Horror Gives Back 2024 and Best New-to-Me: October 2024

 October and "spooky season" more generally is my absolute favorite time of the year and went about as hard this year as we have in recent memory. Halloween candy, pumpkin everything, horror-themed bars, fright markets, jack-o-lantern fests, and many, many horror movies. We had something going on more nights than not and as much as I loved it, it did feel like a bit of gauntlet towards the end. Perhaps fortunately, my body finally gave up and I had a full-blown cold for the actual day of Halloween. It forced me to rest a bit and gave me an opportunity to marathon my way into a full 31 horror/Halloween movies for the month. I've been doing that challenge many years and I've also been donating to Unsung Horrors' Horror Gives Back fundraiser for a few years now. It's a terrific community and a great cause (they raised over $4000 for Best Friends Animal Society this year!) so if you're looking for an excuse to binge horror movies next year, I fully endorse signing up. They offer terrific prompts and categories to keep everyone engaged but I can barely stick to my own watchlist so I just follow my whims and donate some money at the end. Nobody minds.

We also took a short venture out to Seattle early in the month. I had a great time and fell in love with exploring different neighborhoods as well as the unparalleled access to nature from the city - even without an automobile. Seattle is also home to an incredibly vibrant film culture (more about that below) and I was beyond stoked to visit Scarecrow Video while I was there. Scarecrow has an unreal collection and they do rent via mail for anyone outside of the area. They are currently fundraising to maintain their current space and secure living wages for their employees so I would highly encouraging throwing them a few bucks to preserve such an incredible resource.

I've got a metric ton of movies to talk about in addition to theatrical showings (not all spooky) so without further delay:

The Face Behind the Mask (1941) and The Beast with Five Fingers (1944) - I didn't actually watch these on the same day but this was inspired by a Peter Lorre double feature that the New Beverly Cinema screened in October. The horror bona fides of Face might be tenuous but I loved the story of Lorre turning from humble and earnest immigrant to reluctant if sometimes ruthless crime boss. Lorre's performance carries a lot of the film as some of the best action happens off screen, but he's up to the task. His character becomes disfigured (certainly Tim Burton has seen this film) and the makeup he uses to disguise it is genuinely unsettling. Beast is solidly within 40s chiller territory - again propelled by fantastic work from Lorre but also some surprisingly eerie disembodied hand effects. It takes its time to get rolling and I found the denouement eyeroll inducing - but this thing really cooks when it focuses on Lorre and a murderous hand. 

I, The Executioner (1968) - Stunningly shot and notably brutal for '68. Sometimes my choices lead me towards something that is more horror-adjacent than legitimately frightening. However, Executioner is about as black as a noir can get. I'm not terribly familiar with Tai Katō's films but found this rather fascinating on a formal/structural level. Executioner is pointing both at New Wave revolution in its form and classically expressionist modes in its visual language. There's something magical about that 60s B&W look with crisp photography and deep contrasts. I've read some grousing about the writing and while the politics of Executioner are admittedly pretty bonkers, I didn't take issue with how the story was presented. Surely, the humanization of the protagonist who is fully a serial killer and the depiction of the "inciting incident" are difficult to swallow. Still, I felt this is well within the lines of some of the more provocative Japanese literary and (by extension) cinematic traditions. In fairness, I struggle with those sometimes as well, 

The First Omen (2024) - Sure, you might think you can win me over with Possession references and Raffaella Carra needle drops...and well...you sort of can. Very little interests me less than modern reimaginings, prequels, or sequels to classic horror films so I skipped this one without much thought upon release. However, enough people told me that this was worth checking out that I finally relented. First Omen manages a great atmosphere, both aesthetically and sonically. It's not just by virtue of being a period piece of sorts, I get the sense that Stevenson had a real vision for the feel of the picture. My only complaint is that conspiracy thriller/horror can be a hard sell when nearly every plot beat is totally predictable from the beginning. No fault of the performances and you do have to work within the context of the "franchise" but I was starting to check out a bit at various times. In a normal context, I don't know if this would be considered a "best" but I watched several newer horrors this year that I absolutely hated so I thought this was worth mentioning.

What Have They Done to Your Daughters? (1974) - Just one of those astonishingly obvious blind spots I had in my personal filmography that I'm finally correcting. I can't recall if this was an availability thing or I just hadn't found the time yet. Either way, Daughters is not that much of a horror film but it's a grade A banger of sleazeball Eurocrime.  Massimo Dallamano leans into some similar territory as he does in the previous What Have You Done to Solange? and I only suppose it's fair to draw some parallels between the two. It's been a few years since my last viewing of Solange and I think I enjoyed Daughters about equally. The motorcycle helmeted killer featured on the cover does actually appear in several sequences which does lend a sense of proto-slasher aesthetics but Daughters is largely a mystery/crime procedural supported by a tremendous cast (Giovanna Ralli, Mario Adorf, etc.) and blisteringly cool Stelvio Cipriani music. The main theme was lifted for a great sequence in L'Innocent which was one of my favorite new movies last year.

The Strangler (1970) - This has been high on my priority list and I probably should have just gone and picked up the blu-ray from Altered Innocence sight unseen. Sometimes budgets and other priorities get in the way so I'm honestly just happy to have finally caught up to it. It's an absolute stunner of a film but it is singularly bizarre in tone. The nighttime palette of turquoise and amber blends with the utterly cryptic behaviors of the characters to create an atmosphere of total mystery and nearly oppressive loneliness. It is a looking glass nocturnal Paris populated entirely by the most wayward of lost souls and makes no attempt to justify any of this to the viewer. I can understand why some people would find it all too strange and possibly even offensive - but I think others will find something relatable here even if that's a terribly uncomfortable fact. Another totally amazing soundtrack with Strangler and I probably will have to pick it up on disc at some point as well as catch some more Paul Vecchiali features.

The Vault of Horror (1973) - Nothing has October vibes in quite the way Amicus anthologies do! I can't marathon these collections but I'm so happy to watch one or two every year and Vault is so supremely worthwhile. I was re-visiting the EC Crime SuspenStories earlier this year and even though those are not primarily horror books, I think it still put me in the right headspace for Vault. Per usual, some of the sections are stronger than others, but there's no real weak links in this one. Roy Ward Baker directed some of the oddball Hammer films (which I tend to favor) and handles this all rather well in the spirit of the original comics. The cast is a delight and you get some terrific stuff from Curd Jürgens, Tom Baker, and many more. Glynis Johns passed away at 100 years of age this year and she is wonderfully fun in her role.

The Mummy (1959) - I confess that I'm not the worlds' biggest Hammer fan but I'm always trying around this time of year to find the ones I like best. The Mummy's narrative is about as boilerplate pulp dramatics as you'll find anywhere but it is an aesthetic feast of a film and comparatively action packed. Green-lit ancient tombs, flashbacks to elaborate Egyptian rites and magic, and (most critically) Lee's moldering mummy tearing around killing people. He descends and rises from bogs, crashes through windows, and is an exemplary mummy of few words and lots of action. Cushing holds his own as a aristocratic archaeologist and Yvonne Furneaux plays double duty as Cushing's fiancée and Egyptian priestess/princess Ananka. I expect most Hammer fiends have seen this time and time again but if you find yourself resistant to their more gothic fare, you might check this one out. 

Horror Castle (1963) - My man, Antonio Margheriti, delivering some ghastly yet groovy Italo-gothic action. First thing's first - DO NOT READ THE LETTERBOXD SYNOPSIS. Not only does it give away the mystery, it's not even accurate. However, once you've managed that you should dive right in for some ace October vibes. Others have written it but it does feel like a bit of a blend of Italian Gothic and German Krimi. Part Bava, part Scooby Doo Mysteries, with a wild, horrific final twist. Christopher Lee is woefully underutilized overall, but does get a shining moment towards the last act. No shortage of castles, cobwebs, secret passageways, tombs, rats, skeletons, secrets, and medieval torture devices. I could see Riz Ortolani's lush jazz feeling incongruous for some people but I absolutely loved it. I caught this on a weirdly up-rez'd copy on YT but I think Severin might be releasing this one? Definitely something I'd be into.

