Recent Viewings, Part 2

[M.10rda]

Young Brando was something else. Middle aged Brando, likewise. Disturbed guy, but a heck of an actor, to put it mildly. I got through 75% of Brando in JULIUS CAESAR last week. Will finish and review it one of these days.

[Rev. Powell]

Something I really need to see before I die.

https://youtu.be/Er_yEIE2I2o?si=Dhn3EPiaP0HsbVV8

[RCMerchant]

^ Hmmm.....

[FatFreddysCat]

"Charlie's Angels: Behind the Camera" (2004)
Made-for-TV docudrama proclaims to be an "unauthorized" look behind the scenes of the tumultuous first season of the 70s jiggle private-eye show. The three girls playing Farrah, Kate, and Jaclyn are convincing lookalikes, the 70s period sets and fashions are a scream, and Dan Castallaneta (the voice of Homer Simpson!) is a hoot as pipe-smoking producer Aaron Spelling. The whole thing has a slightly tongue-in-cheek feel which makes this fun, enjoyable junk.

[FatFreddysCat]

Ape x Mecha-Ape: New World Order" (2024)
When a massive Cthulhu-like tentacle monster rises from the ocean and attacks civilization, it will take the combined efforts of "Abraham" the giant ape and his mechanical counterpart "Mecha-Ape" to defeat the critter and save the planet.
In case you couldn't tell, this is the Asylum's mockbuster of "Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire," with plenty of the same cheap CGI and gibberish scientific dialogue seen in the previous two "Ape" installments.
Fulfilling the Asylum's "former big name actor/actress slumming for a quick paycheck" quotient, Sean Young (of "Blade Runner" fame) turns up as an evil Congresswoman.
None of the "Ape" films have been great, obviously, but this one was probably the weakest of the three. However, fans of Asylum style schlock should still get a fair share of cheap, cheesy fun out of it.

[M.10rda]

Cthulhu fights a giant ape? You sold me!

[M.10rda]

THE FALLEN IDOL (1948):
Second viewing of what IMDB classifies as a "thriller/mystery" from Carol Reed, director of legit thrillers THE THRID MAN and ODD MAN OUT. Among my many neuroses is OCD, manifest in (an array of goofy behavior including) my possessing hundreds or thousands of films I've never watched yet all-too-often I'm compelled to revisit stuff I've seen if I feel like I didn't quite get it the previous time. This doesn't always pay off (see THE BEAT GENERATION) but in this case I'm glad I made the second trip. It's not quite a thriller nor even really a mystery (which disappointed me on my initial watch), but it is a sometimes suspenseful character piece that plays on innate human distrust of even those closest to us... sort of like SHADOW OF A DOUBT if Uncle Charlie was merely a befuddled womanizer.

Little Phillip lives in a Parisian mansion where (in lieu of his jetsetting parents) he is cared for by kindly manservant Baines (who Phillip oddly calls "Bain") and, when Baines is off-duty, by perpetually disgruntled Mrs. Baines. The couple appears profoundly estranged and not just by their work schedule. Initially Phillip is mystified by Baines' recreational jaunts downtown, and, upon following him, becomes embroiled in an only moderately scandalous cover-up. Halfway through the movie, though, the stakes are raised significantly...

Adapted from a novel, THE FALLEN IDOL could just as easily have been a one-setting stageplay  in two acts. In the second half, detectives arrive at the mansion to interview Baines and Phillip about a fatality, and the titular idol really begins to descend. Baines is played by Ralph Richardson, an actor one used to hear about more often than one would see him onscreen. His performance here lends some credence to his reputation, certainly. Also noteworthy is Denis O'Dea, an actor I don't know from anything else, who does crackling good work as the lead detective. (His partner is Jack Hawkins, which doesn't hurt.)

What really worked for me this time is the powerful dramatic irony that results from Reed providing information to the audience that he withholds from Phillip, Baines, and the detectives, all of whom are too willing to presume a narrative that is dark and quite false. I'll tell you a quick personal anecdote here: in 2006 I had to make a police report about someone, and when the police talked to that person, they in turn made a false accusation against me. The police (having actually spent a few minutes w/ this nut) were very quick to disregard the false accusation, though they of course questioned me about it. I was relieved by their snappy rejection of the accusation, naturally, but for 18 years the dynamic has plagued me. Every time I read or hear a bromide like "believe women" I'm inclined to go along with it but then I think about my own situation and in my head I inescapably get all #notallwomen .Some times people lie, and of course among people who lie, many of them are covering up for real crimes. Conviction and acquittals (or, alas, reversals!) aren't necessarily realistic reflections of guilt or innocence. Truth is a fickle thing.

