Mon Oncle (or My Uncle in English) tells the story of the simple Monsieur Hulot. He's a total idiot with no steady work and spends most of his days goofing off or taking his nephew out for mischief, much to the dismay and disapproval of his sister and brother-in-law.

I chose tonight's film with no prior knowledge of either Jaques Tati or the Monsieur Hulot character. M. Hulot was the main character for four of the films for Tati. He was also quite an influence for Mr. Bean and it's certainly not difficult to believe. Like Mr. Bean Monsier Hulot is mostly mute as are many of the characters around him. He does not have the mean streak that Mr. Bean shows and, outside of his Brother-in-law, seems to not have an enemy in the world.

If Hulot was to have an enemy it would be modern lifestyles. While he lives happily in a poorer part of the city (in a house which looks as if it was made of spare parts) Hulot's sister and her husband live in a decidedly modern and streamlined house. Like Buster Keaton's Electric House the Space Age home is impractical and uncomfortable with the Arpels more owned by their possessions and home than the other way around.

Mon Oncle is a fantastic film. Before today I was ignorant of this film, Jaques Tati and Monsiur Hulot. Honestly I chose this film on a whim from Time Warner's Free Movies on Demand channel. I highly recommend it to all. You'll laugh yourself silly!

On a side note, this is the final film of the 31 Days of Film experiment. Stay tuned for a review and retrospect on the experience as well as what the future brings.

Labels: 31 days of film, Comedy

Ah, the Sixties. Few decades of the twentieth century produced so many different pop culture trends, especially in regards to film genres. After Sean Connery first played James Bond in 1962's Dr. No the cinematic world was filled with spy film after spy film. Films from every corner of the globe came to meet the demand.

This particular film came from Japan's Nikkatsu studios (best known here in the States for thei film Monster from a Prehistoric Planet a.k.a. Gappa.) While this film predates the softcore pornography the studio would later produce, it does have its risque moments.

The film is your standard 60s action film. Woody Allen could have easily used this one instead of International Secret Police: Key of Keys when making What's Up Tiger Lily? Since it would be a bit difficult to explain the paper thin plot I will merely point out some reasons you need to see this film.

1. There are plenty of hot Japanese women in very mod Sixties outfits.
2. Said hot women are assassins. Among other things their arsenal includes 45rpm razor discs.
3. There's quite a bit of that Japanese "tempera paint" blood.
4. Quite frankly, it's just a lot of fun.

This film is sadly out of print now so if you come across it, be sure to check it out.

Labels: 31 days of film, Action, Japanese

As anyone who knows me can tell you, I am a teetotaler. I have no problem admitting that at 26 years old I have never once consumed alcohol (except in the form of Ny-Quill or other medicines.) I strongly support anti-drinking campaigns and I feel that if prohibition had been handled better we could've defeated Satan's syrup much earlier.

Anyway, tonight's film is about a young teetotaling family man named Joe Morgan. Joe is a teetotaler and grew up in a family where his father was a drunk. Sadly he too falls prey to the lure of intoxication and the movie shows his decline from a casual drinker to a full blown alcoholic.

Much as I support the cause of this film, its execution is something to be lacking. While the melodramatic style of acting may have worked well on the stage in the early part of the 20th century, it seems stiff and unnatural to

The one redeeming part of this film is that it made me think of the Mickey Mouse cartoon, Nifty Nineties. Any movie that makes me think of that cartoon is worth watching. Your mileage will vary, though.

This film was part of a collection I partially reviewed a while back.

Labels: 31 days of film, Drama

If there ever was a film that can stoke a firestorm of debates, protests, demonstrations and strong feelings it's Birth of a Nation. Since its release in 1915 it has been viewed as one of the most controversial films ever made and yet, at the same time, one of the most important. Strangely in all my years of watching films I had never had the chance to watch D. W. Griffith's masterpiece.

As I view this film ninety-four years after its original release it's easy to see both why the film has its haters as well as its fans. Between the overt racism, factual inaccuracies and a general sympathy to the old south there is much to make a modern audience cringe. Despite this, when viewed through the prism of film history Birth of a Nation has much to offer the serious student of cinema.

The first act of the film deals with two typical families: the Stonemans and the Camerons. While the Stonemans are northerners, the Camerons are from the South. Through the friendship of their sons in boarding school the two families share a common bond. Both the Camerons and Stonemans suffer greatly during the war with each family losing a son to the war.

This first act deals very little with the cause and slavery is hardly mentioned. At this point I wondered if perhaps the racism wasn't a bit exhagerated. Of course the film was only half over by then.

The second act, dealing with Reconstruction, is a completely different matter. The abolitionists and the free Blacks become the central villains of the story. They and their Northern allies overwhelm the south. To combat this, the Ku Klux Klan rises to power with Colonel Cameron being one of the leaders. This horribly skewed version of history left me more than a bit confused.

Blacks are portrayed almost exclusively by white in blackface. In at least one instance a maid was even played by a white man in drag. The stereotypes are endless from black legislators eating peanuts with their bare feet on the desk to one black soldier attempting to rape the young Flora causing her to jump to her death. White Southerners on the other hand are portrayed as innocent victims; a repressed minority

I was a bit taken back after the historical accuracy of the first act to see that Birth of a Nation is, as many people say, a film with a pro South agenda. Contrast this with the vast majority of Civil War films made since where the Union is portrayed as angelic while the Confederates are the evil slave holders.