Hallucinations (1986) - Shot on video horror is another genre that I can't marathon but does hold a special, October-y place in my heart. A very young Mark and John Polonia deliver a slab of barely coherent Pennsylvania fever dreaming that I found totally intoxicating. There's only the faintest of pretexts as to why anything in Hallucinations is happening but the Polonia's are clearly driven by the purest of genre filmmaking intentions - put wild ass shit on the screen. Mutilation, monsters, elf urination, psychic dismemberment, and a rather courageous physical performance from John. I also like how much of the limited runtime seems dedicated to Mark's relationship with his cat. Absolute weirdo classic. You probably already know if you have the taste for this kind of deal.

Taste of Fear (1961) - Another Hammer film but one well outside of their classic horror line. Taste of Fear runs closer to a Diabolique inspired thriller but does manage to straddle genres in a similar way. I thought this was totally gorgeous, sonically varied and interesting, and genuinely suspenseful. There is a twist, naturally, but I thought it delivered a decent surprise. I thought Susan Strasberg's performance was excellent and (again) we get Lee more as a side character but an interesting one. I'll admit that I'm easily won over by 60s jet-setting thrillers where wealthy people do terrible things to each other, but this one is excellent. 

Whoever Slew Auntie Roo? (1972) - I put this on before remembering that it's a Christmas movie and by then I was already invested in the film. Auntie Roo? is a very loose adaptation of Hansel & Gretel and honestly, isn't much of a fright-fest. However, it is a showcase for a positively unhinged Shelley Winters performance and isn't that a compelling enough reason to watch it? The kids are not alright in this one and Winters manages to be fairly unnerving whether she's singing lullabies or eating apples. The finale is pretty brutal, all things considered. This should absolutely be in your holiday lineup if you go for cult Christmas films.

Blood Bath (1966) - The product of a strange, disjointed production and featuring two different directors (Jack Hill and Stephanie Rothman) - apparently Svengoolie claimed that Blood Bath was the worst film he ever featured on his program. For the first 20-30 minutes or so I could see where Sven was coming from but there's something about this one that eventually pulled me into its acidic waters. It's very 60s and the antagonist, William Campbell as Atonio Sordii, is an avant-garde painter who depicts scenes of butchered women, referred to as his "dead, red, nudes." There are several scenes featuring Karl Schanzer and Sid Haig (among others) as laughable beatniks who sit around cafes and attempt to imbue meaning into various methods of splattering pigment on canvas. It turns out that Sordii needs to actually kill women to create his masterpieces and he might actually be a vampire or reincarnation of a murderous ancestor or possibly just insane. The plot beats are reminiscent of Corman's A Bucket of Blood or H.G. Lewis' Color Me Blood Red but (intentionally or not) Blood Bath results in a much weirder, dreamier film. There are several flashback or dream sequences - shot by Rothman- that contribute to that and I just found myself very immersed in the atmosphere. I couldn't exactly tell where this was supposed to be taking place - it seems like Italy but nearly everyone in the film is American. There are some vampiric effects, there is an acid bath with a trapdoor, and there are no shortage of lovely ladies facing immediate physical peril. I admit to a weakness for kooky, 60s horror and I was a fan of this one by the final frame. 

The Seventh Victim (1943) - Another huge blind spot for me and one I'm glad to fill in courtesy of Criterion's excellent Val Lewton set that also includes I Walked With a Zombie (which I had seen before or it surely would have been listed here). Mark Robson delivers a visual knockout - the cinematographer on Victim was frequent Lewton collaborator Nicholas Musuraca - and though the storyline is ultimately rather grounded in pulp/noir traditions, it still manages to be quite strange. Occult orders and conspiracies aren't entirely out of line in pulp fiction though they are often found to be sham operations by rip-off artists. That isn't the case, here. The occult ties aren't necessarily as pronounced as I might have thought they would be, but Victim presents the "Palladists" as completely committed devil worshippers and even ones that are sympathetic in some ways (they are somewhat dedicated to non-violence, for instance). I also appreciated that this is an NYC film and that these are Greenwich Village cultists - who doesn't love bohemians gone evil? In the end, The Seventh Victim goes for the bleakest possible resolutions and it's profoundly affecting. If, like me, you haven't managed to catch this - it would make an excellent addition to your Noirvember lineup.

Kenny & Company (1976) - The first film in what was my Halloween triple-header. Kenny & Co. is not actually a horror film but it is set on and around Halloween and it was directed by multi-faceted genre weirdo, Don Coscarelli, so I'm saying it counts. It's a coming of age film somehow impossibly nostalgic for the time in which it was actually made. Maybe sentimental to a fault but also surprisingly existential and occasionally bizarre. Amidst the pre-teen hijinks and skateboarding sequences there are several sober (if youthful) ruminations on death and dying. This is set in Southern California so the vibes are more Halloween-y than they are Autumnal to my midwestern brain, but you can just luxuriate in them all the same. If you're at all a fan of the Freaks and Geeks Halloween episode, Tricks and Treats, you will probably dig this one. Of course, I am perhaps overly wistful about an age before computers where the threat of physical peril was ever present and your hobbies consisted largely of low level criminal activity. 

FleshEater (1988) -  Number two in my Halloween-a-thon. Bill Hinzman, the original flesh-eating ghoul from Night of the Living Dead, directs and stars in a Halloween set hybrid of Romero-worshipping gut munching and 80s slasher tropes. If Hinzman was looking to do some incisive social commentary per his mentor, it must have been lost on the cutting room floor. Young people drink beer, smoke grass, get naked, and then are summarily ripped to shreds by Hinzman - only to rise up and enact the same ritual on the next set of unsuspecting slobs. The physical effects are cheap but fun and in the vein of classic Romero-esque nihilism, nobody is safe from the undead. I actually found the end result to be a good time and charming in a way so many of the revered regional slashers fail to be. Yes, you are subjected to fumbling make-out sessions, bad dancing, and braindead conversations, but at least Hinzman delivers on the gory goods. I followed this up with my annual watch of Halloween III and called it a night.

Theatrical Screenings!

I made it out for a lot of seasonal screenings this year, but also have some non-spooky additions to highlight. It's always tough as I feel like awards season starts to pick up in October and there are lots of films I'd like to see but can't always find the time. One day I'll attend something at the Twin Cities Film Festival, I promise!

We Live in Time (2024) - This was, somewhat oddly, the first movie I watched in October. Not at all seasonal but I was a fan of John Crowley's Brooklyn and have been known to indulge in a solid relationship drama on occasion. We Live in Time's formal conceit of disjointed time-hopping through the lives and relationship of Almut and Tobias (Florence Pugh and Andrew Garfield) is nothing shockingly innovative but it's handled rather well and keeps the narrative flowing along at an engaging pace. I think the main thing to be said here is that Pugh and Garfield have absurdly good chemistry onscreen and I think people will fall in love with them as a couple. As romantic tragicomedies go, Time exudes an avalanche of charm and the nonlinear reveal gives the audience ample opportunity to become truly invested in Almut and Tobias before things take a turn in the final act that is both melancholy and a little strange. I also have some questions around the Tobias character and what his motivations add up to be outside of being in love with Almut. My feelings around the finale and characterization aside, there is a scene in a convenience store bathroom that may wind up being one of the most memorable sequences committed to film this year. It's insane and hilarious and I was totally in the moment as it unfolded. Not a firm recommend for genre film diehards but if you like to get a bit weepy with charismatic performers, this should be on your list.

Suffer, Little Children (1983) - We were able to catch this at SIFF Egyptian while visiting Seattle. Little Children was programmed as part of SIFFs collaboration with Scarecrow Video in their "Scarecrowber" series. Gorgeous theater, great staff, and the Egyptian is undoubtedly a terrific venue to catch capital “C” cinema. Suffer Little Children is 1000% not that. It is a shot on video satanic panic horror from the UK that apparently was largely conceived and made as a school project by the credited director's students. Due to the satanic themes and the violence inflicted on children, Suffer managed to find itself on the infamous "video nasties" list and I believe only recently it's been possible to see the uncut version. The plot essentially boils down to an evil possessed kid who relocates to an orphanage and then the supernatural mayhem kicks in. It's filled with wild music and you frequently can't make out what anyone is saying but luckily dialogue isn't necessary to catch the broad strokes of the action. It’s rare (for me) to see this level of barely coherent murderdrone SOV insanity with an audience and I absolutely relished the chance to do so. The final 15-20 minutes was an absolute riot even with a somewhat sparse crowd. Come, Satan, Come!

Nickel Boys (2024) - I can't say too much about this at the moment other than I'm looking forward to it getting wider release and talking about it more later this year!

