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I thought M was good, especially Peter Lorre, but I wouldn't say it was my cup of tea. The interview with Fritz Lang on the Blu-ray was of great interest because he spoke about his fateful meeting with Joseph Goebbels and immediately getting the hell out of Germany. Adds background to my favourite film Münchhausen, which Goebbels commissioned and which I always watch with the inclination to be guarded.
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Thanks kindly! I like to chromatically shade titles but the options are super limited unless I make my own and then I can't submit to the database so...I like the grey/charcoal combo, maybe I'll try that next lol.
And what is RADA, BTW?
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I thought M was good, especially Peter Lorre, but I wouldn't say it was my cup of tea. The interview with Fritz Lang on the Blu-ray was of great interest because he spoke about his fateful meeting with Joseph Goebbels and immediately getting the hell out of Germany. Adds background to my favourite film Munchhausen, which Goebbels commissioned and which I always watch with the inclination to be guarded.
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I'm not prejudiced with foreign films to my usual American taste for cinema (not that I think you're implying that - I don't think that). I've thought tons of foreign films were incredible and in fact better than most movies from the US. Something about M just had me very tired. I mean, pretty much what I explained would be the reasons for my fatigue with it and it's funny because I've been able to easily track the visual flair of other dialog heavy subtitled films in the past, in fact that's usually the case. It's usually simple and very rewarding so I may have to try M again at a later time. I did the best I could this time.
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Yeah, I feel like I was probably experiencing the same thing. A lot of concentration maybe.
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NOWHERE TO HIDE (1987)
Director: Mario Azzopardi
Amy Madigan tries to act her way out of a paper bag here and usually is able to do so, but the story is very ugly, and in typical 1980's fashion, we get some of the sleaziest, most A-Hole moves done by the bad guys at every turn, so it's hard to not root for her character, being a recent victim of military corruption, with a dead husband and a child in her arms, she is on the run, and wanting answers. No one gets any, though. Especially the viewer.
The story wanted to be competent, and I was willing to go along for the ride had things paid off with an explanation, but they never did. I never found out why the military did what they did, I only found out, within the first 5 minutes of the film, that they just did.
Madigan plays an OK hero but I can't help but feel like she wasn't given enough badassery to play with and own in the movie. This action/thriller needed a lot more revenge factor for what was done to her and her family. And though I respect the pace of this picture, and the time it took to establish the characters and eventual submergence into the wilderness setting, I cannot forgive the resounding thud of an ending with no motive aside from faulty engineering being the culprit for all the needless cruelty.
For these reasons, Nowhere to Hide is a distraction and a disturbing one, but not without some unintentional laughter at just how over the top some of the mean spiritedness is. This is working on a level of macho stupid that makes a lot of other 80's action films empathetic works of art.
I also think hiring Brad Fiedel (The Terminator, Fright Night) as composer may've been a mistake. He's a nifty composer but his score works against the camera movement, and, in turn, the camera movements work against a pivotal acting scene where Madigan is doing her "Oscar" moment with the victim child of hers in the hotel room. Her delivery is mis matched with the speed of the dollying, and the music is further mismatched with both of these elements. I'm not sure she didn't do a fine job. But I am sure that either the hiring choice or the editing was responsible because these things need to be considered when you have a dramatic moment that is clearly supposed to be poetic and memorable.
Director: Mario Azzopardi
Amy Madigan tries to act her way out of a paper bag here and usually is able to do so, but the story is very ugly, and in typical 1980's fashion, we get some of the sleaziest, most A-Hole moves done by the bad guys at every turn, so it's hard to not root for her character, being a recent victim of military corruption, with a dead husband and a child in her arms, she is on the run, and wanting answers. No one gets any, though. Especially the viewer.
The story wanted to be competent, and I was willing to go along for the ride had things paid off with an explanation, but they never did. I never found out why the military did what they did, I only found out, within the first 5 minutes of the film, that they just did.
