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Ladies and Gentlemen, the Fabulous Stains (1982)
"We're The Stains and we don't put out." Corny, but a great cast makes proto-riot girl flick absolutely worth watching
Diane Lane, her sister, and cousin Laura Dern want out of their dead-end town and form an all-girl punk band, The Stains. They're really not all that good, but after Lane gives an angry teenage rant on stage, the media and teens around the country see it as a rallying cry for their generation. There's a great movie buried in here somewhere, but it gets muddled under cliches and (SPOILER ALERT!) a literal tacked-on happy ending that was filmed two years later. The original ending was teen fans becoming disenchanted with the band and seeing them as sellouts. Initial test screenings were so bad the movie was shelved for two years before the new ending was filmed, where director Lou Adler added an MTV-style music video of The Stains, now looking much older, which comes out of nowhere, trying to imply that they eventually became a success. The film was barely released in theaters, never released on VHS, and only ever shown on late-night TV, but has since gained a cult following, finally getting a DVD and Blu-Ray release many years later. The best parts of the film are the teen girls grossly out of their depth on a tour bus with two much older bands. Lane and Dern were only 15 and 12 when they made the film, though Lane had already acted in other films with the likes of Laurence Olivier, Burt Lancaster, and Rod Steiger, and Dern had a small role in FOXES. Still, they are total kids in this movie and I greatly enjoyed listening to the DVD commentary track by the adult Lane and Dern, fondly recalling the film and how they were so young. They talk about how they thought they were so grown up in this movie smoking cigarettes, wearing all that makeup, and revealing outfits. They talk about their baby voices (Dern tells Lane, "Listen to your little girl voice!"), how they felt the other bands they toured with seemed so old and worldly (in actuality they were just in their twenties). The headliner band they tour with is a fake one-hit-wonder heavy metal band (whose lead singer was the real-life lead singer for The Tubes) and their opening act is a punk band (played by Steve Jones and Paul Cook of the Sex Pistols and the bassist for The Clash) and who's lead singer is played by a young Ray Winstone (QUADROPHENIA, THE DEPARTED, SEXY BEAST), so some of the music is legitimately good. Dern shared a great story about how she was scared straight by a twenty-something Steve Jones, who she said was very protective of the girls during filming, sat her down at one point and told her never to do drugs and scared her by sharing stories about The Sex Pistols. Dern also shared she lied about her age to get the job, telling producers she was 15 years old when she was really only 12, and that Diane Lane was the only person on set she confided her real age. Lane also makes an interesting observation about how this film is a time capsule of sorts, where if they did a remake of the film, there's no need for The Stains to find a tour manager or a TV newscaster to get their band noticed, and The Stains would instead just upload a music video to YouTube. Another funny moment is when Lane's aunt, played by a young Christine Lahti (RUNNING ON EMPTY, CHICAGO HOPE), is interviewed by a reporter after the band becomes famous. Lane said she remembers thinking Lahti's character was so condescending, but as an adult has a completely different perspective on it. Overall, although corny and cliched at times, LADIES AND GENTLEMEN, THE FABULOUS STAINS is an extremely charming film thanks to its endearing and sincere cast, particularly Lane. Although the tacked-on music video at the end with The Stains doing a peppy Go-Go's style music video seemingly comes out of nowhere, it's pretty infectious seeing a now 17-year-old Lane with her RUMBLE FISH-era hair rockin' it. I had a smile on my face through the entire music video. Overall, It's a flawed film for sure, but I also loved it. This is probably my favorite movie I've seen so far this summer. FUN FACT! The fictional town of Charlestown, PA that the girls want to run away from is the same fictional town writer Nancy Dowd set her previous screenplay, the rude hockey comedy SLAP SHOT.
Jack Reacher: Never Go Back (2016)
More action than the first film, but not quite as clever
I'm not a huge Tom Cruise fan, though I usually enjoy his films despite him. This film fits that bill. Ex-special forces/drifter/problem-solver Jack Reacher stumbles upon a mystery involving a wrongfully imprisoned military police commander and a shady Black Water-type private military contractor. It is not as bombastic as the Mission Impossible films and is more of a mystery/thriller that has some action and chase sequences to punctuate the investigation. The first Reacher film was a better mystery, but less action. This film has less mystery and more action, so it's a wash between the films. Cruise has his usual weird intensity that bugs me to no end, but regardless, I still enjoyed this popcorn flick and appreciated director Edward Zwick (GLORY, COURAGE UNDER FIRE) and his effective yet understated approach to the action sequences. Not a classic, but worth watching.
Independence Day (1996)
Corny, yet thoroughly entertaining alien invasion movie. MARS ATTACKS is still better though.
Most people yearn for President Josiah Bartlet from THE WEST WING, but for me, I wish we had President Thomas Whitmore from INDEPENDENCE DAY.
Good morning. In less than an hour, aircraft from here will join others from around the world. And you will be launching the largest aerial battle in the history of mankind. "Mankind." That word should have new meaning for all of us today. We can't be consumed by our petty differences anymore. We will be united in our common interests. Perhaps it's fate that today is the Fourth of July, and you will once again be fighting for our freedom... Not from tyranny, oppression, or persecution... but from annihilation. We are fighting for our right to live. To exist. And should we win the day, the Fourth of July will no longer be known as an American holiday, but as the day the world declared in one voice: "We will not go quietly into the night!" We will not vanish without a fight! We're going to live on! We're going to survive! Today we celebrate our Independence Day!
