Scotty jokes are my favorite.

The Holy Mountain(1973)...umm...well..it's....


Alexandro Jodorowsky's The Holy Mountain is both a amazing and powerful movie,and at the same level a total mind numbing experience. The kind of numb that leaves you feeling high and out of body. Honesty I can just say just go check it out,and enter at your own risk.

It's just the kind of surreal movie you just have to pick your favorite part from, and with such a strange and brain punching movie,mine is more of the scene that just broke me and made me laugh. That scene is the man with the boobs that turn into tiger heads,told you enter at your own risk



It's the bottom image

Wednesday, June 29, 2011

Random movie music post: Lisa and the Devil(1972)

Here's the opening credits to the amazing haunting Mario Bava classic Lisa and the Devil,a near perfect horror movie that stays in your head for days after you watched the movie.The music is operatic and creepy at the same time, Enjoy

Monday, June 27, 2011

The Black Cauldron(1985)..what a dispointment



Disney is a great studio for the fact that they have the power to be big as they are.Everyone has seen or at least heard of a Disney movie. But even thou there power hungry and most of there work is ultra goofy kids fare with little brains now days, they can make a good movie. To me i don't hate Disney at all,it's just most of there out put is just hit and miss,Like the movie i want to bitch about,The Black Cauldron.



The Black Cauldron was a darker take on the Disney's fairy tale that they made famous, Tho what they failed at was, they didn't take time to make the movie a true fleshed out story. Even as a kid, i figured that out. Back then, like most kids, I loved alot of the Disney movies, but this one just felt rushed and slobby at many parts.The story is told in chunks of a bigger picture, The episodic feel can work well in other Disney movies, but not here.From the start the Characters aren't really presented here as anything other then 2D. And what makes it worst for me is the lack of a good villain. The Horned King has a great name,is voiced by the amazing John Hurt, and is simply scary and cool to look at. But other then those points,he doesn't do anything evil, he just kinda sits there and every once in awhile yells or pops up with cool lighting. But that's it, hes duller then dirt and he couldve been a great villain.



Another thing is the length of the movie, is around 77 mins and at that time it feels rushed and it kinda leaves you breathless. Theres so many things going on with the plot that you just can't keep up. When it does get to the climax it too is rushed and at the end it just feels hollow and like a waste.If the movie would've been around 90 mins to 100 mins,more couldve been done with some plot points, and more evil scenes with the horned king.Just by 20 to 30 mins, i believe it couldve been a greater movie and maybe a masterpiece. Just another case of a so so Disney movie that leaves you wanting more.

Itailan movie drink of choice

Nothing like the joys of product placement. From giallos to euro crime J&B is the Whiskey of choice for them

Fly me to the moon....



Ever since watching the postmodern anime classic Neon Genesis Evangelion,Ive had Fly me to the moon stuck in my head. It's a catchy and touching song. It's been covered to death, with many great artists doing great versions of it. My favorite has to be the Julie London version. She just has the right voice in my opion and it just adds another level to the song. So enjoy and in other words its a great song(i couldn't hold back).




Quick thoughts on The Boss(aka:Il Boss,Wipeout! 1973)



After a hit at a porno theater goes down,and kills many members of a rival gang,a gang war is started including the kidnapping of one of the Dons' daughters.Henry Silva plays the lead hit man trying to find the daughter and he is the main focal point of the story as the power struggle of the two gangs becomes way out of control.



The Boss is the third movie in The Milieu Trilogy by director Fernando Di Leo.Like Caliber 9 and then the jump up in violence in The Italian Connection,The Boss even further pushes that bar,and this one becomes the most violent and over the top in the 3 films. The opening shootout in the porno theater is both well done and over the top,it's setted up brilliantly yet by using a grenade launcher and shooting them 5 times with it,it jumps out of the moment.But still it's one hell of a way to start a crime movie. The rest of the movie has great shootouts,with the opening one being the stand out.



Other then violence,the other thing over the top are some of the characters such as the Don's daughter,who's at the same time a well rounded character but a two faced slut as well.Henry's hit man is the same way at first his loyal,but after the movie gets going you dint know what to think of him because hes always quite and he sleeps with the Don's daughter after first resistting, then they actually have a relationship.

Other then Henry and the Don's daughter its hard to keep up with the other characters,because they come and go,and the whole mob war is a bloody mess.That's what takes me out of the movie. It just becomes confusing and at parts it gets dull.Tho the 3rd half of the movie picks up the slack,it's just hard to follow at times with the first viewing.



Other then being confusing at chunks,The Boss is still a great euro crime movie,and it sits as a great movie overall along with Caliber 9 and The Italian Connection. It should improve with a second or third viewing.

Saturday, June 25, 2011

Michael Keaton teaches....