Madigan plays an OK hero but I can't help but feel like she wasn't given enough badassery to play with and own in the movie. This action/thriller needed a lot more revenge factor for what was done to her and her family. And though I respect the pace of this picture, and the time it took to establish the characters and eventual submergence into the wilderness setting, I cannot forgive the resounding thud of an ending with no motive aside from faulty engineering being the culprit for all the needless cruelty.
For these reasons, Nowhere to Hide is a distraction and a disturbing one, but not without some unintentional laughter at just how over the top some of the mean spiritedness is. This is working on a level of macho stupid that makes a lot of other 80's action films empathetic works of art.
I also think hiring Brad Fiedel (The Terminator, Fright Night) as composer may've been a mistake. He's a nifty composer but his score works against the camera movement, and, in turn, the camera movements work against a pivotal acting scene where Madigan is doing her "Oscar" moment with the victim child of hers in the hotel room. Her delivery is mis matched with the speed of the dollying, and the music is further mismatched with both of these elements. I'm not sure she didn't do a fine job. But I am sure that either the hiring choice or the editing was responsible because these things need to be considered when you have a dramatic moment that is clearly supposed to be poetic and memorable.
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Glad to see someone else who thought Split was crap.
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Killer Klowns from Outer Space
(1988)
Director: Stephen Chiodo
I can't discuss this movie like some class president, trying to convince anyone reading that this is a movie that will affect them the same way as it did myself. I can only discuss this from my own experieces, and so I will.
Back in 1988 I rented this on vhs. I was about 12 years old, just started smoking cigarettes and dating girls, and weekend sleep overs were king in my life. In the summertime, I'd go over to my buddy Chris's house, in his refinished rec room basement, and we'd camp there, with console floor television, vcr, and a pick of the movies we'd decided to rent. Killer Klowns was a staple. Before we watched the film, we'd strip naked and streak down the road on a dare, with a temperature of about 73f°. It was light fun and a little scary. Once a car drove by, we'd either jump into the sidewalk provided bushes or just rough it out ashamed of our pre-pubescently forming male bodies. All was good. We'd return to his side entrance by the lower lawn portion of the house he lived in, complete with a He-Man: Masters of the Universe back yard at night illumination that seemed to photocopy the matte effects of the giant tree world in House II, with the moonlight not directly present but still outlining the vast tree line we'd see. His yard was huge, and that set the mood for us reconvening inside to partake in the viewing of some good and fresh VHS urgency. Killer Klowns from Outer Space is a movie made by special effect and puppetry masters who were influenced by the Ray Harryhausen, but also coming into their own as the glow worm 1980's called for shiny and shadowy displays of candy store lanterns. This is why the movie resonates; the effects. We get tents of yellow and red striped pumped from the inside with warm yellow lighting, humongous painted worlds of forced perspective popcorn toy-gun electrical blue crawling visuals that would today be scowled at as being dated. But here they are most welcome. Offset, balanced and grateful for John Vernon's comic relief as a complete ball-busting beat cop who hates kids, we get a darkly photographed sci fi comedy that survives off of a filmic eerieness. Blackness in the frame assists an otherwise over saturated carnival nightmare landscape with throwaway characters contributing light and fluffy sitcom style humor. Sound effects, high spirited music and a real sense of craftsmanship takes over this otherwise remedial hayride into territory that outshines many contemporaries. If you are looking for a b-movie, this is your ticket. It's fun, camp and totally visual.
Chris and I were not looking for any of that, we just thought the title was cool when we decided to rent it for the first time. Ever since, it's been a highly regarded piece of film history, coming from an era that has seemed to accrue a bad rap, but nontheless has still furnished fans of fun cinema some of the best examples of effect driven fantasy comedies.
(1988)
Director: Stephen Chiodo
I can't discuss this movie like some class president, trying to convince anyone reading that this is a movie that will affect them the same way as it did myself. I can only discuss this from my own experieces, and so I will.
