Recent Viewings, Part 2

[M.10rda]

LISA FRANKENSTEIN (2024):
Popped up in our Prime stream and we clicked it instantly w/ no prior info about it. This is the best Diablo Cody film I've seen and quite a surprise treat altogether. Lisa is an introverted teenager w/ a hyper-popular, passive-aggressive stepsister, a pathologically shrewish stepmother (Carla Gugino!), and a dad played by the same actor who plays the dad on STRANGER THINGS, giving the same performance that barely registers a pulse. Lisa comforts herself by hanging out in an ancient cemetery and fantasizing about joining the interred six feet under. As it turns out, at least one of the interred has been listening, and one night following a lightning storm, it follows Lisa home...

This is a delightful pastiche of 80s teen romcom, early Tim Burton fantasy, and a little John Waters satire. There are surprises and also parts that are predictable yet handled in a fresh way. One refreshing aspect of LISA FRANKENSTEIN is that it successfully pushes the extremities of its PG-13 rating - this is isn't the toothless PG-13 of contemporary mainstream flicks, it's the PG-13 from the 80s which could've just as easily been an R if the MPAA ratings board woke up on the wrong side of their coffins.

That's apropos as LF is set in the 80s and captures the 80s aesthetic in every particular, including supporting actors doing credible impressions of Johnny Depp and young Brad Pitt. I credit first-time feature director Zelda Williams for the pitch-perfect design, tone, and lovely cinematography, but I have to give Cody credit for a Daniel Waters-esque screenplay that delivers a great many dark laughs. The biggest props, however, go to Kathryn Newton, who is always good in anything but really delivers a tour-de-force performance as Lisa. She covers the spectrum from beleaguered victim to unhinged chaos agent with great charisma and aplomb, always maintaining sympathy for Lisa even when actions transcend the defensible.

If Lisa falls short of the iconic femmes who inspired her, its no fault of the ebullient Newton - Lydia Deetz and Veronica Sawyer were also lucky to be the centers of films that were essentially perfect, which LISA FRANKENSTEIN isn't. It would be an easy 4.5/5 for me if Cody and Williams had just massaged the last 2-3 minutes a little more. I also had a big issue w/ the ending to JENNIFER'S BODY, but while LISA suffers from a slightly underwhelming ending, it's superior to JB in all other ways and, on its own, definitely a breezy pleasure watch.

4/5
It also boasts a great soundtrack and cinema history's second funniest dialogue about Pabst's Blue Ribbon.

[FatFreddysCat]

"Expend4bles" (aka "Expendables 4," 2023)
It's been almost a decade since the last Expendables installment, but Barney (Stallone) and Lee (Statham) are getting the band back together for yet another dangerous covert mission involving terrorists and stolen nuclear material. As always, the body count is absurd and lots of stuff crashes and explodes.
I enjoyed the previous three films in this series, but "4" was a big disappointment. I guess they've run out of '80s action stars to hit up for cameos, so the new cast members this time are D-listers like 50 Cent and Megan Fox (!). Worse, the movie relies way too much on CGI -- it looks like it was shot entirely in front of green screens, not on actual sets or locations, which made me feel like I was watching a video game. I think it may be time to put this franchise to bed.

[lester1/2jr]

I watched the first episode of The Fall tv series with Gillian Anderson as the star it was pretty good. She's part of a police team trying to catch a serial killer in Belfast. They better act bel-fast!

[M.10rda]

Well heck, can we post about TV shows in this thread? I'll post even more often! Mostly we watch streaming series when Madame has control of the remote...

[M.10rda]

I HATE YOUR GUTS aka THE INTRUDER aka SHAME (1962):
There is a great deal to admire about Roger Corman's unusual, ostensibly race-baiting drama, and foremost is William Shatner's fiery yet finely modulated and nuanced lead performance as an ice cream suit-wearing right wing provocateur. I'm a fan of Shatner's acting, particularly his early work, and this is a clear contender for his best big-screen performance. The other major draw of THE INTRUDER (et al) are the many passages of dialogue that sound like they could be delivered in a film produced and set in 2024. Screenwriter Charles Beaumont wrote a lot of episodes of "The Twilight Zone" (though none of the amazing Shatner ones) and his uncanny ability to frame timely topics in a timeless way would've made him an ideal contributor to BLACK MIRROR, too.