The KKK actually comes across as a group of white knights bound to protect law, order and chivalry. After Flora's death the Klan seeks to find her killer for, as the intertitle informs us, so that he may have a fair trial. How interesting history can be revised and distorted depending on the storyteller.

Somewhere between the Pro-Southern extreme of this film and the Union apologist extremes of countless others is the truth. If you want to see a more balanced film in relation to the Civil War, watch either Gods and Generals or Gettysburg. If you want a story of the old South, check out Gone with the Wind.

I would only recommend this film to film buffs or to people who would like to see where films have all began. Birth of a Nation, like the period it attempted to recreate, is a part of our history. If you wish to study film or the rise of cinema then you must see this film. Otherwise, it may be best left to museums.

Labels: 31 days of film, Civil War, Classics, Silent Films

Now here's a obscure little film. This pre-code talkie starring William Powell has been scarcely seen since its original theatrical run 76 years ago. Due to some legal issues with RKO and Merian C. Cooper it was shelved save for a very limited re-release in the late 50s. TCM unearthed the film and sorted out the legal issues and it finally received a TV debut back in 2007. Since then it's been scarcely shown.

Since this film has a somewhat legendary reputation and the fact that I love William Powell films, I had to take advantage of its TV showing tonight.

William Powell is John Fletcher, a young playboy. He has inherited a huge shipping industry but he'd rather play polo than take care of business. Ann Harding plays Joan, a woman who feels marriage is a business and she thinks the best business oppertunity for her is the rich John.

Double Harness is a decent film but for an "almost lost" film, it's rather bland. What is interesting about the film is its risque nature. Being pre-code it has many double-entendres and even references to extra-marital affairs. While this may seem tame nowadays, back in 1933 this was wild stuff.

I'd say if you can catch it on TCM sometime, there's no harm in spending 70 minutes in watching it. I wouldn't seek it out, though. It's available on DVD on TCM's website but just wait for it to be on TCM.

Sources for this blog post include Wikipedia and TCM's movie database.

Labels: 31 days of film, Drama

Aliens come to earth via some meteors. They, in a Wells-ian fashion, land in the middle of a farmyard and scientists come to investigate. Of course, those are no meteorites they're mind controlling aliens bent on taking over the world's population.

Okay, I love the British as much as the next guy. Perhaps I love them even more than the next guy since I have my fair share of English heritage. The British gave us many wonderful things from the Steam Engine to standardized time. One thing they never quite got the knack of was film making, as this film attests to.

The film is absolute rubbish. Honestly, it is worse than The Deadly Bees and The Projected Man combined. It's good to see that the British film industry never matured into a force to compete with Hollywood. Much more of this junk and no one would want to ever go to the cinema again.

On the brighter side of things, the film is shown on DVD with the original Elvira's Movie Macabre bumpers. Cassandra Peterson was at her prime here and looks great and the corny jokes make it even better. Sure it's a ripoff of Vampira but no one can do it like Elvira could.

Labels: 31 days of film, Crap, sci-fi

Here we have a little silent comedy about a country boy trying to win back the heart of his sweetheart by catching some bootleggers. It stars George K. Arthur as Peter Good, a simple farm boy on a mission that is obviously beyond his knowledge. His girl Amy, played by silent starlet Gertrude Olmstead, seems only interested in the new city boy in town. Rounding out the cast is a young woman out to help round up the bootleggers. She is played by a very young Joan Crawford.

Of course being a relatively short film, it clocks in at just over an hour, the plot isn't all that heavy. Still, while it may be short on plot, it's not short on laughs. If you love silent comedies, this is one you don't want to miss.

Labels: 31 days of film, Comedy, Silent Films

Today's film is a classic Hong Kong comedy and drama which examines the roles of both the individual and how those roles must change when one gets married. It's the classic liberal vs conservative conflict told only in the way that MP & GI could.

The Bedside Story tells the story of Dingwen and Renmei. After Renmei wins best actress at the Far East Film Festival and Dingwen wins Best Screenwriter and Director the two decide to get married, much to the disagreement of Dingwen's brother, Dingwei.

After the marriage Renmei goes back to her old ways staying out late with her boss and dancing the night away. The two stay in separate rooms and essentially have a paper marriage. It takes a little blackmail and quite a bit of comedy to straighten it all out but as is the case with MP & GI films, everything turns out alright in the end.

MP & GI films are some of the most accessible Hong Kong films to Western Audiences. They derive much of their filmmaking and plots from the Western influence in Hong Hong.

The Bedside Story is a fun little picture and is certainly a film worth watching.

Labels: 31 days of film, Cathay, Classics, Comedy, Hong Kong

Moral preaching against gambling dens and boxing stock footage. What more could you want? How about a movie worth watching. You won't

Gambling with Souls is an exploitation film that hides behind the guise of being an anti-gambling film. Still, it's hard for a film to claim that showing a curvaceous woman in her bra and panties spread out over a couch is for teaching impressionable film-goers a lesson.

