November 14th, 2007
Posted by
Ian W |
DVD Viewing Journal |
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One thing I need to make clear from the start - I’m a big fan of Ross Macdonald’s Lew Archer novels, for me they’re the best hardboiled detective stories written in the “golden age” for such tales - the ‘40s and ‘50s. This adaptation of the first Lew Archer novel isn’t a bad film; it just doesn’t come close to capturing the spirit of the book it’s based on.
Hired by a wealthy woman (Lauren Bacall) to find her missing husband, Harper (Paul Newman) finds that the missing spouse has been kidnapped. With even the man’s wife and daughter not eager to see him returned, Harper has a wealth of suspects but he still manages to uncover an illegal-alien smuggling ring on the side.
It’s hard to say exactly what lets Harper down. It’s got an excellent cast. Newman, in the middle of the decade that would produce some of his finest films (The Hustler, Hud, Cool Hand Luke, Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid) would seem a perfect choice for Harper and yet he comes across as far too light and breezy. You get the feeling he’s enjoying himself and that doesn’t gibe with the character he’s playing. There’s a world-weariness about Harper that Newman fails to catch, or he did at the time, he was far more Harperesque in Twilight some thirty years later.
November 12th, 2007
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Ian W |
DVD Viewing Journal |
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The original Ghost in the Shell is one of the films that helped anime reach a wider audience, showing that it could produce intelligent science fiction as good as, and often better than, live action movies. Almost ten years after the original came Ghost in the Shell 2: Innocence, and while it’s not as groundbreaking as its forbear it’s still an intelligent, action packed, visual feast.
The film is a murder mystery, with robots killing people and then commenting suicide. Cyborg detective Batou returns from the original film and, along with new partner Togusa, is tasked with getting to the bottom of the mystery. Along the way he’ll encounter robots with souls, Yakuza killers and his own “guardian angel.”
The film is chock full of big ideas but what makes it so effective is Batou. It would be so easy for him to be just your standard action hero, blowing away bad guys left and right (and he does plenty of that) but thanks to great writing, exceptional animation and the vocal talents of Akio Ôtsuka he becomes so much more. There are some great action scenes in the film, the Yakuza sequence being an obvious stand out but for me the films finest moment is a much quieter affair. Batou returns home after work, feeds his dog, cracks open a bear and stretches out in his chair, it’s the sort of thing anyone would do and it helps to humanise this gruff, tough and violent man. If the viewer wasn’t routing for Batou before, they will be after that scene. Either that or they don’t have a soul.
November 11th, 2007
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Ian W |
DVD Viewing Journal |
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This is loosely based on Edgar Allen Poe’s poem, City in the Sea and thus fits in with AIP’s other Poe adaptations starring Vincent Price, though the film feels more like a budget version of Jules Verne’s 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea but it was a good ten years too late to cash in on Disney’s film.
Vincent Price plays The Captain, leader of an undersea city. When he kidnaps Susan Hart because she looks like his dead wife, Tab Hunter and David Tomlinson stumble across the city in there quest to find her. Then it’s a race against time for the trio, as they must escape before an impending volcanic eruption destroys the city.
Price, in full scenery chewing Poe mode, and Tomlinson, as a chicken fancying artist, just about make this watchable. The problem is far too little happens, at least until the last ten minutes or so when the escapees fight off gill-men as the volcano erupts, destroying the city and it’s inhabitants.
This was the last film made by the great Jacques Tourneur, of Cat People and Night of the Demon fame, but you’d be hard pushed to find anything to suggest the man who made this was the same one who made those horror classics. A sad end to the filmmaking career of one of the great horror directors of the ‘40s and ‘50s.
