Man, I love movies. 2009 was a great movie year. A lot of good action, drama, and well made movies. 2009 showed us you do not need a huge budget to be successful (Paranormal Activity and District 9) but it helps (Avatar). I am going to list my top ten movies of the year but wanted to show all the movies I saw that are not on my top ten.
Here is all the films I saw in 2009:
My Bloody Valentine (3-D)
Valykrie
Slumdog Millionaire
Fanboys
Gran Torino
Still Waiting
Friday the 13th
Taken
Coraline
The International
Watchmen (IMAX)
I Love You Man
Sunshine Cleaning
Duplicity
Knowing
Observe and Report
The Soloist
X-Men Origins: Wolverine
Star Trek (IMAX)
Terminator Salvation
Up
The Hangover
The Brothers Bloom
The Taking of Phelam 123
Moon
Public Enemies
Transfomers 2: Revenge of the Fallen
Harry Potter & The Half Blood Prince
I Love You, Beth Cooper
(500) Days Of Summer
The Hurt Locker
Funny People
G.I. Joe - The Rise of Cobra
District 9
Inglourious Basterds
Extract
Zombieland
The Informant!
Couples Retreat
Where The Wild Things Are
2012
A Christmas Carol (IMAX 3-D)
The Blind Side
Avatar (IMAX 3-D)
Sherlock Holmes
Up in the Air
When I see a movie sometimes I need to see it more than once to get the full effect. Here are some movies that did not make my list but I feel could if I was able to see them more than once. I will call them the very honorable mentions:
Fanboys
Where the Wild Things Are
I Love You Man
Up In the Air
Zombieland
Up
Sherlock Holmes
My Top Ten Films seen in 2009:
10. Watchmen - Director Zack Snyder tried to take on the best graphic novel ever written in Alan Moore's masterpiece Watchmen. The end result is not a perfect film in the least, but the overall film is as close to copy of the graphic novel. I am almost putting this on the list for the scope of the overall production, trying to take on this material and make it into film is such a daunting task. I really think Jackie Earle Haley stole the show as Rorschach, a very anti hero. The movie was a great overall effort and I give everyone kudos for making a very enjoyable comic book movie which did not adhere to the typical superhero movies you see today.
9. Moon - Duncan Jones directed a great piece of science fiction and Sam Rockwell gives an amazing performance as a man who is very isolated working on the Moon. The movie really is more like the science fiction films of old, it is slowly paced but it works really well for the movie. Once Sam (Rockwell, a very unrrated actor) realizes that something is up the movie goes in a trippy and sometimes funny story. Overall the movie really gives you that feel of isolation and despair.
8. Funny People - Funny People is the least acclaimed Judd Apatow movie, and I can understand why. This is not a normal feel good movie that is all jokes. The movie is more grounded in how real people act towards one another. Adam Sandler stars as George Simmons, a man who is mega star comedian but has found out he has a type of cancer. He takes on a up and coming stand up comedian Ira (Seth Rogen) to help him write jokes and keep him company. I believe their relationship is the main story going on here. George also finds an old flame and tries to rekindle things with her. Overall I enjoyed the movie because I have some friends who do stand up and can relate easily to that world. I also think the way people act in this movie is realistic, this is somewhat how me and my friends act. We always make jokes and poke fun but like George and Ira, in the end we are just friends who enjoy one anothers company.
7. The Hangover - The Hangover is probably the best straight up comedy to come along in a few years. The cast was just perfect, and I could not stop laughing at the inventive ways this movie played out. It is all about a bachelor party that was so crazy no one remembers what happened. Slowly through the movie we get to see how the events of the previous night unfolded and involved Mike Tyson, a tiger, a naked Chinese man, and a pulled tooth. I am not saying this movie is deep, but my lists usually tend to go by how I was entertained and I was very entertained by The Hangover.
6. (500) Days Of Summer - Director Marc Webb creates the way all us guys feel when we are so in love and it goes so wrong. This movie really shows how a relationship can go right when you are so in love and how nothing else matters and yet it also shows the reality of when you get your heart broken into a million pieces, even though the writing was on the wall all along. Joesph Gordon Levitt (another underrated favorite of mine) is the main star and gives a great everyman performance as Tom, the man who's relationship was doomed from the star. Zooey Deschanel plays Summer with a laid back way, she tells Tom that she is not serious but she goes along with him and we still feel terrible when the end happens. The movie shows how love can be, great and yet at times heart breaking. Great film.
5. Star Trek - I was so entertained and taken in by J.J. Abrams new Star Trek that I am slowly warming up the Star Trek stuff after being a Star Wars fan for my whole life. This movie is just plain fun, nothing is held back. You get some great action, acting, and a movie that keeps you entertained the whole way! I think the cast was also handled nicely, they choose some good young actors who really make the film have that hip in the now feel, yet also these actors are good at what they do. To be able to remake a much love classic and make it appeal to the old fans and draw in new fans was a very daunting task, one that Abrams was able to do. I cannot wait to see the further adventures of this world that was created.
4. The Hurt Locker - This is a great movie, one that follows the life of a bomb squad solider in Iraq. Kathyrn Bigelow really creates a very tense movie, I felt as if that bomb could go off at any minute during many of these very tense scenes. You really get the feeling of how it would be to in these situations. The movie also shows the toll that being in a war takes on its soldiers, and how for our main character William, the war is all he knows how to do. When he goes back home he feels alienated, his life is to disable bombs and he actually likes it. This movie was very powerful because of the way anything can explode and kill off people in an instant. The performances are all outstanding, and no superstar is in the film. If you want to see a great war movie that speaks to what is happening today go and see The Hurt Locker.
3. Gran Torino- Released very long ago (January 9th) Gran Torino still sticks with me. Clint Eastwood stars and directs. Eastwood is Walt Kowalski a recent widower who lives in a very diverse community in Detroit. Eastwood as Walt is pure pleasure to watch, he really was one of the best performance's I saw in 2009 and was a shame he was not recognised more for it. Gran Torino was more of a movie for fans of movies, the movie did commercially well and is still sitting at #84 on imdb's top films EVER, wow. This movie was vastly underrated, I am thinking the release date may have had something to do with that. Anyway, the film is about Walt and he warms up to the world around him yet still maintains his rough exterior. Honestly, Walt in some way reminded me of people I really know and that is why he stuck such a cord with me. The ending of the movie is sad yet also shows how great a man and character Walt really is. This is also the last acting performance of Eastwood, who know is going to stay behind the lens as a director. Go see it to witness a great performance.
2. District 9 - District 9 is a great piece of film making and all on a small budget. Director Neil Blomkamp's story of an alien race who has crash landed and is now housed in slums. We follow a racist (towards the aliens) man Wikus Van De Merwe who also happens to be a great family man. When something happens to him and he becomes an outlaw he has to hide and become friends with the aliens, all the while trying to get his own life back. The first time actor Sharlto Copley gives an amazing performance as Wikus. The movie really sucked me into the world, if I ever thought aliens would be in our world District 9 represents the world that I think they would be in. The aliens are treated as second class citizens and not given much in life. The movie was shot on an extremely small budget yet makes the effects look amazing, like they spent 100 million not 30 making this movie. Like a great sci-fi movie, D-9 is a commentary on racism and how we view other people or cultures not like our own. This is a great piece of filmmaking filled with amazing acting, great effects, and is easily one of my favorites of 2009. It currently sits at #98 on imdb's best movies ever.
1. INGLOURIOUS BASTERDS - This was the BEST movie I saw in 2009, here is why: The movie just has amazing dialogue and has the BEST performance I saw all year by character actor (well, not anymore) Christoph Waltz, as Hans Landa. He gives you the chills and in the next second can have you laughing your ass off. I was just so taken in by his performance, I give mastermind Quentin Tarantino many props for finding real actors who can speak his witty and non-stop dialogue. The movie is about 3 main characters, one is the aforementioned Hans Landa, the other is leader of the basterds Lt. Aldo Raine (Brad Pitt) who leads all Jewish Americans to revenge against the nazi's with the goal of collecting 100 Nazi scalps, and finally the beautiful yet vengeful Soshanna who's family was killed by Nazi's. I cannot say enough good things about this movie. It has many hilarious moments yet also is so suspenseful, the first scene alone kept me on the edge of my seat. The acting is top notch all around, Soshanna is played by Mélanie Laurent an actress who usually does only French films yet she was just amazing. I think it also helped that Tarantino let many of the actors speak their native language, not just English. You have some amazing scenes like the bar gun stand off and the finale of the film in the theatre. Enough already I could go on for a while as to why this is my #1 film.
