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Coventry
Main Entry: exclusion
Definition: expulsion; forbiddance
Synonyms: ban, bar, blackball, blockade, boycott, cut, debarment, debarring, discharge, dismissal, ejection, elimination, embargo, eviction, exception, excommunication, interdict, interdicting, interdiction, keeping out, lockout, nonadmission, occlusion, omission, ostracism, ousting, preclusion, prevention, prohibition, proscription, refusal, rejection, relegation, removal, repudiation, segregation, separation, suspension, veto
Antonyms: acceptance, addition, admittance, allowance, inclusion, incorporation, welcome
send to Coventry, to refuse to associate with; openly and pointedly ignore: His friends sent him to Coventry after he was court-martialed.
People from the music industry that I respect, idolize or just simply appreciate: Ennio Morricone, Amy McDonald, Daan, David Bowie, Therion, Pink Floyd, Leonard Cohen, Alice Cooper, Neil Diamond, Joy Division, Bobby Darin, the Everly Brothers, Bobby Vinton, Gene Pitney, Herman's Hermits, The Hollies, The Animals, The Byrds, Donovan, Vargoth, Drudkh, Behemoth, Triggerfinger, Falkenbach, Finntroll, Einherjer, The Smiths, Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds, BB King, Ministry, Lynyrd Skynyrd, Rufus Wainwright, The Allman Brothers Band, Johnny Cash, Paul Simon, Raymond Lefèvre, Children of Bodom, Volbeat, Elvis Presley, Bruce Springsteen, Tom Waits, Anathema, Velvet Underground, Norah Jones, Fatboy Slim, Moloko, Angelo Badalmenti, Sarah Brightman, Lady Antebellum, Enigma, Muse, Army of Lovers, Chris Isaak, Lesley Gore, Kasabian, Pearl Jam, dEUS, Mumford & Sons, The Subs, Nirvana, Soundgarden, Cuff the Duke, Pulp, Oscar and the Wolf,
People from the movie industry that I respect, idolize or just simply appreciate: John Saxon, Mario Bava, Joe D'Amato, George Eastman, Darren Lynn Bousman, Boris Karloff, Enzo G. Castellari, Bo Svenson, Fred Williamson, Antonio Margheriti, Klaus Kinski, Lloyd Kaufman, James Gunn, Rob Zombie, Sid Haig, Matthew McGrory, Karen Black, Dennis Fimple, Irwin Keyes, Tom Towles, Bill Moseley, Wolfgang Petersen, Nicol Williamson, Fairuza Balk, Piper Laurie, Philippe Mora, Tom Holland, Ronny Cox, Lucio Fulci, Christopher George, Giovanni Lombardo Radice, Catriona MacColl, Fabio Frizzi, Nicolas Cage, Todd Farmer, Tom Atkins, Paul Verhoeven, Kurtwood Smith, Miguel Ferrer, Ray Wise, Stuart Gordon, H.P. Lovecraft, Jeffrey Combs, David Gale, Barbara Crampton, Fernando Di Leo, Joe Dallesandro, Terence Fisher, Anton Diffring, Hazel Court, Christopher Lee, Robert Stevenson, William Girdler, Rebecca De Mornay, Mako, Ti West, Tom Noonan, Mary Woronov, Paul Bartel, David Carradine, Roger Corman, Adrian Hoven, Monte Hellman, Warren Oates, Harry Dean Stanton, Steve Railsback, Ed Begley Jr., Peter Fonda, Nathan Juran, Lionel Jeffries, James Glickenhaus, Ken Wahl, Joaquim de Almeida, Sam Peckinpah, William Holden, Ernest Borgnine, Ben Johnson, Edmond O'Brien, Kurt Raab, Helene Cattet & Bruno Forzani, Karl Freund, Peter Lorre, Colin Clive, William Lustig, Joe Spinell, Caroline Munro, Tom Savini, Charles B. Pierce, Robert Wise, Fred Dekker, Fritz Lang, David Hemmings, Michael Ironside, Jan-Michael Vincent, Bette Davis, Joseph Cotten, Agnes Moorehead, Victor Buono, George Kennedy, Charles Bronson, Richard Fleischer, Elmore Leonard, Paul Koslo, Michael Winner, Brian Garfield, Lee Marvin, J. Lee Thompson, Riz Ortolani, Yul Brunner, Eli Wallach, Robert Vaughn, James Coburn, Steve McQueen, Michael Crichton, James Brolin, Mel Brooks, arry Cohen, Michael Moriarty, Jean-Paul Belmondo, Robin Hardy, Edward Woodward, Britt Ekland, Ingrid Pitt, Peter Cushing, Michael Gough, Herbert Lom, Udo Kier, Michael Reeves, Vincent Price, Ian Ogilvy, Dick Maas, Henri-Georges Clouzot, Paul Naschy, Paul Morrissey, Truman Capote, Peter Falk, Alec Guinness, David Niven, Elsa Lanchester, Peter Sellers, Gene Wilder, Patrick McGoohan, Herb Freed, Richard Kiel, John Landis, Tim Curry, Simon Pegg, Jenny Agutter, Frank Oz, Dario Argento, Quentin Tarantino, Everett De Roche, Stacy Keach, Russell Mulcahy, Brian Trenchard-Smith, Donald Pleasence, George Peppard, Simon Wincer, Narciso Ibáñez Serrador, Gary Sherman, Faith Domergue, Alexandre Aja, Ving Rhames, Christopher Lloyd, Eli Roth, Ishirô Honda, Greydon Clark, Cybill Shepherd, Neville Brand, Vincent Schiavelli, Martin Landau, Jack Palance, Alan Rudolph, Jonathan Demme, Pam Grier, Mark L. Lester, Malcolm McDowell, Patrick Kilpatrick, Don Dohler, Everett McGill, Corey Haim, Gary Busey, Jake Busey, Charlton Heston, Lorne Greene, Walter Matthau, Peter Bogdanovich, Woody Allen, John Milius, Franco Nero, Crispin Glover, Dennis Hopper, Dick Miller, Barbara Steele, Armando Crispino, Sergio Grieco, Helmut Berger, Lee Van Cleef, Robert Forster, John Huston, Melvyn Douglas, Douglas Fairbanks Jr., George Miller, Mel Gibson, Robert Rodriguez, George Hilton, Kane Hodder, Michael Madsen, Tony Todd, Nicolas Winding Refn, William Grefe, Cirio H. Santiago , Joe Dante, Don Coscarelli, Angus Schrimm, Tobe Hooper, Tiffany Shepis, Brad Dourif, George P. Cosmatos, John Boorman, Stephen Boyd, Tommy Lee Jones, Rod Steiger, Brian DePalma, Gunnar Hansen, George A. Romero, Simon Boyes, Adam Mason, Jack Arnold, M. Emmet Walsh, James Stewart, Darren McGavin, Kathleen Quinlan, Jack Lemmon, Robert Foxworth, Olivia De