Back in 1988 I rented this on vhs. I was about 12 years old, just started smoking cigarettes and dating girls, and weekend sleep overs were king in my life. In the summertime, I'd go over to my buddy Chris's house, in his refinished rec room basement, and we'd camp there, with console floor television, vcr, and a pick of the movies we'd decided to rent. Killer Klowns was a staple. Before we watched the film, we'd strip naked and streak down the road on a dare, with a temperature of about 73f°. It was light fun and a little scary. Once a car drove by, we'd either jump into the sidewalk provided bushes or just rough it out ashamed of our pre-pubescently forming male bodies. All was good. We'd return to his side entrance by the lower lawn portion of the house he lived in, complete with a He-Man: Masters of the Universe back yard at night illumination that seemed to photocopy the matte effects of the giant tree world in House II, with the moonlight not directly present but still outlining the vast tree line we'd see. His yard was huge, and that set the mood for us reconvening inside to partake in the viewing of some good and fresh VHS urgency. Killer Klowns from Outer Space is a movie made by special effect and puppetry masters who were influenced by the Ray Harryhausen, but also coming into their own as the glow worm 1980's called for shiny and shadowy displays of candy store lanterns. This is why the movie resonates; the effects. We get tents of yellow and red striped pumped from the inside with warm yellow lighting, humongous painted worlds of forced perspective popcorn toy-gun electrical blue crawling visuals that would today be scowled at as being dated. But here they are most welcome. Offset, balanced and grateful for John Vernon's comic relief as a complete ball-busting beat cop who hates kids, we get a darkly photographed sci fi comedy that survives off of a filmic eerieness. Blackness in the frame assists an otherwise over saturated carnival nightmare landscape with throwaway characters contributing light and fluffy sitcom style humor. Sound effects, high spirited music and a real sense of craftsmanship takes over this otherwise remedial hayride into territory that outshines many contemporaries. If you are looking for a b-movie, this is your ticket. It's fun, camp and totally visual.
Chris and I were not looking for any of that, we just thought the title was cool when we decided to rent it for the first time. Ever since, it's been a highly regarded piece of film history, coming from an era that has seemed to accrue a bad rap, but nontheless has still furnished fans of fun cinema some of the best examples of effect driven fantasy comedies.
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It's been too long since I've seen M, but early Fritz Lang often equals favorite for me. I like M for being so stark, but I actually prefer a load of other 20s/30s flicks on a visual front. Are you a fan of the period Joel?
You've just rekindled my interest in a Killer Klowns rewatch.
You've just rekindled my interest in a Killer Klowns rewatch.
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It's been too long since I've seen M, but early Fritz Lang often equals favorite for me. I like M for being so stark, but I actually prefer a load of other 20s/30s flicks on a visual front. Are you a fan of the period Joel?
You've just rekindled my interest in a Killer Klowns rewatch.
You've just rekindled my interest in a Killer Klowns rewatch.
Killer Klowns is a fun time!
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A Master Builder (2013)
Director: Jonathan Demme
Director: Jonathan Demme
Based on an impenetrable play from a hundred plus years ago by Henrik Ibsen, Wallace Shawn translates and adapts a considerably more coherent and juicy screenplay in kahoots with long time collaborator/stage director Andre Gregory, and film director Jonathan Demme.
The story seems simple but soon turns into a blurred line between dream and reality when an aging architect on his death bed recalls a young woman he promised to steal away like a half mountain creature man when she was old enough to hop into the sack with him. Actually, it's more subtle than that, but not much more.
Shawn does a nice stretch as a charismatic yet controlling portrayal of a master architect not ready to accept his fate of being obscured by a young upstart in the field. We spend most of the film in close up, right on the actors faces, and it's a wonderful experience because the acting is the highest form of acting there is. It lives and breathes in the kind of jazz precision we'd get from a well rehearsed ensemble, so much in fact, that the mere positioning of a bow to be stretched back, the simple act of it being an intention and not an action in motion, would have enough force to blow the theater lights out like a flame. Actually, it's not really like that. But it is good. The acting, that is. Who's writing this crap?
Sorry...
