What a fun and eclectic batch of movies I enjoyed this week! 🤩😁
Doesn't get better than a sold-out crowd at Brooklyn's Nitehawk Cinema for a 35mm screening (mint, non-faded print) of new-to-me Ulli "The Boogey Man" Lommel's THE DEVONSVILLE TERROR (1983), a suspenseful horror movie that only screened theatrically twice as a midnight feature at the Arco Theater in NYC's Times Square before making its way to early 80's home video. Co-written by and starring Ulli's wife/muse Suzanna Love, it follows a trio of liberated modern women (a teacher, a scientist and a free spirit) angering the misogynistic men in the small town of Devonsville with their radical thinking ('God could be a woman,''The town's water supply could be contamindated, let's test it to be safe,' etc.). Numerous flashbacks detail that Devonsville has a centuries-old history of murdering women unjustly accused of being witches, and the contemporary men are convinced these women are the reincarnation of said witches seeking revenge for the sins of their ancestors. Paul Wilson (as the awkward fat guy whose murder of his wife the town covers for) and Donald Pleasence (who never leaves his doctor's office) give the best performances, but the ending of "TDT" (clearly inspired by then-hot "Raiders of the Lost Ark") is worth watching the entire movie for. A definite rewatch for future Junesploitation!/Scary Movie Month. 🤠👍
I was trying to avoid it (three hours long?), but I gave in and attended a sold-out screening (in the middle of a weekday afternoon!) of Nathan Fielder and Lance Oppenheim's YOU CAN SEE EVERYTHING (2026, THEATER), A24's box office hit documentary about a subject matter (Elizabeth Holmes) I knew nothing about. I happened to sit next to a nice lady (who happened to be CEO of a small cosmetics company) who had read the book about Elizabeth Holmes and had seen Hulu's "The Dropout" and some HBO documentary about Theranos. The 30+ minute conversation we had about the documentary afterwards has to rank as one of the most enjoyable post-movie interactions with a moviegoer I've ever had, mostly due to our perceptions (hers as a white collar businesswoman, mine as a USPS blue collar worker) of both the subject matter (what is Elizabeth Holes really like?) and the doc's execution (is meta self-reflection warranted when circumstances leave filmmakers no other choice?). Having seen some of his Comedy Central work I wasn't prepared for on-camera Nathan Fielder being so creatively flexible as he comes across. The less you know going into it the better, but "YCSE" makes the most of being a doc in name only that becomes a genre hybrid by the end. Highly recommended. 🤔 For what it's worth, Christopher Abbott-as-Billy Evans rules! 🤓
Stanley Tong's POLICE STORY 3: SUPERCOP (1992, 88 FILM's 4K UHD) gave me a chance to watch for the first time the OG Hong Kong version of the movie instead of the butchered-by-the-Weinsteins' American version (also included in the disc). Simple premise (HK "supercop" Jackie Chan and Chinese counterpart Michelle Yeoh team up and go undercover to bust drug dealer Kenneth Tsang's crime syndicate), slow build-up (prisoner escape, drug camp's explosive raid, etc.), wacky side characters (Maggie Chung's May, Bill Tung's "Uncle" Wong, etc.) and a hell of a third act payoff (Malaysia's Kuala Lampur city as playground for Jackie Chan's stunt team to go crazy with trains, helicopters and rope ladders). The chemistry between superstars Chan and Yeoh is so good one wonders why they never worked together again, which only makes their scenes here more endearing. And even by Jackie Chan movie standards, the closing credits highlight reel of stunts gone awry (particularly Michelle Yeoh failing to land atop the moving train riding a bike, or falling face-first into the pavement from a moving vehicle) is on a league of its own. Fun flick. 🤠🥰
A theatrical bomb upon release, Adam Rifkin's DETROIT ROCK CITY (1999, HOWDY) is an entertaining hangout picture carried on the shoulders of Rifkin's energetic direction and a 70's rock soundtrack comparable to "Dazed and Confused" in its curated quality. Four teenage friends in 1978 Ohio (including James 'Bert from Cabin Fever' DeBello and Edward 'T2' Furlong) are excited for the tickets they score to see KISS in concert ($5.50 per ticket??!! 😯😵)... until one of their 'Satanic Panic' concerned mothers (Lin Shaye) finds the tickets and lights them on fire. After winning new tickets on a radio giveaway ('plot ex machina' at work!), the foursome run into all kinds of problems and misadventures once they drive their parents' Volvo car into town. Recognizable faces and then small roles (Melanie Lynskey, Natasha Lyonne, Emmanuelle Chriqui), B-movie actors (Shannon Tweed, Ron Jeremy, etc.) and KISS playing the big concert at the end, all add up to one wacky night that changes our protagonist's lives... but just enough to be worth staring at Gene Simmons' tongue-cam! 🤢🤮 Much better flick than I was expecting coming in. 🤘😎