The Super Spook Show Spectacular - I wrote a whole damn post about my favorite new(ish) October tradition. Please put your eyeballs on it if you haven't already: https://kino-ventura.blogspot.com/2024/10/demonic-invocations-live-witch-trials.html

Rumours (2024) - I knew that this was going to be weird, but I don't think I understood how weird. Even stranger is that this might be on the lower end of the weirdness scale from Guy Maddin. I did find this hilarious, deeply cynical, and ultimately a good, strange time at the cinema. It won't be the greatest film of the year but I respect the commitment to inflicting chaos on the viewer (it also looks tremendous which never hurts). Undoubtedly will have its fans and something I imagine could end up on Waters' best of 2024 list?

Demonic Invocations, Live Witch Trials, and Simian Surgery - The Super Spook Show Spectacular 2024!

 Last year around this time I wrote glowingly about Cinema of the Macabre's first Super Spook Show Spectacular and wished sincerely that this would become an annual event. The FORCES OF DARKNESS (Tim and CotM) apparently heard my plea and the Twin Cities was fortunate enough to see a repeat this year. For the uninitiated, the Super Spook Show Spectacular is essentially a horror movie mini-marathon consisting of four mystery films. While some marathons focus on things like exhibiting on film or especially spooky venues - CotM's event leans heavily into the spook show/ghost show traditions of live hosts, "shocking" rituals, monstruous surprises, and some seriously cool swag. Programming-wise, Tim and Co. so far have been eschewing more obvious horror/Halloween hits in favor of selections decidedly in the cult/psychotronic vein which really suits the overall vibe of the show. They do not offer pre-show clues or categories of what the films will be but it looks like the first two events follow a loose pattern and I'll write more about that

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The 2023 Spook Show featured a vaguely medical theme with spooky nurses in attendance and a vomit bag containing a certificate offering fright insurance upon entry. This year the atmosphere took on more of an occult aspect - blank faced minions distributed contracts to relinquish audience members' souls in the event they departed during the proceedings. Our host, resplendent in ritual garb, introduced the event and informed us that this year they would be summoning an actual demon - Togroth, Devourer of Souls - to appear within the theater by the end of the show. The summoning rite would be a multi-part affair requiring participation from everyone in attendance. Phase one was an esoteric invocation lead by the minions - though they forgot their ancient tome and this chant definitely felt a little improvised. Trailers for The First Power and Q: The Winged Serpent led us into the first film.

God Told Me To (1976) - Larry Cohen's occult, sorta conspiracy, profoundly weird, gritty NYC crime thriller opened up the show. It's been a few years since I've seen GTMT, I'd never seen it on a big screen before, and I was legitimately excited for it. Regular readers of this blog are (maybe painfully) aware of my enthusiasm for New York films of this era and Cohen captures the city unlike just about anyone else. His run and gun, guerilla attitude towards coverage leads to such a visceral hurtling through the streets and captures a genuine candidness that bigger productions struggle to achieve. It's more than obvious that some sequences involve non-acting New Yorkers reacting to situations thrust upon them by Cohen and his crew - sometimes in surprise and more than often with total indifference. I will say that the day that seems to begin at the St. Patrick's Day Parade and finishes at the Feast of St. Gennaro rubs me slightly the wrong way - but seasonal continuity is probably the least reality bending facet of a film featuring hippie messiahs, mass mind control, corporate occultism, and alien insemination. I always recall how weird GTMT winds up but I forget the most of it is a (relatively grounded) police procedural that's propulsive in its own right. Tony Lo Bianco was a king of NYC crime drama at the time and Sandy Dennis also delivers an excellent performance that ads plausibility even as the plot skews increasingly bizarre. Terrific way to start things

Burn, Witch, Burn (1962) - An authentic witch was required for the next phase of the demon summoning ritual so some audience members volunteered to participate in a series of challenges - trials, if you will - to determine if any of them were truly a witch. It was close but a witch was eventually identified, given a prize package, and then led out to the parking lot to be burned at the stake. We salute their sacrifice! The leading trailers for the next movie were The Witches and City of the Dead so I absolutely knew we were going to watch Night of the Eagle/Burn, Witch, Burn. Coincidentally, I had just recommended all three films to someone looking for witchcraft movies. I have written a full-length review of Eagle on this site so feel free to check that out if you're interested. I had never seen it on the big screen though and those eagle scenes absolutely deliver. It's a terrific October choice and just a film I have a great deal of affection for. I suspect it's one that not a lot of folks in the audience had not seen and I'm beyond stoked for them to be introduced to it like this. 

The Sect (1991) - In a semi-return to the previous year's medical theme, the third part of the ritual required the heart of a baboon. Unfortunately only a gorilla was available but our intrepid cultists forged onward in some seriously suspect surgery. The necessary organs were removed but there may have been some primate rampaging to follow. Nothing entertains quite like someone in a gorilla suit causing mayhem in a crowded theater. My mind is blanking on the trailers leading up to this one but they were a couple of grindhouse flicks I actually had not seen. Regardless, we found ourselves thrust into Michele Soavi's surreal, occult nightmare - The Sect. I know The Sect is rarely anyone's favorite Soavi feature, but I think it holds up well. I already had a copy and skipped over the recent Severin release and it had been a few years since I last watched it. I had indelible images in my memory (channel surfing bunny, satanic face transplant, monster bird humping) but couldn't recall exactly how they all tied together. In fairness, it's not the most cohesive conspiracy story ever told and some of the ideas maybe should have hit the cutting room floor (why the Rolling Stones are invoked repeatedly is the real mystery). However, Soavi delivers on nightmarish imagery and stylish camera work like few others. It's not as outrageously bonkers as some of the favorite 80s-90s Italian nonsense flicks, but it's still a powerful, dreamy spectacle that I can get into.

Black Roses (1988) - I came in a little late from the break and caught the penultimate piece of the demon summoning ritual in progress. I believe the devotees were consuming ceremonial blood to prepare their voices for demonic invocation which they gamely provided. The trailers leading up to the final film were Demon Wind and Trick or Treat which I'm relatively certain have both screened before in the very theater we were sitting in. Much like last year, the final movie was a goofball 80s musically themed horror and much like last year it was the only one I had not seen before. I've been meaning to catch Black Roses for ages so I was happy to have it finally foisted upon my eyeballs with an unsuspecting audience. Roses opens really strong with a fully monstrous band playing to a crowd of fanatics but then things slow down for a while when the band inexplicably arrives at a small Canadian town to kick off their world tour. This hits a lot of 80s sweet spots - hair metal, ancient teenagers, lambos, demon puppets, mustaches, and boobs. I thought it was a lot of fun and a great way to cap off the show. I confess, I'd love to have more of that demonic band causing mayhem in the streets but some of the set-pieces (speaker monster, especially) are well worth the price of admission. 

Following the final film, we were favored with an appearance by THE Togroth, devourer of souls. I'll leave some mystery around that but it was a great bit. I'm not sure anything will touch Edgar Allen Poe's appearance last year, but that felt like it was written with me specifically in mind. Regarding film categories/patterns - last year featured a 70s cult classic in Tourist Trap, a black & white 60s horror in Spider Baby, some absolute Italian nonsense in Luigi Cozzi's, Edgar Allen Poe's The Black Cat, and an over-the-top 80s musical horror in Slumber Party Massacre II. So we hit on some analogous selections this year as well. Not sure if that will be "the" categories moving forward but the continuity is pretty cool either way. What I can say is that I imagine the Super Spook Show Spectacular will continue as this year seemed bigger and more well attended. It's been a real pleasure to see Cinema of the Macabre and Tape Freaks develop such a devoted fanbase over the last couple of years, especially. Like I said in last years' write-up, I respect and appreciate the overnight horrorthons out there but the Spook Show is way more my speed - keeping the focus more on having a good time than sheer mental and physical fortitude. If I could buy my tickets for 2025 today, I would. Huge shout-out of course to Cinema of the Macabre and Emagine Willow Creek for putting on such a quality event. If you attended this year, let me know what you thought either here or on IG, and please come back when I post my October Best-Of/Horror Gives Back article at the end of the month!

Thanks to Bronson for the Poster Pic!

