Film Diary: 2021
My journey through unseen film territory continues...
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- DirectorLarry ClarkStarsJames WoodsMelanie GriffithVincent KartheiserIn the hope of a big score, two junkie couples team up to commit various drug robberies which go disastrously wrong, leading to dissent, violence, and murder.
- DirectorWolf RillaStarsMarjorie RhodesCyril SmithVera DayA sailor named Albert is late for his own wedding, but a bigger problem occurs when he gets a message from the Navy saying he can't marry for certain legal reasons. Everyone jumps to conclusions and thinks there's another woman out there with a claim of some kind.Only in order to see John Meillon when he was a little younger than he is in Crocodile Dundee. The whole thing was almost worth it to hear him unexpectedly call his would be mother in law "bitch!" to her face. Shocking indeed.
Otherwise a very slow, one-room affair. But there were some very funny bit-parters crammed in, like Irene Handl (I had to check that she wasn't an earlier incarnation of Miriam Margolyes, because she reminded me so much of her) as a batty but sweet old lady and Frankie Howerd as the increasingly bored organist at the wedding that never takes place. - DirectorJarl KulleStarsJarl KulleIngvar KjellsonMargaretha KrookAn absent-minded University teacher lives a double life as an impostor. His butler helps him find victims.
- DirectorJohn FlynnStarsJames WoodsBrian DennehyVictoria TennantA hitman approaches a writer to help him create his next best seller, but the violent world he was a part of has other plans.
- DirectorHugo BolanderStarsGus DahlströmHolger HöglundFritiof BillquistSquadron leader Morgonkröök throws big a party where one of his colleagues is going to demonstrate a new type of explosive substance.
- DirectorWes CravenStarsHeather LangenkampRobert EnglundJf DavisA demonic force has chosen Freddy Krueger as its portal to the real world. Can Heather Langenkamp play the part of Nancy one last time and trap the evil trying to enter our world?
- DirectorRobert KurtzmanStarsTammy LaurenAndrew DivoffAngus ScrimmA demonic djinn attempts to grant its owner three wishes, which will allow him to summon his brethren to Earth.
- CreatorFriedrich SchillerStarsConrad PhillipsWilloughby GoddardJennifer JayneDepicts the legend of William Tell, who, as the stories say, shot an apple off of his son's head and lead the rebellion to free Switzerland.A couple of episodes here and there to see Nigel Green.
- DirectorSimon WincerStarsPaul HoganCuba Gooding Jr.Beverly D'AngeloLightning Jack Kane is an Australian outlaw in the wild west. During a bungled bank robbery he picks up mute Ben Doyle as a hostage. The two become good friends, with Jack teaching Ben how to rob banks, while they plan Jack's last heist.
- DirectorDon SharpStarsChristopher LeeNigel GreenJoachim FuchsbergerAfter cheating death, master criminal Dr. Fu Manchu returns with a plot to contaminate the River Thames with a powerful toxin extracted from Tibetan poppies.
- DirectorLeo McCareyStarsCharley ChaseMartha SleeperEvelyn BurnsJimmy returns from college and works at his father's iron foundry and helps his mom with a charity event. He goes to a tough dance hall to impress his girl, where he mistaken for a notorious gangster.
- DirectorKarel ReiszStarsDavid WarnerVanessa RedgraveRobert StephensAfter his wife leaves him for his former best friend, a failed London artist begins his descent into madness in trying to win her back.
- StarsRoy MarsdenBarry FosterRay BrooksForensic scientist Dr. Edwin Lorrimer is murdered. Detective Superintendent Adam Dalgliesh is assigned the case, having recently investigated another killing in the area. His pursuit of the truth unravels a web of dark secrets.
- DirectorMartin SöderhjelmStarsNils PoppeGunnar BjörnstrandAdolf JahrIn the small town Skrabbarp lives the school teacher Sebastian Pettersson, an amateur detective and one of the most diligent correspondents of the Stockholm police.
- DirectorPeter WeirStarsTerry CamilleriJohn MeillonKevin MilesThe small town of Paris, Australia deliberately causes car accidents, then sells/salvages all valuables from the wrecks as a means of economy.To see some more John Meillon I watched this oddity of a movie. It was completely worth it.
The town makes no sense, financially speaking, but that doesn't matter. It's the atmosphere and that feeling of conspiracy and not knowing that makes it into the gem that it is. I also appreciate that the main character is such a loser. He even looks up to the corrupt mayor, even though he's covering up brutal murders. The kid is so unsure of himself that he's willing to go along with pretty much anything. He's practically brainwashed as soon as he sets foot in the town. Imagine had it been a hunky all-American hero-type. That would have been insufferable. And it would have set the North of the moral compass in a completely different direction. This kid I like, because he has no idea what's really right anymore.
For a bit towards the end, during the final battle, I got the same feeling as during the end fight in "The Island", when the adventure music plays. The perspective shifted slightly and suddenly I wasn't even sure whose side I was on, because I could see the tragedy of the gangmembers being slaughtered too. They're all as bad as each other, but you're lulled into the mind-set of the town, just like the main guy. Who knows what's the right thing to do?