Havilland, Michael Pataki, Jerry Stiller, John Carradine, Julian Sands, Freddie Francis, Don Sharp, William Castle, Bill Rebane, John De Bello, Terry O'Quinn, Peter Sykes, Wes Craven, Michael Sarrazin, Lewis Teague, Yaphet Kotto, Sergio Stivaletti, John Phillip Law, Michele Soavi, Umberto Lenzi, Anna Falchi, Lon Chaney, Sergio Martino, Edwige Fenech, Ursula Andress, Michael Sopkiw, Edmund Purdom, Hal Yamanouchi, Barbara Bach, Cameron, Mitchell, Alberto De Martino, Ernesto Gastaldi, Maurizio Merli, John Steiner, Mel Ferrer, Barbara Bouchet, Marty Feldman, Tomas Milian, Bruno Mattei, Lamberto Bava, Luc Merenda, Anita Strindberg, Luigi Pistilli, Ivan Rassimov, Sergio Corbucci, Tito Carpi, David Warbeck, Luciano Pigozzi, Gianfranco Giagni, Florinda Balkan, Rosalba Neri, Mel Welles, Dagmar Lassander, Neil Jordan, Walter Huston, Ray Bradbury, Gregory Peck, Orson Welles, Bert I. Gordon, H.G. Wells, Ida Lupino, Kirk Douglas, David Lynch, Eddie Romero, Bela Lugosi, Al Adamson, Tor Johnson, Edward D. Wood Jr, David Cronenberg, Christopher Walken, Tom Skeritt, Martin Sheen, Dino De Laurentiis, James Wan, Anthonhy Perkins, Curtis Harrington, Julie Harris, Ornella Muti, Ray Lovelock
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La padrina (1973)
Missed opportunity.
"Lady Dynamite" - aka "La Padrina" which roughly translates as "The Godmother" - is a missed opportunity, for sure. When I first read the synopsis of this 1973 Poliziotesschi/euro-crime thriller, I automatically assumed those clever Italians were already following the example of movies like "Coffy" and "Foxie Brown" and bring to the foreground the character of a strong & independent woman in world usually dominated by nasty and sleazy men. That's also how the movie (promisingly) starts. At the party for their 10th wedding anniversary, Donna Constanza is abruptly widowed when her husband (and mafia boss of five influential families in the NY region) gets gunned down during his speech. With his last powers, he whispers the name of the person who hired the assassin, and she promptly travels to Palermo to avenge him.
Alas, though, as soon as she lands in Sicily, Donna Costanza once more relies on macho men like Venantino Venantini and Anthony Steffen to do her dirty work...
How awesome would it have been if "La Padrina" revolved around a Mafia Donna version of Pam Grier who seduces, misleads, and then mercilessly slays the male enemies that treat her arrogantly and underestimate her? Answer: so awesome, especially because the Poliziotesschi subgenre desperately needed some strong feminist figures and role-models. I passionately love the genre and practically every title that I have seen thus far, but I honestly can't deny it's an utmost woman-unfriendly type of cinema. Women in Poliziotesschi just serve to sleep with, slap around, and murder. "La Padrina" sadly doesn't change this routine and, to my knowledge, no other movie ever did afterwards.
So, basically, this is a very ordinary Poliziotteschi, and if I then compare it to the work of directors such as Fernando Di Leo and Umberto Lenzi, a very weak and inconspicuous one. The pacing is often slow, there are too many supportive characters that I couldn't keep apart, and the action sequences are unremarkable. There is one excessively brutal and vile strangulation, and - of course - the victim is a woman.
Do Not Disturb (1999)
Straightforward B-movie thrills.
A 10-year-old mute girl, who already has a vivid imagination, witnesses a murder whilst on business holiday with her parents in Amsterdam and becomes the next target of the killer. It sounds like the clichéd and overused plot of a standard B-movie thriller, and - make no mistake - it is! And yet, in the capable hands of Dutch deity Dick Maas, who practically shooting this whole thing in his backyard, it definitely still holds some entertainment value.
The story is predictable yet absurd, the plot is full of holes & irrationalities, and the famous people (Hurt, Tilly, Leary) give away terrible acting performances while the local actors have dreadful accents. Then what's good about it? Well, "Do Not Disturb" offers unpretentious and fast-paced action, with good use of idyllic Amsterdam locations and a handful of spectacular deaths.
Of course, what I loved most were the unmistakably obvious references towards the two previous horror movies that Maas made in his home country in the 1980s, namely "Amsterdamned" (with plenty of action taking place in the canals and on tourist boats) and "De Lift" (with a tense sequence inside an elevator shaft).
Down (2001)
What goes "Down" must go over-the-top!
For several years I refused to watch "Down", plain and simply because the 1983 original is one of the most important and influential movies of my life! "De Lift" was the first horror movie I ever watched, and it simultaneously terrified and fascinated me. It was one of the first genuine horror movies to emerge from my geographical region (The Netherlands/Belgium) but more than 40 years later it's still (one of) the best!
I was never interested in what a US-remake of my childhood nightmare would look like, but admittedly over the years I grew curious to see what writer/director (and personal hero) Dick Maas could do with a decent budget and an excellent B-movie cast, and particularly how he would incorporate his typical sense of sardonic black humor.
