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Villain (2020)
"If he's a grass, I'll kill 'im, me'self!!!!"
After a 10-year stretch, Frank (Craig Fairbrass) returns to an unfamiliar manor and is twitchily greeted by younger brother Sean (George Russo) whose arrant drug-meddling drags him into unwanted Ag with the vicious Garrett brothers (Robert Glenister & Tomi May). On paper all the tantalizing thug tropes are garishly present, yet the bloody, compelling, downward spiralling gangster thriller Villain belies deeper, much darker dramatic fare. George Russo is deliciously unlikeable as wrong 'un Charlie-merchant Sean, and charismatic Craig Fairbrass arguably delivers one of his finest performances as the lion-hearted luckless villain Frank. Ultimately, he should have listened to his own sage advice, "Never trust an f'n sniff-head!" Barantini's gritty, violent urban thriller has a Sean Meadows kitchen sink quality, smart, electric with nuenced performances, and a brutal underworld protagonist you can readily sympathize with. For me, the earnest, dramatic elements of Villain are no less essential than the cathartic eruptions of gore!
Angel Unchained (1970)
Hippies suck!!!!
Outlaw biker Angel (Don Stroud) gives up his colours for a Hippie Commune's rustic tranquillity, and his momentary mellow is usurped by woefully unrighteous red necks, and the docile hippies plan to use Angel's ex-biker buddies as protection yields predictably ungroovy results! Lee Madden's roustabout A. I. P biker gem has an especially groovy cast, funkily flower powered tunes, some gnarly fights, corn pone claptrap, reactionary cowboys, and Tyne Daly looking especially lovely. The open road, a ceaseless river of beer, and skuzzy Biker's sticking it to the man, I can still dig it, man!!!! I never grooved on hippy schtick, commune's suck, but mighty Don Stroud is on righteous form, and the Wacky Races climax is a propah gas!
Play for Today: Moss (1975)
"We've all decided to paint about loneliness!"
Moss (Warren Mitchell) is a crotchety misanthropic miser, whose entire world outlook changes after the sudden tragic death of his beloved grandson. Bernard Kops Moss is an immaculately written, insightful, profoundly moving, beautifully acted 70s TV play about a turbulent, especially poignant crisis in an old man's life. Seen today, this rigorously compelling, heart-wrenching drama remains an exemplar of televisual art, featuring a bravura tour de force of acting by Warren Mitchell! Dealing bluntly with depression, tragedy, and grief, this stirring play is never once trite, sentimental, or maudlin. Director Philip Saville's Moss is a beautifully sad story, beautifully told, and I found the redemptive conclusion to be both satisfying, and hugely compassionate.
Yuan yin (1981)
Kung Fu cops Carter Wong and partner Bruce Le still pack an almighty wallop!!!!
There's a bloodthirsty psycho killer loose on the Hong Kong's seamier backstreets, and steel-thewed cops Bruce Le & Carter Wong undertake the increasingly dangerous task of bringing this maniac to justice! A cheap and cheerful chopsocky romp, Mad Cold-Blooded Murder remains an enjoyably brisk, fight-heavy 80s martial arts spectacular! Acrobatically enlivened by some of Kung Fu cinema's ablest practitioners: Bruce Le, Carter Wong, Chen hu-min, and bone-crushing bad guy behemoth, Bolo Yeung! Alongside some righteous rucks, this lively admixture of sleazy, backalley slasher motifs, boisterous Kung Fu shenanigans, and bangin' synths, has enough sinewy, shin splintering savagery to appease most old school 'fu freaks!!!! A deadly detecting duo, armed with fatally flying fists of ferrous metal, and cranium crushing kicks, Kung Fu cops Carter Wong and partner Bruce Le still pack an almighty wallop!!!! There's one nastily prolonged strangulation scene that suggests to me the copy I watched might be edited, since some of the kills are largely off-screen?
Dragon Eyes (2012)
Delivers on the brutalist combat!!!!!!!!