November 10th, 2007
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Ian W |
DVD Viewing Journal |
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We first encounter Minnesota Clay in a labour camp, guarded by the army. Within five minutes he’s made his escape but in that time we learn three important facts about him: he a good guy (he dives into a river to rescue a guy who’d just attacked him), he’s innocent of the murder he was convicted of (there’s a witness who can confirm it), and he’s losing his sight (a blow to the head could leave him blind). Having escaped, Clay sets out to clear his name and find his daughter. In so doing he becomes involved in a gang war between Mexican bandits and Fox, a corrupt Sheriff who also happens to be the witness who can clear Clay’s name.
This pre-Django spaghetti western from Sergio Corbucci lacks the style and uniqueness of that film. Only in the climactic shoot-out between an almost blind Clay and Fox and his men does he show the style that would mark him as probably the second greatest director of spaghetti westerns, after Sergio Leone (who was making A Fistful of Dollars at the same time Corbucci was filming this). It’s a bravura moment, with the director using lighting and sound to put the viewer in Clay’s shoes.
As the titular character, Cameron Mitchell does a decent job, although the film is hampered by some terrible dialogue, with Clay’s daughter Nancy being the worst culprit. The dubbing is pretty good though, with Mitchell voicing himself and the vocal acting a cut above the norm.
November 9th, 2007
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Ian W |
DVD Viewing Journal |
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This is a (very) cheap Invasion of the Body Snatchers knock-off from British production company Tigon Pictures. When parachutists start disappearing in midair the government calls in Bob Megan, ace skydiver and major flirt, to get to the bottom of things. Megan it seems is none too bright and it takes him almost a full 90 minutes to figure out what’s going on even though he’s been bonking one of the aliens for half the film.
The film features George Sanders, almost at the end of his career and a pale shadow of his former self, as an army General and Maurice Evans, one year after terrorising Charlton Heston as Dr. Zaius in Planet of the Apes, in supporting roles.
Also on hand is Neil Connery, brother of Sean. It’s strange watching Neil, he’s so much like Sean yet lacking something in the charisma and looks department. You can’t blame him for having a go but it’s no wonder his film career came to an end after this film. Still it must have been a step up from the Bond rip-off, OK Connery.
The star of the show though is Patrick Allen. For people of a certain age Allen will always be the voice of Barratt Homes and it’s hard to take him seriously as a sort of cut-price, cardigan wearing, Bond. Or as a lady-killer, seducing Lorna Wilde (as an equally budget Ursula Andress) on an English beach. No exotic locales here.
November 8th, 2007
Posted by
Ian W |
Rants & Raves |
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Back in August I attended FrightFest at London’s Odeon West End and had a great time. However there were some upcoming horror flicks that I dearly wanted to see but the festival organisers were unable to acquire, one such film being George Romero’s Diary of the Dead. So when the line-up for the FrightFest all-nighter at the ICA was announced and not only was Diary kicking off the event but the great man himself was going to be there, attending was something of a no-brainer.
So on Friday Dan (of Is There Food) and I took the train to London, wondering if we’d survive until morning. With five films spread across ten hours (starting at 9pm) this was going to be even more of an endurance test than the full festival. Still the films promised to be worthy of the effort, alongside Romero’s latest was Robert Rodriguez’s half of the Grindhouse project, Planet Terror, Savage Streets starring Linda Blair and a couple of French goesfests - Frontiere(s) and Inside.
We arrived a little after 9pm (sadly missing out on Mr Romero’s signing session) to find the place full. We quickly made our way to two of the few remaining seats and almost as soon as we sat down things got underway.
George Romero is the godfather of the modern zombie movie. How many people can lay claim to have reinvented a classic monster so successfully that it’s overshadowed what came before? When I think zombie, it’s George’s flesh eating walking dead that come to mind first, not some dusty old voodoo zombie, and I’m sure I’m not alone.
November 7th, 2007
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Ian W |
DVD Viewing Journal |
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Following in the footsteps of Charlie Chan and Mr. Moto came Boris Karloff’s interpretation of Hugh Wiley’s fictional detective. Karloff’s Wong is Sherlock Holmes with funny hair and a moustache, always a step ahead of the criminals and two ahead of the police. Karloff never convinces as an Asian but then neither did Peter Lorre as Moto, with Warner Oland slightly more successful as Chan.