Yes even another Night Shift post, Enjoy Keaton's lesson

Random movie music post:Night Shift(1982)

Here's the catchy early 80's title song for the movie Night Shift, Sung by the band Quarterflash.

Quick thoughts on Night Shift(1982)



Night Shift was one of those 80's comedy movies that always slipped by me. Finally last night I toke a chance and gave it a view. And let me tell you, i was completely surprised by it. It wasn't a cheap 80's comedy but really a clever plot, that was over the top at parts, but had real emotion and it's a great second movie by Ron Howard.



The plot deals with Chuck(played by Henry Winkler),whose is switched from day shift to nite shift at the morgue. On his first nite there he meets his coworker Bill(Micheal Keaton),a hyper guy with big bizarre ideas and a mouth that never stops.Bill starts using the morgue car as a cash cow for limo driving,while at the same time Chuck meets his hooker neighbor Belinda(Shelley Long) who's having pimp trouble,So bill,the smart man he is, hatches a plan for chuck and him to become nice pimps"love brokers",while using and working at the morgue.



Casting in the movie is great. Henry Winkler is quiet and loves quiet, but slowly thur out the movie he grows and enjoys life more even thou hes starting to have stress attacks over the whole pimp love brokers ring. Micheal Keaton is a real show stealer, as he soon becomes the real reason to watch the movie. Hes just so full of life and over the top you just can't help but watch him.



Shelley Long is sexy as ever and it's no wonder why Chuck falls for her character.Plus the oj scene with eggs. She along with Henry and Micheal have perfect comedy timing. Shes a smooth character and trully a hooker with a heart of gold.

A stand out scene to me has to be Bill's speech and class on prostitution,just Keaton's delivery and fall out asking to see everyones boobs,is a act of cinema magic. Along with that scene, theres the chuck to bill shut up scene. In a way it sums up a chunk of the movie and how it jumps from comedy to drama smoothly. It's simply Henry at his funniest.



Another thing that stands out about Night Shift is it's Ron Horward's second true movie. Horward has always been a hit and miss director to me,but this movie is truly a hit, it's snappy and fun, but true and serious when it needs to be. Check it out.

Wtf extra on Godzilla 1985..Bambi Meets Godzilla

Found this at the start of the Godzilla 1985 video,forgot all about it. Enjoy the insanity!

Godzilla 1985(1984- new world vhs)



Been working on a short film lately, while at a local goodwill looking for cheap props to save on the budget,I ran into a large box of VHS tapes. Normally I never find anything of value there,just run of the mill VHS' such as Back to the Future(1984),Batman(1989),or Winnie the Pooh tapes. This box just happened to be a jackpot of good tapes,found a mint condition tape of A Clockwork Orange(1971) and the big shocker The new world VHS of Godzilla 1985!



While not the best or worse of the Godzilla movies,it's a strange middle ground movie of the series. The Special effects are a huge step up from the likes of Godzilla vs Megalon(1973),but at the same time the suit is just hit and miss. Also it kinda hurts itself by pretending that Godzilla Raids Again(1955) thur Terror of MechaGodzilla(1975) didn't happen. Also having Raymond Burr again just felt out of place. I think it would've added to the plot,but fans disagree so might as well like it for what it is.



Godzilla 1985 has a special place in my heart,kinda like Star Trek 3,because i had it on VHS as a kid, but it broke after watching it a few times, so i have hazy memories of it and its great for that reason. All in all it's a fun if not slobby b movie.

Saturday, June 18, 2011

More Welles

Another lazy day, so here's more Welles.

Here's a video of a few clips of him from "The Critic",a great underrated cartoon show from the producers of The Simpsons.
Best Quote:what luck theres a french fry in my beard.





And from The Thrid Man(1949), The Cuckoo clock speech.

Thursday, June 16, 2011

Orson Welles frozen peas with Pinky and the Brain

Lately I've been having a obsession with the great Orson Welles, I just think it's heartbreaking that he goes from the director of the so called "greatest movie of all time" Citizen Kane(1941) to making commercials and showing up on Hollywood roasts of actors. One such commercial is Birds Eye frozen peas(or how it's known by most people on net), in a classic epsoide of Pinky and The Brain, Brain(whos voice is pretty much Orson's anyway) does a voiceover, almost word by word like that commercial.

Here it is:




Video by:hankhayes

Tuesday, June 7, 2011

My top 5 misunderstood Sequels

Here is my list of 5 misunderstood sequels,for some reason I love these 5 films even thou they are generally hated by fans of there respected series or just so out of place in the first place. Somehow I have a loving place in my heart for all of this films as they were introucded to me in strange ways. So here's my top 5 misunderstood sequels:


1.The Exorcist II: The Heretic(1977):



The Exorcist was a major hit in 1973, so it was just a matter of time until a sequel came around. What we get instead of a worthy 2nd movie is confusing mess of a flick. The plot is so branched out and in many parts strangely dull, and the worst part is it isn't scary at all. It's no surprise that this movie is in most worst movies of all time lists.