The recently departed Corman also deserves a pair of compliments - one heartfelt, the other qualified. Corman's work as a director here is on another level from any other film I've seen him helm and provides all the evidence anyone would ever need to acknowledge he was capable of crafting "real" or "good" movies. Besides Shatner, nearly the entire large cast gives sincere, compelling, or at least competent performances. Also, Corman handles the camera in extremely smart, effective ways, both in volatile crowd scenes and tighter interior dialogues. Everyone acknowledges Corman's cunning as a producer and promoter, and that's also evident in this serious, well-made film that nevertheless exploits a hot-button issue from 1962 that would still pack in salacious drive-in goers 5-6 six years later (perhaps under an alternate title!). One of Corman's more savvy decisions about THE INTRUDER helps add depth while also stinking of cynicism: Shatner's evil huckster Adam Cramer is allowed many loooong soliloquys where he rails passionately and eloquently against blacks, Jews, and socialists. Although Cramer is obviously a bad guy and while most of the townspeople who support him are obviously ignorant and hateful bigots, there's still quite a lot of red-meat tossing and (loud) dog-whistling onscreen before the forces of reason just about prevail, and I assume 75 or so of THE INTRUDER's 84 minutes would've played just as well to integration-inflamed Southerners as it did anywhere else. Heck, the titular INTRUDER can be whoever you want it to be in your particular market - Cramer or those intrusive negro schoolchildren!

As smart as Corman and Beaumont's work is in many ways, its chief shortcoming is the naivete (or just pat storytelling) that colors its ending. ***GENERAL SPOILERS*** The film asserts that Cramer will eventually lose control of his frothing, rabid mob, which he does... but then, in the final moments, not only Cramer but also that mob are deactivated and dispelled all too handily. Although I'll accept that a once-riled animal could be riled to violence again in the future, my 21st century perspective alas leads me to feel that Beaumont was too optimistic about the ability of hate-fueled extremists to feel guilt and (eponymously!) SHAME! Still, viva la fantasie!

4/5

I'm often prone to hyperbole and thus checked myself and Google before suggesting that Shatner's outstanding performance here could've competed with any Oscar contenders for Best Actor in 1962.  The nominees - an unusually credible bunch by Academy standards! Winner Gregory Peck (TO KILL A MOCKINGBIRD) and nominee Peter O'Toole (LAWRENCE OF ARABIA) were unassailable, and Burt Lancaster in BIRDMAN OF ALCATRAZ also hard to front on. Jack Lemmon is a monolithic talent but DAYS OF WINE AND ROSES showcases maybe only his sixth or seventh or eighth best performance. Marcello Mastroianni in DIVORCE ITALIAN STYLE? He can definitely go pound sand and make a spot for the Shat!

[M.10rda]

THE ZONE OF INTEREST (2023):
I'll try something different for a change and ask for input rather than just bloviating for a couple hundred words. My sense is that thinking about this film's premise (prior to seeing it) was actually more interesting and provocative than the film itself ended up being as I watched it. Glazer isn't entirely subtle (the sound design sometimes goes way over the top) but I still wonder if the film in toto is too polite, too discreet to communicate its point to the cheap seats. A leftist podcaster recently called it "the most important film" of the year or of recent times or something. I get it, but that podcaster and I are the chorus, so to speak - so are most Academy voters. Does this film play sufficiently for the demographic that isn't already thinking (daily) about its central themes?

3-3.5/5 or something?

[FatFreddysCat]

"Class of 1984" (1982)
An idealistic young teacher (Perry King) takes a new job at a crime-infested inner city high school, and immediately gets on the wrong side of the gang of punks who rule the hallways with iron fists. Mayhem ensues.
Mark "Commando" Lester's punk-rockin' update of 1950s "teens gone wild" flicks like "The Blackboard Jungle" takes a little while to get going, but it culminates in a satisfyingly ultra-violent finale. A baby-faced Michael J. Fox has a supporting role and the theme song is performed by Alice Cooper!

[Trevor]

"Class of 1984" (1982)
IrbIAO4yo70
An idealistic young teacher (Perry King) takes a new job at a crime-infested inner city high school, and immediately gets on the wrong side of the gang of punks who rule the hallways with iron fists. Mayhem ensues.
Mark "Commando" Lester's punk-rockin' update of 1950s "teens gone wild" flicks like "The Blackboard Jungle" takes a little while to get going, but it culminates in a satisfyingly ultra-violent finale. A baby-faced Michael J. Fox has a supporting role and the theme song is performed by Alice Cooper!

