"Argento's Dracula"/"The Bat"/"The House with Laughing Windows"/"Modern Times"/"Jack the Ripper"/"The Tenderness of the Wolves"

Why so many movies? Well, my back's been messed up, badly this time. I'm still able to sit and play drums, but jeez louise, the rest has been nightmarish. Which means I've sat around watching a lot of movies. As a matter of fact, so many that the list in this post's title isn't complete. I know I've forgotten a couple of things I watched recently. Whoa.

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.....

"The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Miss Osbourne"

Howdy. Time to investigate something directed by Walerian Borowczyk, a director whose work I'd never seen and frankly, didn't know much about. I did know that his stuff seems to be loved and reviled in equal measure, so the term "polarizing" seems to apply.

TSCODJAMO (how's that acronym?) is another take on the famous Robert Louis Stevenson novel, "Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde," which you might have already gathered. And this film adaptation was released in 1981, with Udo Kier as Jekyll, and supporting performances from Patrick Magee as a somewhat over-animated general and Howard Vernon as a physician. The "Miss Osbourne" of the title is Jekyll's fiancee (named after Stevenson's wife), played by Marina Pierro.

Most of the story will be familiar to anyone with a passing knowledge of the book or other adaptations. This particular version is heavy on the, uh.....kink, let's say. Hyde is even played by a completely different actor with a close-cropped Moe Howard do. There's a whole lotta blood-lettin', rapin' and other general mischief. And someone else gets in on the act, too.....guess who?

The movie is engaging visually, although so much light is used in most shots that an almost blown-out video effect exists for most of the runtime. I'm unfamiliar with Borowczyk's other efforts, so I'm not sure if this is typical of films with his stamp on them or not. Maybe I'll investigate "The Beast" or "Immoral Tales" soon.

In all, the movie is an odd mash-up of art and exploitation, and according to what I've read of Borowczyk, seems indicative of a lot of his live-action career (he made many stop-motion animated films, as well). There's a lot to look at in the movie, but I'm not sure how successful it really is. I wasn't bored, I'll say that much.

"Slaughter Hotel"

Oh, man....over three months since the last post? Get regular, Lance. Regular, like after a good dose of Haley's M-O. Regular, man.

"Slaughter Hotel" is a giallo from 1971, directed by Fernando diLeo, known much more for his Italian crime pics than anything giallo. I'm not sure if he made any other gialli, but this one....is....interesting.

All the standard pieces of gialli are present in the movie, but at best, they're clumsily put together. It's almost as if diLeo, et.al. had a checklist to go down and make sure requirements were met. What we get is a film that's shaky in structure but does have some nice moments....along with some embarrassing ones.

The nice moments are mainly in the photography itself. The movie takes place in a "rest home," a mental hospital for disturbed young women, all of the Italian giallo "hottie" persuasion. Rosalba Neri and Margaret Lee are standouts in this particular category. Lots of gratuitous nudity and inserted shots of masturbation, in a couple of instances. You can tell it's not the actual actresses involved in this, and you can also hear an off-camera producer yelling "I needa more-a play-with-herself-a!" (Well, figuratively.) Frankly, after viewing the movie, I felt like I needed a bath.

So, back to the photography. The setting is a nice sort of castle-converted-to-group home, although, oddly, there is a room full of medieval torture devices, including an iron maiden and various knives and axes. Just the thing to have in a home for the loony. Klaus Kinski stars but really doesn't have a whole lot to do. He's the definite red herring with his hair styled the way it is (I'm not giving away anything there, believe me), and he plays a good guy. Imagine, a loony bin, with Klaus Kinski as the kindly doctor. Wow.

So, all in all, I'll say that this is one of the most uneven movies I've ever seen. It's worth watching for the good stuff, especially if you're a giallo fan, but many scenes, in particular the reveal-of-the-killer resolution, are almost eye-rollingly bad. I give it 2 1/2 out of 5. It's a 50-50 proposition at best, but I'd be willing to bet I'll watch it again someday.

Here's a soundtrack snippet:

"Aparajito"/"Apur Sansar"/"The Living Corpse"

Okay, the next two films finish what's known as "The Apu Trilogy," directed by Satyajit Ray. I mentioned "Pather Panchali" in my previous post, and the next two are "Aparajito" and "Apur Sansar."

There are few films (or things) in this world that you can experience, and you just feel like a better person after watching them. These three films are the very definition of that. And yet, I can't point to any specific thing about them that makes them supremely special.