As welcome as Shawn's atypical performance is, it's Julie Hagerty and Lisa Joyce who really impressed me. Joyce's manic laughter turned intense focus and back again really had me on edge, and her delivery of every line was brimming with life and energy. Hagerty really, really goes against her usual typecast with a quietly brooding wife, damaged by her past and holding onto nothing in her current life. She uses her eyes in ways I haven't seen since I don't know when.
The writing is fantastic. Every word is clear and concise. There are no boastful elaborations or vocabulary gymnastics. The straightforward manner of the dialog, natural performances massaged into truth, cadence and tonality of all of this being manifested, has the same impressive poetry of the most difficult Shakespeare, and even moreso. It's the modern world we are living in, and within this modern world not once are we agitated by self important technology or common bulls eye phrasing. This is all very unpretentious and honest.
Jonathan Demme makes great use of the location we get with Master Builder Halvard Solness's home, and his choice to photograph everything with great detail, serving the performances, really takes this far and away from anything resembling the failure of a filmed play. As noted by many of the production's contemporaries, this is indeed a real film (shot with the Arri Alexa, digitally, of course, alternating between 30fps and 24fps respectively.) The alternating frame rates create the illusion of real life vs dream life,but everything still flows much like a cinema movie including a key scene of a car drive filming the tops of suburban houses and cupolas, as if to indicate a middle class work flow that positions Shawn's Solness character in a bit of a pretense as far as his lofty achievements and goals are concerned. Is this actually the case? Is he a Master Builder, or an architect of middle class housing for "people" to live in? I do not know, but it's an interesting juxtaposition to think about.
Would it be too bold to say that this is a masterpiece of a film? Maybe. I don't know. I wouldn't want to say just yet. I've seen this twice now, and this last viewing really had me appreciating all the care put into it. It absolutely transported me into another world, and that's what I want when I see a movie. But at the same time, this plays as a documentary of sorts. It's really a unique blend I haven't experienced before.
This is undoubtedly a strange movie, and probably an unlikely scenario to most people's prejudices, but I will say that everyone involved, and I mean everyone involved, sells their role. They are totally committed, as if life itself was to make sure that A Master Builder stood higher in the center of the clouds.
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I must admit that I am not familiar with those eras at all. I have a light interest in exploring them because I feel I owe to myself to embrace the roots of motion pictures, but at the same time, I don't want to force it, either.
I love the Master Builder review. Not the kind of thing that would normally catch my eye, but I like the way you make it sound.
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That's cool. Good luck exploring. I hope you get sucked into the weirder side of the 20s & 30s like I did.
I love the Master Builder review. Not the kind of thing that would normally catch my eye, but I like the way you make it sound.
I love the Master Builder review. Not the kind of thing that would normally catch my eye, but I like the way you make it sound.
If you have any film titles from those eras you can send my way, feel free, when time allows.
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Thanks. There's a good chance you may not care for A Master Builder but I'll still recommend it, just in case. The acting is what makes it something special to me anyway.
If you have any film titles from those eras you can send my way, feel free, when time allows.
If you have any film titles from those eras you can send my way, feel free, when time allows.
The era is pretty well known for atmospheric horror and gangster flicks. There are too many favorites to satisfactorily list offhand, but flickchart is good for that. For radical visuals, look into early expressionism (namely Metropolis, Faust, Caligari). Mind you, anything 1935 and before is less likely to be repressed by the motion picture code.
Some random names to throw in a hat: maybe Island of Lost Souls (Dr. Moreau adaption), I Am a Fugitive from the Chain Gang, some early Hitchcock (Lady Vanishes, The Lodger), Haxan (my favorite), Phantom of the opera (Chaney), The Phantom Carriage, Georges Melies shorts (maybe a good intro to silents?)
I really hope you end up liking some. It took me a while, but I love the stylings and histrionic charm of early cine.
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I'll try to get around to it soon.
The era is pretty well known for atmospheric horror and gangster flicks. There are too many favorites to satisfactorily list offhand, but flickchart is good for that. For radical visuals, look into early expressionism (namely Metropolis, Faust, Caligari). Mind you, anything 1935 and before is less likely to be repressed by the motion picture code.