Will Smith, Bill Pullman, Jeff Goldblum, Mary McDonnell, Judd Hirsch, Randy Quaid, Robert Loggia, Vivica A. Fox, James Rebhorn, and Harvey Fierstein save the world from aliens. That's pretty much all you need to know. It's a complete popcorn movie with zero pretensions, but if you haven't ever seen this film, you need to find it and watch it right now. Also, it's completely hilarious that Jeff Goldblum is SOOOOOO Jeff Goldblum no matter what movie he's in. Even my kids who were forced to watch this on the Fourth of July enjoyed it (though they will deny that). Watch it now!
The King's Man (2021)
Dull prequel to an already dying franchise
The first Kingsmen movie was fantastically fun, as a British street-tough is recruited into a spy agency waging a secret war, saving the world. The sequel was overblown and nowhere as fun. This third film in the series, a prequel telling the origin story of the Kinsmen is just dull. No interesting plot lines, perfunctory characterizations, and a waste of talent, both in front of and behind the camera. Only Rhys Ifans (LITTLE NICKY, NOTTING HILL) did anything interesting as a kung-fu fighting Grigori Rasputin. However, director Matthew Vaughan does know his way around an action sequence, so those moments were enough to keep me from turning off the film.
MaXXXine (2024)
Entertaining, but weakest of the X film trilogy. Stick with BODY DOUBLE and VICE SQUAD.
I was super excited to watch this movie after seeing the trailer. Ti West's X was a brilliant love letter to 70s grindhouse flicks, such as TEXAS CHAINSAW MASSACRE or LAST HOUSE ON THE LEFT, and PEARL was an even better film that was a throwback to old-style horror films such as STRAIT-JACKET or WHATEVER HAPPENED TO BABY JANE? This third film in the X trilogy looked like it was going to be a love letter to the lurid thrillers of the 80s such as VICE SQUAD or ANGEL. While I was entertained by MAXXXINE, it did not live up to my expectations or its predecessors. Following the events of X, where Maxine was the lone survivor of what's known as "The Texas Porno Massacre" she now finds herself in Hollywood trying to make the jump from porn to legitimate films, like Marilyn Chambers or Traci Lords. She lands a role in a horror film but finds herself caught up in the Night Stalker killings when two of her friends are knocked off. Sex workers, serial killers, and a 1980s Hollywood Boulevard is a great setup, but the film never seems to move beyond nostalgically copying 80s tropes, which were admittedly fun, such as a car compactor death scene, a clear-plastic-bag over-the-head to suffocate someone, full-body flame stunts, etc. I was hoping for something rougher that would make me squirm, like SAVAGE STREETS, or maybe something equally as lurid as BODY DOUBLE, but the film never goes there and plays it pretty safe outside of two gory moments, but even those are fleeting moments are fast shock value versus scenes to make the audience uncomfortable, which was the skeezy charm of many of these types of disreputable 80s thrillers. Still, MAXXXINE is never boring and moves at a brisk pace. Mia Goth is again fantastic as a driven Maxine, who will do anything to be a star. There's also a terrific supporting cast that features Kevin Bacon as a shady private detective (he's the other standout besides Goth), Giancarlo Esposito as Maxine's agent, Halsey as a sex worker buddy, Lily Collins fellow horror actress, and Michelle Monaghan and Bobby Cannavale as a couple LAPD detectives investigating the Night Stalker killings. Director West brings an incredible amount of visual style to the film and Tyler Bates provides a moody score. There are also clever bookends to the film if you catch them at the start and end of the film. However, while the prior films in the X series felt like original takes on familiar tropes, MAXXXINE feels more like 80s movie thriller karaoke. (SPOILER ALERT WARNING!) The moment Maxine's director tells her "Whatever it is that's bothering you in your life, take care of it this weekend so you're ready on Monday." That was the moment I was hoping to see Goth go full Charles Bronson DEATH WISH on her enemies, which she does to a degree (there's a great exploding head), but instead, we see Maxine facing off with a cult (yes, Satanic Panic, another 80s trope) which had no lead in and comes out of nowhere. Maybe it would have worked if they established the cult at the start of the film, like in COBRA, but it's one 80s movie trope too many thrown in at the last moment. Maxine facing off against a lone depraved killer ALA 10 TO MIDNIGHT or NEW YORK RIPPER would have worked much better. (END SPOILERS) Overall, MAXXXINE is well crafted and visually arresting, and Goth and Bacon are worth the price of admission, but it's definitely no BODY DOUBLE or VICE SQUAD. Ti West is an incredibly talented filmmaker I'd love to see him do something original instead of continuing to do nostalgia pieces, though I also have to admit I would be excited to see a fourth X film where Maxine finds herself in a 90s erotic thriller, like BASIC INSTINCT, MALICE, SHATTERED, or COLOR OF NIGHT.
True Blood (1989)
James Tolkan has a hilarious wig!
I only watched this because I have my DVR set to record any Sherilyn Fenn movie (I met her at a TWIN PEAKS Comicon thing once), but it wasn't as bad of a movie as I was expecting. I remember this movie from my video store days, but I never bothered watching it. I've always had a soft spot for Jeff Fahey (BODY PARTS, SILVERADO), and here he plays a street gang member who's framed by rival gang leader Spider, Billy Drago (THE UNTOUCHABLES, THE HILLS HAVE EYES). Time jump many years later with Fahey released from prison and discovers his little brother, Chad Lowe, is now working for Spider! Some cops still remember Fahey from his gang days and have it out for him and he also befriends artist Fenn. It's a completely stupid melodrama, but the cast gives it their all, though I have to admit my favorite part was dirty cop James Tolkan (the bald-headed principal from the BACK TO THE FUTURE movies) wears a wig in the opening scenes before Fahey goes to jail, and that was just about the most hilarious thing I've seen in a long long time.
Ninja: Shadow of a Tear (2013)
Even better than the first Ninja!