Well that was my Top Ten films of 2009, hope 2010 is just as good!
Wednesday, 30 December 2009
TREASURE ISLAND (1950) - it be pirate gold!
TREASURE ISLAND
(1950, USA)
(1950, USA)
This was a joy to watch because of the master of all pirate performances, Robert Newton as Long John Silver. Arrrrrr!
Why else am I recommending a 60-year old Disney film? Well, because it's action-packed fun, and... it's not very different from a classic Hammer film, honestly! Non-stop peril, death round every corner, insane characters, and menacing hand-to-hand combat. If you like the 'high adventure' Hammer films, like Captain Clegg and Pirates of Blood River (recently released on DVD), then this is practically the same in content and atmosphere!
For decades, pirate stories were a staple part of fantasy adventures for boys. Robert Louis Stevenson's novel Treasure Island is the perfect example, a tight relentless story where a young boy is in the middle of pirates, treasure, villainy, mutiny and parrots on shoulders. Seeing this version in the cinema in the 1960s, I was transported to a faraway tropical island where pirates buried treasure. Watching it again, I now realise it was mostly filmed at Pinewood Studios, and in the same London park (with THAT lake) so familiar from many Hammer films. Another childhood dream smashed on the rocks!
Stevenson should be familiar to horror fans because his stories also spawned dozens of adaptions of The Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde, as well as Val Lewton's The Body Snatcher (1945).
Treasure Island was the start of a hugely successful pirate theme for Disney, long before Pirates of the Caribbean the ride, let alone the movies. It also predates the historical high sea adventure 20,000 Leagues Under The Sea and Captain Hook and his pirate crew in Peter Pan. It was Disney's first completely live-action film, made to compensate for the huge cost of making animated films. Director Byron Haskin (in the 1984 booklength DGA interview) also recalls that Disney saw it as a gangster picture, and called in Haskin for that reason.
Such a perfect adaption of the classic tale, it was still playing in cinemas when I saw it on a double-bill with Sleeping Beauty. Watching it again recently, I was amazed that I could remember so many scenes so vividly: Jim Hawkins getting into peril so often, the fear of his close scrapes must have imprinted themselves. We're not talking 'mild scenes of danger', but more like horror movie strength terror - as Jim gets repeatedly cornered by bloodthirsty pirates with guns, sabres and nasty-looking knives. People getting shot in the face, skewered with swords, spiked with daggers... It's astonishing this still sells under the lowest film classification in the UK!
Treasure Island looks spectacular, being filmed in three-strip Technicolor, when that was a hugely expensive process to use. Special optical effects help to recreate period towns and ships, mostly by using beautiful matte paintings. Byron Haskin had plenty of technical expertise with visual effects - three years later he made the original The War of the Worlds. There's a strange over-reliance on jarring back-projection. But if you want Black Park in the background, why not shoot in Black Park? It's right next to the studio!
The casting of the actors is painstakingly apt for every character - this production nails every single one... to the yard arm. Robert Newton was English, but found fame in America. Anyone who's ever imitated a pirate by going "arrrrrr" owes him a debt. This is THE movie pirate with the missing leg, the crutch, the green parrot on rhe shoukder ("pieces of eight") and THAT pirate accent. Definitive, hilarious and creatively used in the film. "Arrrrr-men!"
Bobby Driscoll as young Jim 'awkins was already child star for Disney, his most famous role would later be the voice of Peter Pan. He was also the child lead in Disney's first feature-length live-action movie The Song of the South (1946) which is currently 'out of circulation' while Disney decide whether the depiction of African-Americans can be unleashed on the public again. With it's pioneering mix of live-action and animation and positive portrayals of a largely black cast, especially the sensitive performance by star James Baskett, who won an Academy Award as Uncle Remus, there's no question it should be released on DVD.
Shot in England, the rest of the cast is made up of British character actors, many familiar from children's TV, such as Sam Kydd (Orlando, Island of Terror). John Laurie as Blind Pew has such an hilariously thick, Scottish(?) accent that he's almost completely unintelligible. Frightening though. (When did American audiences lose the willingness to understand regional British accents?) Laurie's long career spanned from early Alfred Hitchcock films to Hammer horror (The Reptile). Though he's most famous for the sitcom (and spin-off movie) Dad's Army.
Over a decade before he was the second Doctor Who, Patrick Troughton has a great scene as a fearsomely swashbuckling pirate. A serious character actor, he also appeared in Harryhausen's Jason and the Argonauts and Hammer's Scars of Dracula.
The incredible Geoffrey Wilkinson almost leaps off the screen as Ben Gunn, but only has one movie credit on IMDB (a mistake?). An incredibly lunatic performance, his voice, manner and obsession with treasure reminded us immediately of Andy Serkis as Gollum. He gets some priceless one-liners, "Many a night, I dreamed of cheese". Haskin mentions that they almost got Alec Guinness for the role! In honesty, I don't think he could have matched Wilkinson's level of manic insanity!
Screengrabs of all the characters can be seen at Aveley man.
The DVD (pictured as top) is presented 4:3 full-frame, which is how early 1950s films were usually framed. In Britain it has U certificate - the censors somehow allowed the pistol shots in the face...
In 1954, Newton appeared again in two non-Disney sequels, both called Long John Silver. One was also directed by Byron Haskin, and featured a completely unrecognisable Rod Taylor (The Birds, Inglourious Basterds) as a blinded wildman. While it picks up from the events of Treasure Island, it's very slow-going until the last half hour, when they eventually reach the island! The other was a B-movie starring Tab Hunter. Newton also starred in an Australian TV series, The Adventures of Long John Silver. Sadly this late career spurt ended with bankruptcy, and he was dead through alcoholism, aged 50. Dammit.
Why else am I recommending a 60-year old Disney film? Well, because it's action-packed fun, and... it's not very different from a classic Hammer film, honestly! Non-stop peril, death round every corner, insane characters, and menacing hand-to-hand combat. If you like the 'high adventure' Hammer films, like Captain Clegg and Pirates of Blood River (recently released on DVD), then this is practically the same in content and atmosphere!
For decades, pirate stories were a staple part of fantasy adventures for boys. Robert Louis Stevenson's novel Treasure Island is the perfect example, a tight relentless story where a young boy is in the middle of pirates, treasure, villainy, mutiny and parrots on shoulders. Seeing this version in the cinema in the 1960s, I was transported to a faraway tropical island where pirates buried treasure. Watching it again, I now realise it was mostly filmed at Pinewood Studios, and in the same London park (with THAT lake) so familiar from many Hammer films. Another childhood dream smashed on the rocks!
Stevenson should be familiar to horror fans because his stories also spawned dozens of adaptions of The Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde, as well as Val Lewton's The Body Snatcher (1945).
Treasure Island was the start of a hugely successful pirate theme for Disney, long before Pirates of the Caribbean the ride, let alone the movies. It also predates the historical high sea adventure 20,000 Leagues Under The Sea and Captain Hook and his pirate crew in Peter Pan. It was Disney's first completely live-action film, made to compensate for the huge cost of making animated films. Director Byron Haskin (in the 1984 booklength DGA interview) also recalls that Disney saw it as a gangster picture, and called in Haskin for that reason.
Such a perfect adaption of the classic tale, it was still playing in cinemas when I saw it on a double-bill with Sleeping Beauty. Watching it again recently, I was amazed that I could remember so many scenes so vividly: Jim Hawkins getting into peril so often, the fear of his close scrapes must have imprinted themselves. We're not talking 'mild scenes of danger', but more like horror movie strength terror - as Jim gets repeatedly cornered by bloodthirsty pirates with guns, sabres and nasty-looking knives. People getting shot in the face, skewered with swords, spiked with daggers... It's astonishing this still sells under the lowest film classification in the UK!