Saw WICKER ('26, REGAL 4DX) with a packed house full of mostly women (some young, but mostly middle-aged). I'm used to the 4DX theatrical experience conveying the movement of flying, driving, sailing... but this is the first time for me where the rumbling seats recreated sexual penetrat¡on (a not-unimportant part of the narrative), which sent the theater into hysterics. That aside, the pitch-perfect satire of a centuries-old small rural English community's gossip about an older, single Fisherwoman (Olivia Colman) turning into jealous hostility after the kind-hearted Basketmaker (Peter Dinklage, clearly enjoying himself) makes her a kind and loyal Wicker Husband (Alexander Skarsgård inside a WETA-enhanced suit), yields a delightful romantic comedy with an edge. Elizabeth Debicki almost steals the show as The Tailor's Wife (and comes the closest to being human in a sea of one-dimensional types), but the awkward chemistry between Colman and Skarsgård is a thing of beauty. It's on its way to becoming a minor hit, but the "Wicker" cult following will likely last forever. 😘😇
Even by Bollywood standards, Nitesh Tiwari's RAMAYANA (INDIA, '26, IMAX) is the opening chapter (subtitle: "Rise of a Legend") of a special effects-driven action epic comparable to "Lord of the Rings" or "Star Wars." The $200 million budget (the most expensive Hindi movie ever produced) is all on the screen as the rise of the reincarnation of Protector God Vishnu in human form, Ram (Ranbir Kapoor), grows up and learns the life lessons needed to eventually (in the already-in-production-for-2028 sequel) do battle with Ravan (superstar Yash), a tyrannical leader whose deal with Brahma the Creator grants him immortality from anything... except the deathly blow of a human. Like the movie adaptation from Stephen King's "It" a few years back, "Ramayana" works as a stand-alone feature because its patient with its story and characters by giving them room to breathe. Action takes a lengthy backseat to romance when Ram meets and falls in love with his eventual wife Sita (Sai Pallavi), who is made to look more like a Minnie Driver-type than the usual Bollywood supermodel. Sita's warrior skills are put to the test alongside brother-in-law Lakshman (Ravi Dubey) when Ravan's widowed sister, Surpanakha (Rakul Preet Singh 😍), has the hots for Ram and turns vengeful when the trio rebuffs her advances. Catch it on IMAX if possible, but approach "Ramayana" as the epic India blockbuster it was designed to be. ✊😎
Yeon Sang-ho's PARADISE LOST (SOUTH KOREA, '26, THEATER) starts as a tragedy when a busload of young school children on a field trip is found, along with most of their bodies, near an abandoned mine. It becomes a wrenching, technology-driven drama when one of the mothers (Kim Hyun-joo's Ryu), becomes too attached with the virtual reality version of her son that an AI company created to honor the memory of the murdered/missing children. We're not shown (but are told in-story) that other parents of dead children are not adjusting to their VR kids as well as Ryu. But things take a drastic turn when Ryu's son (Bae Hyun-Sung) is found alive nine years after his presumed death. I'd rather you find on your own what follows, but it's another typical example of South Korean filmmakers taking worn-out genres and turning out gripping material you seldom see tackled in American films. It's kind of a downer, but "Paradise Lost" (Milton?) earns the right to give a slight sense of upbeat closure from the grimmest of possible outcomes. Highly recommended. 🥸👍
Last and least (though that doesn't mean it's a bad movie), Peter Farrelly's I PLAY ROCKY ('26, AMC DOLBY CINEMA) is slightly better than typical Hollywood-about-Hollywood, making-of movies. It's no Sacha Gervasi's "Hitchcock" or Jason Reitman's "Saturday Night" (both 🤢🤮). It's narrative of OG "Rocky" producers Irwin Winkler and Robert Chartoff (P.J. Byrne and Toby Kebbell, respectively) being the good guys who stood by Sylvester Stallone (Anthony Ippolito, a decent young Sly avatar) against fictitious studio boss Sandy Maddox (Tracy Letts), though, stands at odds with the fact the producing duo made Sly sell them the rights to the franchise for him to be able to play the lead (none of which is in Farrelly's fairytale retelling). AnnaSophia Robb's portrayal of Stallone's first wife, Sasha Czack, is as good as Jay Duplass' goofy take on director John G. Avildsen in making supporting characters likable/relatable. What hurts "IPR" more than anything is that it lacks an identity of its own. Its two best scenes are either buried after the credits (a clip of young Stallone visiting Johnny Carson after the movie became a hit) or a re-enactment of a scene in the actual film (Rocky's breakdown after Mickey comes to his apartment), and none of the behind-the-scenes moments (except perhaps the 'whose car is this?' rainy scene) have a spark. 'It's fine,' but it doesn't even look/sound good enough to warrant an AMC Dolby release. You're better off rewatching "Rocky" again (happy 50th). 🤨🙄
This if the first weekend open post for me since the end of September. I will have to post the non-horror watches in a piecemeal way to get everything in. This particular list is the films I watched at the end of September and throughout October.