At their core, they are slice-of-life movies about Bengali life in the 1920s to 30s (I'm guessing that, based on the books the films are based on). Apu is the thread character of all three, and yet, he's not really a main character in the first film. The films concentrate on his immediate family and a few friends here and there. The third film goes into marriage and child-rearing. And really, without giving away too much, the plot turns could be looked at as a series of downers....but the overall effect of the films was almost magical. Sure, it could have something to do with the fact that it's a culture I don't know a whole lot about. But at the end of the third film, I just felt pure satisfaction. Cant' ask for much more than that.

Special kudos, beyond the writing and direction, must go to the actress who played Apu's mother. Her performances stood out. These did make me want to seek out more Ray stuff. And soon.

Moving just a bit to the northeast, we get to "The Living Corpse," which was made in Pakistan in 1967. Yep, Pakistan. Basically, what's been done here is take the 1958 "Dracula," from Hammer, and modify it to fit a Pakistani "entertainment." This means you get song and dance numbers, and even a car chase at the end. Yes, Dracula, or in this case, Professor Tabani, is auto-pursued by Dr. Aqil (Harker) towards the end. All in all, it's a pretty fun feature, especially after the first 30 minutes or so, which are pretty slow.

This makes my second Pakistani horror film, the first being "Hell's Ground" from the mid-2000s. I heartily recommend that one. This one....it's fun.....for the curious, mostly. Paki censors didn't want to put any stamp of approval on it, purely for its supernatural content, but they finally passed it with an "X." Funny. I'm glad we have this, though; it was thought lost for many years. Here's a dance number:

"The Invisible Ghost"/"Pather Panchali"

Already? Another post? Well, it was a rainy day.

"The Invisible Ghost" is the first of the nine Monogram pictures Bela Lugosi made, this one produced/released in 1941. It's a fairly well-made interesting thriller, although the premise is a bit silly. Still, for one of these Monogram jobs, it ain't bad. And, at only 63 minutes, I was always entertained, even if it was obvious how the resolution would come about. Bela's pretty strong in it.  Joseph Lewis, who later directed the superb noir "Gun Crazy," handles the directorial chores here. And special mention must be made of Clarence Muse, as Evans the butler. Muse is the polar opposite of the stereotypical African-American servant in one of these pictures. VERY refreshing to experience.

If you want to really delve into this movie, check out this web page. Now, there's some analysis!

"Pather Panchali" is the first of the so-called "Apu Trilogy" of films made by Indian director Satyajit Ray in the mid-to-late 50s. This is something I received in the mail, thought I'd put in the first film to see what it looked like and ended up watching the whole 125-minute thing in one sitting. Not that a whole lot happens in the movie; it's definitely a slice-of-rural-Bengali-life, but that's enough. I found it riveting. Ray was apparently the first Indian director to stray from the happy-happy-musical format, and he hits a home run here. Can't wait to watch the other two.....I'll probably write more after doing that.

Back to a fine Saturday night....

"Ms. 45"/"The Black Sleep"/"Straight Outta Compton"/"The Children"

Awreety, awright, here we go again.....once again, I've paused in the writing schedule. Maybe "Dark Shadows" just disappointed me too much.

"Ms. 45" (1981) is New-Yawkuh Abel Ferrara's second feature film, following "The Driller Killer." Despite knowing a lot about this movie for quite awhile, I'd never actually seen it. The plot centers on a mute seamstress who is raped twice in a day. Through her own despondence and other events, she ends up becoming a mostly indiscriminate serial killer of men.

I was pleasantly surprised by how much I liked this film. It's very, very well-directed, uses its low budget well, and the lead actress (who has her own tragic story; Google "Zoë Lund") is completely riveting. Some of the supporting performances are a little lacking, but none of them really do the movie any harm. And the band playing at the party cracked me up, as someone evidently thinks a trumpet sounds like a saxophone. You'll see what I mean. Yes, there are two rape scenes at the outset, but they don't last long and are necessary to set the whole plot in motion. Five stars for this one. It won't be leaving my mind anytime soon.

Drafthouse Films has put out a nice Blu-ray of this, with some interesting special features, not least of which is a tribute film from Zoë Lund's widower husband. Her sad demise does weigh on the legacy of the film, a bit like John Kennedy Toole's over "A Confederacy of Dunces."

"The Black Sleep" is an independent production from 1956, with a bevy of classic horror personalities in it: Basil Rathbone, Akim Tamiroff, Lon Chaney, Jr., John Carradine, Tor Johnson, and a year before he perished, Bela Lugosi. Frankly, I didn't know Lugosi had any roles outside of Ed Wood's movies at this time. And, by the looks of him, and considering remarks made during Tom Weaver's commentary track, maybe he shouldn't have. He does look almost comatose most of the time. Very sad. At least his character doesn't have to do much.