Ninja Scott Adkins is back, as well as director Isaac Florentine. I actually like this sequel better than the original film, not because of the characters, plot, or acting, but because there were more fights and a new fight choreographer who made some super badass fight sequences! The plot involves the ninja from the first film, the underrated Scott Adkins (the fat guy from JOHN WICK 4), seeking revenge for the murder of his pregnant wife. The villain of the film is Kane Kosugi, son of famed 80s ninja film star Sho Kosugi (ENTER THE NINJA, REVENGE OF THE NINJA, NINJA III: THE DOMINATION), which is fun for Gen-X ninja fans. Overall, martial arts fans should check this out for the great fight sequences, but there's really no other reason to watch this movie.
Ninja (2009)
Scott Adkins is a ninja!
Scott Adkins (the fat guy from JOHN WICK 4) is a hugely underrated martial artist and has been delivering some stellar performances for over the past 20 years, starting in Hong Kong and then moving into the American direct-to-video market, which is why I was thrilled to see him in a major Hollywood flick with JOHN WICK 4. Here, Adkins plays a Westerner studying at a ninja school and is asked by his master to travel to NYC to project some magical armor. When a bad ninja comes to NYC to get the magical armor, a series of fights ensue. The story is completely lazy, but the fight sequences are well-staged and well-directed by director Isaac Florentine. There's not a lot more to say about this film, but if you enjoy well-made martial arts fight sequences, this one is worth checking out!
Fear City (1984)
Disappointingly conventional thriller from Abel Ferrara
I remembered this film being better, but I was less impressed rewatching it this time. Having just watched director Abel Ferrara and writer Nicholas St. John's earlier MS .45, I was expecting something much for exciting and edgy, but FEAR CITY is tame in comparison and seemed as if the two were making a conscious decision to make a more conventional thriller, and a rather tepid thriller at that. Tom Berenger plays an ex-boxer who's now a "Talent Agent" booking strippers for different gigs, but his life gets complicated when a killer targets his girls. At first, the cops, led by Detective Billy Dee Williams, think this is a gang war and the mob doesn't like all this police attention. The film could have taken an interesting turn at that point if it channeled Fritz Lang's M, where the underworld works together to find the killer when the police won't or can't, but instead, it's a lot of cliched plot threads (Berenger is haunted by killing a guy in the ring. He's also heartbroken over ex-girlfriend Melanie Griffith). Worst of all, there's hardly any action or suspense, which is not what you want in a thriller. Ferrara does provide some occasional striking images and I did enjoy all location photography of seedy pre-Giuliani NYC, which is a nicely grimy time capsule of a specific time and place. There are also quite a few cool character actors in supporting roles and the film does have a solid climax, featuring boxing versus martial arts, which finally does deliver some action, but the lead-up to that finale isn't worth it. Below is my review from the last time I watched this in 2011.
4-10-11
Fear City ***
If not for being directed by Abel Ferrara and written by Nicholas St. John, the team behind the excellent "King of New York", I'm not sure I would have taken much note of this film. However, knowing that there were some talented people behind the camera on this film, I did take it a bit more seriously than say the similarly themed "Vice Squad". There is an excellent cast of character actors and also a pre-famous Tom Berenger and Melanie Griffith in lead roles. Jack Scalia however is woefully outclassed by the talented cast around him. The story is a typically lurid Ferrara story, about a serial killer targeting strippers. If a film being described as "lurid" sounds like a good thing to you, you'll probably enjoy this film. If "lurid" makes a film sound cheap and tawdry, then you should probably stay away from this one. And one interesting bit of trivia, the killer is never named in the film and the actor did not receive an on-screen credit. The actor is still unknown to this day.
Spellbinder (1988)
Decent little tale of modern witches
I remember this film being better, but it was still entertaining and featured a solid 80s cast. Tim Daly (WINGS, MADEM SECRETARY) plays a young lawyer who falls for a mysterious woman, Kelly Preston (MISCHIEF TWINS), but finds out she's a witch trying to escape from her evil and controlling coven. There are some decent special effects and a few legitimately scary moments, as well as a requisite amount of 1980s sex scenes. Overall the film is pretty cliche-ridden, though I think scary movies about witches must be hard to make because the list of good ones is pretty short. ROSEMARY'S BABY, THE WITCH, and SUSPIRIA are the only great witch films I can recall (HAXEN doesn't count since it's a "documentary," BLACK SUNDAY doesn't have all that much witchcraft, and WITCHFINDER GENERAL is more about the witch-hunter falsely accusing enemies of being witches). It must be easier to make non-horror films about witches, like I MARRIED A WITCH, BELL, THE WITCHES, BOOK, AND CANDLE, or THE LOVE WITCH. Overall, SPELLBINDER isn't anything great and has a dumb twist ending, but it's a slickly made 80s horror flick with sharp photography by Adam Greenberg (TERMINATOR 2, NEAR DARK, GHOST) and features a good spooky score by Basil Poledouris. Rick Rossovich (TOP GUN, ROXANNE), Cary-Hiroyuki Tagawa (RISING SUN, THE LAST EMPEROR), M. C. Gainey (CON AIR, CLUB DREAD), and Audra Lindley (Mrs. Roper from THREE'S COMPANY) also appear in the film. Below is my review from the last time I watched the film.
Spellbinder (1988) **1/2
I remember seeing this one when it came out on video and thinking it was pretty good at the time. Watching it now, it doesn't hold up and seems laughably bad at times. Tim Daly rescues Kelly Preston from what he thinks is an abusive boyfriend in a parking lot. He then quickly finds out she's a member of a witch's coven and that she is trying to leave. As you can guess, the coven doesn't want her to go and all sorts of witchcraft happens. Horror movies about witches rarely work. Outside of "Rosemary's Baby" and "The Wicker Man" there really are not any other great horror movies about witches (though I still haven't seen "Lords of Salem" yet). "Spellbinder" is still kind of fun in a trashy way, but it wasn't the quality horror film I remember, My adolescent brain was probably clouded by Preston, confusing film quality with attractive actresses.