While in prison, enigmatic loner, Hong (Cung Le) is pitilessly mentored into a spectacularly invulnerable Kung Fu Killing Machine by cool martial arts Mofo, Tiano (JCVD). Following his release, Hong moves into squalid St. Jude Square, a once peaceful NOLA suburb, now dominated by degenerate cop Mr. V (Peter Weller), the mean streets overrun with gun happy drug-thugs. Part Golden Harvest, part Sergio Leone, Hyams moody, street tough, rewardingly fight-packed urban punch-fighter 'Dragon Eyes' provides a vivid showcase for Cung Le's thrillingly brutalist close quarters prowess. The sledgehammer confrontations are swift, deadly and sharply choreographed, Le's scenes with fellow cauliflower-eared pugilist Trevor Prangley were especially vicious! My own personal highlights, are, of course, JCVD bossing it as Tiano, the centrifugal, kick-centric combat, Michael Krassner's exceptional score, Peter Weller's mega-toxic Billy Drago-esque villain Mr. V. and JCVD 'borrowing' a line from his iconic 'Double Impact' was a fanboy treat!
Hei mei gui (1983)
"They've murdered 3rd Ant, and her key is gone?????!!!!"
This terrifically energetic, excitingly fight-packed Taiwanese martial arts master-blaster kicks into higher gear following the reading of a will, whereupon all manner of martial arts madness breaks loose as evilly duplicitous family members search for the keys to the safe! Blazing action, banging choons, crazy stunts and a memorably mental Kung Fu clotted climax make this Black Rose one especially sweet smelling Kung Fu classic!! Loads of goodly gonzo stuff going on here, Kidnappings, a far from stealthy Ninja, torture, filthy femme fatales, arbitrary speedboat racing, a sleazy fat necrophile, motocross madness, and bizarrely enigmatic repetitions of "3rd Ant!!!" "3rd Ant!!!""3rd Ant!!!" keeps things pretty phooken lively.
Smokin' Stogies (2001)
Goofyfellas
'Smokin' Stogies' (2000) - Vincent Di Rosa.
"My father told me there are only two things you say to a broad, get over here! And get outta here!"
Tony Sirico and Frank Vincent do their ubiquitous bad guy schtick in this goofy goombah crime caper about a stolen shipment of stolen shipment of Cuban contraband cigars. In truth, I'm not too sure what to make of Di Rosa's sporadically mirthsome mafia gorgonzola-fest. Some of it is pretty funny, the accents are straight out of a crackerjack box, and the more noisome expletive bants are pretty funny, so, fuhggeddabouditt!!!!!! I give 'Goofyfellas' a thumbs up...ya' mamas ass!!!!!!!!!!
A Kid Called Danger (1999)
Danger Mice!
'A Kid Called Danger' (1999) - Eric Hendershot.
Dane (Clayton Taylor), a precocious young kid wants to be a cop like his dad so bad that he risks life and the prepubescent limbs of his wacky gang to capture at-large Jewel thief Frank Connelly(Noah Forest). You've had Spy Kids, spooky kids, cabbatch patch kids, so why not detective kids? A Kid Called Danger remains a mostly fun all-ages romp that succeeds due to the surprising amicability of its youthful cast, and its playful sense of humour. Not unlike the best of the Children's Film Foundation, A Kid Called Danger is zestily wholesome family fare that isn't so saccharine as to be indigestible to everyone else.
Dou san 2 (1994)
Oh! Yeah! Lest I forget, the snarky Kung Fu kid is no less legendary!
'The Return of The God of Gamblers' (1994) - Wong Jing.
The Legendary God of Gamblers (Chow Yun Fat) is cruelly forced out of retirement by a sadistic rival who slayed his pregnant wife. Wong Jing's exhilarating 2hr action-fest is generously filled with more blazing heroic bloodshed, dazzlingly acrobatic fights, propulsive adventure, high drama, incendiary action, joyous knockabout comedy, and meticulously orchestrated revenge than most filmmaker's entire career! Once again, the handsome, sleekly charismatic Chow Yun Fat kills it as the God of Gamblers, and the icon is given some equally fine support from Tony Leung, NG Seen-Leen, and Chingamy Yau. What I found so wickedly compelling about The Return of the God of Gamblers was creative writer/director Wong Jing's bravura facility for dynamite action, a deftness over the more nuenced elements, and eye-popping displays of thrillingly inventive filmmaking. Oh! Yeah! Lest I forget, the snarky Kung Fu kid is no less legendary!