Best New-to-Me: August 2024

I'm stubborn enough that I'm largely absent from anything remotely close to the "online discourse" around films. I keep active on select few social media accounts and most of my movie discussion comes down to chatting with friends. Not that I don't read criticism, I think it's important to do that, but since a lot of what I'm watching trends older I'm either reading new reviews of older films or (often ideally) contemporaneous writing from when the film was released. When I do subject myself to some brands of online media I feel a distinct disconnect between what's happening there and how my own cinematic pursuits are shaping up. This isn't me trying to be smug as much as I hope I'm not falling completely out of touch with the culture. I'm looking what I watched in August and I see a terrific list of films and when I think about the higher profile films I caught in the theater this summer, I'm just not very deeply moved by any of it. I know I'm skirting dangerously close to Abe Simpson yelling at clouds territory but it's just one of those things that's been on my mind, lately.

Anyway, I did watch a lot of great movies in August and my theater attendance still hasn't been great but I caught some astoundingly good repertory screenings.

Tchao Pantin (1983) - An impeccable neo-noir classic from Claude Berri featuring an astounding performance from Coluche; Tchao Pantin eluded me for years until recently released by Radiance Films. Struggling to find relatively obscure films that lack stars or failed to ignite interest from audiences or critics upon initial release is par for the course. However, Pantin was a big hit in France winning several Cesars and was even submitted as the French selection for the Academy Awards (though it was not ultimately nominated). Even today, my understanding is that Tchao Pantin is well regarded and well-remembered in its native France though it seems little seen or discussed in the anglophone world. Hopefully, this latest release can turn that around. Coluche's heartbreaking turn as a solitary alcoholic filling station attendant who makes some unlikely companions in a young immigrant and a punk rocker turns into an explosive revenge story all set against a strikingly bleak vision of Paris. Highly recommended.

How to Beat the High Cost of Living (1980) - The poster and the opening credits had me believing this was much more of a sex farce than it turned out to be. That's totally okay with me, though. Absurdly charming, frequently funny cast (Jane Curtin, Jessica Lange, and Susan Saint James) set against a nearly 80s Eugene, Oregon backdrop including some priceless shopping mall location work. It's not outrageously comedic but this is pure comfort food as far as I'm concerned.

The Big Combo (1955) -  Extremely solid hardboiled noir flick with some unexpected twists. Retains some nice stylistic flourishes, uses some actual location footage, and focuses more on hard-hitting crime action than big melodrama. Richard Conte is great as the top crook and Cornel Wilde isn't nearly as dull as a lot of noir male leads. Lee Van Cleef and Earl Holliman play gangsters who seem explicitly queer coded. The characters are villains but this wrinkle never seems to be played for laughs or as evidence of perversion. There's a soundless execution scene in this that's about as cold blooded as any sequence I can think of. Potent stuff.

Mean Frank and Crazy Tony (1973) - It's not easy to pull of a crime film that's both explicitly comedic but also pretty ruthless, and this one manages to do it. Tony Lo Bianco is a low level hood and goofball who is obsessed with Lee Van Cleef's mafia boss. There's a lot of interactions played for laughs but when the action gets serious, it's fairly brutal stuff. Far more power drill killings than you might expect. Edwidge Fenech also features prominently as Lo Bianco's girlfriend and she's great even if she has a totally unfortunate accent in the English dub.

La Chèvre (1981) - Crime comedy from Francis Veber featuring Pierre Richard and Gérard Depardieu. I was in the mood for something light and possibly stupid and La Chèvre is those things but I wouldn't dismiss it as strictly superficial. I can't help but be reminded of Veber's L'emmerdeur/A Pain in the Ass which goes darker and I think I prefer, but has a similar set up. I like that Richard doesn't play his astoundingly unlucky character as sympathetic. He's kind of an asshole and that makes it even funnier as he strains Depardieu's private investigator to the point of total exasperation. The quicksand gag might is one of the more hilarious things I've seen all year.

The Stranger (1946) - Orson Welles' directs and stars in this post-war thriller that's fairly well known but a first time watch for me. The opening 10-15 minutes are pretty much flawless and the clock tower finale is tremendous. Lord knows I live for a dummy drop but sword wielding automatons really up the ante. My attention did start to flag a bit when the action strayed from shadowy pulp adventure and into the light of domestic melodrama. Still solid throughout and Welles' dinner monologue about the character of the German people is something to behold.

Ransom for a Dead Man (1971) - Columbo! I believe this is officially the pilot episode for the first season of Falk's shabby detective, but it aired as a television movie several months before the show launched so I don't have an issue listing it here. This is certainly a more fully formed Columbo character than appeared a few years before in Prescription: Murder and was a big enough hit for the program to move forward. As great as Falk is, I think Dead Man hinges on Lee Grant's terrific performance as the self assured business woman who takes daring solo flights to relax. Love all that aerial footage too - modern drone shots can't compare to the real deal.

Love and Crime (1969) - Just when I think I know what I'm in for with Teruo Ishii, he still manages to throw some curveballs. Love and Crime features the grotesquerie, sleaze, and sexual violence I have come to expect from Ishii but is inspired by actual events instead of erotic fantasy. This is an anthology piece that's theoretically centered around female murderers but one of the longer, more involved sections actually focuses on notorious (and male) post-war serial killer, Yoshio Kodaira. This odd sequence out is also differentiated by being shot in grimy black and white and can feel like an interminable litany of abuse and murder. However, it's also incredibly daring for 1969 and in ways presages grim true crime dramatizations like Henry or Angst. Ishii's most audacious and arguably tasteless choice is to feature the real Sada Abe as herself recounting the story of her affair and eventual murder of her lover. It's probably an overreach on Ishii's part but I found it chilling once I realized what was happening.

Extreme Prejudice (1987) - This has been on my watchlist for ages and I finally bit the bullet and snagged a copy. I wasn't disappointed. Unrelenting Walter Hill action that mixes hardboiled crime with a border town western. Unbelievably good cast featuring a dream lineup straight out of TBS Movies for Guys Who Like Movies: Nick Nolte, Powers Boothe, Michael Ironside, Clancy Brown, and Rip goddamn Torn among others. Jerry Goldsmith provides a killer score and while the plot beats are recognizable to pulp aficionados, they twist and unfurl in interesting ways. I felt a sudden compulsion to revisit The Wild Bunch after watching this one.

The Mob (1951) - I wasn't entirely sure what I was getting into here but I really enjoyed this rough and tumble waterfront corruption tale. Some of the harder edges are smoothed over by lighter dialogue heavy sequences, but writing is smart and funny and I didn't ever mind. Broderick Crawford manages the material well with a lot of bluster. He's charming and pretty believable as a guy who could handle himself in a scrap. The supporting cast was very good and there are some minor appearances for Bronson, Borgnine, and Neville Brand. Unlike some of the cheaper B-films, The Mob features a varied production design with some terrific looking sets rather than limiting itself to similar looking bars and apartment rooms.

Thieves' Highway (1949) - Absolute banger, here. Not sure why it took me so long to get to this one other than some tepid reviews I'd read. I love Jules Dassin and his mastery of suspense, sense of place, and progressive attitudes are fully on display in Highway. Dassin's exile to Europe wouldn't happen for another couple of years though the writing was likely already on the wall - still, his interest in European film and literature seems evident in Highway. This feels like it has significant connective tissue with something like Port of Shadows with its sexual frankness and working class solidarity. The finale is perhaps too cute and excuses any institutional corruption - blaming everything on a few bad apples (hey-yo!) but it doesn't lessen the impact of the action that precedes it.

Gilda (1946) - A film that manages to showcase a lot of the strengths and weaknesses of the American noir milieu but I think winds up firmly in the positive. There are some positively astounding shots, camera moves, and images. The carnival tracking shot is clearly an influential one. Rita Hayworth practically emits sparks with her performance and Glenn Ford is a perfect match in the heat/hate department. The plot is messy and while my personal preferences would have been for more of a crime story, the action is clearly with the love(?) triangle. I've been to Buenos Aires a couple of times and found it a remarkable place. This set-bound tale gives you no feel for it at all. Having said that, I'd reserve a table at that Montevideo night club any day of the week.

The Wait (2023) - In an attempt to remain relevant I watched a relatively recent horror film! I kid, but I genuinely did like this folk horror/rural noir out of Spain. In fairness, the horror elements don't kick in until late in the film but I was drawn in by the bleak atmosphere and Victor Clavijo's lead performance. The final 30 mins deliver a touch of body horror and then some tantalizingly ambiguous occult threads that I really enjoyed. I don't generally associate folk horror with unrelenting Spanish heat but seeing as I watched this in August, I suppose this is an appropriate transitional piece to Fall spooky season.