Sous la Seine (2024)
I expected more savage shark action from Xavier Gens
I was kind of excited to watch this film because it was directed by Xavier Gens, who did the excellent French extreme horror film FRONTIER(S) and the super rough apocalyptic horror film THE DIVIDE, but this shark film is sadly just another in a long line of weak Jaws knockoffs. There's a suspected shark in the Seine running through Paris and there's a big triathlon even about to happen. The mayor doesn't want to cancel the event. The scientists and cops say that's foolish. The sharks are hungry. The story is nothing new, but I at least expected Gens to bring some style and wit the proceedings, but it's nothing that stands apart from other underwater horror films. Gens did have the good sense to ascribe to the less-is-more credo when it came to how often to show the shark and choose instead to show dark shadows in the water, a lone shark fin breaking the water surface, or a blur zipping past a diver in the water, which is much more effective than showing endless CGI shark footage (i.e. THE MEG). Overall UNDER PARIS was interesting enough I wanted to see how it ended and the film's ending in the last two minutes was the best part of the film, so I'm glad I stuck around, but I'm not sure I'd recommend anyone go out of their way to watch this one.
Priscilla (2023)
Girl, You'll Be a Woman Soon
Writer/director Sofia Coppola is someone who has my number. I love all of her films and PRISCILLA is no different. She brings a gauzy dreamlike quality to almost all her films that I adore. This film also made me realize she has a thread running through her films about the transition from girlhood to womanhood, from THE VIRGIN SUICIDES to LOST IN TRANSLATION to this film, which tells the story of Priscilla Presley's marriage to Elvis. Unlike Baz Luhrmann's recent film ELVIS, where Priscilla was barely included, this film focuses on Priscilla's journey. Cailee Spaeny is fantastic as Priscilla, an army brat who met Elvis when she was just 14 years old, living with her parents on the same army base as Elvis. Even by standards of that time, it was an inappropriate age difference and this film doesn't shy away from Elvis' near grooming-like behavior, though Elvis insisted on no sex until they were married, which happened when she was 21. Jacob Elordi is good as the charming yet controlling Elvis, and it's this controlling element of Elvis where Priscilla's struggle lies. It's a beautiful film, though the lack of a strong traditional narrative storyline may not work for everyone, but it worked for me. Interestingly, the real-life Priscilla Presley supported the film, saying, "I was very concerned about this movie, but I think it's right on, to be honest with you." Priscilla's daughter, Lisa Marie Presley, was less supportive of the film after reading a draft of the screenplay before passing away or getting to see the finished film, she said, "My father only comes across as a predator and manipulative. As his daughter, I don't read this and see any of my father in this character." I can't speak to the factual accuracy of the film, but it must not be too far off if Priscilla herself supported the film, but more importantly, it's a smart film, with complex characters, and I found myself completely engrossed. It also has a memorable soundtrack, though it is minus any songs by Elvis because Graceland refused to cooperate with the filmmakers. FUN FACT! Director Sofia Coppola's cousin, Nicolas Cage, is Priscilla Presley's ex-son-in-law.
Ms .45 (1981)
The grindhouse meets the arthouse in this DEATH WISH / REPULSION hybrid
Director Abel Ferrara and writer Nicholas St. John would go on to make the gangster film classic KING OF NEW YORK with Christopher Walken as well as a series of other interesting films, but their career started with this film unless you count an X-rated film he and St. John made under pseudonyms or THE DRILLER KILLER, an unapologetically trashy slasher flick, though it's not nearly as violent as the title or poster art would suggest. With MS .45, Zoë Lund plays a mute garment worker who is raped twice in one day, once on the way home from work and then again when she arrives home, which Ferrara thankfully does not linger on the way many films of this era did. She kills her second attacker by bludgeoning him to death with a paperweight and then an iron, takes his .45 pistol, and then goes on a killing spree of any man who looks at her sideways. She then moved up to the DEATH WISH / PROMISING YOUNG WOMAN approach of vigilantism, now luring men before killing them. We're rooting for her as she deals out street justice against a series of scumbags (SPOILER ALERT), but by the end of the film, we realize she's had a complete mental breakdown when she starts blowing away every man who crosses her path, whether they are guilty or innocent. This culminates in a visually stunning Halloween office party shootout, with Lund dressed as a nun, shooting indiscriminately at every man at the party. The set-up for MS .45 is completely exploitative, but Ferrara and St. John bring artistry to grizzly proceedings. They also tell their story in a tight 80 minutes. However, it's Lund as the mute victim/avenger who makes the film as powerful and memorable as it is. She brings genuine emotion, empathy, and savagery to her role, while only uttering one single word the entire film, but boy does she look great in a nun's habit firing shots off with her .45! She's a completely tragic figure, where you at first think she's Charles Bronson from DEATH WISH, but by the end of the film, we realize she is closer to the damaged and dangerous Catherine Deneuve from REPULSION. It's the turn that makes the film so provocative and not just a straight I SPIT ON YOUR GRAVE revenge film. Lund even has a scene near the end, alone in her apartment, posing with her gun that has echoes of TAXI DRIVER. For only 17 years old, Lund gives a commanding performance and should have been the start of a long career in acting, but was tragically cut short by heroin addiction. MS .45 also has some surprisingly good photography by James Lemmo, who'd go on to work with William Lustig on several of his classic video nasties (VIGILANTE, MANIAC COP, RELENTLESS), but on the downside, some of the performances are on the amateurish side and the sax heavy Joe Delia score is pretty of annoying. Still, faults and all, MS .45 blew me away and like many of Ferrara's films, exists in that uncomfortable space between the arthouse and the grindhouse. Definitely not a film for all tastes, but it's one that'll stick in my head for a while.
