Films seen in April
Note – I’ve tried time and time again to offer up brief reviews of every film I watch, which by now I have to confess is an impossible chore for me stay on top of. To keep myself somewhat dedicated to this site, I’m going to at least try to offer reviews of all the recent films I see. So anything I see made within the last 3 years, plan on finding a review in this log.
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01. Venus in Furs (1969, Italy) Jess Franco - Excellent
02. Re-Animator (1985, USA) Stuart Gordon [4th viewing; no change in rating ****]

03. Night Train Murders (1975, Italy) Aldo Lado - worth seeing
04. Pat Garrett & Billy the Kid (1973, USA) Sam Peckinpah [director's cut] - a must see
05. Let Me Die a Woman (1978, USA) Doris Wishman - worth seeing
06. Highway Patrolman (1992, USA/Mexico) Alex Cox - a must see
07. Phenomena (1985, Italy) Dario Argento [2nd viewing; *** rating up from **]
08. The Defilers (1965, USA) Lee Frost - worthless
09. Paradise Lost 2: Revelations (2000, USA) Joe Berlinger & Bruce Sinofsky - worth seeing
10. Princess Raccoon (2005, Japan) Seijun Suzuki - Masterpiece - DVD Reviewed HERE
11. Torso (1973, Italy) Sergio Martino - worth seeing
12. Fantastic Voyage (1966, USA) Richard Fleischer - a must see
13. The Cloud-capped Star (1960, India) Ritwik Ghatak - Masterpiece
14. Mondo Cane 2 (1963, Italy) Gualtiero Jacopetti & Franco Prosperi - worth seeing
15. Secret Beyond the Door (1948, USA) Fritz Lang - a must see
16. The Forbidden Photos of a Lady Above Suspicion (1970, Italy) Luciano Ercoli - a must see
17. The Girl From Monday (2005, USA) Hal Hartley - worth seeing
18. Thundercrack! (1975, USA) Curt McDowell - DNF on account of a bad DVD. Anyone have a copy?
19. Tremors (1990, USA) Ron Underwood [3rd? viewing; no change in rating ***]
20. The Black Belly of the Tarantula (1971, Italy) Paolo Cavara - worth seeing
21. Snake Eyes (1998, USA) Brian De Palma - worth seeing
22. Eaten Alive (1977, USA) Tobe Hooper - has redeeming facet
23. Forbidden Planet (1956, USA) Fred M. Wilcox [2nd viewing; no change in rating ***]
24. The Deadly Spawn (1983, USA) Douglas McKeown - a must see
25. Whisky (2004, Uraguay) Juan Pablo Rebella & Pablo Stoll - a must see
26. Ellie Parker (2005, USA) Scott Coffey - a must see
27. Marebito (2004, Japan) Takashi Shimizu - has redeeming facet
28. Motor Psycho (1965, USA) Russ Meyer - a must see
29. She Killed in Ecstasy (1971, West Germany) Jess Franco - a must see
30. Red Garters (1954, USA) George Marshall - a must see
31. Mad Max Beyond Thunderdome (1985, Australia) George Miller & George Ogilvie - worthless
32. DiG! (2004, USA) Ondi Timoner [3rd viewing; no change in rating ***]
33. Terror Firmer (1999, USA) Lloyd Kaufman - has redeeming facet
34. It (1927, USA) Clarence G. Badger - Excellent
35. Safety Last! (1923, USA) Fred C. Newmeyer & Sam Taylor - Masterpiece
36. Lady in a Cage (1964, USA) Walter Grauman - a must see
37. Girl Shy (1924, USA) Fred C. Newmeyer & Sam Taylor - a must see
38. The Street with No Name (1948, USA) William Keighley - a must see
39. Earth vs. the Spider (1958, USA) Bert I. Gordon - worth seeing - for sheer camp value
40. Up! (1976, USA) Russ Meyer - worth seeing
41. Fargo (1996, USA) Joel Coen [4th? viewing; rating lowered slightly, see top 10 lists]
42. Crime of Passion (1957, USA) Gerd Oswald - a must see
43. All the Colors of the Dark (1972, Italy) Sergio Martino - a must see
44. Babe: Pig in the City (1998, Australia) George Miller - a must see
45. Silent Hill (2006, USA) Christophe Gans - worthless
46. American Dreamz (2006, USA) Paul Weitz - has redeeming facet
47. Anna: the Pleasure, the Torment aka Secrets of a Call Girl (1973, Italy) Giuliano Carnimeo - has redeeming facet
48. 3:10 to Yuma (1957, USA) Delmer Daves - a must see
49. Park Row (1952, USA) Samuel Fuller - Masterpiece
50. The Sentinel (2006, USA) Clark Johnson - has redeeming facet
Jagged surveillance style direction, complete with ticking clock suspense, is put forth with a nauseating intensity in this soggy thriller. Clearly the raison d'etre of this picture is to lure in fans of FOX’s “24” series, and it doesn’t hurt to have that show’s star appearing alongside a screen presence like Michael Douglas to try and pull it off. Unfortunately it fails, and even though there are some genuinely gripping moments in the middle, the television style direction and rushed story transpose to the big screen rather poorly. Eva Langoria enters the film via a shot of her ass, and given the caliber of her performance and the complexity of her character, it’s her ass that should’ve been given the screen credit.