Knight of the Dead (2013)
Much more fun than I thought it would be.
A spry warrior priest and his stalwart band of capable knights undertake a mysterious, increasingly bloody quest in a forbidding valley of plague ridden zombies. While low budget, hampered by rudimentary FX, the spectacular Snowdonian exteriors provide a doomily evocative backdrop to the rain-lashed medieval slaughter. The grisly concept is, perhaps, better than its execution, yet the lively characters prove compelling, their rousing adventuring maintained my interest. At its very best, Knight Of The Dead often recalled scary kids telly from the late 70s, early 80s, at its worst, it's every bit as cheesy as the unlovely artwork suggests it might be. I feel that my idol Mahnfahrt Panzerflesh would have approved.
Home Team (1998)
Let's learn some soccer!"
Home Team. 1998 Allan A Goldstein.
As recommended by recently disgraced B-blogger Mahnfahrt Panzerflesh.
Some may regard this infantile footie flick to be one Mighty Duck up, but not I. Ex-Soccer hero (Steve Guttenberg), now disgraced degenerate gambler is given a shot at redemption by being the gruff handyman/footie coach at a deprived kids school Sounds wretched, perhaps it is, but, in truth, aren't we all just a little bit wretched sometimes? The inevitably fuzzy wuzzy conclusion is no valid reason to dislike it, but Guttenberg's boorish comedy antics just might be! The weird guy playing the kooky funeral director did all the proper big boy acting.
Guttenballs or Guttengoofy, YOU decide!!!!!!
The Texas Chainsaw Massacre: The Beginning (2006)
A thrillingly gory prelude to Tobe Hooper's morbidly meat mangling masterpiece!
The Texas Chainsaw Massacre: The Beginning provides another gorgeously grisly, heroically horrible history of everyone's favourite ferociously flesh flaying cannibal chainsaw clan. A magnetically mental, R. Lee Ermey is off-the chain crazy as psychopathic pretend Sheriff Hoyt! This thrillingly gory prelude to Tobe Hooper's morbidly meat mangling masterpiece is a sinisterly stitched together Texan terror treat. Proving himself to be a macabre mammoth of mayhem, this lumbering iteration of lunatic, limb-lopping Leatherface is a beautifully bloodthirsty behemoth, and the spectacular stomach churning splatter FX by gruesome murder mechanics K. N. B are a photorealistic delight! I have always admired Leatherface's singularly brutalist methodology, and, excitingly, Andrew Bryniarsky didn't disappoint me, gorily rendering these annoyingly plastic protagonists into edible plasmic slop!
E yu tou hei sha xing (1978)
This Tattoo Connection proves to be more indelible than you might initially think!
A famous diamond has been stolen, and maverick Kung Fu insurance agent Lucas (Jim Kelly) is promptly dispatched to Hong Kong in order to retrieve it. Brucesploitation boss Tso Nam Lee excitingly delivers the boisterous old school chop socky goods in his prodigiously fight-heavy grindhouse gem The Tattoo Connection. Slick, steel sinewed, super swift Jim Kelly manfully takes on all comers upon his quest to locate said priceless bauble. The indomitable Lucas almost meets his martial match when mixing it up lively with equally able, outsized pugilist Ox (Bolo Yueng).
The predictably prosaic text is electrifyingly embellished with a high voltaged generosity of close quarters martial arts mayhem! The Tattoo Connection, while roughly hewn, remains a tantalizing showcase for the handsome, charismatic screen fighter Jim Kelly, who really gets to strut his not inconsiderable stuff! A notable cast of Kung Fu favourites, funky score, dope tracksuits, dude-lord Jim Kelly, and a rampantly chop sockied climax make this Tattoo Connection more indelible than you might think! I've always been a huge fan of the King of Karate Kool, and I'd love to see more of Jim Kelly's entertaining films restored for posterity.