The film is about Mae Miller, a young woman who is put down by her friends for wearing the same dress again. Mae's friend Molly introduces her to a gambling den where Mae wins like crazy. Of course her winning streak is anything but on the level and she soon finds herself losing more and more money until she is $10,000 in the red. Of course as often happens in films like this Mae is lead further astray until she is a full blown prostitute.

Remember folks, wanting nice dresses leads to gambling with leads to nightclub life which leads to prostitution, bankruptcy, scandal and jail. One of us is going to jail and it's not going to be me! *Ahem* Yeah, avoid this movie. It's such a shame that this film still exists and all but a handful of Theda Bara's films are gone forever.

In short, a waste of your time and mine.

This film was part of a collection I partially reviewed a while back.

Labels: 31 days of film, Bad Movies, Crap

The final film on this collection is also tonight's film. Instead of straight up horror we get Lugosi and Karloff in a film-noir gangster version of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde.

The film opens with Karloff playing a condemned man heading to the chair. On his way he passes his notes to a reporter. Through this diary we are told the strange case of Professor Kingsley and Red Cannon. Instead of a potion to transform one man into another, the professor is hit by a car and expected to die. The man who ran the professor down is the escaping gangster Red Cannon. In order to save the professor's life, Kingsley's best friend Dr. Sovac is able to save his life using an illegal brain transplant using Cannon's brain to save his friend's life.

At first everything goes as planned. The professor recovers and yet he starts to now possess some of Cannon's traits. Things are complicated further when Dr. Sovac discovers the now dead Cannon has half a million stashed.

Lugosi isn't present for most of the film. His role of Eric Marney the gang leader is brief yet it has the classic Bela touch. His performance here really displays how much of a tragedy it was that Lugosi was never challenged with the great roles that he was capable of playing. He isn't a scientist or a vampire here and despite the role being minor, he certainly adds a presence to the film that would be lacking without him.

As tonight's film isn't so much a Lugosi film, it's not even a much of a Karloff film. Black Friday is a Stanley Ridges film. While today he is one of the many now forgotten character actors, Stanley Ridges shines here and his talents are stretched to their full potential. His double role as the kindly Professor Kingsley and the ruthless Red Cannon is played so well that I almost thought it was two different actors.

This film is definitely worth watching. Check it out sometime!

Labels: 31 days of film, Bela Lugosi, sci-fi

From 1936 is yet another Lugosi/Karloff collaboration. Unfortunately unlike The Raven or The Black Cat, this one is rather dull and is full of boring unlikeable characters. Still, you get to see Lugosi as a benevolent doctor as opposed to a mad scientist.

Boris Karloff plays Dr. Rukh, a scientist who has discovered a new element he calls Radium X. This super-metal can be used to create powerful destruction or to heal the sick. It also has contaminated the doctor's body causing him to kill anything he touches. With this new power he seeks to destroy his colleagues whom he feels have exploited his discovery as well as his adulterous wife and her new suitor.

This gives me an excellent opportunity to bring up a stock character from many 30s horror films: the young romantic lead. Here we are supposed to feel sympathetic to Rukh's wife Diana and for her star crossed lover Ronald. Instead I find myself repeatedly hoping that Rukh murders them both, especially Ronald.

Ronald, as portrayed by Frank Lawton, is a bland and yet insanely annoying character. He seems to represent all that was bad about studio pictures from the 30s. The notion that every film must have romance has always bothered me. He is much like the smarmy replacement Zeppos of the MGM Marx Brothers movies. Lugosi and Karloff could have easily carried this film without him.

Lugosi, by the way, is a bit out of character here. He's not exactly the hero but he is decidedly good. He uses the Radium X only for curing people and not for destruction or personal gain as Rukh does. He is the one likable character is this rather bland and predictable film.

Labels: 31 days of film, Bela Lugosi, Horror

If there is one thing I've learned in all my years of being a connoisseur of films, it's to never trust a European silent film.

Many people mock films of the silent era for their overly dramatized pantomime. La Terre, according to the introduction on TCM by Robert Osborne, was the first film to be told using the naturalist style of filmmaking as the characters act as though it is their daily lives they are living.

Père Fouan is an old man and as his body fails him, he decides to divide his land amongst his three sons. In return for this early inheritance the local magistrate orders the sons to each pay him a pension so that he may live out the rest of his days in peace and leisure. Sadly, such was not to be the case. As soon as he is on his own his family implodes upon itself. Things are made even more difficult when Père's wife dies. He must then sell his house and keeps the money on him always not trusting any of his children.

This film is depressing and yet I would still recommend it to those who want to be serious students of silent film. If you're looking for something lighthearted, stick to Keaton, Chaplin and Lloyd.

Labels: 31 days of film, Silent Films

The master of horror, Bela Lugosi is back in this exciting and surprisingly chilling horror film. Although it shares the title of the famous poem it is merely "inspired" by the masterpiece of Poe.

Bela Lugosi plays Dr. Vollin, a madman who is obsessed with the macabre works of Edgar Allen Poe. He obsesses with Poe so much that he builds life sized replicas of the Pit in the Pendulum and the closing walls from the same poem. He entraps several of his house guests in an attempt to kill the father of a woman with whom he has an infatuation for.