STRYKER (1983, dir. Cirio H. Santiago) – From the opening scenes, there is no denying that this a Road Warrior rip-off. What is surprising about it is how effective it is as one. The title character is our Mad Max, a drifter of the wastelands who gets involved in a fight over community that controls a water source. There are definitely some shades of Fury Road are here. The action set-pieces are impressive for a low-budget Filipino film. Elements of other popular movies of the era creep in, too. Definitely a recommendation for a Junesploitation watch.
PRIVATE DUTY NURSES (1971, dir. George Armitage) – The second film in Roger Corman’s nurse series is brought to you by the man who directed Grosse Point Blank. In this entry, three trainee nurses rent a house near the beach while they work at the same hospital. Being in an early 1970’s New World Pictures production, they will all undress at some point in the film, but they will also tackle political and social issues in the most serious manner. That seriousness mixed in with the sleazier aspects muddles the film’s tone a lot. It does sometimes work as a hangout film, though.
LEAVE HER TO HEAVEN (1945) – An atypical film noir for being shot in Technicolor and set in rural locations. A woman proves to be a lot more dangerous than her seemingly innocent appearance suggests in this tale of a novelist marrying the wrong person. The story goes to some surprisingly dark places for the period. The cruelty is surprisingly refined, which makes some of the happenings even more unsettling. A heavy recommendation.
MONTREAL GIRLS (2024) – A man comes to Montreal for a university pre-med program, but his passion for poetry and the women he meets push him toward a different direction in life. He is dealing with a lot of family issues, too. Having drifted into a somewhat jaded middle-aged mind-set in recent years, stories about young adults searching for their path in life no longer resonate with me like they used to. The theme of an artist wrestling with the practicalities of life is handled in a very cliched manner. As with many indie dramas I have seen, Montreal Girls does lean toward pretentiousness.
I was also at the Mahoning Drive-In to see a few films on the big screen: 2001: A SPACE ODYSSEY (1968), ROBOT MONSTER (1953) and Doctor Who And The Daleks (1965).
Robot Monster can entertain despite the laughable aspects of the story and design. THE DALEKS is a reworking of a an early Dr. Who serial. It is a much better production than the BBC show during that period yet lacks something to truly make it feel like Dr. Who. You still get Peter Cushing, however.
"Private Duty Nurses" reminded me of 70's anthology TV series, with heavy subjects tackled (racism, environmental concern, obsession, etc.) only for s0ftcore p0rn to take the edge off. 😺😻 Speaking of Roger Corman, Cirio H. Santiago was a one-man exploitation machine. Problem is the man recycled many of his best scenes (mostly war battlles/explosions) on all movies he worked on, to the point you can't tell them apart. 🥵🫤 And any big screen watch of "2001" is to be cherished. 🙃🙂
These were my watches last week while I was pet sitting. I finally got back to The Gap Theatre for a night, too.
THE DEVIL, PROBABLY (1977, dir. Robert Bresson) at The Gap Theatre – A definitive break from the horror cinematic diet of October. A seventy-something Bresson delves into the existential crisis of a young man living during a turbulent period in Paris. Life has lost all meaning to Charles as he bounces around relationships with women and wanders around the city. What is striking about the film is how angry the story is. Charles wants to completely give up but somehow finds something pulling him back into life. That situation gets more annoying to him as the film goes on. The distinctive quiet Bresson style is present throughout the film. Definitely not a watch for those seeking entertainment.