Well, the most positive comment I can give is that Maas remained true to himself. Dick Maas is still Dick Maas, whether he shoots a movie in the US or in The Netherlands. The problem, however, is that the audiences and critics can't seem to distinguish. Far too many people take this movie deadly serious, even though it's a campy and deliberately tongue-in-cheek tale about an elevator (!) going ballistic and killing a whole lot of innocent people in gruesome ways. The entire crew and cast, with perhaps the exception of James Marshall, didn't take it seriously, so why should you? Also great is that there aren't any taboos in Dick Maas' world when it comes to death victims! Nobody is safe, not even pregnant women, young children, blind people, or their cute guardian dogs. The gore and suspense highlights of the original are maintained, like a grisly decapitation and a frightening moment with a little girl and her doll, but there also are a few brilliantly over-the-top additions, like the skyrocketing of the elevator cabin full of people until it literally bursts through the roof.
Not a personal or cinematic landmark, like the original, but tremendously entertaining regardless of what the bad reviews state.
24 ore di terrore (1964)
Planes, Owls & Automobiles
It is titles like "24 Hours of Terror" that provide me with the biggest thrills and the greatest satisfaction! It's not very good, but it's extremely obscure and - moreover - a sort of pioneer when it comes to blending styles and subgenres. Finding a (decent) copy of a rare horror/euro-crime movie most people have never heard about - let alone seen - is a thrill.
First, let's be very honest. "24 Hours of Terror" is already a short film (84 minutes) and then still at least 35-40% is pure and redundant filler material. It starts with exaggeratedly overlong footage of someone driving a car to the airport, then parking his car, and then walking towards the entrance. Ten minutes of running time covered; check. Throughout the movie there's also a lot of random shots of owls, and it ends with a seemingly endless shot of a taxiing and departing airplane. You begin to think the plane might crash or explode, or something, but no.
The whodunit aspect of the plot isn't exactly the greatest mystery in history, neither. There are six potential murderers, and - guess what - the one everyone suspects from the beginning is also the actual culprit. There are hardly any attempts to mislead the viewer, to complicate the plot, or to gradually mount the tension.
But you know what? It doesn't matter! "24 Hours of Terror" is nevertheless entertaining and special. The film was made in 1964 and it mixes elements of a Giallo and Euro-crime in the setting of a Gothic horror! The Giallo was only just invented (with Mario Bava's "The Girl Who Knew Too Much" and "Blood and Black Lace") and it would take another few years before the Euro-Crime genre would properly break through.
Basic Instinct (1992)
Now THIS is what I call Feminism!
Although only 12 years old around the time of release of "Basic Instinct", I vividly remember how during a talk show on Dutch television, Paul Verhoeven (who was a guest) aggressively got accused of portraying lesbian and bisexual women as all being psychotic murderers. Moral of this anecdote? Regardless of what movie he makes, Paul Verhoeven will always be controversial.
I love "Basic Instinct", and always considered it as one of the greatest (erotic) thrillers of the 90s. The plot is simple and the denouement predictable, but it's a must-see if you like rough and unrestrained plots, unpleasant characters, and unfiltered sex and violence! And there's more, because of ALL the many "Femme Fatale" thrillers of the late 80s/early 90s era, "Basic Instinct" is by far the most feminist one. The character of Catherine Tramell is very powerful one, and the legendary scene in which SHE is the boss in an interrogation room full of supposedly hardcore macho coppers is just brilliant. Tramell, as performed by Sharon Stone, is pure female power. She's rich, she's intelligent, and she's uncontrollable. No wonder cop-on-the-edge Nick Curran becomes embroiled with her case, and even more with her as a suspect.
Genesis II (1973)
Aaargh! She has two bellybuttons!
One of the approximately 3.000 things for which you can wake me up at night is a good, gritty, and unsettling dystopian Sci-Fi movie from the sixties or seventies! And that includes made-for-TV productions because, usually, they compensate with intelligent screenplays and uncanny atmosphere for what they lack in special effects and spectacular set-pieces due to their low budgets. "Genesis II" is such a compelling and reasonably entertaining TV-movie but, in the end, it's too silly and implausible to be labeled as disturbing (or even memorable, for that matter).
Some of the names involved are promising, for sure. Director John Llewellyn Moxey definitely the most competent TV-director of that era, and the script was written by none other than Gene Roddenberry. Yes, he was the guy who created "Star Trek", so you may righteously assume he knew a thing or two about Science-Fiction. Roddenberry's idea clearly was to recycle the Buck Rogers formula but make it slightly eerier and grimmer. Let's conclude that he partially succeeded.
It's 1979 and brilliant scientist Dylan Hunt is about to test a new suspended animation technique when there's an earthquake that buries his laboratory quite deep underground. The least you can say about his invention is that it works, because it's the year 2134 when Hunt wakes up! Quite a lot changed as well, since there are two main civilization tribes and they both want to claim ownership of Hunt and exploit his technical knowledge and previous life-experiences. Who to choose? Hunt feels the most affection for the stunningly beautiful Lyra-a, but can you really trust a woman with two bellybuttons? "Genesis II" is overall too slow, too talkative, and too cliched to remain interesting until the end. Alex Cord is strong as Hunt, but he got nevertheless replaced with John Saxon for the sequel (more or less) "Planet Earth.
Tômei ningen to hae otoko (1957)
The imperceptible man? No, sorry, doesn't have the same ring to it...
Somewhere deep beneath all the implausible nonsense & preposterous ideas, there's a solid and intriguing plot hidden in "The Invisible Man Vs. The Human Fly". The story revolves around a vicious night club owner/war veteran who takes revenge on his former associates via shrinking his henchman with a serum until he has the size of an ordinary housefly. The fly then kills his enemies without leaving a trace - apart from an audible buzzing sound - and the media assumes there's a murderous invisible man at large. Now, the clever part of the plot is that the henchman is a psychopath addicted to the fly-serum, and he also starts killing random people that he has issues with, and this severely complicates the police investigation. Oh, and there's also an actual invisible wandering around, otherwise the title doesn't make sense.
Watchable (and even slightly better) sequel to "The Invisible Man Appears" (1949) but still a long way from qualifying as classic Sci-Fi or horror. Around the same time in the US, Vincent Price was starring in "The Fly" and "Return of the Fly", and those movies are a lot better and more entertaining. Certain special effects, like the floating head or the reduction process, are very good but others - notably the little guy flying and buzzing - are ridiculous. Besides, why does he buzz when he's still shaped like a man?