It's all very exciting and Lugosi is at his madness. This was Lugosi before he had gone totally off the deep end into addiction and yet it's obvious here that while he is the main character the attention was focused on his off-screen rival, Boris Karloff. The opening titles even list Karloff, who is only a supporting actor, above that of Lugosi. It is sad that the studios and audiences of the time had such favor for Karloff and ignored the genius of Lugosi in his peak.

Labels: 31 days of film, Bela Lugosi, Classics, Horror

I am an unapologetic film fan. As a film fan I try to sample from just about every genre, decade and country I can get my mitts on. Yet when asked to play favorites it almost always comes to the same short list. On that list are a lot of Hollywood films of the late 30s. With that in mind you can understand my eagerness to watch tonight's film, Double Wedding.

Double Wedding is a vehicle for one of the greatest pairings in motion picture history. Sure Tracy and Hepburn claim the title now but in this humble critics opinion they can't hold a candle to William Powell and Myrna Loy. The chemistry between them onscreen is fantastic with the two playing off each other perfectly. They were yin to each other's yang and are truly legends.

The plot centers around Irene and Waldo. They are a young couple in love and yet they are frustrated with the fact that Irene's sister, Margit (Myrna Loy), has fully taken over their lives so much that they are essentially ordered to do everything. Irene tries to get the meek Waldo to stand up for himself and yet he's too much of a mouse to do anything. With the whole situation in a mess the "Hollywood director" friend of the young couple (William Powell) is enlisted to help. Of course along the way he can't help but fall in love with Margit.

It's all very predictable and yet so perfectly hilarious. I often wonder if it's the quality of actors today or just if filmgoers expect different things. Either way, they don't make them as great as this one. Definitely check this one out if you have the chance.

Labels: 31 days of film, Classics, Comedy

Stephen Chow is undoubtedly one of the kings of Cantonese comedy. Like Jackie Chan and to a lesser degree the Hui Brothers, his films have been essential viewing to all those who wish to sample the films of Hong Kong. Fight Back to School doesn't feature the over the top effects of his more recent films such as Shaolin Soccer or Kung Fu Hustle but it does feature a young and exciting Chow at the start of his super-stardom.

Chow plays a young policeman who is ordered by his superiors to go undercover in what appears to be a high school (though it's identified as a college.) Chow's mission is to find his superior's stolen pistol. He is aided by Chow's regular comedic partner Ng Man Tat who plays another undercover cop posing as Chow's father. Chow also vows to win the heard of the lovely Sharla Cheung who was also a regular in Chow's films of the 90s.

Your enjoyment of this films depends on how well you can take silliness. If you've seen any of Chow's other films then be my guest and go right ahead. If you haven't, I'd say to check out either Shaolin Soccer or, better yet The God of Cookery.

Labels: 31 days of film, Comedy, Hong Kong, Stephen Chow

I love silent films. In some ways I feel that the art of drama was perfected long before film ever learned to talk. While the American Film Institute lists films such as Star Wars and Tootsie as their greatest films, it is obvious that they have never seen The Wind.

The Wind is perhaps one of the most stark and honest portrayals of the old west that I've ever seen. The American west has been so romanticized by artists like Remington and directors like John Ford and even turned into a happy go lucky place by Gene Autrey, Hopalong Cassidy and Roy Rogers. The real west was a difficult place to live and for many an easterner it was as if they were Dante venturing into the very pits of Hell.

Lilian Gish plays the character of Letty. Letty is a young girl from Virginia who moved out west to Texas to live with her cousin and his wife and children. At first she turns her nose up at the quaint place and dirty environment and especially the literally humble food. Yet as time goes on she learns that life in the west is certainly not like that of Virginia and that she must adapt to the circumstances or die.

Letty and her cousin share a bond from childhood leading to her cousin's wife to become enraged with jealousy. Letty is forced off the ranch and must find a place to live immediately. The only way she can survive is to marry her neighbor Lige. As Lige sees that this is a loveless marriage an uneasy relationship begins where Lige works to save enough money to send Letty back to Virginia as this, he believes, is the only thing that will make Letty happy.

Did I mention that there's wind? Day in and day out the wind blows and blows and slowly eats away at the sanity of Letty. Isolation, loneliness and desolation were very real emotions felt by pioneer women and Letty is in no way immune to this. Slowly and slowly she delves further and further into the madness brought on by the ever present and ever fearful wind.

The Wind is a Western and yet it's not for Western fans. If you think the west was the realm of John Wayne and Roy Rogers you should check out The Wind. I think you may be surprised at what you see.

If I had any complaints about this film it would be the ending. It seems to come from out of nowhere and is totally inconsistent with the rest of the film. The reason for this is that the films distributors felt that the original ending in the book would hurt the chances of the film at the box office. While everyone from Irving Thalberg to Lilian Gish thought this was wrong, the money men had their ending. Despite this, The Wind is a classic and should be on any serious film fan's wish list.

*Sources for this post include imdb and the Robert Osborne bumper segments from when this was shown on TCM.

Labels: 31 days of film, Classics, Silent Films

1939 is almost universally heralded by critics as the greatest year in Hollywood History. Gone with the Wind, Beau Geste, The Wizard of Oz and Mr. Smith Goes to Washington were just a few of some of the film classics released that year. It was also the year that this little film came out, to much less fanfare of course.