Treasure Island looks spectacular, being filmed in three-strip Technicolor, when that was a hugely expensive process to use. Special optical effects help to recreate period towns and ships, mostly by using beautiful matte paintings. Byron Haskin had plenty of technical expertise with visual effects - three years later he made the original The War of the Worlds. There's a strange over-reliance on jarring back-projection. But if you want Black Park in the background, why not shoot in Black Park? It's right next to the studio!
The casting of the actors is painstakingly apt for every character - this production nails every single one... to the yard arm. Robert Newton was English, but found fame in America. Anyone who's ever imitated a pirate by going "arrrrrr" owes him a debt. This is THE movie pirate with the missing leg, the crutch, the green parrot on rhe shoukder ("pieces of eight") and THAT pirate accent. Definitive, hilarious and creatively used in the film. "Arrrrr-men!"
Bobby Driscoll as young Jim 'awkins was already child star for Disney, his most famous role would later be the voice of Peter Pan. He was also the child lead in Disney's first feature-length live-action movie The Song of the South (1946) which is currently 'out of circulation' while Disney decide whether the depiction of African-Americans can be unleashed on the public again. With it's pioneering mix of live-action and animation and positive portrayals of a largely black cast, especially the sensitive performance by star James Baskett, who won an Academy Award as Uncle Remus, there's no question it should be released on DVD.
Shot in England, the rest of the cast is made up of British character actors, many familiar from children's TV, such as Sam Kydd (Orlando, Island of Terror). John Laurie as Blind Pew has such an hilariously thick, Scottish(?) accent that he's almost completely unintelligible. Frightening though. (When did American audiences lose the willingness to understand regional British accents?) Laurie's long career spanned from early Alfred Hitchcock films to Hammer horror (The Reptile). Though he's most famous for the sitcom (and spin-off movie) Dad's Army.
Over a decade before he was the second Doctor Who, Patrick Troughton has a great scene as a fearsomely swashbuckling pirate. A serious character actor, he also appeared in Harryhausen's Jason and the Argonauts and Hammer's Scars of Dracula.
The incredible Geoffrey Wilkinson almost leaps off the screen as Ben Gunn, but only has one movie credit on IMDB (a mistake?). An incredibly lunatic performance, his voice, manner and obsession with treasure reminded us immediately of Andy Serkis as Gollum. He gets some priceless one-liners, "Many a night, I dreamed of cheese". Haskin mentions that they almost got Alec Guinness for the role! In honesty, I don't think he could have matched Wilkinson's level of manic insanity!
Screengrabs of all the characters can be seen at Aveley man.
The DVD (pictured as top) is presented 4:3 full-frame, which is how early 1950s films were usually framed. In Britain it has U certificate - the censors somehow allowed the pistol shots in the face...
In 1954, Newton appeared again in two non-Disney sequels, both called Long John Silver. One was also directed by Byron Haskin, and featured a completely unrecognisable Rod Taylor (The Birds, Inglourious Basterds) as a blinded wildman. While it picks up from the events of Treasure Island, it's very slow-going until the last half hour, when they eventually reach the island! The other was a B-movie starring Tab Hunter. Newton also starred in an Australian TV series, The Adventures of Long John Silver. Sadly this late career spurt ended with bankruptcy, and he was dead through alcoholism, aged 50. Dammit.
His definitive portrayal of the ultimate pirate lives on, anywhere there's fancy dress, a crutch and a parrot. Arrrrrrrr!
Week 17 Power Rankings
Again this will be just the rankings, I plan to write a more in-depth final standings after next week. Looking forward to seeing who makes the final playoff wildcards in the AFC. Also I would like to congradulate 49ers Vernon Davis, Andy Lee, and Patrick Willis for making the Pro Bowl, good job guys. Maybe next year they make the playoffs?
1. Indianapolis Colts (14-1)
2. San Diego Chargers (12-3)
3. Philadelphia Eagles (11-4)
4. New Orleans Saints (13-2)
5. Minnesota Vikings (11-4)
6. New England Patriots (10-5)
7. Green Bay Packers (10-5)
8. Arizona Cardinals (10-5)
9. Cincinnati Bengals (10-5)
10. Dallas Cowboys (10-5)
11. Pittsburgh Steelers (8-7)
12. Baltimore Ravens (8-7)
13. New York Jets (8-7)
14. Denver Broncos (8-7)
15. Houston Texans (8-7)
16. Atlanta Falcons (8-7)
17. Tennessee Titans (7-8)
18. New York Giants (8-7)
19. Miami Dolphins (7-8)
20. Carolina Panthers (7-8)
21. San Francisco 49ers (7-8)
22. Jacksonville Jaguars (7-8)
23. Chicago Bears (6-9)
24. Cleveland Browns (4-11)
25. Buffalo Bills (5-10)
26. Oakland Raiders (5-10)
27. Seattle Seahawks (5-10)
28. Tampa Bay Buccaneers (3-12)
29. Washington Redskins (4-11)
30.Kansas City Chiefs (3-12)
31. Detroit Lions (2-13)
32. St Louis Rams (1-14)
1. Indianapolis Colts (14-1)
2. San Diego Chargers (12-3)
3. Philadelphia Eagles (11-4)
4. New Orleans Saints (13-2)
5. Minnesota Vikings (11-4)
6. New England Patriots (10-5)
7. Green Bay Packers (10-5)
8. Arizona Cardinals (10-5)
9. Cincinnati Bengals (10-5)
10. Dallas Cowboys (10-5)
11. Pittsburgh Steelers (8-7)
12. Baltimore Ravens (8-7)
13. New York Jets (8-7)
14. Denver Broncos (8-7)
15. Houston Texans (8-7)
16. Atlanta Falcons (8-7)
17. Tennessee Titans (7-8)
18. New York Giants (8-7)
19. Miami Dolphins (7-8)
20. Carolina Panthers (7-8)
21. San Francisco 49ers (7-8)
22. Jacksonville Jaguars (7-8)
23. Chicago Bears (6-9)
24. Cleveland Browns (4-11)
25. Buffalo Bills (5-10)
26. Oakland Raiders (5-10)
27. Seattle Seahawks (5-10)
28. Tampa Bay Buccaneers (3-12)
29. Washington Redskins (4-11)
30.Kansas City Chiefs (3-12)
31. Detroit Lions (2-13)
32. St Louis Rams (1-14)
Saturday, 26 December 2009
THE CASE OF THE MUKKINESE BATTLE HORN (1956) - a missing link in spoof comedy
THE CASE OF THE MUKKINESE BATTLE-HORN
(1956, UK)
Before Airplane, The Naked Gun, and even Monty Python, were The Goons...
Why is this not on DVD? It's like it disappeared completely. Constantly funny and fantastic, hysterical and historical! The roots of popular surrealist British comedy stems from The Goon Show - a hugely popular radio show that combined the talents of Peter Sellers mad knack for comedy voices and the startlingly inventive scripts of Spike Milligan. While several attempts were made to catch their insanity on film, this short feature is by far the most successful. The Goons had to disband when Peter Sellers movie career took off.
Insane comedy, where the actors often sent up their own movie, dates back to the silent genius of Buster Keaton, through The Marx Brothers movies and Olsen and Johnson's live-action looney toon movie Hellzapoppin'. In Britain, it was The Goons that took surreal and satirical comedy to extremes, inspiring the TV comedy of Monty Python's Flying Circus among many others. Hence Spike Milligan's cameo in Life of Brian, an onscreen tribute.
The Case of the Mukkinese Battle-Horn takes The Goons brand of comedy an important step further. Not only does it attempt to visualise a few of their famous radio characters, it adapts effortlessly into film. Fast-paced gags, asides to camera, lampoon, and twists on movie conventions. It's a clear forerunner of the straight-faced send-up of movie cliches, later monopolised by Airplane! and The Naked Gun, some of the most successful comedies ever. It hits a fast gag-a-minute pace that every comedy hopes for.
In fogbound London, a priceless but unwieldy antique disappears from a museum. A bumbling detective (Peter Sellers) and his dimwitted assistant (Spike Milligan) eventually investigate ("A robbery? Anything stolen?"). The trail leads to a pawnbrokers shop that has not three but four balls hanging outside ("Business must be good!"). From Scotland Yard to sleazy Soho, which of their suspects would steal this priceless musical monstrosity?
