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

Jean-Luc Godard video(almost back some more. lol)

Heres a video starring the women of Jean-Luc Godard's films.
video by: d1sintegration



Clips from:
Breathless(1960, aka A bout de souffle)
Alphaville(1965)
Contempt(1963, aka Le Mepris)
Made in U.S.A(1966)
Band of Outsiders(1964 aka Bande a Part)
My Life to Live(1962 aka Vivre sa vie)

Almost back

Heres a few clips from the room
WTF planet you from Tommy Wiseau, you mad brillant man?! lol