The film also has too many supportive characters and confusing sub plots, and there are loads of irrelevant and pointless pieces of dialogue. For instance, at three different times, there are a bunch of people discussing whether it wouldn't be more accurate if they refer to the invisible man as "the imperceptible man". What? Whatever...
Tômei ningen arawaru (1949)
Before Godzilla, there was ... Dr. Kawabe!
What would you do if you could make yourself invisible? No wait, forget about sneaking into bedrooms and dressing rooms, what would you really do? Rob banks and jewelry stores without the risk of getting caught, of course! That is also what happens here. The acclaimed Dr. Nakazato (whose haircut seems to be inspired by Albert Einstein) invents a serum that is the biggest scientific discovery of the century, and yet his friend & business partner is only interested in using it to steal a diamond necklace! He persuades Nakazato's student Dr. Kawabe to collaborate, but there are a few complications. The serum causes extremely aggressive temper, and the antidote to undo the invisibility effects doesn't exist yet.
We all assumed that Japan's horror & monster legacy started in 1954 with the phenomenal "Godzilla", but this one is still a few years older. Overall speaking, "The Invisible Man Appears" is a disappointing and dull pioneer. It's inspired by - or you might even say: blatantly stolen from - the genius Universal classic from 1933 directed by James Whale and starring Claude Rains. The Japanese version adds nothing even remotely interesting to the H. G. Wells' story and seemingly the most useful purpose of "The Invisible Man Appears" is that it served as good practice for special effects wizard Eiji Tsuburaya. The special effects are very well-handled but, again, nothing new here. We see smoking cigarettes floating in the air, unwrapping of bandages, and a motorcycle without a driver, but these (or similar) effects also featured in the 1933 landmark already.
Followed by a sequel that is slightly better, namely "The Invisible Man vs the Human Fly")
Fair Game (1995)
Quick, cover the giant plot holes with more shots of Cindy Crawford in a tank-top!
Raise your hand if you were a teenage boy in the 1990s and you didn't have a crush on Cindy Crawford...
Well, if you are part of the target group and your hand is down, you are probably lying. EVERY male teenager (as well as males in their twenties, thirties, and forties) in the nineties had the hots for Crawford! After all, she was the world's most successful top-model and her beautiful face and luscious curves were on the cover of every important magazine (this was before the Internet, mind you). With Cindy's popularity, it was only logical that she would star in a Hollywood movie sooner or later, even though she's not much of a great actress.
Luckily, for Cindy, "Fair Game" isn't the type of film that requires brilliant acting skills. Her pretty looks and lots of spectacular action footage are enough to provide decent entertainment. The plot is unimportant, yet it still manages to be senseless and confusing. She stars as a Civil Rights attorney, but somehow one of her banal alimony cases leads to her being relentlessly pursued and targeted for murder by the KGB's heaviest armed and most evil criminals. She doesn't know why, the heroic cop who puts his life on the line for her doesn't know why, and the viewer most certainly doesn't know why! Doesn't matter, though, as there are huge apartment explosions, virulent car chases, violent close-range executions, steamy sex in train carriages, and gratuitous "I have to change my shirt" moments. Also typical for mid-90s action flicks is the supportive cast full of familiar faces. There's Steven Berkoff (who's specialized in depicting Russian bad guys), Jenette Goldstein and Marc Macaulay (who both look naturally evil), and the wonderful Salma Hayek (as the Latino ex-girlfriend with a violent temper). It's not a good movie, but who's complaining?
Pee chang nang (2007)
I See, You See, ... We ALL See Dead People!
You don't see a lot of horror movies from Thailand (or, at least, I don't) but the few ones that are easily available worldwide are certainly worth looking for. The recent horror flicks "The Pool" and "The Lake" are enjoyably eccentric and bloody creature features, and the relatively older "Nang Nak" (1999) is a film that I personally consider to be one of the most effectively frightening folklore tales ever made.
"The Screen at Kamchanod" is good as well. So good even that I'm surprised there never came a US-remake. The plot revolves around a doctor who's obsessed with a strange event that took place on 29th of January 1989, when a film was shown on a big cinema screen in the woods of Kamchanod. Although nobody - apart from the projectors - attended the screening, ghosts reportedly appeared in front of the screen and disappeared again when the film was finished. The doc wants to repeat the screening and hopefully summon the ghosts again, but for that he needs the original copy of the cursed film and the help of several reluctant relatives and colleagues.
The film relies on a solid (albeit far-fetched) premise, a handful of genuinely disturbing moments, and lots of flashy but nevertheless spooky imagery. Notably one passage is immensely powerful, and even reason enough to recommend the whole film, namely when the group recovers the original film roll and watches it in a ramshackle and abandoned theater. The atmosphere is already tense, but nearly becomes unbearable when creaky seats are starting to get occupied. The spirits have obviously arrived to enjoy a movie! After that, and in good old "The Ring" tradition, no one in the group will ever be the same again. All participants begin to suffer from seeing dead people and other strange visions that are often downright nightmarish!
The first sixty minutes are much more compelling than the last thirty, mainly because the pacing slows down severely, and the plot focus shifts from supernatural towards melodrama and relationship issues. Doctor Yuth is not exactly a nice fella, and his girlfriend Orn is deeply unhappy and dreams about running off with the delivery boy/junkie Roj. We get her. The climax is weak, I think, but - as said - the middle section is a must-see for fans of ghost horror.
The Heart of Justice (1992)
Farewell, you beautiful and & charming old man!
Wow, "The Heart of Justice" has quite an impressively stellar cast for being such an inconspicuous and little-seen made-for-TV thriller from the early 90s. My personal reason for absolutely wanting to track it down was because it features the very last role of the greatest actor who ever lived - Vincent Price - but the rest of the list is dazzling as well. Dennis Hopper, Bradford Dillman, Jennifer Connelly, Eric Stoltz, Harris Yulin, William H. Macy, Joanna Miles, Kurt Fuller... Based on these names, one might think it must be a sort of masterpiece, but not quite. Although a fairly engaging and entertaining thriller/mystery while it lasts, "The Heart of Justice" isn't highly memorable.