Theatrical Screenings!

Seven Samurai (1954) - What the hell do you even say about Kurosawa's global hit and samurai epic masterpiece? I believe I first watched what would have been the slightly truncated version on a double VHS cassette from my local library. I remember going in knowing that it would be "long" and I was blown away by how well it still moved. 30+ years later, I'm still astounded at the mastery of pace and story. I've seen Samurai theatrically before but it's still an absolute dream to catch it on a big screen and no doubt I'll queue up for it yet again one day.

Play it as it Lays (1972) - I was absolutely thrilled to hear that Frank Perry's strange, melancholic adaptation of Joan Didion's novel (screenplay by Didion) was going to be playing locally and on 35mm film. Copies of Play it as it Lays are vanishingly rare and I don't know of any current effort to restore it or revive it. I didn't think I was likely to ever see it theatrically unless I lucked out on either coast. Much like Tuesday Weld's character, it's not an easy movie to love. There's a lot of pain and grief laid bare on the screen even and Didion's caustic wit doesn't balance the experience by much. Still, seeing it with an audience and absorbing the stunned silence during the devastating penultimate scene is the reason we go to the cinema. Total heartbreaker and I'd see it again next week if I could.

Le Sacré Monstre: Charles Bronson in Europe, Part One

Charles Bronson led a decades long career in film and television and his tenure had several distinct chapters. Many people associate Bronson with his notable ensemble appearances in stone-cold 60s adventure classics such as The Great Escape or The Dirty Dozen. There's a dedicated following for Bronson's wild Cannon years that produced films like 10 to Midnight or Kinjite: Forbidden Subjects. However, for the majority of film watchers of the last few decades, Charles Bronson has become essentially synonymous with the Death Wish series. Bronson first played Paul Kersey - an even tempered architect turned into a grim specter of retribution by the murder of his wife and rape of his daughter - in 1974 and would go on to reprise the role four more times throughout the 80s and 90s. Though the quality of the sequels is debatable, the series undoubtedly cemented Bronson in the annals of great action movie stars. Bronson was already in his 50s when he acted in Death Wish and by that time he (or more probably his agent) was advertising himself as the "Top World Box Office Star" and claiming the mantle of the highest paid male movie actor in the world. However, not even ten years before that and after decades of acting in Hollywood, Bronson was doing walk-on parts for television and relegated almost exclusively to supporting roles. What happened between Charles Bronson as journeyman character actor and Charles Bronson as international superstar leading man was a body of European work that fundamentally altered Bronson's career trajectory. Before Death Wish or even The Mechanic, Bronson had become a massive draw - particularly in France and Italy but also throughout Europe - based on 4-5 years of work and 10 films that are very distinct from the movies he would become best known for. Bronson's virile physicality and remarkable countenance (fans named him Le Sacré Monstre in France and Il Bruto in Italy - the sacred monster and the brute, respectively) assuredly played a part in his rise to European prominence but he was also able to express a wider range of characters and genres, playing more than the taciturn angel of death he would later become so associated with. Bronson's European work presents a fascinating series of films and I would argue some of the most interesting work in his fifty year career.

Bronson's European odyssey largely began in 1967. It was the year that Charlie would appear in Robert Aldrich's absurdly stacked ensemble action epic, The Dirty Dozen. Dozen would prove to be a massive commercial success despite receiving criticism for its explicit violence from historically squeamish critics like Roger Ebert and Bosley Crowther. American audiences clearly had a taste for bloodshed and that would become increasingly apparent over the next decade. Success for The Dirty Dozen didn't necessarily translate into success for Bronson, though. While he made appearances in popular series like The Fugitive and The Virginian, film offers in Hollywood were not coming his way. Bronson liked the work but never felt like television was the right fit for him: "I decided that motion pictures were my game...but I guess I just wasn't the kind of actor they could put under contract" Bronson had been turning down offers from the foreign film market for some time, preferring to work domestically and wanting to be successful in Hollywood. However, his desire to work in films overcame his propensity to remain in California and he eventually acquiesced. 

Bronson's first forays into the European film market were both co-productions to some degree - financed by European companies or shot in European locations but featuring other American stars. Guns for San Sebastian (1968) was a French/Italian/Mexican co-production starring Anthony Quinn as an outlaw who finds sanctuary from the Mexican authorities when the residents of a remote mountain village mistake him for their new priest. The village is subject to periodic raids by Yaqui natives and Bronson plays the role of Teclo, a half Yaqui vaquero who tries to convince the villagers to reject Christianity and embrace the Yaqui traditions so as to prevent further raids. Quinn's outlaw, unsurprisingly, isn't a tremendous asset for the spiritual health of the village but he is able to rally them to effectively fight the Yaqui; culminating in a massive battle scene finale. Despite gorgeous scope photography from the impeccable Armand Thirard (Diabolique, Wages of Fear), a killer score from Ennio Morricone, and production value that clearly made it onto the screen; Guns is not a particularly inspired take on the well-traveled tale of an exceptionally competent outsider helping a downtrodden village defend against an external threat. Helmed by Henri Verneuil, his buttery directorial style that serves him so well in elegant French crime pictures doesn't feel propulsive or muscular enough for a historical epic - though the action scenes are well composed when they do occur. The actors; Quinn, Bronson, Sam Jaffe, and Anajette Comer; are all charismatic enough but their characters aren't particularly interesting. Bronson was said to have enjoyed himself during the shoot but ultimately held a negative opinion of Guns. He felt that the picture came apart during the scriptwriting and seeing as that there are a half-dozen writing credits attached to the film, it's easy to agree with him. Still, Guns is notable as Bronson's first test of European waters.

Bronson's second "European" film is primarily an American effort. Produced by Paramount and featuring big name American talent in front of (Yul Brynner, Bob Mitchum) and behind the camera (Buzz Kulik), Villa Rides was shot entirely in Spain and does utilize some international actors as well. Villa Rides is a later entry to the Zapata Western genre and while not a great film, it remains an interesting one. Sam Peckinpah had an early crack at the script and was potentially (along with Sergio Leone) offered the directorial chair. I don't know if he and Peckinpah collaborated or not but Robert Towne also has a writing revision. Since both Peckinpah and Towne were fascinated by violence, it's unsurprising that the final product is an extremely bloody affair. However where Peckinpah or Sergio Leone would have had something to say about the violence, Buzz Kulik's relatively straightforward direction and lack of political context renders the brutality totally incongruous with an otherwise standard western/adventure story. The characters we're supposed to be rooting for routinely execute dozens of people and at times it's even played for laughs. Notoriously, there is a scene where Charles Bronson's Fierro lines up three men (carefully adjusting their positions) so he can kill all three with a single bullet. This is meant as comedy(?) Still, The larger battle sequences are impressive and there's also a great deal of actual stunt airplane footage  Brynner, Mitchum, and Bronson sharing the screen is fun even it none of them deliver stellar performances. Other notable cast members are Frank Wolff, Herbert Lom, Fernando Rey, and Italian model Maria Grazia Buccella. This is the first movie where Bronson wore his iconic mustache, his first with his new wife Jill Ireland, and one of the last movies where Bronson played a supporting role. Perhaps most importantly, it was during the shooting of Villa Rides that Bronson agreed to co-star in his first fully European production.

There are differing accounts of how Charles Bronson was eventually recruited to star alongside Alain Delon in Adieu l'Ami (known as either Farewell, Friend or Honor Among Thieves in the US). The director Jean Herman (later known as Jean Vautrin) claims that he, writer Sébastien Japrisot, and producer Serge Silberman spent a week in a Hollywood hotel seeking Americans to star in the picture. After striking out repeatedly they managed to sign Bronson on the final day they were in the country. I've also read that Delon was particularly impressed with Bronson in Machine Gun Kelly (1958) or that he became a fan of Bronson's paintings and wanted him specifically for the role. Contrastingly, I've heard the Silberman and Delon were pursuing Richard Widmark and only turned to Bronson as a last resort when Widmark was unavailable. Initial motivations aside, Bronson's then-agent Paul Kohner has provided the generally accepted version: that Serge Silberman made the trip out to Spain and offered Bronson the co-starring role, more money than he was used to, and the pitch that the European audiences were more attracted to characters than matinee idol looks (Alain Delon would seem to be the glaring exception). While Bronson's acceptance was a reluctant one, Kohner felt it was this decision that ultimately paved the way for Bronson's future ascent to superstardom. 