This along with "Wake in Fright" and, as far as I've seen "Walkabout", have that same abysmal air of doom about them. Like you're drawn into a cult and made to like it. Maybe there's something about the Australian landscape that inspires a particular mindset. Even though the film is over, you'll never really leave those places behind. If anything, I think the memories of that certain feeling grow stronger over time. - DirectorLina WertmüllerStarsGiancarlo GianniniFernando ReyShirley StolerThe defense of honor, a strong value in Neapolitan society, and its effects on the life of everyman Pasquale Frafuso.Oh boy, I've had two really good weird movie picks these past couple of nights.
The amount of extreme close-ups put me off a little to begin with, but then I reminded myself that I love looking at faces, and then I didn't mind.
Giannini is great in this. Those puppy-eyes work very well in close-up. Horrible guy in the movie, but somehow entirely sympathetic, despite being despicable. He's a complete underdog and at the same time pathetic, desperate and charming. I find it refreshing that he didn't really learn anything from the whole ordeal in the end. His takeaway from it all ended up being completely wrong, but also understandable, quite funny and yet again pathetic. Just hurry up living. Why not. Who has time to change? Just do the same thing as before, only more and quicker.
It says 'comedy' in the description somewhere. It isn't. And it is. Some things are outrageously funny, while most of it is just pure desperation. The scene where he has to chop up the guy he killed is probably the funniest bit. It's like the bit in between the action in other movies. The scene not even filmed, or even written. The stuff they skip over to make the characters look cooler and more in control. This guy is not in control. He has a hot temper, things happen to him, he makes mistakes, but his will to live is so strong he'd rather do something sickening than give up. - CreatorJay BaumanStarsJay BaumanRich EvansMike StoklasaMike, Jay, Rich and the rest of the Red Letter Media crew brave some of the worst movies ever created by man.The whole kit and kaboodle, from first episode to last (as of 26th Jan 2021), over the course of late 2020 and the date mentioned above.
- DirectorEthan ManiquisRobert RodriguezStarsDanny TrejoMichelle RodriguezRobert De NiroAfter being set-up and betrayed by the man who hired him to assassinate a Texas Senator, an ex-Federale launches a brutal rampage of revenge against his former boss.Finally a lead for Trejo, even if he hardly says anything, but I guess Machete don't speak. The action is silly but fun. What irks me is mainly the use of obvious digital effects, mainly for blood. It just looks bad. And the fact that it's set in the modern day also doesn't quite match with the tone - however I see that it is a deliberate choice, since Machete is the low-tech analog man in a digital world.
I like the swings at American racism and politics, even inventing a wall before there was a wall. It's one of those rare movies that is both stupid action and manages to say something important at the same time. It didn't have to, but it did, and I think it makes it better.
Everyone is in it too. DeNiro demise is of course deliciously ironic. - DirectorRobert RodriguezStarsDanny TrejoAlexa PenaVegaMel GibsonThe U.S. government recruits Machete to battle his way through Mexico in order to take down an arms dealer who looks to launch a weapon into space.A worthy sequel, I think. Pretty much the same again. Also setting up the unavoidable space-sequel to come. Who would you send into space to save the world? Why, Machete of course.
- DirectorBrett HarveyStarsCheech MarinCraig BalkamDanielle TrejoHaving spent much of his early life in prison, actor Danny Trejo discusses his career and how he has overcome a life of crime and addiction.Very honest documentary straight from the heart. And Trejo has a big one. I see why I like that guy.
- DirectorHugo BolanderStarsAllan BohlinÅke SöderblomGaby StenbergBjörn Harring studies theology, but the boxing coach Charlie happens to see when he scares a couple of troublemakers through skilled boxing.Ingen aning, jag såg egentligen inte så noga. Rätt tråkig, trots en del inhopp från Tosse och Håge. Det jag minns mest är ett oerhört pompöst tal av Bohlin som prästen, som väl troligen skulle tala till en nation nästan-i-krig och infria någon slags sammanhållning och fosterlandskänsla. Det fungerade inte på mig.
- DirectorAnthony DrazanStarsHarvey KeitelFairuza BalkKelly LynchA recently widowed, small-time hustler struggles to raise his two daughters on his own, and still make a dishonest living in 1960s Portland, Oregon.Cute. Not the best Keitel performance, but a decent one and an interesting clearly conflicted character. The kids are good too. It's fun to see Moss look almost exactly the same as she does now, only smaller.
- DirectorGuillermo del ToroStarsMira SorvinoJeremy NorthamAlexander GoodwinThree years ago, entomologist Dr. Susan Tyler genetically created an insect to kill cockroaches carrying a virulent disease. Now, the insects are out to destroy their only predator, mankind.I have to write something right away, because this movie annoyed me so much, I just can't let it go. The problem for me is that it's almost enjoyable. It presents a couple of possibilities that it never lives up to, a bit like the "Slave of the Cannibal God" movie, where half of it is pretty decent - engaging even - only to forget all about the plot threads towards the end. This has many things going for it as a solid creature feature. It has a good cast, a creepy monster, a claustrophobic location and a certain time-frame. Cool. Some of the characters are interesting, and some I don't care for. Like the two leads. I know the only woman in the cast is going to live, because she's the only woman in the cast. At least she has a personal connection to the monster, since she created it. That should make for some inner conflict, or at least some conflict between her and the others as they find out. Not really. But it should mean that she has some handy expertise that will help kill the creatures, like how their anatomy works and what it takes to defeat them? Well... she just ends up throwing herself in front of an oncoming train.