The Hippie Temptation (1967)
"Turning away from challenge into dreamy narcosis!"
A tittersome time capsule investigating the enthusiastically drug-positive, flaccidly flower powering hippie/Haight Ashbury movement of the late 1960s. The generously LCD-laced languor herein frequently makes for a splendidly far out viewing experience! The notable reputation of this entertainingly sensationalistic, iconically psychedelicized CBS TV special is richly deserved, as much of the groovier, brightly beaded material immortalized by this CBS TV special remains psychotronically choice!
The Hippie Temptation is a veritable goldmine for funky vintage footage freaks, this heady, sombre-voiced expose of grubbily freaked out, fuzzy headed acid heads is a timelessly time travelling trip. There are myriad groovy quotes from stiffly authoritative doctors, and frustratingly dull, inarticulate stoners alike. There's one particularly choice moment when a polite, middle-class acid casualty calmly explains how he recently experienced the divine luminescence of god in all things while on a trip, and his palpably uptight mother immediately scolded him by saying without a hint of irony that "He'll only see god when he's dead!!??" Events conclude amicably with some turned on live footage of the grateful dead playing to an enthusiastically frugging open-air crowd of dreary dopers.
"Acid ate my chromosomes, man!"
100 Per Cent White (2000)
A powerful, refreshingly unbiased documentary on a contentious subject that benefits greatly from its cogent lack of propagandizing
A viscerally confrontational, starkly compelling Ch. 4 documentary about 3 former hardline skinheads coming to terms with changing attitudes, and the criminal actions of their antisocial past. A darkly fascinating work, Leo Regan's intensely raw non-fiction film captures the many disturbing issues, and emotional conflicts bluntly raised by those interviewed in this boldly unfiltered documentary.
Colin, Neil, and Nick are undeniably brutal men, with exceedingly disturbing histories, but you certainly have to credit Nick with his earnest attempts to temper the prejudices borne of his tenure as an active member of a militant skinhead gang. Colin is insecure, contradictory, an unrepentantly violent thug, struggling to cope with family life, and reserved, formerly stab-happy, rave-loving Neil, is the most ambivalent, hard to read of the three. An authentic, absorbingly intense, entirely laudable documentary about three initially unsympathetic working-class men with egregious views on race that doesn't simply demonize them. 100% white credibly takes a more humanist, non-reactionary approach, thereby allowing the viewer to draw their own conclusions from the material presented.
Man Alive: The Day Trip (1974)
"Janet is the one with six cans of light ale in her handbag!"
Another captivating, manifestly brilliant time capsule episode of the iconic documentary programme Man Alive. The Day Trip proves to be a lively excursion to bustling Margate, intimately captured by Man Alive's lively award-winning team. All the diverse characters interviewed herein colourfully provide their own personal take on Londoners beloved seaside sanctuary. Sweeter, and fluffier than shocking pink candy floss, Man Alive's uplifting The Day Trip remains an altogether charming, joyously light-hearted snapshot of this bustling, wholesomely hedonistic, brine lashed pleasure beach. I thought this appealingly sun-dappled, warmly nostalgic overview of Margate in the 1970s was a propah knees-up, and the sweetly sardonic narration is no small part of its charm! Highlights for me were the delightful old couple whose good humour, palpable sense of fun, love of life and twinkle-eyed appreciation of boisterous Margate proved infectious.
Xun cheng ma (1982)
It's a trip watching cool Gun Fu maestro, Chow Yun-fat throw down his fists with equal deadly efficacy!!!!
Dramatically set during times of rural privation, and turbulent political unrest, heroic courier Ma (Leung kar-yan) reluctantly undertakes an increasingly precarious journey. Delivering a mysterious package to a rebel leader, Ma, and his motley companions, must courageously overcome many life-threatening obstacles. Ace director Ronny Yu's wintry, thrillingly violent quest, has the mythic qualities of an existential western alongside the hyper kineticism of a blazing, exquisitely choreographed Martial Arts epic! This wild bunch's thrillingly bloody exodus in bandit country provides an adrenalizing number of dazzling sequences, and the bravura, bullet-blasted finale is a gonzo Golden Harvest classic!