Mad Youth is one of those exploitation films released under the guise of being a moral play. The filmmakers try to claim they are out to show what can happen to you if they live a moral lifestyle but instead it seems to be more or less an excuse to show women in their "granny panties." Perhaps this was sexy in 1939 but personally I think it's a bit off putting.

The film centers around a mother and daughter who both live wild lifestyles. Mother brings home paid escorts who are much younger than her while daughter hangs with a wild gang of kids. Of course, as all movies like this, it all ends up in a house of ill repute and an adult male delivers a moralistic lecture that would even make Mike Brady blush.

Clocking it at barely over an hour this film is rather short on plot. Much of the film is either jitterbug dancing and musical numbers. Perhaps they felt that people would fall asleep or just leave the theater if there wasn't some entertainment in the film.

If that drunken bachelor at the bridge party who sings of old Broadway looks familiar it was Monte Collins. Monte was a character actor who appeared in many shorts and cheap films in the 1930s and 40s. Three Stooges fans will recognize him as Mr. Zero from the first Three Stooges short, Woman Haters.

So yeah, this film generally stinks. It's not horrible and neither is it as funny as

Just a random note but after watching this film and typing "Mad Youth" over and over has somehow made me want to put on the old Tears for Fears song, "Mad World," preferably the Gary Jules cover.

This film was part of a collection I partially reviewed a while back.

Labels: 31 days of film, Crap, Cult Films

In 1994 with Toho's Heisei era of Godzilla films coming to an end, Toho released Orochi the Eight Headed Dragon. While it's supposedly based on the ancient legend of Yamato Takeru I'm assuming some liberties are taken. Still, much of the film felt rushed as if we, the viewers, are already supposed to know the basic plot. It's as if a director decided to turn a Biblical epic like The Ten Commandments into a 90 minute film. Sure we'd lose a lot of the substance but most everyone knows the basic story.

For those unfamiliar with the plot, it goes something like this. In the 4th century AD Yamato Takeru is born as the younger twin son of the Emperor. Although ordered to be killed at birth by his father Yamato is saved by a giant metallic phoenix. Yamato's aunt, a priestess, pleads with the Emperor to forgive Yamato for being born cursed. At first the Emperor refuses so Yamato is raised by his aunt.

After growing up it becomes clear that Yamato is no ordinary prince. He has a magic amulet that protects him and also causes him to turn into a sort of demon who can shoot lasers from his eyes and other such powers. He goes on a journey to defeat a neighboring warlord and meets the lovely priestess Oto. Thus begins the story of monster fighting, swordplay and dragons.

The film is more sword and samurai than it is kaiju. Orochi is a decent looking monster but he is appeared to be made from the same mold as King Ghidorah with five extra heads. The lesser gods and monsters are decent enough but they look more like Ultraman foes than anything else.

All I can say is that if this were true to Japanese mythology then it sure as heck would explain a lot. There's giant monsters, samurai, people shooting fire from their hands and even a mecha. It seems as though every cliche of Japanese movies is there. You half expected a busty teen aged girl in a sailor suit to show up.

Overall it was a fun movie to watch. Much of the film's special effects are about what you'd expect to see in a Godzilla film of this era. As I mentioned before Orochi looks a lot like the Heisei version of King Ghidorah so if you felt that the Godzilla films of the 90's were decent then you should enjoy this one.

Labels: 31 days of film, Japanese, Kaiju, sci-fi

Good gravy, do the bad films ever end? Upon request of my brother to watch something "with a hot girl in it" we decided on this incredibly awful Z rate film.

This was essentially made as Drive-In filler so that necking teenagers would have an excuse to stay out later it fails to do anything but put you to sleep. Is it any wonder that Ed Wood was a consultant on this film and that the director Ronnie Ashcroft was a friend of Wood? It sure stinks of Eddie Wood, that's for sure.

What's interesting is that the She-Monster, credited as Shirley Kilpatrick, is believed (at least according to imdb) to be a much younger and much thinner Shirley Stoler who would later gain fame in The Honeymoon Killers and then as Mrs. Steve on Pee Wee's Playhouse. Now that's scary!

Labels: 31 days of film, Crap, Horror, sci-fi

The 1950's were, in many ways, the "Golden Era" of monster movies. Dinosaurs like "The Beast From 20,000 Fathoms" and Godzilla made their appearances along with other animals like the giant octopus of "It Came From Beneath the Sea." Eventually the people in Hollywood would to run out of things to use as giant monsters.

The Monolith Monsters is about some rocks that grow big and turn people to stone. Yes, you read that right. This film is about monster rocks. You have to wonder who came up with that brilliant idea and how the boardroom reacted to his idea about "monster rocks."

The plot is basically about some rocks which fall to the earth as meteorites. When they are exposed to water they grow rapidly absorbing the silicon from every source: wood, trees and even people. As you may expect this causes panic and scientists have to figure out how to stop it.

I'd like to describe the film in more detail but there really isn't anything else to say. Quite frankly, the film was dull and pointless. There were too many scenes of pasty white people jabbering about nonsense. These scenes usually don't kill a monster movie as you really only care about the beasts themselves and yet, it's hard to get excited over paper mache crystals moving slowly towards a city.