Some random names to throw in a hat: maybe Island of Lost Souls (Dr. Moreau adaption), I Am a Fugitive from the Chain Gang, some early Hitchcock (Lady Vanishes, The Lodger), Haxan (my favorite), Phantom of the opera (Chaney), The Phantom Carriage, Georges Melies shorts (maybe a good intro to silents?)
I really hope you end up liking some. It took me a while, but I love the stylings and histrionic charm of early cine.
The era is pretty well known for atmospheric horror and gangster flicks. There are too many favorites to satisfactorily list offhand, but flickchart is good for that. For radical visuals, look into early expressionism (namely Metropolis, Faust, Caligari). Mind you, anything 1935 and before is less likely to be repressed by the motion picture code.
Some random names to throw in a hat: maybe Island of Lost Souls (Dr. Moreau adaption), I Am a Fugitive from the Chain Gang, some early Hitchcock (Lady Vanishes, The Lodger), Haxan (my favorite), Phantom of the opera (Chaney), The Phantom Carriage, Georges Melies shorts (maybe a good intro to silents?)
I really hope you end up liking some. It took me a while, but I love the stylings and histrionic charm of early cine.
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GOD'S POCKET (2014)
Director: John Slattery
This movie is a little bit short of being a classic indie black comedy. Its misfires are the construction and mis-direction. Tonally, the movie seems to be consistent, but some of the story elements are uneven, and that's a hard thing to put your finger on, trying to figure why something doesn't work. For me it was the feeling of not really being concerned about any one story threaded throughout the film, even though the film clearly cued up some weighty pretense. It'd be very easy to categorize God's Pocket as a train wreck or complete mess, but I really don't think it is despite this.
Without divulging a bunch of plot, the basic story is of a small suburb in a rough neighborhood where everyone knows each other's secrets, and daily gossip is a constant hum. Small time crime is the usual activity, and a few made men run things, as usual in stories like this. A broke and irresponsible horse race gambler has a mishap with a dead body while a struggling local journalist battles his biggest story while trying to make time with a married woman.
A story with even a hint of complexity like this could have been handled better in other hands, but I have to give it up for Slattery's direction, even if what ended up in the film wasn't as filtered as it could have been. The humor works quite nicely, all of the performances are top drawer, and there is enough surprise for a small film like this to at least make watching a worthwhile time passer for anyone who doesn't have their checklist in hand for what a good movie makes.
I have to say that some things are just ridiculous, and anyone awake and watching this movie should pick up on some of the outrageous things about it. But for me that just adds to the comedy, and I was entertained enough to watch this twice, about 8 months apart from each viewing.
Director: John Slattery
This movie is a little bit short of being a classic indie black comedy. Its misfires are the construction and mis-direction. Tonally, the movie seems to be consistent, but some of the story elements are uneven, and that's a hard thing to put your finger on, trying to figure why something doesn't work. For me it was the feeling of not really being concerned about any one story threaded throughout the film, even though the film clearly cued up some weighty pretense. It'd be very easy to categorize God's Pocket as a train wreck or complete mess, but I really don't think it is despite this.
Without divulging a bunch of plot, the basic story is of a small suburb in a rough neighborhood where everyone knows each other's secrets, and daily gossip is a constant hum. Small time crime is the usual activity, and a few made men run things, as usual in stories like this. A broke and irresponsible horse race gambler has a mishap with a dead body while a struggling local journalist battles his biggest story while trying to make time with a married woman.
A story with even a hint of complexity like this could have been handled better in other hands, but I have to give it up for Slattery's direction, even if what ended up in the film wasn't as filtered as it could have been. The humor works quite nicely, all of the performances are top drawer, and there is enough surprise for a small film like this to at least make watching a worthwhile time passer for anyone who doesn't have their checklist in hand for what a good movie makes.
I have to say that some things are just ridiculous, and anyone awake and watching this movie should pick up on some of the outrageous things about it. But for me that just adds to the comedy, and I was entertained enough to watch this twice, about 8 months apart from each viewing.
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