But back to the movie, which I found surprisingly entertaining. If you can buy the opening 20 minutes of the movie, you'll enjoy it all....mad scientist trying to get his wife out of complete catatonia and rescuing a fellow doctor from the gallows to assist. John Carradine doesn't appear until the last 20 minutes, but when he makes his entrance....oh, yeah! Classic crazy Carradine. Lon Chaney, Jr. plays a former doctor, "Munro," who is now called "Mungo," due to his reduced mental state. I thought everyone was saying "Mongo," which made me wonder if the "Blazing Saddles" writing team had watched this before writing that script.

I wasn't expecting much when starting this film....mainly wanting to see it for the classic cast....but I was happy with it overall. The Blu-ray contained an informative, if sometimes harshly-worded (escpecially about Lugosi) commentary from Tom Weaver. No trailer is online for this one. Waaaah....

"Straight Outta Compton." My wife, being almost ten years younger than I am and a fan of N.W.A's music, wanted to see this one. I have to admit I did, too. I don't know much about them or rap in general, but I was willing to delve in. Glad I did. Great film. I haven't been wanting to see bio-pics lately, preferring instead to watch documentaries about actual people, but this film was mostly excellent. Only one scene that turns a bit hokey in the middle pulled me out of it for a minute, and that didn't last long.

Jason Mitchell, who plays Eazy-E, is a standout performer in it, as is Paul Giamatti as their manager. Ice Cube's son plays Ice Cube, and at first, I thought he was a pretty limited actor. But then after watching Ice Cube interviewed in a special feature, I remembered that Ice Cube's face is fairly limited in its movement. Maybe IC, Jr. was just "in character." (I did think of Mario van Peebles playing his dad, Melvin, in "Baaaadasss," the story of the making of "Sweet Sweetback's Badasssss Song.")

I don't need to embed a trailer of "SOC," do I? Good, because there is a ton of material online for the film, and I didn't feel like sifting through it.

And finally, "The Children," a British horror film from 2008. This is one of the best horror efforts of the 2000s first decade, a decade pretty lean on good horror.....excepting the Asian market, of course. "The Children" is a fairly taut 84 minutes, and none of it is wasted. The setup works well, there are only a few characters, and I thought it was a fairly original premise. Ambiguous, too, which I like. You don't have to know why they act that way....just that they do. That's what makes it horrific. And I really liked the end. Really liked it. May have seen it coming, but.....

Could not find a trailer for this one online, either. Oh, and by the way, there are several other films out there called "The Children." Make sure you get the one from 2008.

Yay, four winners!! Time to practice drumming.....

"Dark Shadows" (2012)

Welcome back, Lance! Where ya been?

For some reason, I haven't written in this for awhile, although I have watched several titles. I'll go ahead and muse on the latest viewing, 2012's "Dark Shadows."

As I'm sure you know, "Dark Shadows" is based on the television soap opera airing from 1966 to 1971, and which I'm currently over half-way through watching (!!). The possibility of the show being turned into a feature film for a third time (previously by Dan Curtis in 1970 and 71) was proposed to Johnny Depp, who signed up Tim Burton to direct. Depp plays Barnabas Collins, and the supporting cast includes folks who've worked with Burton before, such as Helena Bonham Carter as Julia Hoffman and Michelle Pfeiffer as Elizabeth Stoddard.

Being a fan of the TV show, I'll admit that there were moments of this film which shone, but overall, it's a mess. It definitely reeks of "too many cooks." The prologue is very well done and looks fantastic. Once you get to the main movie, the script quickly loses focus. A good example happens right at the beginning.....most likely in order to shoehorn Maggie Evans' name into the picture (as the character is absent), the opening shot of a young lady riding the train into Collinsport has her murmuring to herself "hi, I'm Maggie Evans, and ....." She then spies a poster for a vacation in Victoria, B.C., and continues "hi, I'm Victoria Winters, and I..." There's absolutely no motive for her to change names suddenly.

As I said, being a fan of the show, there are still moments I enjoyed. Some of the music choices are surprisingly good, such as Iggy Pop's "I'm Sick of You" and Alice Cooper's "The Ballad of Dwight Fry." Although, how Carolyn would have a copy of "I'm Sick of You" in 1972....well, I'll stop. Other music insertions are simply awful, such as The Carpenters' "On Top of the World" for a Collins business re-invigoration (and comedy) montage, or Barry White's "You're the First" when Barnabas and Angelique get down to business (and, uh, comedy). And I dig Barry White. It just feels silly and wrong.

The third act is where everything just goes straight downhill, and that's where you can feel the ol' "hey, the studio has a special effects budget!! Better use it now!!"

So, the performances are pretty good, the script is pretty bad, and the direction is so-so. That's my take. Proceed with caution.

Back to the soap opera for me.....