Then there's the male lead, whom I don't care about either. He's alright, but extremely generic. In the end he surprisingly survives, and I couldn't help thinking "are you kidding me? Do they want me to be happy about this?". It's played like a triumphant moment when he walks out of the tunnel and reunites with the heroine and the kid...
Yes, the kid. The child of missed opportunities. What's the point of that kid? Two children die at the beginning of the movie, so they're clearly not afraid to kill them off. Yet, he survives. Why? He plays the spoons, which seems to be an important detail, mentioned many times over as to hammer home information later to be used as a plot-point. It isn't. I had two theories about the kid, and none of them came true.
Either: The kid mimics people walking by playing his spoons. He 'mimics' them. Geddit? He disappears down the tunnel system, only to be found later by his father, who takes him along back into the train carriage. They all barricade in there. The lead guy gets killed as he turns the power on. A heroic sacrifice, and a win for the team who get moving by train. They're on their way to safety - they think. But the conductor-guy (I don't remember what he actually is, but he knows about trains anyway) bumps against something and starts bleeding again. The kid reacts strangely. He turns out to be a Mimic. The father is faced with killing what looks like his own son. Will he be able to do it? Either he does, but dies at the same time, or he can't and is killed anyway, and the others are left to get rid of the Mimic themselves. That would have been a climactic scene between father and "son". Instead of the father finding him and then just getting killed by an insect hiding behind him.
Or: The kid, being able to you know 'mimic' and everything, would turn out to be the only human who could actually communicate with the Mimics, by way of clicking. This could be used to distract or somehow even bargain with them to reach some kind of goal, I don't know. At least there would have been a point to the whole spoon-thing then. And to the fact that the kid was left alive for the duration of the movie.
I kept expecting there to be a last shot whammy of the kid showing a fang or something, to signify that he was in fact a Mimic all along. They didn't even do that cheap little twist. I'm all for subverting expectations, but come on! At least don't be so incredibly underwhelming! - DirectorLina WertmüllerStarsGiancarlo GianniniMariangela MelatoAgostina BelliForced to leave his family in Sicily, Mimí finds a job in a factory in Turin, where he gets involved in an extramarital affair.My second Wertmüller. I'm getting obsessed and fascinated, although I suspect that none of her other films will quite match up to my first experience with "Seven Beauties".
This is lighter in tone, and really works as a farce centred around corrupt politics, sexual affairs and the complete hipocracy of the main character.
Someone compared Giannini's presence to that of Chaplin. I can see that. Or maybe even more Max Linder. Some scenes are played as a silent short, and his expressive face and movements, along with the variety of female character actors, make it work beautifully.
The scene where he finds out his wife is pregnant with another man, and gets so angry that he storms out of the car, stops, exclaims "why am I on foot?" and gets back in the car to drive home and murder her, is pure physical comedy brilliance. As is the following scene where they meet, and she finds out that he has a child on the side too. They're like cartoons raging at each other, not ever stopping to realize that they've both done the same thing, they really agree with each other and a divorce would solve everything (except reputation - which is somehow more tarnished by divorce than if you publicly declare bigamy).
The flash zooms on the cousins with their three moles become a running gag and a warning of political quagmires. Whatever he does will be wrong. - DirectorPaolo CavaraStarsGiancarlo GianniniClaudine AugerBarbara BouchetA series of victims are paralyzed while having their bellies ripped open, much in the same way tarantulas are killed by the black wasp. The victims all seem to have a connection with a spa.Giallo. But not enough gore.
The women all look exactly the same to me, I couldn't tell them apart. Beautiful, auburn hair, overly sexualized. I don't care. I kept waiting for the cop's wife to finally get murdered, but it didn't happen until the last ten minutes. The killer is of course the blind guy wearing lenses. Obvious. Not a big deal, had the killings been more interesting or the atmosphere more gloomy. The method is vaguely related to the tarantula, but never played out to its full creepy potential. With his last victim the killer is so sloppy and slow that the cop has time to drive from the gym and all the way home before his wife gets stabbed. Because apparently the killer needs his victims to be aware of the fact that they're being killed. This didn't seem to get in the way before, but now, sure. He actually stabs her with the needle in the base of her skull (sure-fire way to murder someone, no?) right before the cop bursts through the door. He sees her and -- drops the gun! -- only to scream and jump on the guy instead. This is hilarious, if frustrating and absolutely irrational. Killer gets caught, sad ending, boo-hoo for the poor cop...
Smash cut to: actual ending where his boss tells him his wife will make a complete recovery. Really??
There's a fun little chase sequence on a roof-top, as they always are, even though nothing much comes of it. A momentarily edgy bit where a truckload of steel bars back into the cop's car while he's still in it. And a luridly sexy score by Morricone, which is simultaneously annoying and kind of good.