Superintendent Quilt is an obvious forerunner of Peter Sellers' Inspector Clouseau character, who first appeared in The Pink Panther (1963), and then in the even better A Shot In The Dark (1964). The series often featured Sellers' love for heavily disguised characters, buried under wigs, moustaches, humps and hats. These props are also on display in Battle-Horn as Sellers portrays his effete boss Assistant Commissioner Jervis Fruit (in blond wig, above) and the crumbling hunchbacked pawnbroker Henry Crun. While made up as caricatures, his performances aren't overplayed like his co-stars. There's still a sense that these could be real characters, and Sellers is ready for acting them out on the big screen.
Besides playing his enthusiastic but stupid sidekick, writer and lunatic Spike Milligan successfully visualises his beloved character Eccles, an absolute idiot. His star turn in the film is as an unemployed silent movie actor...
Leading Goon member Harry Secombe is notably missing (the producer suggests that he wanted too much money). But he's ably replaced by multiple-personality TV comedian Dick Emery (above left), a big influence on Harry Enfield's TV sketch shows. Emery effortlessly fits into the madness, and it's a great shame he didn't collaborate further in anything else this mad. Harry Secombe had appeared in the previous Goons movie Down Among The Z-Men but it never impressed me as being nearly as successful or funny, strung out to feature-length - wedging Goons characters into a standard formula Brit-com. Secombe's better remembered as a powerful singer, and his role in Oliver! ("You want moooooore?").
The highlight for me is to see Sellers perform onscreen a regular Goon Show character - the very, very deaf and dusty, senile, doddering Henry Crun. While trying to tempt a cat out of a gramophone using a saucer of milk, he fails to communicate with his equally deaf and senile (offscreen) wife Minnie.
Trivia-wise, this short film also marks Michael Deeley's first production credit. He went on to produce, among others, The Italian Job, The Deer Hunter and Blade Runner, no less. In his amusing, recently published autobiography, he mentions Battle-Horn as the first film he ever produced - an unsuccessful attempt to pilot a Goons TV show to the US.
Battle-Horn took its structure and presentation from the Edgar Lustgarten Scotland Yard true-crime short films, which were also being shot at Merton Park Film Studios. More about the horror films also shot at Merton Park here.
Why is this not on DVD? It's like it disappeared completely. Constantly funny and fantastic, hysterical and historical! The roots of popular surrealist British comedy stems from The Goon Show - a hugely popular radio show that combined the talents of Peter Sellers mad knack for comedy voices and the startlingly inventive scripts of Spike Milligan. While several attempts were made to catch their insanity on film, this short feature is by far the most successful. The Goons had to disband when Peter Sellers movie career took off.
Insane comedy, where the actors often sent up their own movie, dates back to the silent genius of Buster Keaton, through The Marx Brothers movies and Olsen and Johnson's live-action looney toon movie Hellzapoppin'. In Britain, it was The Goons that took surreal and satirical comedy to extremes, inspiring the TV comedy of Monty Python's Flying Circus among many others. Hence Spike Milligan's cameo in Life of Brian, an onscreen tribute.
The Case of the Mukkinese Battle-Horn takes The Goons brand of comedy an important step further. Not only does it attempt to visualise a few of their famous radio characters, it adapts effortlessly into film. Fast-paced gags, asides to camera, lampoon, and twists on movie conventions. It's a clear forerunner of the straight-faced send-up of movie cliches, later monopolised by Airplane! and The Naked Gun, some of the most successful comedies ever. It hits a fast gag-a-minute pace that every comedy hopes for.
In fogbound London, a priceless but unwieldy antique disappears from a museum. A bumbling detective (Peter Sellers) and his dimwitted assistant (Spike Milligan) eventually investigate ("A robbery? Anything stolen?"). The trail leads to a pawnbrokers shop that has not three but four balls hanging outside ("Business must be good!"). From Scotland Yard to sleazy Soho, which of their suspects would steal this priceless musical monstrosity?
Superintendent Quilt is an obvious forerunner of Peter Sellers' Inspector Clouseau character, who first appeared in The Pink Panther (1963), and then in the even better A Shot In The Dark (1964). The series often featured Sellers' love for heavily disguised characters, buried under wigs, moustaches, humps and hats. These props are also on display in Battle-Horn as Sellers portrays his effete boss Assistant Commissioner Jervis Fruit (in blond wig, above) and the crumbling hunchbacked pawnbroker Henry Crun. While made up as caricatures, his performances aren't overplayed like his co-stars. There's still a sense that these could be real characters, and Sellers is ready for acting them out on the big screen.
Besides playing his enthusiastic but stupid sidekick, writer and lunatic Spike Milligan successfully visualises his beloved character Eccles, an absolute idiot. His star turn in the film is as an unemployed silent movie actor...
Leading Goon member Harry Secombe is notably missing (the producer suggests that he wanted too much money). But he's ably replaced by multiple-personality TV comedian Dick Emery (above left), a big influence on Harry Enfield's TV sketch shows. Emery effortlessly fits into the madness, and it's a great shame he didn't collaborate further in anything else this mad. Harry Secombe had appeared in the previous Goons movie Down Among The Z-Men but it never impressed me as being nearly as successful or funny, strung out to feature-length - wedging Goons characters into a standard formula Brit-com. Secombe's better remembered as a powerful singer, and his role in Oliver! ("You want moooooore?").
The highlight for me is to see Sellers perform onscreen a regular Goon Show character - the very, very deaf and dusty, senile, doddering Henry Crun. While trying to tempt a cat out of a gramophone using a saucer of milk, he fails to communicate with his equally deaf and senile (offscreen) wife Minnie.
Trivia-wise, this short film also marks Michael Deeley's first production credit. He went on to produce, among others, The Italian Job, The Deer Hunter and Blade Runner, no less. In his amusing, recently published autobiography, he mentions Battle-Horn as the first film he ever produced - an unsuccessful attempt to pilot a Goons TV show to the US.
Battle-Horn took its structure and presentation from the Edgar Lustgarten Scotland Yard true-crime short films, which were also being shot at Merton Park Film Studios. More about the horror films also shot at Merton Park here.
The entire script is online here.
Apologies for the poor screengrabs, but I haven't found a better way to illustrate this.
It was a kick to see this in the cinema as a supporting feature when Monty Python and the Holy Grail was first released. Very little else came close to being a suitable second film.
The Case of the Mukkinese Battle-Horn used to appear on TV, but has since disappeared from view, surfacing once on home video on VHS (pictured). I'd hope this gem would be enjoying a better showcase by now. Not a broken one with a brick in it.
The British Film Institute have screened it recently, using a print donated by Michael Deeley. Hopefully they will also restore and release it for wider consumption...
There's a short clip on YouTube here...
Apologies for the poor screengrabs, but I haven't found a better way to illustrate this.
It was a kick to see this in the cinema as a supporting feature when Monty Python and the Holy Grail was first released. Very little else came close to being a suitable second film.
The Case of the Mukkinese Battle-Horn used to appear on TV, but has since disappeared from view, surfacing once on home video on VHS (pictured). I'd hope this gem would be enjoying a better showcase by now. Not a broken one with a brick in it.
The British Film Institute have screened it recently, using a print donated by Michael Deeley. Hopefully they will also restore and release it for wider consumption...
There's a short clip on YouTube here...
Wednesday, 23 December 2009
Power Rankings
Here they are. I am too busy doing my movie countdown to write much. The countdown will continue after Christmas.