Adieu l'Ami is the story of two French Legionnaires, Delon and Bronson, returning to Marseilles after a deployment in Algeria. Propp (Bronson) attempts to lure Barran (Delon) to join him as a soldier of fortune in the Congo, but Barran insists on staying in Marseilles to repay the lover of a man who he accidentally killed. Barran's agreement involves breaking into a French corporation's safe to return some improperly taken bearer bonds and he works undercover as medical staff to perform the appropriate reconnaissance. Propp decides to stick around Marseilles and finds work pimping and running scams on his rich clientele (this results in a positively bizarre scene involving a rotating car park and a ventriloquist dummy). Barran commits to cracking the safe over a holiday weekend and Propp manages to insinuate himself into the job after overhearing millions could be held there. The two accidentally get themselves locked into the vault room with no food or water and while they are initially at complete odds with each other, they ultimately join forces to escape. The thriller set up continues to unfold in a convoluted fashion of reveals and betrayals ultimately erupting in a violent shootout. 

Adieu l'Ami has an unorthodox structure and subverts many expectations one might have for what initially appears to be a heist picture. The robbery is not a work of slick professionalism but more of a test of endurance as the two men try to crack the safe code through brute repetition of number combinations. When the somewhat unsatisfactory heist concludes, there's another hour of film that supplies further tests of Propp and Barran's fidelity towards one another. The key to Adieu l'Ami is in the title as it's less of a strict crime picture and actually a film about the bonds of friendship forged between two men on the outskirts of society. It's the code of honor instantly recognizable in the films of Melville or Mann or Woo and it works beautifully here as Delon and Bronson have genuinely great chemistry together. Delon's coolness is to be expected and it pairs remarkably well with Bronson's playfulness and Cheshire cat grin (which may be more of a surprise to fans who only know him from his more dour, less animated roles). Of course, the physicality of both actors is also on display with extended sequences of them stripped to the waist, sweating, sometimes fighting, and sometimes embracing. Whether you consider this to be homosexual subtext or not, this is certainly a film squarely centered on male love. Bronson came away from l'Ami with an enduring respect for Delon but unfortunately didn't think much of the film or Jean Herman. Despite the somewhat awkward plot, l'Ami is an incredibly stylish picture and Herman's visual inventiveness is clearly evident. Working alongside cinematographer Jean-Jacques Tarbès (La Piscine, Borsalino, Two Men in Town), Herman does a great deal to reflect the psychology of the film and its principals visually even when things get hazy narratively. Regardless of Bronson's or critics' appraisals, Adieu l'Ami went on to become a massive hit in France, raking in $6 million (well over $50 million adjusted for inflation). Charles Bronson was officially a box office draw in Europe, joining the ranks of unconventional leading men like Jean Paul Belmondo, and he would go on to only play leading and co-leading roles for the rest of his career. 

Best New-to-Me: July 2024

July was a crazy month. I was very busy with the day job and it included travel as well as some major transitions. The dust is only now beginning to settle and I'm able to catch my breath. On the film side of things, I still watched plenty of movies but I allowed time for re-watches - either because I had shiny new copies of beloved favorites or I was exhausted enough that only the familiar appealed. The worst casualty of this month was my theatrical attendance which has a solitary entry down below. Fortunately, I still saw many great movies, was still excited by some new-to-me movies, and I'm very energized about some local programming over the next couple of months. 

This has always been a fairly eclectic space as far as film choices go. I think early on I had a lot more horror/cult entries, but there's always been some arthouse stuff as well as a smattering of new releases. Looking over what I watched in July, it's essentially all crime films. It has become the most essential part of my viewing week after week. It's a malleable genre with a lot of different facets and I can't imagine tiring of it anytime soon but I apologize to anyone who looks into this blog on occasion hoping for some real weirdo underground stuff. October will come sooner than later and I have a lot of things I'd like to watch and write about then. For now, here's to crime!

Hunter Will Get You (1976) - Far from Belmondo's best but a tribute to his impeccable onscreen charisma as well as an absolutely smoking Michel Colombier soundtrack. It blends the heist genre with a bit of international law enforcement intrigue that moves Hunter beyond a standard police procedural. Bruno Cremer manages a convincingly ruthless portrayal of the sociopathic killer that Belmondo is pursuing even if his character has some unfortunate queer villain characterization. Writer/director Philippe Labro also helmed Without Apparent Motive (1971) which is similarly decent. Both films have compelling casts, great location footage, and killer tunes. Certainly worth a look if you're a fan of French crime films of the era.

The Big Heat (1953) - I'm not the world's biggest themed marathon enthusiast but every so often I stumble into one of my own making. This year I found myself with lots of movies and plenty of free time on Independence Day. The result was my first (and possibly last) 4th of Ju-Lee Marvinthon wherein I watched a bunch of Lee Marvin movies in a row. It was a mix of revisits and new-to-me films and they were all great. I don't know if I need to say a lot about The Big Heat as it's hardly unknown but I will say that it knocked me flat with how intense it is. So many classic period noirs ('53 is a little later, I suppose) suffer from a brand of moral shrillness but Fritz Lang's hardboiled rager positively immolates anything of the sort. The criminals are predictably irredeemable but Heat differentiates itself with a scathing depiction of law enforcement and municipal corruption. Women are subject to the absolute worst Heat can dish out including some gasp inducing violence - but they also get to inhabit real characters on the screen. Gloria Grahame as Marvin's long suffering moll is nothing short of spectacular in this. Possibly one of the best performances I've seen all year. I appreciate Glenn Ford's take-no-shit toughness, but Grahame has all the best lines and adds some genuine pathos to the finale. Marvin's sadistic gangster is pretty smarmy even for a guy known for his villains. My understanding is the source novel is based on the author's experiences in Philadelphia but the film goes with a fictional city. Lang's vision is a dark one so it's no mystery why the kept the locale vague.

Violent Saturday (1955) - Shot largely on location in an Arizona mountain town - Richard Fleischer's daylight heist thriller really surprised me. The opening consists of an extended introduction to the town's inhabitants and reveals a complex web of interpersonal connections and melodramas. It results in a bit of a slow burn even if (per the title) the action ratchets up once the robbery goes down. It's a terrific looking scope, color film and has a splendid cast of actors - Victor Mature, Marvin (of course), Virginia Leath, J. Carrol Naish, and improbably Ernest Borgnine as an Amish farmer. The finale goes on too long and ends up kind of flat but everything building up to actual heist is excellent. When the bank job finally goes off it's white knuckle tension through to the denouement. Marvin again is a particularly cruel criminal which largely defined his career until The Dirty Dozen.

The Killers (1964) - This Don Siegel 60s noir was originally intended for television but wound up being far too hot for the small screen. Taking the kernel of Hemmingway's short story and expanding it through time and geography while being supported by an absolutely knockout cast. Marvin plays a hard, but professional hitman who's partner is the deliriously entertaining Clu Gulager. Gulager's fidgety health obsessed killer is chilling in a remarkably playful way. He's like a kid who pulls the legs off of spiders for fun. John Cassavetes is roughly the protagonist - a doomed race car driver who falls for the wiles of Angie Dickinson who acts as femme fatale. Killers was the last screen role for Ronald Reagan and the only villainous role of his career. It's a little surreal to watch him in this kind of part, but I think it really works. If you're a fan of the era there are all manner of interesting connections between this and other films. Marvin and Dickinson would be reunited in Point Blank and honestly Killers has such a similar 60s vibe that you could believe it's rooted in Richard Stark's fiction just as easily as born from Hemmingway. The budget limitations show around the edges but Siegel was made for this kind of material and the cast is so much fun that I hardly noticed. Did I mention you get to see Cassavetes punch Ronnie in the face? That has to be worth the price of admission alone.

Nice Guy (2012) - Every so often I'm compelled to try and dig up some 21st Century genre film because I know there are some gems out there that flew under my radar. Either they only ever did the festival circuit or they got dumped on some streamer without much recognition. Pascal Bergamin's and Cavan Clerkin's Nice Guy isn't exactly an unheralded masterpiece, but it's a solid, super low budget crime thriller that's worth your 89 minutes. Largely bound to interior settings - drab apartments and not entirely convincing strip clubs -  and I wish they could have leaned into more location footage to liven up the look of the film a bit. Still, the plot definitely held my interest and each sequence of nighttime exterior shots does add a little grit to the proceedings. Probably not outrageous enough to become a cult favorite but the climax is definitely memorable and surprisingly grim.