After Alice (2000)
Moody Kiefer's pronounced psychometric reactions are textbook.
After a sinister serial killer shockingly breaks his ten-year hiatus, dour, misanthropic maverick detective Mickey Hayden (Kiefer Sutherland) does his boozy best to discover the identity of this evil, psychopathic killer. It must be a notable moment in an actor's working life when they play their very first psychically-inclined detective. It's the trope all too few care to talk about, but it's nothing to be ashamed of, big guy, you're amongst friends here! Kiefer's 'I see dead people' acting is really rather good in Eye of The Killer. For a quality mainstream actor he has made many notable cult movies, this isn't one of them, but his performance is. Just watch handsomely grizzled lush Kiefer, block out everyone else, and then, perhaps, yes, his dipso psychometric cop is a cult!!?? Booze always looks way cooler in glossy fillums than it is in reality. I must just reiterate, majestically moody Kiefer's pronounced psychometric reactions are textbook.
Road Games (2015)
Road Games has much to recommend it to tantalizingly twisted thriller fans.
Photomodel hotties meet Hitch-Hiking sun-stippled French back roads shadowed by a sinister serial killer, with events taking a grisly turn once they accept the ostensible hospitality of a demonstratively tweaked married couple. An absorbing psychothriller, Road Games is largely successful in its increasingly lurid attempts at wrong-footing the audience. Pastoll's sexified, stylishly Off-beat shocker's eccentric characters playfully distracts from some of the more implausible conceits. Once the amorous couple are anxiously ensconced within the 'Old Dark House' the splendidly spooky shenanigans begin in earnest! The luminous beauty Joséphine de La Baume is exquisite enough to readily forgive any aggressively alien personality quirks, and the entirely lovely scream dame, Barbara Crampton is a delight as the altogether less than sane, mansion stalking yummy mummy. Those familiar with skewed Spider Baby dramatics, might be the first to decode the dark mystery, but, either way, Road Games has much to recommend it to tantalizingly twisted thriller fans.
Dummy (1977)
Inspirational filmmaking, and a credit to the industry.
Franc Roddam's gritty ATV drama about an unfortunate deaf mute girl Sandra's (Geraldine James) sordid descent into prostitution and degradation remains no less powerful, seen today, than upon its initial broadcast. Intimately shot in depressed working class districts of Bradford, Dummy isn't an easy watch, yet the magnificent cast, and Geraldine James's bravura performance rigorously bring this harrowing, profoundly moving biography to unsettlingly vivid life. Watching Dummy again frequently made me feel monumentally sad, yet it maintains a dark fascination throughout. There can be little doubt that what befell Sandra was nothing less than a tragedy, it's an extraordinary story dramatized in a compassionate, yet credibly unsentimental fashion. Dummy is an exemplary, hard-hitting kitchen sink drama that doesn't shy away from the many distressing events in Sandra's frequently brutal, heart wrenchingly loveless life. The exceedingly fine text, wholly uncontrived performances and Roddam's superb filmmaking are truly inspirational, and a credit to the industry.
Play for Today: Edna The Inebriate Woman (1971)
"Why didn't they let me stay in the Nick??!!"
Immaculately written by Jeremy Sandford, and brilliantly directed by Ted Kotcheff, 'Edna, the Inebriate Woman' remains a blisteringly powerful, truly remarkable work of gritty, socially conscious filmmaking. This searing, extraordinarily engrossing Play For Today enjoys a generosity of exquisite performances, and is arguably one of the most compelling examples of British drama from television's last golden age. Like all the exemplary works of quality humanist drama, all the societal issues addressed in Edna, the Inebriate Woman are certainly no less pertinent today. The terribly moving narrative's bracing lack of sentimentality remains inspirational, and while many of the actors featured are familiar, it nonetheless feels uncomfortably authentic. The vivid scenes staged in the psychiatric ward are disconcerting, as electroshock therapy always gives me the heebie-jeebies! With indelible moments, it proves impossible to watch this uniquely stunning TV play and not zealously reiterate the unassailable fact of Patricia Hayes's extraordinary performance.