Here Wong’s trying to get to the bottom of a murder by nerve gas and while the film plods in places the final ten minutes are worth the wait. Karloff’s revelation of the killer’s identity is a surprise and the way he cleverly outwits the criminals is a joy to watch.
It’s Karloff’s film but he gets good support from Grant Withers in the Lestrade type roll of the oafish Captain Sam Street. Made by Monogram Pictures this is a cheap B movie quickie but Karloff makes it watchable.
November 5th, 2007
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Ian W |
DVD Viewing Journal |
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What rights do robots have? At what point does something become alive? These are some of the questions this anime film asks, but it wraps these philosophical conundrums up in an exciting adventure/love story. At its heart this is a simple tale of boy meets robot, boy falls in love with robot, robot tries to destroy the world, though some political wrangling and a psychotic assassin give the film a little more depth.
But while the story is an engaging one, there are elements that didn’t seem to fit together as they should; at least they didn’t for me. The computer animated backgrounds and sometimes violent nature of the story seemed at odds with the cutsie character designs, although this may be in keeping with the source material, not having read the original manga I can’t say (if anyone reading this has, please let me know). The jazz soundtrack also didn’t feel quite right but that may have more to do with my musical taste than any fault of the film.
It was fun looking out for references to science fiction classics (Fritz Lang’s Metropolis and Blade Runner being the most obvious) but the film never feels like just a rehash of old ideas. It’s an intelligent film spoilt (for me) by some of the director’s choices, that give the film a unique feel but also a slightly disjointed one.
November 4th, 2007
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Ian W |
DVD Viewing Journal |
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Paul W.S. Anderson’s haunted house in space movie still ranks as his best, even though it has its faults. It’s a film that takes elements from Alien, The Haunting and The Exorcist (to name just a few) and blends them together into something that at least feels fresh even if it doesn’t really have an original bone in its body.
A rescue mission to recover the experimental spaceship Event Horizon is sent to the outer edge of the solar system, the ships crew augmented by Dr William Weir, the inventor of the Event Horizon’s revolutionary interstellar drive. It’s not long before the rescue team discover that all is not right onboard the derelict ship and they begin to wonder where it’s been for the last seven years and, more importantly, what has come back with it.
Anderson does a good job of generating a creepy atmosphere aboard the ship and he’s helped by some superb production design that gives the film a unique look. The visual effects are also top notch and still stand up today, showing the value of model work over CGI.
The cast are mostly excellent with only Joely Richardson feeling out of place, she just seems a little to polished when compared to the grittiness of the rest of the crew. Laurence Fishburne as Captain Miller gets the film’s funniest moment (“We’re leaving”) but it’s Sam Neil, once again descending into madness a’ la In the Mouth of Madness, who walks off with the film. Whether explaining interstellar space travel or gouging his own eyes out, he’s never less than convincing.
November 4th, 2007
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Ian W |
DVD Viewing Journal |
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A cowboy and his (supposedly) comic sidekick happen across a wounded man and take him to the nearest town. They soon become involved with a local female rancher who believes her family to be cursed but are the murderous goings on really of supernatural origins?
This Mexican horror/western hybrid is a pretty dull affair that offers no surprises. The filmmakers are obviously trying for a double act similar to Roy Rogers and Gabby Hayes/Gene Autry and Smiley Burnette but minus the singing. Unfortunately it’s not just the songs that are absent but also any sense of camaraderie between the two.
The plot is just another tired rehash of that perennial Mexican chestnut, The Crying Woman. The “is it or isn’t it a ghost” aspect of the story is pretty redundant as you’re never in any doubt about the outcome and, even at a mere 70 minutes, the film feels too long.
The idea of blending the horror and western genres is a good one but I’ve yet to see a film that really makes the most of it.