The South African censors were buried under public complaints from people who were concerned about the adverse effects this film was having on their young ones 😳

[WingedSerpent]

LongLegs (2024)
Pretty good and creepy horror movie

[windystorms1]

LISA FRANKENSTEIN (2024):
Popped up in our Prime stream and we clicked it instantly w/ no prior info about it. This is the best Diablo Cody film I've seen and quite a surprise treat altogether. Lisa is an introverted teenager w/ a hyper-popular, passive-aggressive stepsister, a pathologically shrewish stepmother (Carla Gugino!), and a dad played by the same actor who plays the dad on STRANGER THINGS, giving the same performance that barely registers a pulse. Lisa comforts herself by hanging out in an ancient cemetery and fantasizing about joining the interred six feet under. As it turns out, at least one of the interred has been listening, and one night following a lightning storm, it follows Lisa home...

This is a delightful pastiche of 80s teen romcom, early Tim Burton fantasy, and a little John Waters satire. There are surprises and also parts that are predictable yet handled in a fresh way. One refreshing aspect of LISA FRANKENSTEIN is that it successfully pushes the extremities of its PG-13 rating - this is isn't the toothless PG-13 of contemporary mainstream flicks, it's the PG-13 from the 80s which could've just as easily been an R if the MPAA ratings board woke up on the wrong side of their coffins.

That's apropos as LF is set in the 80s and captures the 80s aesthetic in every particular, including supporting actors doing credible impressions of Johnny Depp and young Brad Pitt. I credit first-time feature director Zelda Williams for the pitch-perfect design, tone, and lovely cinematography, but I have to give Cody credit for a Daniel Waters-esque screenplay that delivers a great many dark laughs. The biggest props, however, go to Kathryn Newton, who is always good in anything but really delivers a tour-de-force performance as Lisa. She covers the spectrum from beleaguered victim to unhinged chaos agent with great charisma and aplomb, always maintaining sympathy for Lisa even when actions transcend the defensible.

If Lisa falls short of the iconic femmes who inspired her, its no fault of the ebullient Newton - Lydia Deetz and Veronica Sawyer were also lucky to be the centers of films that were essentially perfect, which LISA FRANKENSTEIN isn't. It would be an easy 4.5/5 for me if Cody and Williams had just massaged the last 2-3 minutes a little more. I also had a big issue w/ the ending to JENNIFER'S BODY, but while LISA suffers from a slightly underwhelming ending, it's superior to JB in all other ways and, on its own, definitely a breezy pleasure watch.

4/5
It also boasts a great soundtrack and cinema history's second funniest dialogue about Pabst's Blue Ribbon.

[M.10rda]

^^^ CLASS OF 1984 is a good flick!

THE SIEGE OF FIREBASE GLORIA (1989):
Tarantino loves this one iirc and while I part ways w/ his opinions on many flicks, I agree that SOFG does kick ass as warspoloitation and furthermore almost excels as a serious film. Legendary Ozploiteur Brian Trenchard-Smith drops R. Lee Ermey and Wings Hauser in the Vietnamese jungle on the eve of the Tet Offensive, blows most of his gore budget on the first three minutes, but saves some $$$ for a long series of explosions and a huge cast of Filipino extras to leap out of the way of those explosions. Joking aside, though, the battle scenes are convincing and intense, even if largely bloodless. You WILL spend most of the movie chewing on a nail and wondering how the heck the Americans of FB Gloria can possibly get outta' this pickle. In that regard, maybe SOFG deserves comparison w/ something like ASSAULT ON PRECINCT 13 rather than other 'Nam films. But as long as we're mentioning other 'Nam films.......

I was at an impressionable age when PLATOON was released, was hyped as the greatest and most realistic of all depictions of the Vietnam conflict, won the Oscar for Best Picture, etc etc, and I absorbed all that hype ultra-credulously and w/o an ounce of reflection... a reaction I am now less than proud to acknowledge. Although there are good things about that film (the John C. McGinley subplot, certainly), my adult exposures to PLATOON have revealed something that feels (at least) little like reality and everything like a Hollywood movie. The Berenger/Dafoe/Sheen triangle plot, much-vaunted upon release, now feels hopelessly contrived as a capitulation to viewers who require narrative structure over, well, verity! For what it's worth, SOFG dramatizes an actual period of the war and remains focused primarily on tactical combat, so largely this low-brow action potboiler beats Oliver Stone's puffery on perceived authenticity.