Skip this one.

To read the rest of the reviews of the films on this disc, check out my partial earlier review as well as my review of The Incredible Shrinking Man, earlier this week.

Labels: 31 days of film, Bad Movies, Crap, sci-fi

More wars have been fought over salt than gold. This little historical tidbit makes the premise of this movie a bit easier to understand. As the faded and nearly unreadable expeditionary credits tell us, the government of China at some point restricted the trade of sale and thus a large black market of salt began.

Most every kung-fu film has pretty much the same plot. Someone is killed or wronged and his pupil/offspring goes off to fight the bad guy. At first the hero gets his rear end handed back to him so he goes back and trains or tries another method and then in one huge fight at the end they win and the bad guy is defeated.

This is one of those stories but it has an interesting twist to it. The hero of this film is the daughter of a framed official. She and her little brother do a double gender bending twist infiltrating the bad guys to clear their father's name.

For a chop socky film, this one is about average. The comedy is a little weak and quite frankly I'm a little tired of the urine jokes so common in these films. The action is good and the film kept me entertained. I guess that's about all I can ask for, right?

At least it had the lovely Polly Shang-Kuan. She could kick ass and still have you marvel at what an adorable girl she was. She made just over fourty films in her career (according to her imdb page) and I'll certainly be checking out some more of her films in the future.

I should also mention that never once was a character referred to as either Lady Whirlwind or a ranger. Still, English titles of kung fu movies never seemed to make much sense anyway but this was most likely done by the distributor to tie it to the Angela Mao film.

Labels: 31 days of film, Hong Kong, Kung Fu

Here is a science fiction film I have been meaning to watch for ages and yet, for some reason I never have gotten around to it.

Taking a turn from the usual "make things giant" Universal instead made one man smaller and showed how he would react to such a situation. Thanks to some radiation Scott Carey goes from being 6' 1" to being smaller than a common house spider.

Much of the film's appeal is in the wonderful special effects and prop work. Only a few times can you see through Scott Carey due to clumsy double exposure work. Rear projection and giant oversized yet meticulously detailed props allow you to see as though what life might be like for a man like Scott. This is certainly miles ahead of other films of the time dealing with similar themes (see The Amazing Colossal Man for a particularly poor example.)

All in all, this film is very much worth seeing and, along with The Mole People, is probably the best film on the set. Sadly the set was a Best Buy exclusive and may be out of print in this form. Still, it's worth hunting down.

To read the rest of the reviews of the films on this disc, check out my partial earlier review.

Labels: 31 days of film, Classics, sci-fi

You know a movie is trash when you can barely stay awake watching it. From 1949 with a budget of $10 is this cheap piece of crap known as Omoo Omoo the Shark God.

This film was made before things like plot were deemed necessary. Much of the film is just stock footage of animals along with white people pretending to be ethnic look on from shots cut away.

Okay, so there is a plot. A sea captain steals some black pearls from an idol in Tahiti and he and his crew are cursed. That curse is so strong that it goes straight through the TV to us the unfortunate viewers. Really it plays out like a bad episode of Ramar of the Jungle.

Skip it; I wish I had. If you want a watchable bad movie that takes place in the jungle watch Bela Lugosi Meets a Brooklyn Gorilla.

By the way, this was part of a collection I partially reviewed a while back.

Labels: 31 days of film, Bad Movies, Crap

My brother has for years told me about this silent film he saw with a "gold monster" in a nightmare segment. This always intrigued me but I had never gotten around to watching the recording he had made of it. That is, until today I hadn't.

Charles, played by Rudolph Valentino, is sent to live with his uncle after his father loses millions in the stock market and commits suicide. There he meets his cousin, the lovely Eugenie (Alice Terry.) While Charles was brought up in decadence and luxury, Eugenie lives in poverty brought on by her father's miserly ways. The two fall in love yet the uncle (seeing no profit in their marriage) refuses to allow it and works to keep them apart.

The Conquering Power is certainly a product of its time. The melodrama is a simple moral play told through the stylized lens of the silent screen. It's certainly a classic and if you are a fan of silent films you are in for a treat.

Labels: 31 days of film, Romance, Silent Films

What would happen if you took an AIP beach movie and moved it to Japan and cast Hong Kong film stars in it? You'd probably get something like this quirky little movie. You get everything from girls in bikinis to fast motion action scenes to cheesy songs every ten seconds. What's not to love?

The plot is so thin that one can pretty much deduce each and every plot turn before it happens. Much of the film is just an excuse for the main stars to lip-sync (rather poorly) to pop songs that are relevant to the plot. Lame attempts at comedy may get a smirk but at times many elements were overdone. It's obvious that the only reason to watch this film is for the eye and ear candy.

Lin Chong plays Chao Ke-jan, the leader of a pop band in Hong Kong. He dresses like Sergeant Pepper and seems to win over girls wherever he goes. He and the band go to Japan to work for his uncle's hotel as well as to find their boss's daughter and bring her back home. What he does find is a lot of trouble and mishaps that would make Frankie and Annette proud. I half expected to have Eric Von Zipper crash the party. Of course all's well that ends well and you know that's where this is headed before the film even starts.