X (2022)
A love letter to grimy grindhouse horror flicks of the 70s
In preparation for the third film in Ti West's X trilogy, MAXXXINE, I decided to rewatch the first film in the series and it holds up nicely. This franchise is a homage to slasher films of different eras, this one a love letter to the likes of THE TEXAS CHAINSAW MASSACRE and LAST HOUSE ON THE LEFT. The prequel PEARL was a homage to the likes of William Castle's STRAIT-JACKET. The third film in the series appears to be a love letter to movies like VICE SQUAD and BODY DOUBLE, but with X, West brings back sex to contemporary horror. Set in 1979 and tells the story of a group of young folks filming an X-rated film in hopes of selling it on the burgeoning home video market. They rent a farmhouse from a creepy old couple and that's when things start to get freaky. To say any more would spoil the fun. Mia Goth is fantastic as Maxine Minx, a wannabe adult film star. Jenna Ortega is also a standout, turning in a good performance in a transitional role from her Disney parts to more adult ones. Like West's earlier film, HOUSE OF THE DEVIL, he gives the film a look as if it were shot in the era it's set, unlike the excellent TEXAS CHAINSAW MASSACRE remake, which although set in the 70s was filmed with very modern stylistics. X has the gritty look and feel of a 70s horror flick from the muted color palette, to heavy reliance on practical special effects, to even the faux film grain, it's a fabulous conceit. Also, rewatching X after having now seen PEARL gives X an entirely new depth and level of enjoyment. The backstory provided in PEARL makes X almost heartbreaking in a few parts. Overall, X is a fantastic horror flick that doesn't require knowledge of its film forbearers, but it's a special treat and a must-see for fans of old-school 1970s horror flicks.
Body Double (1984)
The KING KONG of 80s sleazy crime thrillers!
I'm upping my previous review to five out of five stars for this classic 80s bit of sleaze. Director Brian De Palma was hot off his hit with SCARFACE and had a three-picture deal with Columbia Pictures when he kicked things off with this one. De Palma famously had battles with the MPAA over trying to get an R-rating for SCARFACE, so for this movie, he decided he was going to give them something filled with even more sex and violence! This movie is creeping up on my list of favorite De Palma films and is right up there with CARRIE and BLOW OUT, and has in my mind surpassed THE UNTOUCHABLES or SCARFACE. Rewatching the film this time, I was struck by the purposeful artifice of it all. Everything from the very obvious makeup choices to the clearly fake rear projection, and the way the film moves between the real story and the films-within-a-film, all serves to highlight De Palma's focus on the fantasy and reality of filmmaking. It's a masterstroke how he plays the audience, how we unquestioningly accept these familiar elements of film artifice, but we have them completely thrown in our faces at the end of the film when the mystery is revealed. It should have been obvious the entire time, but we're so trained to accept film artifice, that it goes right past us. This was something clever that I don't think has been done in any film before or since. Below is my review from the last time I watched this film, but BODY DOUBLE is a pretty great thriller, though unabashedly sleazy and lurid, it's a film I'm surprised ever got made by a major studio, even in the 1980s.
4-17-21
Body Double (1984) ****1/2
Director Brian De Palma is not for all tastes and this film is probably his most divisive (and sleaziest) film. Rewatching this film now, I was really surprised how stylistically unchanged De Palma is years later. I love his filmmaking sensibility, and there really isn't anyone, now or then, making films like him. He was always knocked as being a Hitchcock imitator, but I think they merely shared the same obsessions and penchant for genre suspense films. Stylistically, De Palma's films are very mannered and fully embrace the artifice of film, unconcerned with making a realistic film, much the same as Hitchcock's, but De Palma and Hitchcock's films visually look very different. De Palma is merely filming the same obsessions as Hitchcock in a very different and original manner. But to this film in particular, De Palma is clearly borrowing from "Rear Window," much the same way he borrowed from "Vertigo" for his film "Obsession," but outside of the setup and some similar themes around voyeurism and repressed sexuality, this film is really his own. Craig Wasson is a struggling actor who housesits in an upscale home for a friend and witnesses the murder of his gorgeous neighbor. However, and much different from "Rear Window," Wasson begins to suspect he was set up to purposefully witness the murder. Melanie Griffith appears in the film as an adult film actress, Gregg Henry plays the friend, and Dennis Franz plays a horror film director, who Franz said he based his performance on De Palma. Barbara Crampton and Steven Bauer also appear in small bit parts. I remember seeing this film as a kid and being blown away by the dirtiness of the film and also terrified by the murder scene Wasson witnesses (the drill through the ceiling!) and it still holds up in those respects. Although it's a wildly sleazy film, and arguably unnecessarily so, De Palma has some terrifically suspenseful set pieces, wild visuals (particularly the claustrophobic scenes with Wasson), terrific photography by Stephen H. Burum, and a gorgeous score by composer Pino Donaggio. Again, this film is not for all tastes, but if you want a suspenseful and 1980s-style sleazy movie, this is the film for you!