51. The Wrong Man (1956, USA) Alfred Hitchcock - Excellent
52. Mortuary (2006, USA) Tobe Hooper - worth seeing
Believe it or not, this silly straight-to-video horror film represents some of Tobe Hooper’s best work in years. A mother moves her two children to a small town where she intends to take up residence as the newly hired mortician, but things get complicated when their new house by the cemetery proves home to an evil secret. The horror elements at work here are a mélange of everything from Friday the 13th, to Kaufman’s Invasion of the Body Snatchers, to even something as obscure as The Lair of the White Worm. Screenwriters Jace Anderson and Adam Gierasch have trouble settling down into just one idea. Of course there is a ton of Romero and Hooper in there as well, which is a good thing as Tobe is directing the film. He approaches this project with tongue firmly planted in cheek and directs the proceedings with the sort of campy sensibility he seems to have adopted since The Texas Chainsaw Massacre 2 -- expressive Christmas tree lighting included. The cast is serviceable (a few wincers are delivered but forgiven) and if you can handle that the film is out to have fun and not scare the shit out of you, you just might enjoy yourself.

53. Kiss Me Quick! (1964, USA) Peter Perry - worth seeing??? - Let just me say that these Something Weird DVD’s almost defy categorization at times…
54. Scarlet Street (1945, USA) Fritz Lang - Masterpiece
55. Femme Fatale (2002, France) Brian De Palma [3rd viewing; my appreciation only deepens for this one...]
56. The Incredible Shrinking Man (1957, USA) Jack Arnold - Excellent
57. The Reflecting Skin (1990, Canada) Philip Ridley - worth seeing
58. Lisa and the Devil (1973, Italy) Mario Bava - worth seeing
59. Ziegield Follies (1946, USA) Vincente Minnelli - a must see
60. The Night Evelyn Came Out of the Grave (1971, Italy) Emilio Miraglia - a must see
61. Letter from an Unknown Woman (1948, USA) Max Ophüls - Excellent
62. Stick It (2006, USA) Jessica Bendinger - worth seeing
This is pretty solid as far as teen-comedies are concerned. Writer-director Jessica Bendinger, who penned the script for Peyton Reed’s successful Bring it On, has a ball re-inventing teen lingo and displays a great deal of wit and comedic talent. Many people have mentioned Busby Berkeley when discussing this film’s approach to the elaborate filming of the gymnastics, but Berkeley did it for real and Bendinger uses CGI and trick photography to fill the frame with multiple bodies. In this sense, the film is a true MTV-hybrid, and although it has value outside of its teen pop-culture context, for the most part it falls victim to not fully embracing its genre status, and the film stumbles when it tries to make larger statements about youth, parents, and the nature of the sport.

63. Scum of the Earth (1963, USA) Herschell Gordon Lewis - worthless
64. White Lightning (1973, USA) Joseph Sargent - has redeeming facet
65. The Passenger (1975, Italy) Michelangelo Antonioni - a must see
66. Creature from the Black Lagoon (1954, USA) Jack Arnold - [2nd viewing; no change in rating ***]
67. United 93 (2006, USA) Paul Greengrass - worth seeing
68. Red Queen Kills 7 Times (1972, Italy) Emilio Miraglia - worth seeing

 

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