The film does open intriguingly, with Vincent Price's magical voice as he's talking to Dennis Hopper over dinner. The latter depicts Austin Blair, a cocky pulp novelist enjoying the success and media attention of his newly published book. When he walks out of the club's restaurant, though, Blair is mercilessly gunned down in broad daylight by an assailant who immediately commits suicide as well. The paper he works for orders the very arrogant reporter David Leader to dive into the story and background of the murderer. He discovers the assailant, Elliot Burgess, comes from a rich and influential family, but struggled with paranoia and mental instability. Elliot read Blair's latest novel and became obsessed with the idea it was based on the lives and secrets of his family. Leader is supposed to write an extended story, but instead he becomes indulged with the murderer's sister Emma, ...and I can't blame him because she's the unearthly ravishing Jennifer Connelly!
The film is enjoyable and compelling to watch, thanks to the solid basic plot and strong performances for every tiniest supportive role, but even the dream cast can't prevent the story from becoming slightly dull and repetitive after a good hour. You will be curious regarding how it will end because, after all, the killer is already identified and dead. I must admit the denouement is unexpected and original, but not entirely satisfying.
Alright, one last homage to Vincent Price. His role is virtually meaningless here, and "The Heart of Justice" is hardly the film to end such a long and brilliant career with, but he still stands proudly and shines in his final role. Two short passages aren't much, but his speech about the rich club members is one of the highlights. I hope Eric Stoltz realizes what a great honor it is to have shared the last on-screen moments of this legendary man.
Hollywood Boulevard (1976)
Boulevard of Broken Dreams ... and preposterous satire!
To be entirely honest, I came close to abandoning "Hollywood Boulevard" after a few minutes already, due to the exaggeratedly goofy sequence of a stunt woman crashing from a plane and leaving a person-shaped crater in the ground upon impact. That sort of stuff belongs in a "Tom and Jerry" or "Roadrunner" cartoon, but not here. But because Roger Corman and Joe Dante are involved, and mainly because the gorgeous Tara Strohmeier was standing around topless for no reason, there was a little voice inside my head encouraging me to continue. It might get better...
Overall, I'm glad I persevered. There are many more silly and downright idiotic moments like these in "Hollywood Boulevard", but also the showcasing of brilliant tongue-in-cheek satire and in-house parody. Roger Corman gave two of his canniest acolytes (Joe "Piranha" Dante and Allan "Rock & Roll High School" Arkush) 10 days, $60.000, and free access to the outtakes of his previous film-hits (notably "Death Race 2000). What they delivered in return is a bonkers but imaginative - and, yes, occasionally dreary - cocktail of comedy, sleaze, horror, and parody.
"Hollywood Boulevard" begins as a tale about a naïve young actress struggling to make it in the movie industry, continues as a portrait on how difficult it is to remain successful in that same industry, and ends (quite fantastically) as a slasher in which the sexy B-movie actresses are the targets of a maniacal killer. What makes "Hollywood Boulevard" so enjoyable is the marvelous cast of Corman-regulars and the shameless exploitation of beautiful female nudity. Paul Bartel is splendid as the unworldly director who loves himself and Dick Miller is genius as the sly talent agent. Actresses Tara Strohmeier, Candice Rialson, and Rita George also give more than admirable performances, but - who are we kidding - are most memorable for their topless appearances. The long and 200% gratuitous sequence where the three of them are sunbathing half-naked on a beach in The Philippines probably still is the highlight of Joe Dante's and Alan Arkush's careers!
Oh, and you simple have to love the fictional "Miracle Films" production company's slogan: If it's a good picture, it's a Miracle.
Vultures (1984)
Who are these people?!?
One of my personal favorite things in cinema are spooky old dark house chillers, where the loathsome heirs and heiresses of a rich patriarch gather for the reading of the last will & testament, only to get bumped off one by one by a mysterious killer. You know, the real Agatha Christie stuff! "Vultures" has such a traditionally grim plot, as well as a few great names in the cast, so it had to be a must-see, right?!
Wrong! This movie is a total flop, and I should have known. When an 80s horror movie is so obscure and impossible to find, despite a famous cast and the nowadays techniques to digitally restore picture & sound quality, then it simply isn't worth discovering! I spent a lot of time looking for "Vultures", and the only version I found was a terrible and crummy VHS-rip.
And that cast? Don't be fooled by it. The legendary Yvonne De Carlo is one of the first characters to die, and Aldo Ray doesn't even make it to the opening credits! So, who's left? Stuart Whitman in a hideous Bermuda short and a weird guy - Jim Bailey - who plays 7 different roles. Due to the uninteresting plot, lousy performances, and the overload of Bailey roles, I couldn't tell who these characters were and what their relationships were. Admittedly, I gave up trying quite fast and longed for the ending. There are some nasty good kills - including a slit throat and an exploding boat - but all the remotely positive aspects are neutralized again Jim Bailey's (him again) horrible musical interludes as a drag queen.
Night Visitor (1989)
If you fail my history class, I will feed your soul to Satan!
Even at age 13, when I first saw this film under its much cooler aka title "Never Cry Devil", I thought it was exaggeratedly foolish and implausible. Neat history teachers that turn out serial killers and Satanists? Beautiful call-girls practicing their profession next door? Seventeen (!) prostitutes picked up and killed in a conspicuous black car without the police having any leads? Yeah, sure... The only credible element in the whole plot was that nobody believed teenage Billy Colton when he claims to have witnessed a ritual Satanic killing, but that part then again was very clichéd.
30 years (and far too many bad horror movies) later, I have become a lot more tolerant towards silliness and clichés. "Never Cry Devil" - this time seen as "Night Visitor" - is a below average late 80s slasher/satanic horror flick, but at least it has a few enjoyable moments. There's gratuitous nudity and a couple of brutally gore killings, and for some strange reason I felt sympathy for the teenage protagonists Billy (Derek Rydall) and Kelly (Teresa Van der Woude).