THE FALLEN IDOL really nails its evocation of this diffuse epistemological anxiety. When the actual Truth finally comes out, no one seems all that relieved. Poor little Phillip ends the film in a state of deep confusion - emotional, ethical, spiritual. Even as the police are ready to pack up and leave, he keeps wanting to confess, to anything... Just To Be Sure.

4.5/5
Great movie!

[RCMerchant]

^ I need to see that! I LOVE old noir!

[FatFreddysCat]

"Monster Mash" (2024)
Count Dracula enlists the help of the Wolfman, the Mummy, and the Invisible Man to help him rescue his daughter from Doctor Frankenstein (Michael Madsen), who has kidnapped her as part of a plot to make a new, even more dangerous creature than his previous Monster.
The Asylum's riff on classic monster movies has their usual soap-opera production values and cheap crap CGI, but surprisingly, "Monster Mash" was a cut above their usual brand of schlock. There's lots of cool, old-fashioned horror atmosphere, the guy playing Dracula has got Bela Lugosi's deep-voice and cool accent down pat, and the rest of the cast seems to be having a good time, too. Color me pleasantly surprised by this one. "Monster Mash" might actually be worth a re-visit around Halloween.

[Jim H]

Last Stop in Yuma County - Neo-Noirish crime thriller, I guess you'd say.  Two bank robbers needing gasoline stop at a diner a hundred miles from anywhere, as the attached gas station is waiting for a fuel truck.  The waitress and one patron are in there too.  The question quickly becomes, who will find out when, and what will everyone do about it, and who will show up later, and so on and so forth. 

Really reminds me of a low key, tension based mostly single location film from the 1950s, like The Tall T.  That's largely a good thing. 

Good cast, pretty distinct characters, taut tension, and well shot.  Rock solid pacing, like 80 minutes minus credits. 

Good stuff.

The director of this one is doing the next Evil Dead, an interesting choice.

[FatFreddysCat]

"Corman's World: Exploits of a Hollywood Rebel" (2011)
The news of Roger Corman's passing prompted me to revisit this thorough, entertaining doc about his 50+ years in the movie biz, starting with the drive-in era and going all the way through VHS and streaming. Loaded with clips from his classic back catalog and testimonies from the many Hollywood legends who got their start under Rog's umbrella (Jack Nicholson, Ron Howard, Martin Scorsese, William Shatner, etc., etc.). Hail to the King of the B's!

[Rev. Powell]

DARIO ARGENTO: PANICO (2023): Documentary about the horror auteur with interviews with his family, collaborators, and admirers, and a wraparound about him writing a new script (presumably "Dark Glasses"). Exactly what you would expect from this kind of doc: choice clips, some behind-the-scenes stuff, and everyone saying nice things (while awkwardly trying to avoid talking about his twenty-first century work). 2.5/5, decent for fans of the director.

[Dr. Whom]

Demon Lover (2002)

A French company is trying to get a deal with a Japanese hentai producer to break into the online 3D market. But there are ruthless competitors and what is the role of demonlover, an interactive website for snuff and torture movies?

This is a movie that abruptly switches gears halfway through. As luck would have it, I watched it in two sittings, which corresponded to the two halves. The first half is a paranoid high tech corporate spy thriller, which then suddenly changes into an action movie, with fights, chases and not much regard for reality. The original plotline and several characters are basically ditched, and those characters that do remain, behave quite differently from the first half. Lots of stuff just happens, without making too much sense. It seems to me that the writer/director had an idea how to begin and how to end, but no clear path how to get from one to the other. At one point they gave up and simply put in the scenes as and when they felt they needed it.

It is supposed to make some point about the digital world desensitising and alienating us. No doubt all this talk of internet porn felt a lot more fascinating in 2002.

According to wikipedia Chloe Sevigny learned her French lines phonetically, not speaking the language. If that is true she did an impressive job.
Both in appearance and diction, the main character reminded me a lot of Sylvia Kristel in Emmanuelle. No idea whether that was intentional

During the negotiations, the hentai animation studio shows some clips of what they had been up to until then. It was tentacle stuff I recognised immediately.

[M.10rda]

Cool movie. That's Olivier Assayas - all of his films tend to diverge or digress wildly at some point. I haven't seen it since it was new and your review made me want to check it out again. I really like some of his other films.

[lester1/2jr]

The Final Project (2015) - This represents the middle ground of the found footage arts. Honestly, the best part is the r rated, improvised sounding dialogue between the various characters. Very much like the "get to know the doomed people" portion of Disaster movies, these sections exist to show off attractive cast members * and put the viewer in the situation. The talking goes on a little long, but that's to be expected. The horror aspect is less successful. Some mildly scary stuff, but pretty nondescript. I watched it in one night though, which I must respect. The mediocre video quality was a bridge too far in the authenticity pursuit.

3/5

*especially Misty

edit almost all of the supposed to be real positive IMDB reviews mention The Blair Witch Project. nice try, guys