Honestly, these films are a bit of an acquired taste so unless you love 60's fashion, Shaw Brothers female actions and Inoue Umetsugu musicals I would stay away from this one. The only exception would be for the really curious. Luckily I fit all of the above but I realize that I'm probably alone in my opinion.

Perhaps tomorrow I'll try something more "mainstream."

Labels: 31 days of film, Hong Kong, Musical, Shaw Brothers

"Watch something happy today." That was a request from one of my closest friends when I asked what I should watch tonight for my month long experiment. Well, what could be happier than watching a movie about Miriam Yeung getting breast cancer? In all serious while the film has an obvious message it does succeed in keeping my attention for 98 minutes and it even made me think about a serious topic for a while.

Miriam Yeung plays Bingo: a single 30 year old professional who, by chance, runs into V (Richie Ren) after some hanky panky starts up at her place V suddenly discovers that Bingo has a lump in her left breast and we see in all the things that Bingo must go through both physically and emotionally as she battles her disease.

Strangely with a plot like that you'd expect it to be a Lifetime TV movie complete with dramatic music, the ignorant evil man-like character that appears in all of those types of films as well as the washed up former TV has-beens. Instead what we get is a rather silly and contrived comedy along with some inspirational scenes as well.

Since I have a lot of random notes jotted down about this film and no real concise way to tie them together I am going to end this review with some things I learned while watching 2 Become 1.
* If a tumor is close to the nipple then a radical masectomy is required
* Suicide hotlines numbers are printed on bags of charcoal in Hong Kong
* People sing Psalm 23 in Cantonese
* Psalm 23 in Cantonese to Engrish subs gives us some interesting results
* Miriam Yeung looks hot in a bra
* If a woman invites you back to her place you have a better chance of getting with her if you start doing the dishes
* I get a strange feeling seeing a hot woman driving a Hyundai.

I suppose if you are a big Miriam Yeung fan you will enjoy this film. For the casual Hong Kong fan you might want to stay away. Still, it might also be a good film to show your girlfriend if you want to get her into the genre.

Labels: 31 days of film, Drama, Hong Kong

After yesterday's foray into the weird and unusual, I decided to finally watch a film I had heard about and even studied a bit in college and yet had never watched in its entirety, The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari.

The story centers on Francis who, along with his best friend Alan and sweetheart Jane, decides to go to the fair. What he finds there is a crazy Dr named Caligari who exhibits Cesare, the somnambulist (sleepwalker.) When Alan asks Cesare how long he has to live, he is told that he will die at dawn. Sure enough the young man is murdered and thus Francis and Jane decide to find the crazed murderer themselves. The plot is quite twisted and the ending will have you literally left in shock.

The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari is one of the earliest horror films and it is filled with images of German Expressionism. Watching The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari is, in many ways, like watching a nightmare. Jagged corners, abstract set design and a rather unattractive cast make watching this film a rather creepy experience.In fact when the ending is revealed it makes all the imagery seem totally appropriate.

Honestly, this is certainly not casual viewing. This film is probably better suited to the art house crowd or those with a taste for the avant-garde.

Labels: 31 days of film, Classics, Horror, Silent Films

Yesterday I decided that after watching a great film by a legendary and celebrated director I decided it might be a good idea to go to the proverbial opposite end of the film spectrum. I wanted to see a movie that was so well known for being terrible that it has achieved almost cult-like status. Yet even after sitting though Child Brides, Manos: Hands of Fate and Titanic even I was still unprepared for the horrors I was about to face in the Ed Wood classic, Glen or Glenda.

Glen or Glenda started out as a cheap film made to cash in on the sex change of George/Christine Jorgensen. Director Ed Wood, himself a transvestite, decided to take the film in a completely different direction to talk about transvestism. He even played the main character of Glen(da) under the pseudonym of Daniel Davis. He even hired one of his heroes Bela Lugosi (now down on his luck and heavily addicted to morphine) to play a scientist. Lyle Talbot makes an appearance leading me to think that he either loved working or had no pride in what films he made.

This film is, in many ways the true testament of the talents of Mr. Edward D. Wood Jr. He should have kept those talents to himself as this film is almost totally incoherent. The film is told in a series of flashbacks by a doctor to a police inspector who wants to know what would lead a local transvestite to commit suicide. We are told of the story of Glen who, after being neglected by his father and mother, decides to become a girl. After this tale is over the story of Alan/Ann is told and the real Jorgensen exploitation begins.

Wood's "talents" as a director are further showcased by his refusal to use any symbolism that makes sense to anyone who hasn't been sniffing glue. Many surrealistic and symbolic images appear at totally inappropriate times (e.g Satan being at Glen's wedding) that it feels as though Ed just opened a textbook of film techniques and just decided to use whichever one he found whether they made sense to use or not.*

Several points in the film are interrupted by Lugosi rambling on about "puppy dog tales and big ugly snails" or simply with inappropriate lightning or stock footage if, for nothing else, just to extend the length of the film. One particularly awful scene is when a serious conversation is cut short by stock footage of a buffalo stampede!

Glen or Glenda certainly is an enigma. On the one hand the film is so terrible that no one would ever watch it as a serious movie. Many parts of the film left me openly disturbed, creeped out and just feeling rather uncomfortable. Yet I have not laughed as hard and and long at a film in ages.