THE BOY AND THE HERON (2023, dir. Hayao Miyazaki) – Coming from the creative mind of Miyazaki, The Boy and The Heron was always going to look great. There were many scenes that I rewound to fully take in. The tower sequences were especially impressive. It is on the storytelling level that the film falls apart for me. The human world meeting a parallel existence felt more forced with TBATH than other Miyazaki productions. In particular, the ways of passing from one world to another felt arbitrary. That is not to say that the film fails, but The Boy and The Heron did not live up to the standards of the high points of Miyazaki's career.
LOVE LETTERS OF A PORTUGUESE NUN (1976, dir. Jess Franco) – After years of diving into Jess Franco’s filmography, I have a much greater appreciation of the film with this re-watch. An adolescent girl is sent to a convent through the influence of a priest who is far from being a pious man. He is, in fact, a D-e-v-i-l worshipper, and the nuns all participate in his dark celebrations. There is no doubt that LOVE LETTERS revels in nunsploitation sleaze, yet at the heart of the film is a forceful story of a devout Christian soul struggling with the corruption of the institution she is a part of. The coherent storytelling, beautiful locations, and period costumes give this a more respectable aura than most of Jess Franco’s productions.
I love Robert Bresson, but toward the end pessimism really took a hold of his directorial work. "The Devil, Probably" and "L'Argent" are sour notes to end his run with. 🤨😔 Agree that "...Boy... Heron" doesn't live up to Miyazaki's master works from the past, but given his age even late career sloppy seconds are better than other anime creator's best work. 😎🤓 "...Portuguese Nun" really benefits from great production design (the castle really sells the period/era) and Jess Franco de-emphasizing er@tic!sm for the religious/injustice drama. This is Franco's "Passion of Joan of Arc" but with a "happy" ending. 😉😇
What a fun and eclectic batch of movies I enjoyed this week! 🤩😁
ReplyDeleteDoesn't get better than a sold-out crowd at Brooklyn's Nitehawk Cinema for a 35mm screening (mint, non-faded print) of new-to-me Ulli "The Boogey Man" Lommel's THE DEVONSVILLE TERROR (1983), a suspenseful horror movie that only screened theatrically twice as a midnight feature at the Arco Theater in NYC's Times Square before making its way to early 80's home video. Co-written by and starring Ulli's wife/muse Suzanna Love, it follows a trio of liberated modern women (a teacher, a scientist and a free spirit) angering the misogynistic men in the small town of Devonsville with their radical thinking ('God could be a woman,' 'The town's water supply could be contamindated, let's test it to be safe,' etc.). Numerous flashbacks detail that Devonsville has a centuries-old history of murdering women unjustly accused of being witches, and the contemporary men are convinced these women are the reincarnation of said witches seeking revenge for the sins of their ancestors. Paul Wilson (as the awkward fat guy whose murder of his wife the town covers for) and Donald Pleasence (who never leaves his doctor's office) give the best performances, but the ending of "TDT" (clearly inspired by then-hot "Raiders of the Lost Ark") is worth watching the entire movie for. A definite rewatch for future Junesploitation!/Scary Movie Month. 🤠👍
I was trying to avoid it (three hours long?), but I gave in and attended a sold-out screening (in the middle of a weekday afternoon!) of Nathan Fielder and Lance Oppenheim's YOU CAN SEE EVERYTHING (2026, THEATER), A24's box office hit documentary about a subject matter (Elizabeth Holmes) I knew nothing about. I happened to sit next to a nice lady (who happened to be CEO of a small cosmetics company) who had read the book about Elizabeth Holmes and had seen Hulu's "The Dropout" and some HBO documentary about Theranos. The 30+ minute conversation we had about the documentary afterwards has to rank as one of the most enjoyable post-movie interactions with a moviegoer I've ever had, mostly due to our perceptions (hers as a white collar businesswoman, mine as a USPS blue collar worker) of both the subject matter (what is Elizabeth Holes really like?) and the doc's execution (is meta self-reflection warranted when circumstances leave filmmakers no other choice?). Having seen some of his Comedy Central work I wasn't prepared for on-camera Nathan Fielder being so creatively flexible as he comes across. The less you know going into it the better, but "YCSE" makes the most of being a doc in name only that becomes a genre hybrid by the end. Highly recommended. 🤔 For what it's worth, Christopher Abbott-as-Billy Evans rules! 🤓
