JayDee's Movie Musings

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mark f's a big fan of To Live And Die In L.A.

Wilem Dafor was so good in the mid/late 80's and even Petersen followed this up with Manhunter.
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5-time MoFo Award winner.



Miss Vicky's Loyal and Willing Slave
mirror
mirror


Year of release
1980

Directed by
John Carpenter

Written by
John Carpenter
Debra Hill

Starring
Adrienne Barbeau
Janet Leigh
Tom Atkins
Jamie Lee Curtis
Hal Holbrook


The Fog

+

Plot – The small California fishing town of Antonio Bay is all set to celebrate its centennial. The residents of the town have a celebration planned, but someone else has other plans for how to mark the anniversary. As the clocks strike midnight various peculiar events start to take place throughout the town. Accompanying these moments of unexplained phenomena is a dense, glowing fog which engulfs the town and its residents. Residing within the fog are a group of spectral entities with murder on their mind. Confusion and terror begin to grip the town when the local priest believes he may have found an explanation. Stumbling across a diary dating back to the town's birth 100 years ago he learns that six of the town's founders purposely led a ship of lepers onto the rocks, leaving all on-board dead. Now they've come back for revenge.

This is the fourth feature from John Carpenter that I've watched within the last couple of weeks. While I already considered myself a big fan of his work, there were many of his most acclaimed films I had not seen, mostly as a result of my general indifference/dislike of the horror genre. As such a massive fan of They Live, Escape from New York and Assault on Precinct 13 (all films I'd take into consideration for my top 100) however I decided to expand my scope and give them a shot. So I've watched Halloween, The Thing, Christine and now The Fog. And while I'm sure it's not a common choice, my favourite of the group would definitely have to be this ghoulish effort.

Much like Christine it's not an especially 'scary' horror film. Indeed I'd classify it more as a paranormal chiller than horror. What it is however is a creepy, moody and stupendously atmospheric piece of work. Much of that is down to the realisation of the film's 'evil', the wronged crew members of the ship that was intentionally led onto the rocks one hundred years ago. Essentially taking on the appearance of ghost pirates (or is that pirate ghosts? ) they really are creepy as f**k! A great design by visual effects/make-up artist Rob bottin. The use of fog for atmospheric effect is such a classic mainstay of horror films that to make a film where fog is actually the antagonist is just f**king genius! And on reflection such an obvious move. It's also so incredibly simple to achieve, just fog and some lights. And yet it just works beautifully. Also adding to the atmosphere is yet another of Carpenter's trademark scores, an eerie and pulsing electronic score ratcheting up the tension. I just love his scores.
The cast doesn't really have any big stars, nor does it even have a 'main' character really. What the cast does have however is a series of solid performers who all give a series of likeable and empathetic showings. In fact one of the film's great strengths I felt was that through a combination of the script and the performances, characters were very quickly built up into people I really liked and cared for. The film juxtaposes three different stories before combining them for the final showdown with our ghouls. There's the potential romance between a local resident and a hitchhiker he picks up that is interrupted by having to investigate an abandoned ship; there's the radio DJ trying to take care of her son; and then there's the trio of the town's priest, town councillor and the councillor's assistant uncovering the horrible history behind the birth of the town. And eventually they all find themselves together battling against the fog and the horrors that lie within.

As strong willed radio DJ Stevie Wayne, Adrienne Barbeau is incredibly appealing and sexy. And for a radio DJ she is just about perfect casting as she displays a wonderfully sexy and sultry voice. Acting legends Hal Holbrook and Janet Leigh both add a real touch of class as the curmudgeonly priest Father Malone, and a town council official heading up the centenary celebrations respectively. Nancy Loomis is very funny as Leigh's deadpan assistant, while Charles Cyphers and Tom Atkins both bring an endearing quality to their limited characters. If there's one disappointment in the cast however it's most certainly Jamie Lee Curtis. It's not that she delivers a poor performance, it's just that she's not really featured all that much and as a result feels rather wasted.

It's quite a small and personal film in terms of scale. And one thing I admire about Carpenter here and in both Halloween and Christine is the lack of blood and gore. Horrible fates may befall the characters but Carpenter doesn't revel in them; building the suspense, alluding to the incidents and letting us picture them in our minds as opposed to throwing blood and guts in our face.

Conclusion - I'm sure many readers, if indeed not every single one of you, will be baffled as to how I enjoyed this effort more than the horror classics, Halloween and The Thing. For me however this just came the closest to the other Carpenter films I love in that it's just a massive amount of fun. A highly entertaining, spooky romp which takes a very respectable fourth place in terms of how I'd rank Carpenter's body of work.



I love The Fog. One of the most difficult films to leave off my 100. Still not sure I made the right decision. I don't think it's scary in the slightest, but it creates a wonderful atmosphere and that's what I love most in a horror film.

TBH, I +repped this review once I saw the subject and the score.



Miss Vicky's Loyal and Willing Slave
I really like The Fog as well. Don't ever be tempted to watch the remake. It's horrible
Don't worry, that won't be happening.