Angel (1983)
VICE SQUAD meets THE WIZARD OF OZ
As part of my preparation for the release of Ti West's third film in his X trilogy, MAXXXINE, I'm revisiting my favorite sleazy 80s crime thrillers, such as 10 TO MIDNIGHT and VICE SQUAD. ANGEL was another favorite in this disreputable subgenera, which boasted the hard-to-ignore tagline on the VHS box, "High School Honor Student by Day. Hollywood Hooker by Night." 25-year-old Donna Wilkes plays 15-year-old prostitute Molly 'Angel' Stewart, and ANGEL would have been an interesting enough film watching her managing her two secret lives, but throw in a necrophiliac serial killer played by John Diehl (MIAMI VICE, STRIPES, THE SHIELD, etc.) and you have an enthralling trashy melodrama and thriller rolled into one! But wait, there's more! You also get a crossdressing Dick Shawn (THE PRODUCERS, IT'S A MAD, MAD, MAD, MAD WORLD) as Mae, a trans prostitute who is a mother figure to Angel, Susan Tyrell (FAT CITY, CRY-BABY, FORBIDDEN ZONE) as Angel's butch lesbian landlord who Angel has convinced her mother is bedridden and simply cannot ever come to the door, and Rory Calhoun (HOW TO MARRY A MILLIONAIRE, MOTEL HELL) as a street performer impersonating Kit Carson. The colorful panoply of Hollywood Blvd. Street life has a bit of a Wizard of Oz or Alice in Wonderland vibe to it, albeit a more "downtown" version, but in ANGEL, instead of a Wicked Witch, there's a psychotic killer knocking off hookers. John Diehl nearly steals every scene he's in as the deranged killer, but it's the way the disparate denizens of the LA streets pull together to support one another that gives this sordid film more of a heart than most films of its ilk. Steven M. Porter is particularly moving as Yoyo Charlie, a street performer who does magic while dressed as Charlie Chaplin. It's this "found family" element to the street people of ANGEL that set it apart from similar films. Don't get me wrong, this film is an utter sleaze-fest, but there's a charm to ANGEL you don't typically get in these sorts of films, which makes it one of the better examples of this subgenera, though VICE SQUAD is still the best example.
Kinjite: Forbidden Subjects (1989)
Bronson's Cannon Films version of SOUND OF FREEDOM
Another in my personal film series revisiting the disreputable 80s subgenera of lurid crime films, all in preparation for the release of Ti West's third film in his X trilogy, MAXXXINE. Even by 80s standards, KINJITE: FORBIDDEN SUBJECTS is a creepy unsettling story about Charles Bronson breaking up an underage human trafficking ring in the Japanese American community. Forget about SOUND OF FREEDOM, Bronson told this story already back in the 80s! However, this is the Cannon Films exploitation version of human trafficking and was directed by frequent Bronson collaborator, J. Lee Thompson, who made some legit classic films, such as THE GUNS OF NAVARONE and the original version of CAPE FEAR, but spent the later part of his career doing some pretty brutal movies, including 10 TO MIDNIGHT and HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO ME (which has one the all-time best slasher film kills), but this film is particularly unpleasant and relishes in the seediness a bit too much for my liking. When Bronson takes down the baddies, it's very satisfying, but Thompson relishes in the unseemliness leading up to a bit too much, in what would be Thompson's final film. This was also Bronson's final film in his long streak of films for Cannon. Additionally, there was a movie trend around this time about the increasing power and influence of Japan on the United States, including classier films such as RISING SUN and BLACK RAIN (sure I'll throw in GUNG HO too), which sought to help their lead characters better understand Japanese culture and traditions. There were also more exploitative films exploring this same subject matter such as SHOWDOWN IN LITTLE TOKYO and this film, which are more just openly racist. Still, despite the racism and the unpleasant subject matter, Bronson bringing scumbags to justice works pretty well for this film. Hardly a Bronson career highpoint, but better than most of his later career films. Also appearing in the film are Perry Lopez (CHINATOWN), Peggy Lipton (TWIN PEAKS), Sy Richardson (REPO MAN), Bill McKinney (DELIVERANCE), Nicole Eggert (BAYWATCH), and look fast for Danny "Machete" Trejo playing a prisoner near the end of the movie.
Vice Squad (1982)
The ultimate 80s sleazy crime film film!
I've been super excited about Ti West's upcoming release of MAXXXINE, the third film in his X slasher film trilogy. The first film, X, was a love letter to 70s slasher films along the lines of TEXAS CHAINSAW MASSACRE. The second film, PEARL, was a love letter to 60s-style low-budget horror along the lines of WHATEVER HAPPENED TO BABY JANE or STRAIT-JACKET. This third film looks like a love letter to lurid 80s crime films along the lines of ANGEL or SAVAGE STREETS and especially VICE SQUAD. I listened to an interview with West, who said when he was developing X, he was thinking about what is missing from today's horror films that he could bring back. He realized it was sex! Modern horror films are way more violent than anything from the past, but sex and violence were a staple of 70s and 80s horror films. MAXXXINE looks like it's going to be full of BODY DOUBLE-style sex and violence, so I decided I wanted to do a deep dive into this lurid 80s subgenera ahead of the release of MAXXXINE, starting with VICE SQUAD. Rewatching this film, I was surprised at how much I loved it. The story takes place all in one night, with LA Vice Squad detective Gary Swanson arresting a prostitute named Princess, an excellent Season Hubley, and blackmails her into being the bait to catch a homicidal pimp, Wings Hauser. The plan works and Hauser is arrested (in a super uncomfortable scene between Hauser and Hubley), so Princess is free to go, but Hauser escapes and it's then a race against time whether the cops or Hauser find Princess first. It's a type of movie that would never get made today. Really, when was the last time you saw a movie about a killer pimp named Ramrod? VICE SQUAD is about as 1980s sleazy and lurid as you're going to get, but it's a fantastic cast who treats the salacious material with utter seriousness and the folks being the camera bring far more craft to the film than you would expect. Director Gary Sherman builds some terrifically suspenseful moments and handles equally well the action sequences. While the film is very much an 80s exploitation film, it also feels very realistic in its depiction of the seedy side of LA. The cops who push the boundaries of law enforcement, the depiction of pimps and prostitutes, and the overall grimy sense of time and place. I was also struck by how good the photography was for such a trashy story, so I looked up who the director of photography was and it was none other than Stanley Kubrick's regular DP, John Alcott, the same guy who shot such classics as 2001: A SPACE ODYSSY, A CLOCKWORK ORANGE, BARRY LYNDON, and THE SHINING, all films revered even today for their photography. Alcott shoots the street of Hollywood Blvd. In a manner that looks equal parts grimy and equal parts gorgeous. His participation in the film really surprised me. I think my only knock on the film, and this may be because of modern sensibilities, it does seem unnecessarily exploitative of the sexual elements in the story. In Ti West's X, he included just as much sex and violence as VICE SQUAD, but it was to support the story and did not feel as misogynistic, versus being included to simply titillate the audience. Still, the film has a following of respected critics and filmmakers. According to director Sherman, he heard from John Milius that both he and Spielberg watched the film together and were big fans. Sherman also heard from his producer that Martin Scorsese got into a heated argument with studio executive Dawn Steel (who Scorsese was dating at the time) that VICE SQUAD was the best film of 1982 and that the Academy didn't have the guts to nominate it for best picture. While I quite enjoyed this film, it's definitely not for all tastes and is pretty hard to watch in a few scenes, but if you're in the mood for a lurid 80s explosion flick that's smarter and a bit more elevated than most, you should check out the under-appreciated VICE SQUAD. FUN FACT! Wings Hauser, besides playing the villain Ramrod, sings this film's theme song "Neon Slime."