"Night Visitor" seemingly also has a splendid B-movie cast, but you must take that with a pinch of salt. Elliot Gould receives top billing, but he only appears after 45 minutes, and his acting & body language clearly betray that he didn't want to be part of the film. Sexy Shannon Tweed's character doesn't last very long, and the roles of Richard Roundtree and Henry Gibson are mere cameos. In fact, the only two who are having a blast of a time are Allen Garfield (as the Satanist without a cause) and Michael J. Pollard (as his dimwit brother).
Life (2017)
Meet Calvin, the nasty squid from space!
It's a bit too easy and imperceptive to refer to "Life" as a blatant imitation of "Alien" (1979), and yet that is what quite a lot of people do, including here in the user-comments on IMDb. Well, yes, the characters and plot are undeniably very similar to Ridley Scott's horror/Sci-Fi landmark. So what? Neither the director (Daniel Espinosa) nor the writers (Rhett Reese and Paul Wernick) ever pretend to come forth with a groundbreakingly original or innovative story. "Life" is as unoriginal as its title, and the film is obviously inspired by - and paying tribute to - the almighty "Alien". Besides, thousands of movies are "Alien" rip-offs, and that is also rather logical. If you want to bring a story that is set in space and deals with extraterrestrial takeovers, there aren't too many options.
Now that we have established that "Life" is based on "Alien", we can also admit that it succeeds effectively well in being a more relevant, realistic, and disturbing update of the "Alien" formula. The film takes place now instead of in a distant future, the Nostromo has been replaced with the actual International Space Station (ISS), and the menace does not come from big slimy eggs or terrifying xenomorphs but from a tiny and harmless (but nevertheless rapidly evolving) one-celled critter.
When the ISS-crew recovers soil samples from Mars to investigate, they discover a one-celled organism in hibernation. The entire world excessively celebrates this scientific milestone, and a New York school has the honor of giving the organism the name Calvin, but - alas - the euphoria is a bit premature. Aboard the ISS, Calvin rapidly evolves into a very flexible and fast-moving sort of squid with a superior intellect. He/it is aggressive and indestructible and may very well be the reason why there aren't any other lifeforms on Mars!
Espinosa makes excellent use of the claustrophobic tension and setting. No matter how many hatches and compartments the ISS has, it is still an inescapable prison. The cast is also great, with actors and actresses (Gyllenhaal, Reynolds, Ferguson, ...) that care more about their characters than their egos. Last, but most important, the idea - and particularly the great ending - is terrifying AND plausible. If extraterrestrial life exists, it's more likely they are micro-organisms or bacteria rather than giant monsters.
21 Years: Quentin Tarantino (2019)
You scratch my back, and I'll scratch yours...
Oh wow, this must be - hands down - the MOST biased and simultaneously LEAST informative documentary I have ever seen! Don't get me wrong, I also adore Quentin Tarantino and have rated all his films either 9 or 10, but what is the point of expressing the exact same opinion via a documentary? Wait, I stand corrected, this isn't a documentary but a nearly two-hour hymn exclusively featuring people who worships the ground QT walks on. And it goes both ways since the actors/crewmembers also praise each other and testify who Tarantino brings out the best in people. So, it's the "you scratch my back, and I'll scratch yours" principle.
Halfway through the film, the REAL intention becomes clear. The real purpose of the doc is to heroically disassociate Tarantino from the horrible Hollywood monster Harvey Weinstein, with who he was close friends and business partner for 25 years. Weinstein is made extra bad via a couple of totally irrelevant anecdotes (like a really weird story involving Michael Madsen and the teddy bear of Weinstein's daughter), while QT receives extra glorification for depicting strong & independent women in his films. The ode ends with the proud announcement that Quentin Tarantino is working on a new movie ("Once Upon a Time in Hollywood") and that he doesn't need Weinstein. Quite sad, really.
Fighting Mad (1976)
Farmer Fonda Fights Ferociously!
Ah, my favorite type of 70s exploitation... Poor, hard-working farmer families in the deep South are driven to desperation and pushed to violence by ruthless jerks in yellow hardhats and the greedy corporate tycoons they work for. The brave locals barely withstand the destructions of their properties and sabotages of their crops, but when innocent relatives start to get eliminated, they fight back with a vengeance! The Hunter family, from Arkansas, and their neighbors are aggressively chased off their land by the obnoxious Mr. Crabtree's mining corporation, but then the eldest son Tom return home from the big city after a failed marriage. Tom has a stubborn personality, a constant bad temper, AND a bow and arrows!
This is, simply put, masterful exploitation from the House of Corman. Written and directed by one his most gifted acolytes (Jonathan Demme), and with an excellent cast (led by the almighty Peter Fonda), "Fighting Mad" features grim but realistic violence and more than a handful of genuinely powerful drama moments. The casting of Peter Fonda and Scott Glen as brothers is genius (though, sadly, Glen's role is small) and the beautiful Lynn Lowry is splendid as the girl unable to calm down her furious love-interest. Excellent music, great use of locations, and a lot of loathsome henchmen to make the enjoyment complete. One of the best of its kind and era, together with "The Farmer", "White Line Fever", and "Mr. Majestyk"!
No Way Up (2024)
But... the only way IS up (baby)!
When something looks and sounds too good to be true, it usually is. I am a massive fan of disaster movies, and - like every horror lover in this world - have a special fondness for shark-attack movies. So, when a combo of both presented itself in the shape of "No Way Up", I couldn't help but feel enthusiast at first. The painful truth, however, is that truly awesome disaster movies were only made in the 1970s, and shark-horror has been a travesty for several decades as well.
Still, I couldn't resist the cool poster (showing a plane wreck below ocean level, and a vicious shark circling around it) and watched the film with low expectations. Glad I did! "No Way Up" isn't a must-see, obviously, but nevertheless a solid and entertaining survival thriller/horror.
Many things work surprisingly and effectively well in "No Way Up", and that is praiseworthy for a low budget B-movie. For starters, the plane crash. It's the worst nightmare of many people to die in a plane crash, and especially like this. Something banal like birds in the engine, witnessing from inside the plane how the engines fall out, and getting sucked out of the cabin and into the endless ocean. The role of the sharks is effective as well, since they form an additional menace and an obstruction to escape or be rescued, while the lack of oxygen and time running out are still the biggest concerns. Finally, the characters are very admirable! We have strong women forced to step out of the shadow of their male protectors, and people you expect to survive but don't. It is more than I desire from this sort of movie, hence it comes recommended.
