On to 'em. "Argento's Dracula," released in, 2012, maybe? But just hitting video in the last year. And utterly vilified in other reviews I've read. Let me raise (?) its status a bit by saying it's not the worst movie I've ever seen, by far. It's not especially great, but it's not terrible. I think what might have set people off is the very cartoonish CGI used in many sequences. Although most of it looks like it was created on a Windows 95 platform, I think it may have been intentional. The music is certainly silly in many places, oftentimes sounding like the soundtrack to a 1970s Chiller Theatre-type TV show.
None of this put me off a bit, but each to their own taste. Frankly, the script for the movie is good. I like the decisions made; the characters are the same, for the most part, but the circumstances and situations are a bit different. One problem the film has, though, is that the acting is all over the place. Thomas Kretschmann doesn't make a bad Dracula at all. And Unax Ugalde as Jonathan Harker is okay, too. I also liked Miriam Giovanelli as Tania, Dracula's "bride" of sorts from the early going. Her story thread of being jealous over his machinations on Mina were an interesting part of the plot. But Asia Argento as Lucy and Marta Gastini as Mina left a lot to be desired. Asia was okay, I guess, a bit wooden, but Marta spent a lot of her screen time with a blank almost-oh-my-god expression. And Rutger Hauer as Van Helsing.....well, he seemed tired or jetlagged the entire time.
Proceed at your own risk, but again, it's not the worst movie I've ever seen, not by a long shot. Mostly, it's pretty entertaining.
"The Bat," from 1959, is based on a stage play and stars Vincent Price and Agnes Moorehead....and, oddly enough, features Darla Hood (Our Gang) in her last screen role. Fun movie, but not a whole lot plotwise to recommend it. It's more of a murder mystery than anything else. The reason to watch it is for Vincent Price, of course, and Agnes Moorehead's performance as a snooty mystery writer. I'd be willing to bet that when Bewitched was being cast, someone remembered her work in "The Bat" and asked her to be Endora. Or at least someone asked her to basically play this role as Endora; they're almost one and the same, even if she doesn't have a Derwood to play off here. All in all, it's fun.
"The House with Laughing Windows," an Italian thriller from 1976, is one of the better films I've seen in awhile. I'd always read good stuff about it, and it did not disappoint. The protagonist is a man who takes a job restoring a mural in a church in a small Italian village. Turns out he learns more about the painter, and this guy was a crazed torturer of people who liked to paint their expressions receiving such treatment. The movie's kind of a slow burn, but the last 15 minutes or so is in-sane. I don't want to write too much more about it, just watch for yourself. It's rather hard to find on DVD right now; I got lucky from an eBay seller. Loved it.
Hey! Let's shift gears, shall we? I'll start with a confession; I've never really been a fan of Charlie Chaplin. But I say this having never watched any of his feature films. I'd seen several of his shorts, and the "Little Tramp" made me cringe. The cutesy act. You know what I mean. I respect Chaplin's artistry, but as far as silent clowns go, give me Keaton, Lloyd, Langdon, Chase, Laurel, and not the guy who has to almost simper in front of the camera.
Well, that might change. I'll re-evaluate. I recently came into possession of a collection of Chaplin's feature films....mainly as an investment, because the boxes are well out-of-print. But I figured I'd give it a go watching some of these. I've begun with "Modern Times."
Released in 1936, and yet for all practical purpose a silent film (there are music cues and sound effects, and the voice of a factory boss), the film, like most silents, is rather vignette-oriented. But the first 2/3 of the movie are flat-out hilarious. You've probably seen the shots of Chaplin in the factory and ending up in the gears of the big machine. That all happens in the first 20 minutes or so; the rest takes place in jail or with Paulette Goddard (as the "gamin"), trying to eke out a life. There is a gag, that I won't even try to fully explain, which happens in that first 20 that I cannot believe got by the censors of the time. I'll just say it involves Chaplin's perpetually-turning wrench and the nut-like ornaments decorating the large bosom of a matronly woman. Nothing happens; it's all inference. And it's friggin' brilliant.
I do think the movie poops out a bit after the first 2/3. The rest is entertaining enough, but something starts to feel more "standard." As in more silent movie gags you've seen before. I still have to recommend it, and I'll watch another Chaplin feature soon.
And what would one of my long many-movie posts be without a Jess Franco effort, huh? This time, it's "Jack the Ripper," from 1976. Produced by Erwin Dietrich and starring Klaus Kinski as Saucy Jack. I give it a "very good" overall. Surprisingly, and not just to connect it with the above-mentioned movie, it co-stars Josephine Chaplin, one of Charlie's daughters. Imagine.....a Chaplin in a Jess Franco flick.
It's a fairly standard horror/butcher flick in many ways, but Kinski is great as the mad doctor who moonlights by curing prostitutes of their trade, permanently. Lina Romay shows up, of course, and it's a hoot to see how Jess films her as opposed to the other women in the movie. There's quite a bit of gore, and not a whole lot of it is convincing, but that's to be expected. We're talking Franco, and the budget probably mostly went to Kinski and Chaplin.
It's enjoyable. Check it out, especially if you've already seen and enjoyed some Franco stuff. Can't find a trailer.....
"The Tenderness of the Wolves," which is a Ulli Lommel-directed effort from 1973 is last on the list for this massive update. I'm still unfamiliar with Lommel (and his mentor, Fassbinder), but this was a good, solid movie. It's based on the story of a German serial killer, one of the ones who inspired the screenplay for Fritz Lang's "M." The guy is a piece of work, certainly, but the strong point of the film is the way everyone around him is portrayed. I don't know if Germany was in the last stages of a Nazi hangover at this point, but there's a culpability in everyone surrounding the lead character. Almost enabling him. I haven't seen much post-war German cinema until recently, and even then, it's been newer films. (Not counting "Wings of Desire," which didn't bowl me over as it seems to do to everyone else.)
I give this one a hearty recommendation, and maybe I'll get around to a Fassbinder film or another Wenders film sometime soon. (Wait, what was I writing earlier?....I've seen many Herzog films. Somehow, they don't seem "German" to me, even if they're in that language. Hmmmm......)
And I can't find a trailer for this one, either. Well.......bye bye!! Hope to be writing again soon.....