1. Indianapolis Colts (14-0)
2. San Diego Chargers (11-3)
3. New Orleans Saints (13-1)
4. Minnesota Vikings (11-3)
5. Philadelphia Eagles (10-4)
6. New England Patriots (9-5)
7. Cincinnati Bengals (9-5)
8. Dallas Cowboys (9-5)
9. Green Bay Packers (9-5)
10. Arizona Cardinals (9-5)
11. Denver Broncos (8-6)
12. Tennessee Titans (7-7)
13. Miami Dolphins (7-7)
14. Baltimore Ravens (8-6)
15. New York Giants (8-6)
16.Pittsburgh Steelers (7-7)
17. Atlanta Falcons (7-7)
18. Jacksonville Jaguars (7-7)
19. New York Jets (7-7)
20. Houston Texans (7-7)
21. Carolina Panthers (6-8)
22. San Francisco 49ers (6-8)
23. Oakland Raiders (5-9)
24. Chicago Bears (5-9)
25. Buffalo Bills (5-9)
26. Washington Redskins (4-10)
27. Seattle Seahawks (5-9)
28. Cleveland Browns (3-11)
29. Tampa Bay Buccaneers (2-12)
30.Kansas City Chiefs (3-11)
31. Detroit Lions (2-12)
32. St Louis Rams (1-13)
1. Indianapolis Colts (14-0)
2. San Diego Chargers (11-3)
3. New Orleans Saints (13-1)
4. Minnesota Vikings (11-3)
5. Philadelphia Eagles (10-4)
6. New England Patriots (9-5)
7. Cincinnati Bengals (9-5)
8. Dallas Cowboys (9-5)
9. Green Bay Packers (9-5)
10. Arizona Cardinals (9-5)
11. Denver Broncos (8-6)
12. Tennessee Titans (7-7)
13. Miami Dolphins (7-7)
14. Baltimore Ravens (8-6)
15. New York Giants (8-6)
16.Pittsburgh Steelers (7-7)
17. Atlanta Falcons (7-7)
18. Jacksonville Jaguars (7-7)
19. New York Jets (7-7)
20. Houston Texans (7-7)
21. Carolina Panthers (6-8)
22. San Francisco 49ers (6-8)
23. Oakland Raiders (5-9)
24. Chicago Bears (5-9)
25. Buffalo Bills (5-9)
26. Washington Redskins (4-10)
27. Seattle Seahawks (5-9)
28. Cleveland Browns (3-11)
29. Tampa Bay Buccaneers (2-12)
30.Kansas City Chiefs (3-11)
31. Detroit Lions (2-12)
32. St Louis Rams (1-13)
#11
#11 - Lost In Translation (2003)
The story of two people bored and stuck in Tokyo is the story of Lost In Translation. Bill Murray plays Bob Harris, an actor who is bored with his life and feels a tad empty. Scarlett Johansson is Charloette, she is in Tokyo with her husband who is working. The two hit it off and go on many adventures through Tokyo and become close friends. The friends go through many fun experiences but also realize that it will not last forever...This movie was director Sophia Coppola masterpiece. The acting by Murray and Johansson was really moving, you feel that these people are really getting close and the ending is still on the great mysteries, what did he whisper? That is up to the viewer to decide. The film won best orginial screenplay, and Murray was nomiated for Actor in a leading role. It was also up for Best Picture and Director.
The story of two people bored and stuck in Tokyo is the story of Lost In Translation. Bill Murray plays Bob Harris, an actor who is bored with his life and feels a tad empty. Scarlett Johansson is Charloette, she is in Tokyo with her husband who is working. The two hit it off and go on many adventures through Tokyo and become close friends. The friends go through many fun experiences but also realize that it will not last forever...This movie was director Sophia Coppola masterpiece. The acting by Murray and Johansson was really moving, you feel that these people are really getting close and the ending is still on the great mysteries, what did he whisper? That is up to the viewer to decide. The film won best orginial screenplay, and Murray was nomiated for Actor in a leading role. It was also up for Best Picture and Director.#12
#12 - Inglourious Basterds (2009)
Tarantino's Jewish revenge masterpiece! Accoring to my spell check the movie 's title is incorrect, but to be honest this is just an amazing well acted, directed, and overall fun movie.
Tarantino's Jewish revenge masterpiece! Accoring to my spell check the movie 's title is incorrect, but to be honest this is just an amazing well acted, directed, and overall fun movie. The cast is filled with some great performances but not from who you would think. Yes, Brad Pitt is the main star and is funny and tough as Lt. Aldo Raine but the star of the movie and one of the best performances of the last decade goes to none other than Christoph Waltz as Hans Landa (aka the Jew Hunter). I will feel terrible if he does not win a lot of awards for his performance! The film is not all action, the dialogue is just perfect, the scenes just keep building up and the dialogue keeps the whole film going. Basterds is a real showing of how a movie can have a lot of action and dialogue and keep the watcher enthralled. I salute the Basterds and Mr. Tarantino for this great piece of cinema.
#13
#13 - Bowling For Columbine (2002)
Michael Moore shows that one man with a passion and camera can make a well done movie that really delves into the culture of America. Bowling for Columbine takes a look at the
Michael Moore shows that one man with a passion and camera can make a well done movie that really delves into the culture of America. Bowling for Columbine takes a look at the fear we have as Americans, and how guns, media, and our nation wants us scared to keep us in check. After seeing the movie it made my eyes open to the world around me and how I see things. The movie is not afraid to go after who they think are responsible and hold them accountable, some even face to face. Michael Moore does have an agenda, but his points are all valid and he shows how they are during the movie. It was my favorite movie in 2002 and still hold up to this day. The movie won Best Documentary in 2002 proving that it was just a great movie.
#14
#14 - WALL-E (2008)
In my opinion, Pixar's best film of the last decade is WALL-E. The movie that doesn't have much dialogue doesn't need any. This is a brilliant film which shows how far you will go for someone when you are in love. The movie also touches on global waste and how lazy Americans are. Not your typical made for kids feature here, but the thing is that it plays for kids and adults and I believe they both get something very rich out of seeing the film. WALL-E is also the cutest thing around since Gizmo from Grelmins popped out of that box in 1984. Some people were quick to point that WALL-E looks a lot like Johnny 5 from Short Circuit but please...WALL-E the film blows away that movie! Anyway the film looks beautiful and the scenes on earth I could swear were actual real sets. The second half of the movie takes place in space, and it never looked so amazing. WALL-E searches high and low for his robot love EVE and the ending is heartbreaking yet full of glee. If you want to see what I consider to the best family movie of the decade go and see WALL-E. The movie easily won the Best Animated Oscar and was also nominated for 5 other Oscars.
In my opinion, Pixar's best film of the last decade is WALL-E. The movie that doesn't have much dialogue doesn't need any. This is a brilliant film which shows how far you will go for someone when you are in love. The movie also touches on global waste and how lazy Americans are. Not your typical made for kids feature here, but the thing is that it plays for kids and adults and I believe they both get something very rich out of seeing the film. WALL-E is also the cutest thing around since Gizmo from Grelmins popped out of that box in 1984. Some people were quick to point that WALL-E looks a lot like Johnny 5 from Short Circuit but please...WALL-E the film blows away that movie! Anyway the film looks beautiful and the scenes on earth I could swear were actual real sets. The second half of the movie takes place in space, and it never looked so amazing. WALL-E searches high and low for his robot love EVE and the ending is heartbreaking yet full of glee. If you want to see what I consider to the best family movie of the decade go and see WALL-E. The movie easily won the Best Animated Oscar and was also nominated for 5 other Oscars.#15
#15 - Children Of Men (2006)
I am a big sci-fi fan and Children of Men is how to do the genre the right way. Have a great director in Alfonso Cuarón and add in some great talent, including a personal favorite of mine in Clive Owen. Children of Men tells the story of what life would be like if the human race could no longer procreate. How would you act if you knew the entire species would one day die off because no new children would keep the legacy of life going? It is a very interesting subject matter that is handled with great precision in this film. The movie is greatly detailed making sure not to leave anything out of this world of 2027. The visuals of the movie are simply amazing, two scenes in particular are some of the best of the decade! You have a scene that just never seems to cut and the action is non-stop, with bullets flying and people running. It really has to be seen to do it justice. Children Of Men was given praise upon release, garnering 3 Oscar nominations for Best Achievement in Cinematography, Best Achievement in Editing, and Adapted Screenplay. It was shame that the movie was not a winner, especially on the editing award because it has some of the best editing in any movie of the last few years.