The First Power (1990)
How could Lou Diamond Phillips' battles with a demonic serial killer be this dull?
Lou Diamond Phillips is an LAPD detective trying to stop a demonic serial killer who can jump bodies and seemingly cannot be killed. Sound familiar? SHOCKER and THE HORROR SHOW came out the year before and had almost the exact same plot about a body-hopping killer. Jack Sholder's THE HIDDEN came out three years earlier and had the same body-hopping concept but with a sci-fi twist. Perennial villainous character actor Jeff Kober is sufficiently creepy as the original killer and you also get to see David Gale, Dr. Carl Hill from RE-ANIMATOR, which is fun for horror fans. My favorite part of the film was the score by Stewart Copeland, who is best known as the drummer for The Police. Overall, THE FIRST POWER passed the time, but I'd recommend watching THE HIDDEN instead. FUN FACT! According to IMDB, this was the all-time favorite movie of late rapper Eazy-E.
Jurassic World (2015)
Closer to a Michael Bay Transformers movie than it is a Spielberg film
I recently rewatched the original JURASSIC PARK on the big screen and was charmed by it, so I decided I'd give the new JURASSIC WORLD movies a shot. In the new movie, it's now a fully functioning theme park with thousands of visitors, including the two nephews of the park CEO, Bryce Dallas Howard, visiting their high-powered aunt. When one incredibly deadly genetic hybrid dinosaur escapes, all sorts of dino-mayhem are unleashed for the next 90 minutes. I was entertained by JURASSIC WORLD, but it lacked the humor, warmth, and human elements that Spielberg brought to the original film. There are perfunctory efforts to ape Spielberg's humor and human touches, but this film was closer to a Marvel or Transformers movie. Chris Pratt, Judy Greer, Vincent D'Onofrio, Jake Johnson, and BD Wong all appear in the film in thankless roles and are completely wasted. Pretty sure I'll never bother watching this movie again, though I suppose I was entertained enough I'll give the next film a try to see where the story goes next.
Exterminator 2 (1984)
An enjoyable 80s Cannon Films mess
I'm a big fan of the first EXTERMINATOR film, but this sequel is just silly. The flamethrower-wielding vigilante returns, this time taking on a drug lord named X, played by Mario Van Peebles in his film debut (unless you count his one scene in his dad's classic film SWEET SWEETBACK'S BAADASSSSS SONG). Cannon Films was not impressed with the original cut of the film and hired another director to add new scenes and more flamethrower action. Robert Ginty did not return for the reshoot, which is why The Exterminator wears a welding mask so often in the film. Cannon also had to import a NYC garbage truck to Los Angeles for the reshoots since NYC trucks were metal and LA trucks were fiberglass. The resulting movie is a completely disjointed mess, but it does have some good vigilante action and was enjoyably trashy. Also in the film are Irwin Keyes, Frankie Faison, and Arye Gross in his film debut, playing Turbo. Objectively a terrible movie, but I enjoyed it.
Trigger Warning (2024)
Unoriginal and dull gender-flip Rambo: Last Blood
I like Jessica Alba, and I also like co-writers Josh Olson (A HISTORY OF VIOLENCE) and John Brancato (THE GAME), but this movie stunk. There are seeds of what could have been a solidly entertaining if not terribly original action flick, with special forces soldier Alba returning home after her dad's untimely death in a mine collapse. When she begins to suspect it wasn't an accident, revenge and retribution ensue. Characters are uninteresting, the mystery is uninvolving, and the action is mediocre at best. My guessing Olson and Brancato's script got reworked by the third credited writer and undue tinkering watered down what was originally a good script. Skip this one and watch one of Netflix's better formulaic action flicks, like EXTRACTION 1 or 2, DAY SHIFT, BRIGHT, or THE OLD GUARD instead.
Ghost Warrior (1984)
Weaker Charles Band production from the Empire Pictures era.
Meh. Not sure I need to rewatch this Charles Band-produced flick again. I'll stick with Fred Schepisi's ICEMAN instead the next time want to see an unfrozen person wake up in the 20th Century. Below is my review from the last time I saw it about 9 years ago.
1-1-15
Ghost Warrior (1984) **1/2
Empire Pictures almost made a smart film that took the idea of an unfrozen man from the past from "Iceman" but instead of making a moving story about taking someone out of their place and time, producers Charles and Albert Band could not resist making it a bizarrely cheesy hybrid of 80s ninja films and Death Wish-like street justice. Incredibly silly, but still entertaining enough if you're in the mood for direct-to-video 80s cheese. Underrated composer Richard Band provides a nice score.