Tears of Kali (2004)
There might be tears... But there will be blood, gore, and disgust!
"Tears of Kali" is the debut film of German writer/director Andreas Marshall. I know him from the surprisingly good 2011 neo-Giallo "Masks", but this is quite different. "Tears of Kali" is a horror anthology, and although far from flawless and often suffering from the shortage of budget, I have to award it with a couple of extra good grades. Why? Because it is genuinely macabre and unpleasant to watch, and - being a horror fanatic - you just got to appreciate that! How often do we not complain that horror movies aren't frightening enough? Well, here you have a film with the potential to truly freak you out with its eerie stories, depraved characters, and nauseating gore.
The omnibus doesn't have a real wraparound story, but all three segments are connected to a spiritual cult in India named after its founder (and über-nutcase) Eriksson. In the pre-credits opening sequence we already witness how a naked girl cuts her own eyes out in a filthy room full of dead bodies, so this isn't exactly the joyful sunshine-and-rainbows kind of cult. "Tears of Kali" comes recommended, but only to people with strong stomachs and nerves.
In the first story, a suspiciously behaving reporter receives permission to interview a former cult-member at the sanitarium, and it naturally goes quite wrong. In the second story, a troubled young man needs to see a psychiatrist to help him deal with his drug abuse and rage attacks. The shrink is a disciple of the Eriksson cult, though, and his methods turn out rather barbaric. In the third and last story, a fraudulent healer and his faithful wife/assistant actually succeed in exorcising a demon from the mind of a female patient (and Eriksson pupil) for once, but the demon is now loose in the healer's basement and looking for a host. Segment #2 is my absolute favorite, because of the psychopathic shrink and the deeply uncomfortable atmosphere in this story.
Rehearsal for Murder (1982)
Live on stage: "I Know You Killed My Fiancée Last Year!"
Back in the early 2000s, you could find the weirdest combinations of movies together on one DVD. Many titles ghosted around in the "public domain" and were put on discs together with other & totally unrelated films. I found in my closet a DVD called "3 classic thrillers collection". Sounds intriguing enough, but it's a crummy disc with "Mr. Scarface", "Dementia 13", and this "Rehearsal for Murder" on it. None of them are thrillers, none of them are classics, and I really can't see any link or connection between them. I probably bought it for Fernando di Leo's "Mr. Scarface" (a.k.a. "I Padroni della Cittá") or for Francis Ford Coppola's witty horror debut "Dementia 13" and ignored "Rehearsal for Murder" during all these years.
Unjust, I now discovered, as "Rehearsal for Murder" is a compelling, smart, and more than competent made-for-TV thriller/whodunit. The film eventually caught my attention because the screenplay was written by the duo Richard Levinson and William Link. These two were known and very skilled in the field of murder mysteries and convoluted thrillers and created the legendary character/franchises "Columbo" (with Peter Falk) and "Murder, She Wrote" (with Angela Lansburry). Levinson and Link - even their surnames sound like a solid alliance - also scripted a handful of terrific late 70s/early 80s TV-thrillers, of which "One of my Wives is Missing" is undoubtedly the best. "Rehearsal for Murder" is not too far behind, though.
Levinson & Link (yes, I love using their alliterating names) stayed on familiar turf for this, as the plot revolves around Alex Dennison, a theater play writer who's still grieving over the death of his fiancée one year earlier. He doesn't believe Monica committed suicide and is certain that she was murdered. Alex narrowed down the number of potential suspects to the five people who were the closest to them as a couple, and as collaborators in the play that premiered on the night of her death. He lures all of them (3 actors, 1 director, and a producer) to the theater, supposedly to proofread the script of a new play, but he cleverly incorporated their motives into the fake play and wants to confront them.
The concept and set-up are already great, but the unforeseeable plot twists make it even better. I can't reveal too much, but you'll see. The revelation at the end, and some of the circumstances of Monica's death are quite far-fetched and implausible, but still I found it acceptable. Good cast, too, with familiar faces like Jeff Goldblum, Patrick Macnee, and William Daniels.
Home Sweet Hell (2015)
She's with Stupid. He's with Psycho.
Pitch-black comedies mixed with gore and absurd satire (like "Very Bad Things", "Serial Mom", "Tucker and Dale vs. Evil" and "Home Sweet Hell") are an acquired taste, and I must admit I never really acquired the taste. They are easy to watch and occasionally amusing, but at the end of the line they are just dumb and forgettable. There are a lot of alarms going off in my head when there is more gore & bloodshed in a comedy than in an actual horror movie, or when the fantasy-worlds of films like "Stars Wars" or "Lord of the Rings" are still more plausible and realistic than the plot of a comedy/spoof.
The main turn-off (for me, at least) are the exaggeratedly fake caricatures of the two lead protagonists, Mr. And Mrs. Champagne. Mona is basically a Stepford Wife in reverse; - not programmed to perfectly please her husband but programmed to dominate her husband towards perfection. Her meticulous planning, her booklet of objectives, and her obsession with what the community will think are a preposterous interpretation of the so-called "American Dream". Don, on the other hand, is a totally spineless weakling living in oppression. Yes, I'm aware they are supposed to be extreme stereotypes, but too much is too much.
Don starts an affair with a new salesgirl at his furniture store, partly because the Mrs. Only wants to have sex six times per year, but mainly because Dusty is a stunningly gorgeous girl who looks an awful lot like Jordana Brewster. Dusty announces she's pregnant, and the Champagne family's superficially picture-perfect lives starts to crumble. What happens next is not very funny, not at all original, and certainly not shocking or offensive. It's quite dull, predictable, and even a bit embarrassing to be honest. Katherine Heigl is certainly well-cast, though, I'll admit that.
Gosford Park (2001)
Master(s) and Servant(s)
The idea, concept, and set-up of "Gosford Park" are SO incredibly good that I only regret one thing. Namely that the actual murder plot/whodunit element was not written by the fabulous Agatha Christie herself. Don't get me wrong, the murder mystery - with all its potential culprits and subtle clues - is quite great, but I'm convinced it would be even more intriguing and cleverer if it had been penned down by Mrs. Christie.