I am a big sci-fi fan and Children of Men is how to do the genre the right way. Have a great director in Alfonso Cuarón and add in some great talent, including a personal favorite of mine in Clive Owen. Children of Men tells the story of what life would be like if the human race could no longer procreate. How would you act if you knew the entire species would one day die off because no new children would keep the legacy of life going? It is a very interesting subject matter that is handled with great precision in this film. The movie is greatly detailed making sure not to leave anything out of this world of 2027. The visuals of the movie are simply amazing, two scenes in particular are some of the best of the decade! You have a scene that just never seems to cut and the action is non-stop, with bullets flying and people running. It really has to be seen to do it justice. Children Of Men was given praise upon release, garnering 3 Oscar nominations for Best Achievement in Cinematography, Best Achievement in Editing, and Adapted Screenplay. It was shame that the movie was not a winner, especially on the editing award because it has some of the best editing in any movie of the last few years.
Tuesday, 22 December 2009
#16
#16 - Sin City (2005)
Sin City is pure comic book noir fun! I just loved Sin City, it was so fun and kick ass. Robert Rodriguez really created a great looking movie, one that is almost an entire replay of the comic but on film. Mickey Rouke as Marv was one of my favorite comic book people of all time, and I think he was robbed not getting nominated for an Oscar. The movie is about four different stories all going on in the street of Basin City. So needless to say you need a ton of actors, and a ton of great ones are in the movie. You have: Jessica Alba, Rosario Dawson, Elijah Wood, Bruce Willis, Clive Owen, and Benicio Del Toro . The movie's style sets it apart from most comic book movies and it was really just a delight to watch the stories unfold. I am still hoping they will do a sequel sometime in the near future. If you want to see a good adult comic book movie than you need look to further.
Sin City is pure comic book noir fun! I just loved Sin City, it was so fun and kick ass. Robert Rodriguez really created a great looking movie, one that is almost an entire replay of the comic but on film. Mickey Rouke as Marv was one of my favorite comic book people of all time, and I think he was robbed not getting nominated for an Oscar. The movie is about four different stories all going on in the street of Basin City. So needless to say you need a ton of actors, and a ton of great ones are in the movie. You have: Jessica Alba, Rosario Dawson, Elijah Wood, Bruce Willis, Clive Owen, and Benicio Del Toro . The movie's style sets it apart from most comic book movies and it was really just a delight to watch the stories unfold. I am still hoping they will do a sequel sometime in the near future. If you want to see a good adult comic book movie than you need look to further.#17
#17 - Memento (2000)
Memento is a great piece of film making, really showing the audience something they have not seen before. The movie is about Leonard (Guy Pearce) who can no longer build new memories, so he tattoos notes on himself or leave pictures around reminding him what he was doing before he forgets. The movie was directed by Christopher Nolan who is currently one of my favorite directors, has he done a bad movie? I will admit I have only seen this movie once, but it still stuck with me after that one viewing. The movie really keeps you guessing at will happen. It was nominated for two Oscars for Best Editing and Best Writing. If you want to see some great directing see Memento.
Memento is a great piece of film making, really showing the audience something they have not seen before. The movie is about Leonard (Guy Pearce) who can no longer build new memories, so he tattoos notes on himself or leave pictures around reminding him what he was doing before he forgets. The movie was directed by Christopher Nolan who is currently one of my favorite directors, has he done a bad movie? I will admit I have only seen this movie once, but it still stuck with me after that one viewing. The movie really keeps you guessing at will happen. It was nominated for two Oscars for Best Editing and Best Writing. If you want to see some great directing see Memento.#18
#18 - Brokeback Mountain (2005)
Ang Lee's beautifully well done movie shows that love has no face. The two main characters Ennis Del Mar (Heath Ledger) and Jack Twist (Jake Gyllenhaal) work together and fall in love, simple as that....except that they are men who cannot tell anyone of their love. The movie follows their hidden love through 19 years, even when they marry. This movie really shows how love no matter what type keeps you connected to the ones you love. It just so happens that these two men were cowboys and to keep up their macho exterior so they decided to keep what they had in the closet, so to speak. The acting is amazing and it was a shock that this movie did not win best picture in 2005. It was however nominated for 8 Oscars, and won best director (Ang Lee), Best Achievement in Music Written for Motion Pictures, Original Score, and Best Writing- Adapted Screenplay. Ledger and Gyllenhaal were up for best actor and Michelle Williams was up for best supporting actress. If you cannot feel for the two main characters you have never been love.
Ang Lee's beautifully well done movie shows that love has no face. The two main characters Ennis Del Mar (Heath Ledger) and Jack Twist (Jake Gyllenhaal) work together and fall in love, simple as that....except that they are men who cannot tell anyone of their love. The movie follows their hidden love through 19 years, even when they marry. This movie really shows how love no matter what type keeps you connected to the ones you love. It just so happens that these two men were cowboys and to keep up their macho exterior so they decided to keep what they had in the closet, so to speak. The acting is amazing and it was a shock that this movie did not win best picture in 2005. It was however nominated for 8 Oscars, and won best director (Ang Lee), Best Achievement in Music Written for Motion Pictures, Original Score, and Best Writing- Adapted Screenplay. Ledger and Gyllenhaal were up for best actor and Michelle Williams was up for best supporting actress. If you cannot feel for the two main characters you have never been love.#19
#19 - Zodiac (2007)
Getting into the teens now, stuff is getting a tad more serious here! So let's talk of David Fincher's epic Zodiac. Zodiac is filled with great actors including Robert Downey Jr, Jake Gyllenhaal, and Mark Ruffalo to name a few. Zodiac really recreates the mood, look, and feel of San Francisco in 1970's. Paranoia has set in, as a murderer is running free and calling himself the Zodiac killer. The movie is a real delight, it makes you feel like the killer could be anyone and they even show some of the murders, it is really tense stuff. Robert Graysmith (Gyllenhaal) slowly starts to decode the messages the zodiac killer is sending and at the same time becomes somewhat obsessed with finding out who the killer is. The scariest thing is that through the movie they never really can pinpoint who it is. Zodiac is great and well acted movie which easily will suck you in.
Getting into the teens now, stuff is getting a tad more serious here! So let's talk of David Fincher's epic Zodiac. Zodiac is filled with great actors including Robert Downey Jr, Jake Gyllenhaal, and Mark Ruffalo to name a few. Zodiac really recreates the mood, look, and feel of San Francisco in 1970's. Paranoia has set in, as a murderer is running free and calling himself the Zodiac killer. The movie is a real delight, it makes you feel like the killer could be anyone and they even show some of the murders, it is really tense stuff. Robert Graysmith (Gyllenhaal) slowly starts to decode the messages the zodiac killer is sending and at the same time becomes somewhat obsessed with finding out who the killer is. The scariest thing is that through the movie they never really can pinpoint who it is. Zodiac is great and well acted movie which easily will suck you in.Monday, 21 December 2009
#20
#20 - There Will Be Blood (2007)
Daniel Day-Lewis gives what I consider the best performance of the last decade in There Will Be Blood. The movie is about Daniel Plainview (Day-Lewis) and his quest, no his need for oil. I was very moved and taken in by the total transformation Day-Lewis made to become Plainview, it was riveting acting. The movie is also very well done, the director Paul Thomas Anderson really paints the images like a mastermind. The movie looks beautiful and moves at an eery yet satisfying pace. The music by Jonny Greenwood really ads to the overall feel of the movie. I think this movie will stay with you after you see it because it really makes you think about the main character. There Will Be Blood won two Oscars one for Best Achievement in Cinematography and of course Day-Lewis won best actor but it was also up for 6 other academy awards including best picture. If you want to be so taken in by one mans performance I implore you to see There Will Be Blood.