That isn't to say it avoids war movie cliches - of course we've got soldiers w/ fiancees at home, short-timers, at cetera. To Trenchard-Smith's credit, he delivers this expected exposition w/ brisk efficiency and doesn't rub our faces in it. In fact Hauser's character has a backstory that is only discreetly alluded to for most of the running time, and could very well have never been unpacked at any length. When it finally pours out near the end, it feels like an actor-driven addition that allows the usually effective Hauser to overact a bit for the Oscar reel. It's unnecessary but it's a stark departure from the lean mean functionality of most of the film.

There's one more crucial element that elevates SOFG above pure exploitation: R. Lee Ermey, who runs the show onscreen and also wrote his own dialogue (as he did in FULL METAL JACKET). I can only presume how accurately SOFG resembles actual Marine combat but having Ermey onscreen is an instant imprimatur of credibility. Besides being the real deal, he's also as strong and convincing here as he is anywhere else (besides of course FMJ). As I said about Rod Taylor in THE TIME MACHINE, Ermey immediately lends conviction and gravitas to every plot beat. When Ermey gets gung ho, the viewer gets gung ho. When he chuckles, we feel relief. When R. Lee Ermey breaks a sweat, though, you get real worried. He's the MVP of SOFG and his work alone earns it a strong recommendation.

3.5/5

Also no fist-pumping/"Raaaaaaaaaaaah!" ending per PLATOON. Ala Leonard Cohen, war here "is not a victory march... just a cold and broken" R. Lee Ermey getting misty-eyed.

[Rev. Powell]

FREE LSD (2023): An elderly sex-shop owner takes an experimental erectile dysfunction medication that sends him to an alternate reality where he's a punk singer being hunted by some kind of aliens or something for some reason. From the punk band Off!, who all star in it but can't really act, it's confused and amateurish but goofy enough to make it just watchable. I saw it free on Hoopla (public library-based streaming, see if you have it!) 2/5.

[FatFreddysCat]

"Snow White and the 7 Samurai" (2024)
When a notorious crime lord (Eric Roberts, always a sign of a quality film) is murdered, his straight arrow daughter (nicknamed "Snow White") learns that his wife (aka her "wicked stepmother") was behind the hit, and now wants her dead as well. After surviving an attack, she hooks up with a team of female martial artists to get revenge and take down the rest of the evil organization.
...do I even need to say it's an Asylum movie? It's got all their usual trademarks (d-list casting, sub-par acting, klutzy action sequences, etc.), but Gina Carano chews the scenery for all she's worth as the villainess (plus, she's hot, too).
An OK time waster if you have a taste for Asylum brand schlock, otherwise you can safely skip this chop socky junk.

[RCMerchant]

RED WOODS (2021)

Some urban explorer types grab their cameras and go searching for a missing You Tuber in the wilds of Appalachia. They explore old dilapatated farm houses in the deep woods (lots of those around here), a graveyard, and dead bodies.
 Ok. This movie was pretty run of the mill 'psycho in the woods' paplum, but then it just makes a hard turn into "Huh?"
territory when after one of the hikers falls threw the rotting stairs into the basement on top of a corpse.
The f**king guy goes outside and mopes near a tree. A girl on the team tries to comfort and he starts bawling about his childhood, while she tries to do some psychic healing mumbo jumbo...I dunno. Nobody wonders "Who's body is this?", or suggests getting the f**k out, they just roll their f**king cameras.
 The point I'm trying to make is if I or on of my buddies fell onto a dead body we would freak the f**k out. They act like it's nothing. One guy makes a joke. I couldn't finish it. If it was made in a tounge-in-cheeck way like some of the cheezier slashers- Fine! But it takes itself so dam serious and just seems ludicous. 

[chainsaw midget]

Final Girls

Shortly after her mother, a former scream queen, is killed in an accident, a woman finds herself transported into the early 80s slasher movie that her mother starred in.  In addition to having to survive the killer and play by the movies rules, she has to learn to accept her mother's passing one more time. 


It's a nice movie.  It makes a good companion piece to the Friday the 13th, Sleep Away Camp, and other camp slasher movies.  It could have used a bit more Scream-style self commentary, but it was fun.