ReplyDeleteStanley Tong's POLICE STORY 3: SUPERCOP (1992, 88 FILM's 4K UHD) gave me a chance to watch for the first time the OG Hong Kong version of the movie instead of the butchered-by-the-Weinsteins' American version (also included in the disc). Simple premise (HK "supercop" Jackie Chan and Chinese counterpart Michelle Yeoh team up and go undercover to bust drug dealer Kenneth Tsang's crime syndicate), slow build-up (prisoner escape, drug camp's explosive raid, etc.), wacky side characters (Maggie Chung's May, Bill Tung's "Uncle" Wong, etc.) and a hell of a third act payoff (Malaysia's Kuala Lampur city as playground for Jackie Chan's stunt team to go crazy with trains, helicopters and rope ladders). The chemistry between superstars Chan and Yeoh is so good one wonders why they never worked together again, which only makes their scenes here more endearing. And even by Jackie Chan movie standards, the closing credits highlight reel of stunts gone awry (particularly Michelle Yeoh failing to land atop the moving train riding a bike, or falling face-first into the pavement from a moving vehicle) is on a league of its own. Fun flick. 🤠🥰
ReplyDeleteA theatrical bomb upon release, Adam Rifkin's DETROIT ROCK CITY (1999, HOWDY) is an entertaining hangout picture carried on the shoulders of Rifkin's energetic direction and a 70's rock soundtrack comparable to "Dazed and Confused" in its curated quality. Four teenage friends in 1978 Ohio (including James 'Bert from Cabin Fever' DeBello and Edward 'T2' Furlong) are excited for the tickets they score to see KISS in concert ($5.50 per ticket??!! 😯😵)... until one of their 'Satanic Panic' concerned mothers (Lin Shaye) finds the tickets and lights them on fire. After winning new tickets on a radio giveaway ('plot ex machina' at work!), the foursome run into all kinds of problems and misadventures once they drive their parents' Volvo car into town. Recognizable faces and then small roles (Melanie Lynskey, Natasha Lyonne, Emmanuelle Chriqui), B-movie actors (Shannon Tweed, Ron Jeremy, etc.) and KISS playing the big concert at the end, all add up to one wacky night that changes our protagonist's lives... but just enough to be worth staring at Gene Simmons' tongue-cam! 🤢🤮 Much better flick than I was expecting coming in. 🤘😎
ReplyDeleteSaw WICKER ('26, REGAL 4DX) with a packed house full of mostly women (some young, but mostly middle-aged). I'm used to the 4DX theatrical experience conveying the movement of flying, driving, sailing... but this is the first time for me where the rumbling seats recreated sexual penetrat¡on (a not-unimportant part of the narrative), which sent the theater into hysterics. That aside, the pitch-perfect satire of a centuries-old small rural English community's gossip about an older, single Fisherwoman (Olivia Colman) turning into jealous hostility after the kind-hearted Basketmaker (Peter Dinklage, clearly enjoying himself) makes her a kind and loyal Wicker Husband (Alexander Skarsgård inside a WETA-enhanced suit), yields a delightful romantic comedy with an edge. Elizabeth Debicki almost steals the show as The Tailor's Wife (and comes the closest to being human in a sea of one-dimensional types), but the awkward chemistry between Colman and Skarsgård is a thing of beauty. It's on its way to becoming a minor hit, but the "Wicker" cult following will likely last forever. 😘😇
ReplyDeleteEven by Bollywood standards, Nitesh Tiwari's RAMAYANA (INDIA, '26, IMAX) is the opening chapter (subtitle: "Rise of a Legend") of a special effects-driven action epic comparable to "Lord of the Rings" or "Star Wars." The $200 million budget (the most expensive Hindi movie ever produced) is all on the screen as the rise of the reincarnation of Protector God Vishnu in human form, Ram (Ranbir Kapoor), grows up and learns the life lessons needed to eventually (in the already-in-production-for-2028 sequel) do battle with Ravan (superstar Yash), a tyrannical leader whose deal with Brahma the Creator grants him immortality from anything... except the deathly blow of a human. Like the movie adaptation from Stephen King's "It" a few years back, "Ramayana" works as a stand-alone feature because its patient with its story and characters by giving them room to breathe. Action takes a lengthy backseat to romance when Ram meets and falls in love with his eventual wife Sita (Sai Pallavi), who is made to look more like a Minnie Driver-type than the usual Bollywood supermodel. Sita's warrior skills are put to the test alongside brother-in-law Lakshman (Ravi Dubey) when Ravan's widowed sister, Surpanakha (Rakul Preet Singh 😍), has the hots for Ram and turns vengeful when the trio rebuffs her advances. Catch it on IMAX if possible, but approach "Ramayana" as the epic India blockbuster it was designed to be. ✊😎