I love The Fog. One of the most difficult films to leave off my 100. Still not sure I made the right decision. I don't think it's scary in the slightest, but it creates a wonderful atmosphere and that's what I love most in a horror film.

TBH, I +repped this review once I saw the subject and the score.
Would certainly have been a worthy addition to the list, much more than that snoozefest Halloween. Not sure I could see it growing on me to that extent but maybe a top 150/200 list.

So all that work was for nothing?! All it needed was the score and you were happy?



Miss Vicky's Loyal and Willing Slave
I really like The Fog as well. Don't ever be tempted to watch the remake. It's horrible
Meant to say, you mentioned in the movie tab you liked Christine as well, are you a bit of a Carpenter fan?

mark f's a big fan of To Live And Die In L.A.

Wilem Dafor was so good in the mid/late 80's and even Petersen followed this up with Manhunter.
Oh yeah, I think I remember him naming the chase in To Live and Die in LA as one of his favourite car chases. I'll make sure to drag him to the review when he gets back!

And I should try and track down some more of Dafoe's stuff, always someone I've liked. And Manhunter is definitely one I plan on visiting soon.


Oh and here's a little bonus poster from The Fog. Was torn about which posters to go with and felt bad leaving this out.







Chappie doesn't like the real world
Meant to say, you mentioned in the movie tab you liked Christine as well, are you a bit of a Carpenter fan?
Yes, I am. My dad was a big fan of his as well, so I grew up watching him. I like his style of horror. Of course, he has his share of failures, but overall he's probably my favorite director in that particular genre.



Miss Vicky's Loyal and Willing Slave
I like his style in general, he's so good at creating cool, culty films. Still got quite a few to catch but from what I've seen of him so far there are 4 I'd say I love (They Live, Escape from New York, Assault on Precinct 13 and now The Fog), two that I liked (Big Trouble in Little China and Christine), one that I sort of enjoyed (The Thing) and then two that I felt kinda sucked (Halloween and Memoirs of an Invisible Man)



Miss Vicky's Loyal and Willing Slave
mirror
mirror


Year of release
1988

Directed by
Buddy Van Horn

Written by
Steve Sharon
Durk Pearson
Sandy Shaw

Starring
Clint Eastwod
Liam Neeson
Patricia Clarkson
Evan C. Kim


The Dead Pool


Plot – The dead pool; a game played by the cast and crew of a new horror film which predicts what celebrities might die. When celebrities start dying it's discovered that the names are all choices on the list of Peter Swan (Neeson), the film's director. While he seems like the prime suspect to just about everyone else, detective Harry Callahan (Eastwood) doesn't believe he's the killer. And Harry has quite an important stake in who exactly is the the killer, because his name is on the list! And he could be next.

So here it is, the last hurrah for old Harry Callahan. After five films over a seventeen year stretch which turned both the character of Dirty Harry, and Clint Eastwood into film icons this would be his final case. And unfortunately it's closer to going out with a whimper than a bang.

The film just doesn't particularly feel or even look like a Dirty Harry film. It more resembles your standard cop flick, which Harry just seems to have wandered into. Indeed it's only Harry's presence which really lifts the film to the relatively low heights it achieves. Without him this would be pretty pointless stuff. It's only the fact we've come to know and love this character over the series that is able to sustain the interest. It's his gruff exchanges with the authority figures at the police station, and his coarse sense of humour that keeps things ticking along. Some of my favourite lines from Harry this time out? “I'll kick your ass so hard, you'll have to unbutton your collar to s**t!” and “Opinions are like a**holes, everybody has one.” Both scored pretty high for me.

It's a shame the film never really gets going as I do feel there was some potential there. The idea of the dead pool list should actually be something quite different and cool but it's potential is never really realised. Also never really fulfilled is the film's attempts at a commentary on the media and its attitudes towards crimes and its victims.

Film trivia – Don't mess with Clint Eastwood! Upon the release of Dirty Harry, Eastwood and director Don Siegel were criticised by film critic Pauline Kael for making a fascist and racist film. Seventeen years on and Clint would have his vengeance. One of the celebrities killed in The Dead Pool is a movie critic, and she was made up to resemble Kael.
The film also comes up short against its predecessors in terms of its action set-pieces which really lack the thrills that the other instalments gave us. And unfortunately the moments of action that we do get tend to air towards self-parody. The scene in particular I'm thinking of is when Harry breaks up a attempted robbery at a restaurant. Sneaking in through the back he could get the drop on the perpetrators if he wanted, but instead he sits down at a table and waits to get the attention of one of the crooks just so he can deliver a one-liner before taking them out. To be fair the one-liner is actually quite entertaining in a cheesy, pulpy manner - Harry holds up a fortune cookie and says “You forgot your fortune cookie...it says your s**t out of luck!” - but it just feels so ridiculous. The final showdown at the film's climax is similarly daft as Harry emerges from the shadows with a massive harpoon in hand, spearing the killer up against a wall. They really are like moments you'd be more likely to see in Sledge Hammer, the TV comedy series which spoofed the Dirty Harry character and series.