Daniel Day-Lewis gives what I consider the best performance of the last decade in There Will Be Blood. The movie is about Daniel Plainview (Day-Lewis) and his quest, no his need for oil. I was very moved and taken in by the total transformation Day-Lewis made to become Plainview, it was riveting acting. The movie is also very well done, the director Paul Thomas Anderson really paints the images like a mastermind. The movie looks beautiful and moves at an eery yet satisfying pace. The music by Jonny Greenwood really ads to the overall feel of the movie. I think this movie will stay with you after you see it because it really makes you think about the main character. There Will Be Blood won two Oscars one for Best Achievement in Cinematography and of course Day-Lewis won best actor but it was also up for 6 other academy awards including best picture. If you want to be so taken in by one mans performance I implore you to see There Will Be Blood.#21
#21 - Spider-Man 2 (2004)
Having the origin story out the way Spider-Man 2 was open to jump right into the next chapter, and proved to be one the best comic book movies ever made. The cast is all back, but this time the villain of the movie is Dok Ock who is played to a tee by Alfred Molina. His Dock Ock is not a typical villain, he is someone who you can feel for. Of course we also see Peter Parker moved out and struggling with his life and love life with Mary Jane. The movie really throws you into the world of Spider-Man and how it is in his world with his everyday struggles. The action is bigger and better and the effects work perfectly. The subway chase scene is pure genius and the movie never ceases to be fun and entertaining, just like a comic book! I love comic book movies (you see a lot of them on my list) but Spider-Man 2 is a perfect mix of comic books and film. Bravo Mr. Raimi.
Having the origin story out the way Spider-Man 2 was open to jump right into the next chapter, and proved to be one the best comic book movies ever made. The cast is all back, but this time the villain of the movie is Dok Ock who is played to a tee by Alfred Molina. His Dock Ock is not a typical villain, he is someone who you can feel for. Of course we also see Peter Parker moved out and struggling with his life and love life with Mary Jane. The movie really throws you into the world of Spider-Man and how it is in his world with his everyday struggles. The action is bigger and better and the effects work perfectly. The subway chase scene is pure genius and the movie never ceases to be fun and entertaining, just like a comic book! I love comic book movies (you see a lot of them on my list) but Spider-Man 2 is a perfect mix of comic books and film. Bravo Mr. Raimi.#22
#22 - Buba Ho-tep (2002)
Probably one of the least well known movies you see on my list, Buba Ho-Tep is one of the most unusual stories I have seen. The movie is about Elvis living in a rest home. Elvis and an African American JFK take on a soul sucking mummy who is out to get souls of dying or older folks. Yeah, so its not your typical every day movie but it is damn good. I was able to see it a few times in its very limited release. I am a big Bruce Campbell fan but the movie is also well written and hilarious. This is a movie that shows if you have a real passion in making your film you do not need a huge budget or special effects, in Bubba Ho-tep the acting and story provide all you need. Ossie Davis was a well established actor who saw something in this movie, and am glad he saw the potential in the film, his performance is funny and true as a dyed black JFK. Of course Bruce Campbell is just about the entire movie. He really can act and shows why he has such a cult following by playing a dying Elvis. By the time of the ending you really care about the characters and how far they have come.
Probably one of the least well known movies you see on my list, Buba Ho-Tep is one of the most unusual stories I have seen. The movie is about Elvis living in a rest home. Elvis and an African American JFK take on a soul sucking mummy who is out to get souls of dying or older folks. Yeah, so its not your typical every day movie but it is damn good. I was able to see it a few times in its very limited release. I am a big Bruce Campbell fan but the movie is also well written and hilarious. This is a movie that shows if you have a real passion in making your film you do not need a huge budget or special effects, in Bubba Ho-tep the acting and story provide all you need. Ossie Davis was a well established actor who saw something in this movie, and am glad he saw the potential in the film, his performance is funny and true as a dyed black JFK. Of course Bruce Campbell is just about the entire movie. He really can act and shows why he has such a cult following by playing a dying Elvis. By the time of the ending you really care about the characters and how far they have come.#23
#23 - The Incredibles (2004)
The Incredibles has a great mix of action and great visuals, which make it one of my favorite Pixar movies. Brad Bird really created his own world, not leaving anything out of this massive movie. It starts with the superhero's talking to the camera interview style, and also includes showing how capes are a bad choice, showing the deaths of many heroes due to having capes. Ah I just love this movie! You also have the family element, the entire family are superheros who have decided not to use their powers because they want to be family and not risk their lives. Mr. Incredible starts doing some work as a superhero on the side but it turns out he was working for an evil genius. You also have some great voice acting from Craig T. Nelson, Holly Hunter, Samuel L. Jackson, Jason Lee, and many many others. Brad Bird really created a very stylized world for this movie and it looks amazing, even 5 years later. Movie won Best Animated Feature Film of the Year and Best Achievement in Sound Editing Oscar and was nominated for two others (Best Achievement in Sound Mixing & Best Writing, Original Screenplay). It is amazing that this animated movie was considered to be up for best original screenplay ...but it is that good.
The Incredibles has a great mix of action and great visuals, which make it one of my favorite Pixar movies. Brad Bird really created his own world, not leaving anything out of this massive movie. It starts with the superhero's talking to the camera interview style, and also includes showing how capes are a bad choice, showing the deaths of many heroes due to having capes. Ah I just love this movie! You also have the family element, the entire family are superheros who have decided not to use their powers because they want to be family and not risk their lives. Mr. Incredible starts doing some work as a superhero on the side but it turns out he was working for an evil genius. You also have some great voice acting from Craig T. Nelson, Holly Hunter, Samuel L. Jackson, Jason Lee, and many many others. Brad Bird really created a very stylized world for this movie and it looks amazing, even 5 years later. Movie won Best Animated Feature Film of the Year and Best Achievement in Sound Editing Oscar and was nominated for two others (Best Achievement in Sound Mixing & Best Writing, Original Screenplay). It is amazing that this animated movie was considered to be up for best original screenplay ...but it is that good.
Sunday, 20 December 2009
#24
#24 - District 9 (2009)
District 9 is why they created the sci-fi genre. Neil Blomkamp created a movie which is about aliens who have crashed landed in Johannesburg, South Africa yet the movie is so much more. Really well done sci-fi movies are critique's on the real world and District 9 does just that. I wont go into too much detail but needless to say the movie is just an amazingly well done film and Blomkamp has already made a name for himself after just this one film. Actor Sharto Copley stars in the movie as Wikus Van De Merwe, a man who is responsible for keeping the aliens of District 9 in check. Copley gives a really heartfelt performance as man who we despise yet come to sympathize with. The movie really gives you a great look into the world of the Prawns, they make it feel so real and possible...not easy to do in our CGI culture. I found that District 9 left me wanting to see more of the world it created. The movie has already garnered some critical nominations including a Golden Globe nomination for best screenplay. There is talks of a sequel, I cannot wait!
District 9 is why they created the sci-fi genre. Neil Blomkamp created a movie which is about aliens who have crashed landed in Johannesburg, South Africa yet the movie is so much more. Really well done sci-fi movies are critique's on the real world and District 9 does just that. I wont go into too much detail but needless to say the movie is just an amazingly well done film and Blomkamp has already made a name for himself after just this one film. Actor Sharto Copley stars in the movie as Wikus Van De Merwe, a man who is responsible for keeping the aliens of District 9 in check. Copley gives a really heartfelt performance as man who we despise yet come to sympathize with. The movie really gives you a great look into the world of the Prawns, they make it feel so real and possible...not easy to do in our CGI culture. I found that District 9 left me wanting to see more of the world it created. The movie has already garnered some critical nominations including a Golden Globe nomination for best screenplay. There is talks of a sequel, I cannot wait!
#25
#25 - Snatch (2000)
Snatch is a smart, funny, and savvy film from the mind of Guy Ritchie. Hot off the heels of Lock, Stock, and Two Smoking Barrels (1998) the film world was eagerly waiting to see Ritchie's follow up. He did not disappoint at all. In fact I think he made his quintessential masterpiece. The movie has amazing actors like Brad Pitt and oscar winner Benicio Del Toro as well as Ritchie mainstays Vinnie Jones and Jason Statham (who got his first acting gig from Ritchie). I know the movie came out in 2000 but I just adored this movie for a long time.and have seen in way more then a hand full of times. The dialogue is so quick and fast you have to pay attention or watch it a few times to get it all. This is a clever and well done film which is as close to Tarantino as you may ever see. It is a shame about Ritchie because after this movie he never really had another huge hit. But RocknRolla (2008) showed a step in the right direction and I am eagerly waiting to see what he will do with Sherlock Holmes. Oh well at least I will always have Snatch to watch!