ReplyDeleteYeon Sang-ho's PARADISE LOST (SOUTH KOREA, '26, THEATER) starts as a tragedy when a busload of young school children on a field trip is found, along with most of their bodies, near an abandoned mine. It becomes a wrenching, technology-driven drama when one of the mothers (Kim Hyun-joo's Ryu), becomes too attached with the virtual reality version of her son that an AI company created to honor the memory of the murdered/missing children. We're not shown (but are told in-story) that other parents of dead children are not adjusting to their VR kids as well as Ryu. But things take a drastic turn when Ryu's son (Bae Hyun-Sung) is found alive nine years after his presumed death. I'd rather you find on your own what follows, but it's another typical example of South Korean filmmakers taking worn-out genres and turning out gripping material you seldom see tackled in American films. It's kind of a downer, but "Paradise Lost" (Milton?) earns the right to give a slight sense of upbeat closure from the grimmest of possible outcomes. Highly recommended. 🥸👍
ReplyDeleteLast and least (though that doesn't mean it's a bad movie), Peter Farrelly's I PLAY ROCKY ('26, AMC DOLBY CINEMA) is slightly better than typical Hollywood-about-Hollywood, making-of movies. It's no Sacha Gervasi's "Hitchcock" or Jason Reitman's "Saturday Night" (both 🤢🤮). It's narrative of OG "Rocky" producers Irwin Winkler and Robert Chartoff (P.J. Byrne and Toby Kebbell, respectively) being the good guys who stood by Sylvester Stallone (Anthony Ippolito, a decent young Sly avatar) against fictitious studio boss Sandy Maddox (Tracy Letts), though, stands at odds with the fact the producing duo made Sly sell them the rights to the franchise for him to be able to play the lead (none of which is in Farrelly's fairytale retelling). AnnaSophia Robb's portrayal of Stallone's first wife, Sasha Czack, is as good as Jay Duplass' goofy take on director John G. Avildsen in making supporting characters likable/relatable. What hurts "IPR" more than anything is that it lacks an identity of its own. Its two best scenes are either buried after the credits (a clip of young Stallone visiting Johnny Carson after the movie became a hit) or a re-enactment of a scene in the actual film (Rocky's breakdown after Mickey comes to his apartment), and none of the behind-the-scenes moments (except perhaps the 'whose car is this?' rainy scene) have a spark. 'It's fine,' but it doesn't even look/sound good enough to warrant an AMC Dolby release. You're better off rewatching "Rocky" again (happy 50th). 🤨🙄
ReplyDeleteThis if the first weekend open post for me since the end of September. I will have to post the non-horror watches in a piecemeal way to get everything in. This particular list is the films I watched at the end of September and throughout October.
ReplyDeleteSTRYKER (1983, dir. Cirio H. Santiago) – From the opening scenes, there is no denying that this a Road Warrior rip-off. What is surprising about it is how effective it is as one. The title character is our Mad Max, a drifter of the wastelands who gets involved in a fight over community that controls a water source. There are definitely some shades of Fury Road are here. The action set-pieces are impressive for a low-budget Filipino film. Elements of other popular movies of the era creep in, too. Definitely a recommendation for a Junesploitation watch.
PRIVATE DUTY NURSES (1971, dir. George Armitage) – The second film in Roger Corman’s nurse series is brought to you by the man who directed Grosse Point Blank. In this entry, three trainee nurses rent a house near the beach while they work at the same hospital. Being in an early 1970’s New World Pictures production, they will all undress at some point in the film, but they will also tackle political and social issues in the most serious manner. That seriousness mixed in with the sleazier aspects muddles the film’s tone a lot. It does sometimes work as a hangout film, though.