Trouble Man (1972) - Absurdly entertaining but plenty hard when it needs to be. Trouble Man has been on my watchlist for a while but I was struggling to find a version that a) didn't look like crap and b) didn't have the music replaced/updated for copyright reasons. Terrific cast with crackling dialogue - Robert Hooks' Mr. T fights, shoots, and jives as well as any 70s protagonist but also has some great sequences of shoe leather detective work, espionage, and essentially a penthouse siege that had me thinking about Richard Stark/Parker. Some tremendous action and that Marvin Gaye score is superb. I believe Ivan Dixon's The Spook Who Sat by the Door is getting a restoration this year and I'm just hoping a lot more attention can be heaped on this uniquely talented actor/director.

The Nickel Ride (1974) - Character driven slow burn noir that focuses on the mundanity of a life of crime early on and then descends into bleak 70s paranoia. It has a tremendous mood and comparisons to Eddie Coyle are apt as far as atmosphere goes. Coyle is punctuated by action driven heist sequences though and Nickel Ride is much more content to remain a character piece.  There are a handful of scenes that dig into Cooper's grit and Jason Miller cornered the market on world weariness. Still, a little more viciousness would have turned the tension up a notch and would make Ride a stone cold crime classic in my book. I'm so enamored of the era and the genre that I'd pick up a nice restoration if available (I think this only made it to dvd) but it's definitely worth a watch.

The Drowning Pool (1975) - Paul Newman's second Harper film feels like a bit of a throwback to '66. I have to believe that's intentional as both Newman and director Stuart Rosenberg were certainly capable of making a modern feeling film. However, if you're willing to be charmed by a detective yarn that combines wit and cynicism without getting nearly as bleak as its contemporaries - Drowning Pool delivers on that front. The cast is rock solid - notably featuring Linda Haynes who is the female lead in Nickel Ride - and I love moving Harper down to Louisiana for a different flavor. What makes Pool really special is the Gordon Willis cinematography. It's an absolutely gorgeous looking film and while the mood is relatively light Willis has no issues serving up some beautifully dark shots you could can get lost in. I can't put this in the same tier as say The Long Goodbye  or Night Moves but the look of it is so terrific that it's hard for me not to love.

The Crime is Mine (2023) - I was really hoping this one might land at the local French film festival this year as seeing it on a big screen with an audience seemed like the right way to do it. Instead, I watched it on a bumpy plane ride. Not ideal! Still, this is a handsome and breezy caper romp with some fun nods even if it never becomes anything of substance. It is very silly at times and maybe too slight for some people - but there are worse ways to spend your time than admiring the costumes and enjoying a libation of your choice. Undoubtedly, Isabelle Huppert runs off with the whole damn show when she appears and I do like this films appreciation for early French silents. The lightest of light entertainments but maybe you need something to watch with your mom.

Heat (1986) - Weirdly, I also re-watched Michael Mann's Heat in July but I'm glad to have finally gotten around Dick Richards' and Burt Reynolds' Las Vegas set neo-noir. I've always heard mixed things about this one and I think it's fair to say that it is uneven. It has a strikingly melancholy vibe but then mixes in some goofy humor that didn't always land with me. Still, I was invested in following these Vegas oddballs around and when the action does kick in - it has a seriously visceral, almost exploitation movie feel to it. Reynolds' ex-soldier, Nick, disdains the use of firearms so he becomes a lethal MacGyver of violence when the need arises. It was also nice to see another role from Karen Young who absolutely floored me when I watched Handgun/Deep in the Heart earlier this year. It seems like Reynolds really struggled to get out from underneath his more comedic persona but I have to admit digging what I've been seeing from him. 

P.J. (1968) - Another 60s crime scorcher featuring George Peppard. P.J. is a product of its time and hardly anything I'd call enlightened. However, it's still a ripper of a P.I. story with great music and surprisingly hard hitting violence towards the end. Peppard rides the line between smartass and hard luck case deftly and Raymond Burr is about as fine a heavy as you're going to get. The story begins in a typically noir NYC setting but then detours for a spell to a Caribbean island under British rule. The politics on display aren't amazing, but the exploitative nature of white people and their money is certainly noted. This interlude lends P.J. more of a jet-setting feel which works well with the international cast and differentiates it a bit from the dozens of city-bound mysteries from the same time. John Guillerman was largely a journeyman but he managed some smart British neo-noirs before he started tackling 70s disaster movies and P.J. is akin to the former. There's an early brawling sequence that works well in establishing Peppard's character and also features one of my favorites: "Judo" Gene LeBell. Maybe close to a comfort food watch for me, but I really enjoyed this one.

Theatrical Screenings!

Razorback (1984) - Sadly the lone entry for theatrical screenings in July. I'm still really happy we made it out for everyone's favorite killer boar movie. I forget just how weird Razorback really is but it's an absolute joy to see it play on the big screen in all its 1980s music video styled glory. The narrative rambles in some odd directions which tends to make it polarizing even though I think everyone is largely in favor of the look and practical effects. Wildly it sounds like the source novel is even more of a mess and the filmmakers actually trimmed down the story to make it more comprehensible. Either way, I still dig this pig.

Best New-to-Me: June 2024/Junesploitation

The Twin Cities in Summertime is traditionally accompanied by an absolute onslaught of activities as we all try to squeeze every last ounce of fun out of the daylit months before the shroud of winter darkness descends. This trend doesn't necessarily lend itself to movie-watching but I have also been participating in the F This Movie! Junesploitation challenge for a few years now - partially because it's fun and partially to keep my movie watching going while I'm otherwise biking around, going to outdoor events, and living part-time on patios throughout the city. This year I wasn't totally successful with my challenge list but I still watched a ton of great stuff that I may not have gotten around to otherwise. I also made it out to the theater a fair amount - though mostly for repertory screenings. I was feeling a little burnout towards the end of the month and found myself doing a lot of re-watches for some other writing I've been thinking about. Hopefully I'll have a chance to move that project forward over the holiday weekend. However, this post is for new-to-me movies and I think these are some great ones so check it out.

Hong Kong Godfather (1985) - Later Shaw Bros Triad rager that features the kinetic ferocity of 80s HK action cinema combined with the chaotic nihilism that reminds me more of 70s yakuza films. The narrative isn't what I'd describe as electric but it hardly matters when the action is this frenetic. The well worn honor code tropes recede to the background amidst a whirlwind of brutal machete fights, hacked off limbs, backbreakers delivered to children, animal attacks, and a gruesome and classically 80s mall showdown climax. While the focus is certainly on mayhem, there are some solid performances here as well. Bryan Leung manages to impart some believability as a reformed hit man who can only be pushed so far and it's a real treat to see Shih Kin (Enter the Dragon) as an aging gang boss who still has some moves.

Money Movers (1978) - Ferociously violent Ozploitation heist flick from Bruce Beresford. It features a young Bryan Brown but it truly is an ensemble piece with somewhat disparate storylines circling each other in a slow boil until they collide in an explosive finale. The opening robbery sets a grim tone when one of the thieves unloads a full shotgun blast into an unfortunate armored car driver. The action slows to a simmer as the plot reveals players on all sides of the armored transport world - inside men plotting the next job, corrupt cops playing the angles, and local mob looking to muscle in on the action. There are also a couple honest men just trying to do their job. Once things pick up again, they are delivered in resolutely hardboiled, take no prisoners fashion that I found irresistible. This one absolutely deserves more attention as a classic of gritty, 70s crime cinema.

Act of Vengeance/Rape Squad (1974) - There's no getting around that this is very much an exploitation picture in a very classically American International Pictures kind of way. There are some harrowing scenes of humiliation and degradation and no shortage of nudity even in the film's lighter moments. However, Act of Vengeance also manages to portray the female protagonists with some genuine empathy and at least some understanding of the institutional misogyny they face. The main thrust of the film is a group of women who form a "rape squad" after encountering the indifference and incompetence of traditional law enforcement. It's a B picture to be certain but it's all done very competently and professionally and the lead actors are totally charismatic and interesting to watch. There are several uncomfortable sequences but there are also a series of great ones as the now-vigilantes beat and terrorize obscene phone callers, would-be date rapists, and even an abusive pimp.