Not sure if it was Robert Altman and Bob Balaban's intention from the start, but the whole project looks and feels like a giant love letter addressed to Agatha Christie and her oeuvre. Set in 1932, in a typically British country house and its immense estate, the numerous heirs & heiresses of the McCordle family gather for some pheasant hunting and - even more importantly - for safeguarding their inheritance by flattering old patriarch William McCordle. The screenplay's truly unique gimmick is that every wellborn brings along at least one personal maid, valet, or butler. Servants are given the same name as their employers, and the same hierarchy & social properties as above unfold so below. For this alone, the Oscar for best screenplay was well-deserved, in my opinion.
By the time the mandatory murder occurs, in the library with poison and/or dagger, there are suspects and motives aplenty! Even at the height of the finale, the family relationships still aren't all clear and you are likely to still have doubts regarding which butler connects to which family member, but it's downright genius to observe this hectic "anthill" of masters and servants teeming across the screen; - especially since each and every single one of them is played by a great actor or actress. Seriously, what a cast!
The Ballad of Tam Lin (1970)
Escape back TO the Planet of the Apes, Roddy! Escape!!
Haven't we all attended amateur stage plays or music recitals we totally didn't want to see, but went "as a favor" because a friend or good acquaintance starred in it? Well, that's a bit how it felt to watch "The Ballad of Tam Lin". I never cared for the film itself based on the plot description and overall negative reviews, but still felt somehow obliged to see it because it's the first and only directorial effort of Roddy McDowell. I always had tremendous sympathy for Roddy, as he starred in so many personal favorites and always gave spirited performances regardless of low or high budget. Luckily (but justly) he only directed one film.
Ironically enough, McDowell abandoned one of the best and most successful projects of his career to work on one of the worst and least popular projects of his career. He was the most stable actor in the awesome "Planet of the Apes"-series and played a pivot role in four out of five installments of the original cycle. The only one Roddy missed was "Beneath the Planet of the Apes", and that's because he chose to test his luck as director of "The Ballad of Tam Lin". Choices, choices.
"The Ballad of Tam Lin" is based on a Scottish folklore SONG, so that basically gives you an idea already of how thin and banal the storyline is. It's about an elderly and wealthy hag (Ava Gardner) who surrounds herself with groovy and carefree youngsters. She treats them to vacations and wild parties at secluded estates and uses witchcraft to seduce and bed the hunkiest boys until she grows tired of them and replaces them with others. Tom (Ian McShane) is Michaela's favorite toyboy, but when he falls in love with a shy but adorable vicar's daughter Janet, the spoiled old witch cannot cope with this.
I strongly believe Roddy failed to turn this into a wickedly fun and nasty horror movie. Back in the late sixties and early 70s, the concept of "Hagsploitation" (or grand dame guignol) was still quite popular, thanks to great movies like "Whatever Happened to Baby Jane" and "Hush Hush Sweet Charlotte". "The Ballad of Tam Lin" easily could have been one of the better cash-ins, and Ava Gardner could have joined the hags' hall of fame, next to women like Bette Davis and Joan Crawford. Instead, however, it's an endlessly dull and frustratingly hippie-esque portrait of spoiled and annoying people. Only the last twenty minutes are reasonably enjoyable, but still not good enough. Due to his lack of experience (or knowledge and talent), McDowell also inserts a few painfully bad directorial touches - like the godawful series of stills when Tom and Janet first meet - that ultimately prove he should never take a seat in that chair again. The points I'm awarding to "The Ballad of Tam Lin" are exclusively for the sensationally beautiful Stephanie Beacham, and for the actual folklore song performed by Pentangle, which is moody and atmosphere (but not fit for a full-length film).
The Third Man (1949)
The Trouble with Harry
The differences in tone and filming style between Carol Reed's "The Third Man" and Alfred Hitchcock's black comedy "The Trouble with Harry" could not possibly be bigger, and yet both films share the same - admittedly vague - plot description! Here goes: Harry is dead, and yet he's still causing trouble to the people in his surrounding!
Not necessarily a personal favorite, but I'll gladly admit that "The Third Man" is one of the most astounding film-noirs ever made, and this has everything to do with the immediate post WWII-timing and setting in Vienna, Austria. Half of the city (and thus also the filming locations) are still in ruins from the devastating war, the local populace is unfriendly and distrustful, and clandestine activities pop up everywhere due to poverty and lack of perspectives. In this woeful environment, the American pulp novelist Holly Martins is trying to clear out the mysterious death of his lifelong friend Harry Lime, but his findings will not bring satisfaction.
Sober but brilliant cinematography and directing, legendary music (by Anton Karas), and stellar performances by Joseph Cotton, Trevor Howard, Alida Valli, and the inimitable Orson Welles. Those are the aspects that contribute to the brilliance of "The Third Man", but - as said - the authentically depressing sight & atmosphere of Vienna in the year 1949 is what truly makes it an indestructible cinematic classic.
Escape Room: Tournament of Champions (2021)
...And they'll keep on fighting until the end (which is nearer than you think)
"Escape Room: Tournament of Champions" is the perfect example of a movie that leaves me complete and utterly...numb! It simply exists. I can watch it, like I did last weekend, and almost instantaneously forget about it entirely. The only reason why I'm writing this is because my 15-year-old son wanted to see it (since it's a movie similar to "Saw" but without the nastiness and gore).
The previous "Escape Room", released in 2019, was okay but already required a huge amount of suspension of disbelief. The sequel is (of course) even more implausible, and we're simply supposed to accept this because the unwilling contestants are all winners (= sole survivors) of previous sick & twisted escape room massacres. They are brought together in a New York metro wagon, which is also the first "room", and must battle themselves through three more rooms (a bank vault, a quick-sandy beach, and a NY street scene).
The idea of a "Tournament of Champions" could work effectively, but since this is only the first sequel, we just know the whiny Zoey and Ben, and none of the other alleged champions. In other words, it's still very obvious who will be the last ones standing. Zero surprises, and what bothers me the most is the speed and intellect these people demonstrate to solve puzzles that are basically unsolvable. Let me assure you: nobody is capable of finding the clues or resolve the enigmas that are featuring here.