LEAVE HER TO HEAVEN (1945) – An atypical film noir for being shot in Technicolor and set in rural locations. A woman proves to be a lot more dangerous than her seemingly innocent appearance suggests in this tale of a novelist marrying the wrong person. The story goes to some surprisingly dark places for the period. The cruelty is surprisingly refined, which makes some of the happenings even more unsettling. A heavy recommendation.
MONTREAL GIRLS (2024) – A man comes to Montreal for a university pre-med program, but his passion for poetry and the women he meets push him toward a different direction in life. He is dealing with a lot of family issues, too. Having drifted into a somewhat jaded middle-aged mind-set in recent years, stories about young adults searching for their path in life no longer resonate with me like they used to. The theme of an artist wrestling with the practicalities of life is handled in a very cliched manner. As with many indie dramas I have seen, Montreal Girls does lean toward pretentiousness.
I was also at the Mahoning Drive-In to see a few films on the big screen: 2001: A SPACE ODYSSEY (1968), ROBOT MONSTER (1953) and Doctor Who And The Daleks (1965).
DeleteRobot Monster can entertain despite the laughable aspects of the story and design. THE DALEKS is a reworking of a an early Dr. Who serial. It is a much better production than the BBC show during that period yet lacks something to truly make it feel like Dr. Who. You still get Peter Cushing, however.
"Private Duty Nurses" reminded me of 70's anthology TV series, with heavy subjects tackled (racism, environmental concern, obsession, etc.) only for s0ftcore p0rn to take the edge off. 😺😻 Speaking of Roger Corman, Cirio H. Santiago was a one-man exploitation machine. Problem is the man recycled many of his best scenes (mostly war battlles/explosions) on all movies he worked on, to the point you can't tell them apart. 🥵🫤 And any big screen watch of "2001" is to be cherished. 🙃🙂
DeleteThese were my watches last week while I was pet sitting. I finally got back to The Gap Theatre for a night, too.
ReplyDeleteTHE DEVIL, PROBABLY (1977, dir. Robert Bresson) at The Gap Theatre – A definitive break from the horror cinematic diet of October. A seventy-something Bresson delves into the existential crisis of a young man living during a turbulent period in Paris. Life has lost all meaning to Charles as he bounces around relationships with women and wanders around the city. What is striking about the film is how angry the story is. Charles wants to completely give up but somehow finds something pulling him back into life. That situation gets more annoying to him as the film goes on. The distinctive quiet Bresson style is present throughout the film. Definitely not a watch for those seeking entertainment.
THE BOY AND THE HERON (2023, dir. Hayao Miyazaki) – Coming from the creative mind of Miyazaki, The Boy and The Heron was always going to look great. There were many scenes that I rewound to fully take in. The tower sequences were especially impressive. It is on the storytelling level that the film falls apart for me. The human world meeting a parallel existence felt more forced with TBATH than other Miyazaki productions. In particular, the ways of passing from one world to another felt arbitrary. That is not to say that the film fails, but The Boy and The Heron did not live up to the standards of the high points of Miyazaki's career.
LOVE LETTERS OF A PORTUGUESE NUN (1976, dir. Jess Franco) – After years of diving into Jess Franco’s filmography, I have a much greater appreciation of the film with this re-watch. An adolescent girl is sent to a convent through the influence of a priest who is far from being a pious man. He is, in fact, a D-e-v-i-l worshipper, and the nuns all participate in his dark celebrations. There is no doubt that LOVE LETTERS revels in nunsploitation sleaze, yet at the heart of the film is a forceful story of a devout Christian soul struggling with the corruption of the institution she is a part of. The coherent storytelling, beautiful locations, and period costumes give this a more respectable aura than most of Jess Franco’s productions.
I love Robert Bresson, but toward the end pessimism really took a hold of his directorial work. "The Devil, Probably" and "L'Argent" are sour notes to end his run with. 🤨😔 Agree that "...Boy... Heron" doesn't live up to Miyazaki's master works from the past, but given his age even late career sloppy seconds are better than other anime creator's best work. 😎🤓 "...Portuguese Nun" really benefits from great production design (the castle really sells the period/era) and Jess Franco de-emphasizing er@tic!sm for the religious/injustice drama. This is Franco's "Passion of Joan of Arc" but with a "happy" ending. 😉😇
Delete