Street Girls (1975) -  Street Girls is a tale of sex and addiction shot almost exclusively on the streets and in the strip clubs of Eugene, Oregon in the 70s. Predating Schrader's Hardcore by a few years, Girls is the story of a concerned father who goes looking for his daughter after she disappears from school. What he uncovers is a world of go-go dancing, prostitution, lesbianism(!), and drugs. It would be a stretch to say the filmmakers (director Michael Miller and an early writing credit for Barry Levinson) handle this with sensitivity but they do attempt to reveal the harsh, sexist world that has been set into motion and they don't seem eager to cast judgement around the sex workers themselves. Queerness is displayed as a kind of oddity in the film but again, those characters aren't necessarily judged as perverse or bad in any way. There's a nearly documentarian lens via Eugene, the strip bars, and it's denizens are being examined. This could be off-putting to some but it's hard for me to resist such a distinctly individual document. I'd love to know more about this production one day.

Family Honor (1973) - Zero budget, hyper-regional crime drama that manages to turn a lack of resources into a palpable atmosphere of authenticity. The basic framework of the plot is a cop being pressured by his family to take revenge on the gangsters who killed his father. However, Family Honor tends to meander through the grimy streets and the characters who populate it's grainy, 16mm world. The onscreen action tends to be brief (though intensely visceral at times) and the film is more focused on tense and sometimes bizarre interactions between all of these New York faces - many of whom only ever had a credit or two. In a uniquely weird turn, blues rocker Leslie West (Mountain) features prominently as a improbably eccentric mafia goon decked out in what must have been his own custom boots and ruffled collars. Maybe not an all-timer crime picture, but absolutely a must watch for fans of scrappy filmmaking and cinematic time capsules.

War Dog (1987) - Positively bonkers dadsploitation action film from Sweden. Ostensibly set in an America where guns are as pervasive as Coca-Cola, it's the story of some kind of super-soldier program gone rogue but that's barely comprehensible in the onslaught of gruesome action that rarely lets up. Bloody squibs erupt left and right, even children are annihilated, and a corpse is hurled down a water slide. This must be absolutely insane to watch with and audience and I have to tip my hat to Erica of Unsung Horrors/The Sweetest Taboo for turning me onto this one.

A Gun for Jennifer (1987) - Another rape/revenge flick by way of 90s NYC instead of 70s California. I was expecting some Sarah Jacobson style punk-fueled indie fury and Jennifer absolutely delivers on that front. What surprised me was how compelling the crime/police procedural elements were, the unflinching gore, and how the on-screen violence is exclusively inflicted on abusive men while any sexual violence is largely implied. My love of NYC films is largely driven by the quality of filmmakers and performers as well as location footage in America's largest film set. Jennifer uses a lot of interior shots but there are still some outstanding (probably guerilla) shots of nighttime streets, Port Authority, and Grand Central. The actors are uniformly solid and especially notable is veteran character actor and long time Spike Lee regular Arthur Nascarella who brings some gravitas as a gruff police lieutenant. The 90s vibes are strong in this one with a lot of sex work-positive feminism, riot grrl soundtrack, and even a Tribe-8 performance that provides a powerful bonding moment for the women involved. I would have been totally satisfied with a scrappy, grimy snapshot of 90s NYC but I think there's a lot to admire with this one.

Bloody Mama (1970) - One of Roger Corman's (RIP) last directorial efforts and a solid one at that. This is undoubtedly meant to cash in on post Bonnie and Clyde interest in American outlaws but happens to feature an absolute barn burner of a performance by Shelley Winters as Ma Barker. Corman underscores the Barker mythos with psychosexual undercurrents and nods towards incest and Winters evokes a complicated portrait of the character. At times vulnerable but flies instantly into wild eyed rages when she feels her boys are threatened. This emotional chaos gives way to commanding professional coolness when Barker has to pull a bank job or dispatch unwanted witnesses. It's Winters' picture through and through but there are some great early performances from Bruce Dern and Robert De Niro as well. I was especially happy to see Pat Hingle who plays a wealthy patriarch the gang captures for blackmail and manages to insinuate himself into their lives before the end. Just as a weird aside, Winters played a comedic version of the Ma Barker character some years earlier on the Batman television show and (at least for people of my generation) Pat Hingle is most recognizable as Commissioner Gordon from Burton's caped crusader films. 

Theatrical Screenings!

Early in the month following a less than outstanding Memorial Day Weekend box office turnout, we heard a lot about the death of movie theaters. Then within a couple of weeks we heard that actually, they aren't so dead, that people were turning out in droves for other movies, and the so-called "flops" actually did okay. I don't know what to make of this other than a) studios are bad a predicting which titles will pop, b) their projected numbers for "success" are borderline idiotic, and c) the pundits enthusiastically pointing out the death of the theater aren't going themselves. When I attended a Monday night screening of The Hunger, not only was there a great turnout for a nearly 40 year old movie - the place was absolutely packed with people eager to see the latest Bad Boys installment. Tim, who programs Cinema of the Macabre, has been noting that the Tape Freaks series that he co-curates has been selling out weeks in advance. I think there's still palpable desire to see movies at theaters (or other spaces offering the cinematic experience) and I don't think for a minute it's limited to one kind of film or one generation of movie-goers. Maybe it's the old punk in me but you are your local cinema scene. We have a fantastic cinema scene in the Twin Cities and it is completely due to the hardworking folks that make it happen. Places like New York or Austin or even Paris have such entrenched film cultures that it's easy to forget how critical independent film societies were to establishing them. If you live remotely near cool theaters that are doing cool programming, you should support them. If there's nothing like that where you live, look into what kind of options there could be for a film club or a screening series. Participation is key and it could be as easy as buying a ticket.

The Hunger (1983) - I've always liked The Hunger even if I'm not as devoted as its most ardent fans. It's cliche to say that it's all about "vibes" but it is definitely a lot about aesthetics. I have to say I found it 1000% more engaging in a theatrical setting. The music and the visuals were so much more riveting to me and my brain was drawing all kinds of weird parallels between it, Ridley Scott's work, HK cinema motifs (probably borrowed to some extent from the brothers Scott), and even batshit Italian horror movies. The cast couldn't be cooler and the opening club scene with Bahaus booming through the speakers will still be the epitome of 80s goth glamour. 

Household Saints (1993) - I have become such a massive fan of Nancy Savoca's Dogfight and I was totally thrilled to hear her following film had gotten a restoration. I admit I wasn't as taken with this film, but it's still such an absolute joy to see such an ambitious 90s indie finding a new audience. The multi-generational New York immigrant story feels very genuine and the cast is excellent - Vincent D'Onofrio, Tracey Ullman, and Lli Taylor especially but also a great supporting role from Michael Imperioli. I was bowled over to learn that this was shot in North Carolina and somewhat crushed to learn that the "Kalina Cinema" where Taylor and Imperioli see Last Year at Marienbad was not a real place.

Eyes of Laura Mars (1978) - This screened at the Walker Art Center as part of a series their programming in conjunction with their Keith Haring exhibition (beyond  highly recommended for anyone in the area). I've only seen Laura Mars once before and recall it not having the strongest plot in the world - that's correct but it's nearly impossible to care with the cast, the music, the locations, and the fever pitch thriller action that plays out. Again, this worked so much better for me in the theater and I have had Michael Zager's "Let's All Chant" stuck in my head ever since this viewing. I'm not going to enter the fray over whether this is an American giallo or not, but suffice to say it is late 70s perfection pulsing with cocaine and fashion and garbage lined city streets. Certainly well within the spirit of the genre.

Robot Dreams (2023) - I knew very little about this other than thinking the trailer looked charming enough to check out. I had no idea this would be such a New York movie or that it would be such a movie lovers movie. Robot Dreams is free from dialogue and takes place in an alternate 1984 NYC that is populated with anthropomorphized animals. The technology level is as you would expect except that companion robots are available for purchase. The dog protagonist buys such a robot to ease his loneliness and the two form a close bond. They are driven apart due to circumstances beyond their control and the rest of the film plays out like vignettes of their lives while separated and their attempts to reunite. There are a ton of film references throughout this - The Apartment, Psycho, Busby Berkeley musicals, The Wizard of Oz, etc. There are also some amazing cultural and musical references that are a lot of fun. Earth, Wind, and Fire managed to dislodge Michael Zager from my brain briefly after seeing this one. Very sweet, but hardly saccharine. I'm going to guess this is better than the new Pixar movie.