If laughter is the best medicine, I truly hope that it means that the therapy required after watching this film will be lessened.

Do not watch this movie unless you have a twisted sense of humor or you are extremely curious. If you do decide to watch it, be sure to watch it with friends. The pain is less when shared with others.

* Ironically this is the same technique that Quentin Tarrantino uses. ^

Labels: 31 days of film, Bad Movies, Bela Lugosi, Crap

Japanese films that make their way across the Pacific can generally be grouped into three main categories. There are, of course, the science fiction and horror films including everything from Godzilla to the Ring. There are the samurai epics of Akira Kurosawa. Lastly there are the animated movies which have a rabid fanbase like few other genres.

Yet Japan has many more films than those typically shown over here. One of Japan's most famous directors, Yasujiro Ozu, is relatively unknown here in America outside of the true film buffs and Japanophiles. His films are subtle, understated and gentle yet they convey a slice of life that sadly most Americans would consider dull. Exhibit A is a little film called Late Autumn and is two hours of the everyday problems of an arranged marriage in 1960.

The film opens at the memorial service for a man who passed several years ago. His three closest friends meet up and decide that the daughter of the deceased is just the right age to think about marriage. They then set to arrange a marriage for her and then later for her young widowed mother. Despite their best intentions both women seem to be content as to where they are in life.

If there was one word to describe Late Autumn it would be subtle. Nothing seems overdone. There is almost no comedy or tragedy and we just seem to be getting a quick snapshot into the lives of some average people. Even the color pallate of the film is subtle with its muted colors and earth tones.

This brings me to my next point about the film, the fashion. Now I am far from fashionable and I would make the snobs on What Not to Wear weap and yet I found myself really appreciating the outfits of the young people in the film. While I could certainly get away with wearing any of the suits worn by the male characters, I have a feeling many of my female friends might turn their noses at the rather conservative but fitting dresses of the young ladies in the film. Still, one never knows and that look may come back.

The DVD release by Panorama was a bit subpar. Many lines were not subtitled and many that were had misspellings, grammatical errors and just clumsy translations. I guess being that it was a Region 3 DVD release from Hong Kong, I cannot complain too much. I bought this film years ago and now there is apparently a Criterion Collection release which, I have no doubt, rectifies all these errors.

All in all, Late Autumn is certainly worth watching. It's not a groundbreaking or lifechanging film but it certainly is a worthwhile way to spend two hours if you have any interest in Japanese films or culture.

Labels: 31 days of film, Classics, Japanese

Today's film continues the large hairy creature theme of yesterday in the form of a murderous ape in this, the first film adaptation of Edgar Allen Poe's classic mystery tale and one of the classic best of Lugosi films.

Bela Lugosi plays the mad scientist role which, after Dracula, was to be his most remembered role. Here he is Dr. Mirakle who kidnaps women with the help of his ape companion in order to perform his bizarre experiments to prove that man and ape are related.

Fans of Lugosi will find much to love here. You get to see a young Lugosi before his tragic fall to Z grade pictures and morphine addiction. He's at his peak here showing his range acting range as the psychotic doctor obsessed with proving his science with total disregard for human life. Contrast this to the handsome, charming vampire of Dracula. It's such a pity that Lugosi never got to play a romantic lead. It would have been wonderful to see what range of acting he had.

Much of the film seems to be inspired by the horror classic, "The Cabinet of Dr. Calidare in that the mad scientist uses an unwitting creature (in this case an ape) to perform his murders and that both are part of side show acts. I do not know if this was intentional or not but it does seem rather interesting.

Speaking of Dr. Calidari, there's a film I have never seen in its entirety. Perhaps I will rectify that this month.

One last note, if Pierre Dupin looks familiar and the name Leon Waycoff means nothing to you, well he later would change his stage name to something a bit more memorable, Leon Ames. Ames would go on to be a founding member of the SAG and appear in over 150 roles. To me though, he'll always be Judge Holmsby from Merlin Jones and the father on Meet Me in St Louis.

Labels: 31 days of film, Bela Lugosi, Horror

War of the Gargantuas (or Frankenstein no kaiju: Sanda tai Gaira) is a sequel of sorts to Frankenstein Conquers the World.

In this film a Frankenstein monster, now covered in a green algae like fur emerges from the ocean and attacks some ships and eating people. Frankenstein is blamed although scientists are baffled since Frankenstein neither lives in the ocean, nor does he eat people.

The military sets up attacks and does surprisingly well considering their record in past kaiju movies. All mysteries are solved when a second Frankenstein's monster, known as Sanda, shows up seemingly to help the sea-Frankenstein (Gaira.)

War of the Gargantuas was one of the last of the great Japanese kaiju films on my list to be watched. In a way, I'm almost a little sad knowing that the list is so small that when gems like this are finally released here my list gets shorter and shorter.

Either way, for a kaiju film it's a good one with plenty of monster scenes, tons of action and the human drama is kept to a minimum. It's defintely worth picking up.

Also, I've reviewed Rodan twice before so I'm not going to review it again. Just get this disc and enjoy!

Labels: 31 days of film, Japanese, Kaiju, Tokusatsu