S.F.W. (1994)
A disaffected Gen-X movie that OOOOOOZES 90s cool!
Stephen Dorff and Reese Witherspoon play Cliff Spab and Wendy Pfister, a couple of kids who were held hostage for 30 days in a convenience store and became unsuspecting media sensations when their ordeal, unbeknownst to them, was broadcast to the world. The film mainly takes place after that and follows them as they navigate the trauma of their experience and their newfound notoriety. Spab's F. U. too-cool-for-school Gen-X attitude becomes a media sensation and his catchphrase during the hostage crisis, "So f---ing what?", the height of Gen-X disaffection, becomes commercialized, along with himself and Wendy. There could have been a great movie here, but an uneven tone spoils that. Dorff and Witherspoon give such good performances, that the audience genuinely cares about what happens to them and feels bad how the media and the public pretend to care about them, but doesn't appreciate or want to understand what they went through. Their trauma is made palpable by their sincere performances, which feels incongruous with the rest of the film's broad comedic presentation of the media circus around them. For example, you have Gary Coleman playing Spab in a TV movie, and the filmmakers also have the same actor playing multiple TV hosts (impersonating Sam Donaldson, Phil Donohue, Ted Koppel, etc.), which only serves to take the audience out of the reality of the film. And the flashbacks to the hostage situation are truly chilling. That juxtaposed with Gary Coleman feels like two completely different movies. That may have been the point, but the comedy detracts and cheapens the rest of the film. The same point could have been made with a realistic presentation of the media circus. Dorff is wildly charismatic and he and Witherspoon have some of the best on-screen chemistry I've seen in a long time. They're pretty irresistible in the scenes they share together. It's no wonder Witherspoon became a huge star, but it makes me wonder why Dorff didn't. The flashback of them singing a duet of "As Long as We've Got Each Other" is such a sad and beautiful moment (to non-Gen-Xers that was the theme song to GROWING PAINS), but it really shows off both of their talent. Besides Reese and Dorff, the cast includes forgotten 90s stars Jake Busey (STARSHIP TROOPERS), Joel Lauren Adams (CHASING AMY), Pamela Gidley (CHERRY 2000), and Jack Noseworthy (BREAKDOWN). There's a great score by composer Graeme Revell and terrific photography by Peter Deming, who's shot everything from EVIL DEAD II (his first film) to David Lynch's MULHOLLAND DRIVE and more recently MCU movies. Overall, while S. F. W. Seeks to condemn the media, consumer culture, classism, and hypocrisy of American society in general, which is ironic given the '90s Gen-X ethos not giving a rip (it's also funny now that Gen-X is in their 40s and 50s and are the establishment), but weakens its message with out-of-place and unnecessary comedy. It's a flawed film for sure, but one I really like and plan to revisit.
Freeway (1996)
Little Red Riding Hood in the "Hood"
Writer/director Matthew Bright, the co-writer and co-star of one of my all-time favorite cult films, FORBIDDEN ZONE, does a modern retelling of Little Red Riding Hood set, where else, in "The Hood." This was just Reese Witherspoon's fifth film and was her most mature role to date, playing a teenage runaway escaping foster care after her mom is arrested for hooking. She plans to make her way to grandma's trailer park, but is picked up by serial killer Bob Wolverton (Get it? The Big Bad Wolf?) and things get pretty crazy from there. The film is purposefully over the top with wildly campy performances and some hilarious dialogue, partially from Witherspoon's Vanessa Lutz, where she gets to do an exaggerated version of her natural Tennessee accent:
Woody Wilson: Why are you doing this?
Vanessa Lutz: 'Cause I'm pissed off and the whole world owes me. Give me your goddamn money!
OR
Vanessa Lutz: What are ya'll lookin' at? F--- all ya'll. F--- you, chipmunk face! And your f---in' skipper wife!
OR
Vanessa Lutz: Them's some big ugly f---in' teeth you got, Bob.
OR
Vanessa Lutz: You f---er! You killed my grandma!
Bob Wolverton: That's not all I did to grandma.
There's also a whole bunch of super inappropriate quotes I can't share here. Witherspoon is fantastic as Vanessa Lutz, playing a trashy type of character she has never played before or since. For a crazy little low-budget movie, it really is a star-making role for her. This movie wouldn't be anywhere as good without Witherspoon in the lead. She chews the scenery with the best of them, which is saying something when you've got Kiefer Sutherland as Wolverton and Amanda Plumber playing her hooker mom. You also have in the supporting cast Dan Hedaya as a detective, Brooke Shields and Wolverton's wife, Bokeem Woodbine as Witherspoon's boyfriend, and Brittany Murphy as a fellow juvenile delinquent. FREEWAY is a complete camp-fest and deliciously darkly funny, but the film works as well as it does because of Reese. Bright was quoted on working with Witherspoon, "Reese was the first person I ever directed and it was a revelation, like being in a small room watching Jimi Hendrix shredding on his guitar." Also of note, Oliver Stone served the an executive producer on the film, and Danny Elfman, who was a childhood friend of Bright, did the music. Overall, despite some unevenness of tone at times, FREEWAY is a movie that echos John Waters' "bad taste" in the most fun sort of way. Not for all tastes, but a real treat if you can get into the spirit of the film. BONUS RECOMMENDATION: If you'd like another fairy tale-themed modern-day crime film, check out RUNNING SCARED (2006), the one with Paul Walker, not the Billy Crystal/Gregory Hines one. It's not as campy as FREEWAY and is more of a straight crime film, but the fairy tale subtext is a lot of fun.