I think what people don't understand is Exorcist 2 is more a witch and voodoo story then Satan based, and the switch of pace is mostly likely why the movie turned into a shit storm. After my first viewing of Exorcist 2, i was at first shocked by how strange it was and how it forgot most of the first movie(Exorcist 3(1990) did the same for this movie), then by my second viewing i picked up on the fun campyness of it all, I mean you have Linda Blair tap dancing, Richard Burton looking stoned and out of place, James Earl Jones in a Africa tribe,and Ennio Morricone's great score for the movie.In that way it has so much going for it,plus The ending is a great show stopper.

2.Batman Returns(1992):



Many people disliked this movie for 2 main reasons, it's darker creepy mood and storyline and the surprising lack of batman thurout the movie. Both could be blamed on Tim Burton, who was given more freedom due to how well Batman(1989) did at the box office. But what he did with Batman Returns,was Burton crafted a beautiful tale of broken people looking to fit in a world of chaos. He just used Batman as a key to mold it out. Tho after re watching the movie again i do agree its a amazing Burton movie,and a weak Batman flick, but that does take away from how amazing this movie is.



The cast is more then great as the eccentric characters of Gotham. Danny Devito as the penguin is gross and heart breaking at the same time,Michelle Pfeiffer is crazy as hell as Catwoman the way it was meant to be and of course theres a great part by king of strange Christopher Walken. Micheal Keaton is great as always theres just not much of him here to talk about. Thou people point out how little and weak this movie is, i have one scene where i think all of them are wrong, the scene where Bruce Wayne and Selina Kyle are dancing at the ball is heartbreaking and so well acted it couldn't be in a horrible unwatchable movie.

3.Star Trek 3: the search for Spock(1984):



Ive always been a Star Trek since i was kid, where i watched movies 2 thur 7 on VHS,tho the one movie in that list that just happened to slip my grasp was Star Trek 3,it turns out somehow my VHS of it got mold and i couldn't play it. I figure it didn't matter any way since everyone told me what a bad movie it was. Tho a few years back i actually did buy the DVD and was amazed at how much i enjoyed it.



It's a quickly paced funny action movie and to sum it all up Christopher Lloyd just makes the movie for me. Hes such a odd and cruel villain.

4.Never Say Never Again(1982):



This movie is hard to stick up for, just for the fact it's a really poorly done remake of ThunderBall(1965) and It stars a super bored looking Sean Connery.But i have a soft spot for this flick for it being my real first bond movie i saw. And for all it's short comings its a gritty and cheesy guilty pleasure at best.

5.A Nightmare on Elm Street 2 Freddy's Revenge(1985):



What makes Freddy's Revenge so clever and good is how it plays with what we think is going to happen. Most people thought they were going to get a carbon copy of the first elm street movie, but this movie is more of a jacked up teen drama.



Another thing is how odd it was to add homoerotic undertones thur out the movie, that sets it apart from many slashers if not all from the time. It's one of the best,and the dancing to pop music just has to believed.

These movies are all worth watching and are all great guilty pleasures.

Random movie music post, Bat edition: Batman Returns(1992)


Batman Returns is the odd ball of the Batman live action movies. It isn't over the top campy(like 1966's Batman:the movie and Batman and Robin(1997)) or serious Adult action movie(2008's The Dark Knight or 2005's Batman Begins) or even fun comic book movies(like Batman(1989) or 1995's Batman Forever). Instead its a brooding tragic love story in many ways, from Catwoman falling for Batman and likewise and The Penguin looking to fit in to society. It's pure Tim Burton magic, and it's my favorite of the series simply for how beautiful it is and how it doesn't fit in will the other films.




Here's the ending credits song(tho it plays also during a dance between Bruce Wayne and Selina Kyle). It's Face to Face by Siouxsie and the Banshees



video by: SleazyMovieProd

Sunday, June 5, 2011

Hey guys, i return(for real)

I know during may i didn't put out many posts, this was because of finals. Now that study hell is over, I'm going to work on improving the blog.



I've been watching alot of different things lately. Lots of Reb Brown epiceness,a little Werner Herzog, more episodes of offbeat cinema, and Stanley Kubrick. Rediscovered the rightly classic The Killing(1956) and A Clockwork Orange(1971),right along with Dr Strangelove(1964) and The Shining(1980)






Got some great ideas for posts going up, so tune in a bit
So remember keep watching