Johnny Go Home: The Murder of Billy Two-Tone (1975)
Johnny Go Home remains a potent gut puncher!
This complex, candid, thoroughly researched, exceedingly powerful two part documentary reveals the profoundly disturbing facts behind the brutal murder of vulnerable teenage runaway Billy McPhee. I found the grisly details of this sordid case to be rather distressing at times, but John Willis's exemplary Johnny Go Home remains an authentic, compelling, wholly credible work of investigative, non-fiction filmmaking. While the poignant, frequently profane subject makes for a bleak, and appreciably melancholy viewing experience, the plentiful footage of early 1970s London provides a vividly fascinating time capsule in of itself.
The first part follows the impoverished transient teenagers as they meagrely attempt to forge a pitiful, conspicuously imperilled day-to-day existence in London. The 2nd, considerably more disturbing segment of the programme grimly exposes the despicable machinations of foul abuser, Roger Gleaves, who shielded a vile, predatory nature behind his wholly fictitious guise of being a benign charity youth worker. Johnny Go Home was a potent gut puncher, and I found the forensic footage of the tortured young man's body grievously unsettling. It seems truly extraordinary that so very little has changed to prevent the continued proliferation of criminal exploitation of so many homeless/ dispossessed children in the UK. The pointed lack of government funding/resources availible to provide help/shelter for these especially vulnerable members of society is damning.
Man Alive: Tougher Than Punishment (1973)
A truly brilliant, utterly compelling 70s TV documentary
Tougher Than Punishment is yet another gritty, well-made, hugely insightful Man Alive programme. They investigate an alternative, uniquely non-punitive methodology that hopefully assists emotionally disturbed young offenders improve themselves. This time, Man Alive take their cameras into Peper Harow Therapeutic community in Godalming, Surrey, candidly interviewing the earnest, plainly committed staff and the not infrequently volatile residents. There's a palpably raw, emotionally wrenching, almost Alan Clarke quality to Tougher Than Punishment, and one would sincerely hope that many of the angry young men were finally able to overcome, or at least contain their demons in adulthood. A truly brilliant, utterly compelling 70s TV documentary, exemplary non-fiction filmmaking, and I was greatly moved by the experience.
Servo suo (1973)
"He doesn't have any friends, he's a stray dog!"
A solitary, down on his luck school teacher (Nick Avram) is kidnapped by gangsters and coerced/indoctrinated to do a hit in Romano 'Nightmare's in a Damaged Brain' Scavolini's enjoyably low-key, downbeat Euro-crime gem. The fine cast does much to boost the pulpy material, composer Carlo Esposito's hepcat jazzy lounge funk is another key element, and the cult director keeps the pace lively enough. Made during an era when steely male protagonists advertised their Alpha status by aggressive day drinking, studied misanthropy, wiry thatches of exposed chest hair, an unyielding 'fists first' policy, and slept with implausibly beauteous prostitutes whose debauched life only barely tarnished their inviolate hearts of gold.
Look Away (2021)
A fine, impassioned documentary.
A fine, impassioned documentary exposing the repeated sexual abuse of young women by some of the more conspicuous figures in the music industry. Excluding the darker, criminal elements, the additional insight to the bustling glam rock-era of the L. A. Music scene proved fascinating, if frequently unsavoury. This worthy piece is Aerosmith-centric, featuring earnest, in-depth interviews with victim Julie Holcomb, Steven Tyler's then-teenaged girlfriend whose grooming ordeal culminates in tragedy. Look Away also features the greatly disturbing details of The Runaways bass player Jackie Fuch's assault by the band's unspeakably vile, predatory manager. The section on Axl Rose seemed undernourished, the band's ex-manager sounding deliberately vague when discussing the controversial singer's aggressively abhorrent off-stage behaviour. Victim Sheila Kennedy's graphic description of her brutal treatment by a psychotic-sounding Rose is distressing. There also seemed to be many, no less abusive characters on the periphery; liggers, DJs, equally predatory hangers on who eagerly profited from their repeated proximity to these debased rockers, it will prove interesting to see if any of these abusers shall ever see their deserved day in court.