In fairness to the film however the film does have one truly striking and memorable set-piece, even if it similarly descends into quite daft territory. The scene is that of a car chase, but it's certainly no ordinary car chase. It's one of the most bizarre chases you're ever likely to see, indeed it feels like something you'd find in a really weird-ass Japanese film or something. It finds Harry and his partner chased by a car...a remote control car!!! For those who haven't seen the film I swear I'm not lying to you. They are chased by a remote control car carrying an explosive device that is being driven by the killer. It certainly gets points for originality. And as if the idea itself wasn't silly enough, the remote control car is filmed the same way you would a real car with ominous close-ups and slow motion jumps over hills. It's like an oddball recreation of the car crash from Bullitt. It is both the most ridiculous and the most awesome thing I've seen in a long while.

Film trivia – As well as featuring the classic Guns 'n' Roses track, “Welcome to the Jungle”, the film also features cameos from the members of the band. Axl Rose, Slash, Izzy Stradlin, Duff McKagan and Steven Adler all appear during a funeral sequence.
One of the main problems I found with this film is how it messes with the Dirty Harry formula in regards to its villains. The series usually provides us with a colourful characters or group of characters that we really get to know, and it allows us to cheer Harry on as they go head to head. The Dead Pool marks a change however by keeping the identity of the villain a mystery for much of its running time. So we don't get to learn about the villain and delight in their ravings, nor do we see any clashes between the killer and Harry until the very end. That tactic of keeping the killer's identity unknown works well for your TV procedurals like CSI, but the Dirty Harry films really strived on pitting over-the-top villains against the equally larger than life, excessive character of Harry Callahan.

As a massive mark for Jim Carrey, his brief stint as drugged-up rocker Johnny Squares (which incidentally must be the worst rocker name of all time!) is without a doubt the film's highlight for me. With wild hair and mad eyes his rendition of “Welcome to the Jungle” is a real treat, making perfect use of his big personality.

Conclusion – The Dirty Harry series bows out with the weakest film of the five, but it still delivers some moments of entertainment, though much of it is definitely just playing on the affection for the character that had been built up over the previous four superior efforts. The original film, Dirty Harry, is the clear leader and the masterpiece of the series. After that I found The Enforcer came closest to matching it in terms of fun and thrills, with Tyne Daly providing my favourite of Harry's partners. The final three films are much closer together with Magnum Force taking a slight lead over Sudden Impact and Dead Pool.



Miss Vicky's Loyal and Willing Slave
You rented it just to see GNR for like 2 seconds on screen! Though to be fair that's one cool turn-out for a funeral - GNR and Clint Eastwood! So you were obviously a big fan of GNR back in the day then? Still like them?

And yeah Neeson isn't great, but it was fairly early in his career still so I'll give him a break.


Oh yeah and for anyone who didn't believe me here's the amazing car chase from The Dead Pool.






Yep, and we all cheered when they appeared.

Yes, I was/am a big GNR fan. Proper GNR, though. I even stomached a keyboard player, but what's called GNR now? No.



Miss Vicky's Loyal and Willing Slave
So I now stand on 99 reviews. And while I do know the direction I'm taking for my 100th review, I'm not sure when it will actually be ready.


Oh and I just realised I forgot to mention in my review for The Fog that the little comment about pirate ghosts/ghost pirates was a South Park reference.


Yep, and we all cheered when they appeared.
You sad people!



I know you said you've made up your mind, but I'd go with Le Cercle Rouge for # 100. It just won raul's tournament and I nominated it.



Miss Vicky's Loyal and Willing Slave
I know you said you've made up your mind, but I'd go with Le Cercle Rouge for # 100. It just won raul's tournament and I nominated it.
Hey Brodinski. Nice to see you're still keeping an eye on the thread. Anyway, I do apologise but it will not be Le Cercle Rouge. As you say I already have a plan, and I actually watched and gave a mini review to Le Cercle Rouge fairly recently.

I know it won't be quite what you're looking for score wise, but as I say below I don't feel I was in the perfect mood for it. I will definitely be revisiting it at some point in the future though when I could certainly see myself liking it a lot more, and indeed I actually quite expect that I will. I will then perhaps to try and do a more thorough and detailed review at that time


mirror


Le Cercle Rouge (1970, d. Jean-Pierre Melville)

++

While I did enjoy this film I know that it's good enough that I should have enjoyed it a good deal more. It's just that a few times throughout the film I thought to myself “I'm not really in the mood for this” but I powered through and as I said I did enjoy it, but I look forward to revisiting it when I think it could prove a bigger hit for me. I loved the depiction of Paris, so much different than is normally presented on screen. It's a very grey and cold city here. The way the city is presented and the characters who populate it create a very cool movie. It also has a great, almost silent heist scene towards the climax which harks back to that French heist classic, Rififi.



Miss Vicky's Loyal and Willing Slave
Still working away on the 100th. A lot of effort going into this. Afterwards I think I'll need to take an extended break so I can have a rest!

Oh and Honeykid, in case you're fearing it, it's not going to be the Lord of the Rings trilogy.



Miss Vicky's Loyal and Willing Slave
I was wanting to put off my 100th review spectacular until the next page so I was trying to come up with stuff I could say to fill the posts. However I've decided to just be up front and admit that I want to get to the next page!


So...