Snatch is a smart, funny, and savvy film from the mind of Guy Ritchie. Hot off the heels of Lock, Stock, and Two Smoking Barrels (1998) the film world was eagerly waiting to see Ritchie's follow up. He did not disappoint at all. In fact I think he made his quintessential masterpiece. The movie has amazing actors like Brad Pitt and oscar winner Benicio Del Toro as well as Ritchie mainstays Vinnie Jones and Jason Statham (who got his first acting gig from Ritchie). I know the movie came out in 2000 but I just adored this movie for a long time.and have seen in way more then a hand full of times. The dialogue is so quick and fast you have to pay attention or watch it a few times to get it all. This is a clever and well done film which is as close to Tarantino as you may ever see. It is a shame about Ritchie because after this movie he never really had another huge hit. But RocknRolla (2008) showed a step in the right direction and I am eagerly waiting to see what he will do with Sherlock Holmes. Oh well at least I will always have Snatch to watch!#26
#26- Star Trek (2009)
I know it only came out last May but dammit this was one amazingly well done film. I was never a huge Star Trek fan before this movie but now I am exploring putting Trek before Wars. This movie needed to reach out to the old fans and also pull in new fans alike, and I think mastermind J.J. Abrams did just that. The characters we know and love are all here and this movie just kicks some major ass. The first scene alone has such scope and drama, the movie sucked me in from the start. Chris Pine as Kirk and Zachary Quinto as Spock were both great choices. Pine is charismatic, reckless, and headstrong as Kirk and Quinto's Spock is smart and conflicted. The supporting cast also is amazing and provides comic relief as well as adding a lot to the film. I am a huge fan of this movie and cannot wait to see the direction this series continue to go in.
I know it only came out last May but dammit this was one amazingly well done film. I was never a huge Star Trek fan before this movie but now I am exploring putting Trek before Wars. This movie needed to reach out to the old fans and also pull in new fans alike, and I think mastermind J.J. Abrams did just that. The characters we know and love are all here and this movie just kicks some major ass. The first scene alone has such scope and drama, the movie sucked me in from the start. Chris Pine as Kirk and Zachary Quinto as Spock were both great choices. Pine is charismatic, reckless, and headstrong as Kirk and Quinto's Spock is smart and conflicted. The supporting cast also is amazing and provides comic relief as well as adding a lot to the film. I am a huge fan of this movie and cannot wait to see the direction this series continue to go in.
#27
#27 - Shaun of the Dead (2004)
Besides having a great named leading character Shaun of the Dead is a great homage to the Romero zombie movie of old yet also throws in a bunch of comedy to keep it fresh and original. For many of us in the U.S. it was the first time seeing the comic duo of Simon Pegg and Nick Frost. The guys are a great comedy team who's relationship is hysterical and teeters on homophobia throughout the film. The director of Shaun is Edgar Wright who also went on to direct the comic duo again in Hot Fuzz, which I also highly recommend you watch. If you like zombie movies that do not take themselves seriously at all you cant beat this cult and fan favorite. I will admit it took me a few viewings to really warm up to the film. I enjoyed it but the repeat viewings have made it all the more reason it made my list. Also is #230 film all time on imdb (out of 250).
Saturday, 19 December 2009
#28
#28 - In Bruges (2008)
Talk about a movie that took me by total surprise In Bruges is a hilarious movie about two hit men waiting around to get their next assignment. The movies two main characters Ray and Ken are played amazing by Colin Farrell and Brendan Gleeson, who were just great together. The movie really knew how to play for those dark comedy laughs, Ralph Fiennes really steals the entire movie in his small yet memorable role as Harry, the man in charge of everything. If you like Quentin Tarantino/ Guy Ritchie type films, In Bruges is right up your alley. You will be laughing but also praising the amazing acting going on. I cannot wait to see what the writer/director Martin McDonagh will do next. Movie currently sits at #185 on imdb's top 250 movies ever.
Talk about a movie that took me by total surprise In Bruges is a hilarious movie about two hit men waiting around to get their next assignment. The movies two main characters Ray and Ken are played amazing by Colin Farrell and Brendan Gleeson, who were just great together. The movie really knew how to play for those dark comedy laughs, Ralph Fiennes really steals the entire movie in his small yet memorable role as Harry, the man in charge of everything. If you like Quentin Tarantino/ Guy Ritchie type films, In Bruges is right up your alley. You will be laughing but also praising the amazing acting going on. I cannot wait to see what the writer/director Martin McDonagh will do next. Movie currently sits at #185 on imdb's top 250 movies ever.
Friday, 18 December 2009
#29
#29 - Life as a House (2001)
This is one just struck a cord with me. I think Kevin Kline is a very underrated actor and he stars as a father who has to take care of his son while dealing with his own illness. Hayden Christensen plays his son, this was before he went to star in the Star Wars prequels.Christensen displays the acting that got him the role of Anakin Skywalker and he is good as the troubled son, acting like he never did in the Star Wars movies. Rounding out the impressive cast is Kristin Scott Thomas, Jena Malone, and Mary Steenburgen. This movie just made me feel all the emotion of a father trying to reach his son, I tend to be a sucker for dad and son movie and this one got me to shed some tears. The movie gives you hope despite all the death that surrounds it.
#30
#30 - Ocean's Eleven (2001) , Ocean's Twelve(2004) , and Ocean's Thirteen (2007)
So as you may have noticed I am using trilogies and just one movie, it is my countdown so I may do so. I have noticed a lot of other sites doing the same thing.
Any movie with Brad Pitt, George Clooney, and Matt Damon is just asking to be good. These movies were all highly enjoyable and plain fun. I am sure I have watched Ocean's Eleven at least ten times and the movie still oozes with coolness. The cons are smart and well done and having top notch director Steven Soderbergh helps. I will admit I wasn't a huge fan of Ocean's Twelve but thought Thirteen was able to capture the fun of the first movie. One day I will look back at these movies and think how did they got all these megastars to be in three movies together? (Not even mentioning Julia Roberts here, she appears in 11 and 12).
Honorable Mentions
If you do not like people having different taste in movies, I implore you to stop reading right now....still here? Okay you are going to have to be somewhat open minded. SPOILER alert, you will not agree or like many of these movies on my list. But that is what makes movies and cinema great! Everyone has their own tastes in film, what they love or what they hate. I am sure some people only see comedies and some only see art house films. Personally I saw a ton of movies from 2000-2009 and not all the movies I really liked even made this list. If you do decide to read my list please do not judge to harsh, this is just one film lover's opinion. I like action movies and funny movies a ton but I still enjoy a well made movie in general.
Without further wait, I present the movies which made an honorable mention but were not good enough for some reason to make my top 30 list:
Million Dollar Baby
Spiderman
Clerks II
The Departed
Shopgirl
Kiss Kiss Bang Bang
Gran Torino
The Hangover
Finding Nemo
Best In Show
Superbad
Traffic
Harold and Kumar Go To White Castle
The Ring
High Fidelity
(500) Days Of Summer
The Hurt Locker
Iron Man
Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl
Without further wait, I present the movies which made an honorable mention but were not good enough for some reason to make my top 30 list:
Million Dollar Baby
Spiderman
Clerks II
The Departed
Shopgirl
Kiss Kiss Bang Bang
Gran Torino
The Hangover
Finding Nemo
Best In Show
Superbad
Traffic
Harold and Kumar Go To White Castle
The Ring
High Fidelity
(500) Days Of Summer
The Hurt Locker
Iron Man
Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl
THE REINCARNATION OF PETER PROUD (1975) - the first incarnation
THE REINCARNATION OF PETER PROUD
(1975, USA)
(1975, USA)
Soon to be remade - but not on DVD
I must have just missed this in the cinemas back in 1975, but I caught the paperback (UK edition, pictured above). The photos spread in British monster mag World of Horror #9 (see below) intrigued me enough to want to see it. But I never found it on British TV and so, thirty years later, I look around for a DVD to find it's not been released. This is why I'm still buying VHS! Back to eBay, and I found an 1980s' US release (with really nasty artwork, pictured below).
In recent years, there've been several films about Buddha plus Vincent Ward's spectacular What Dreams May Come, all of which treated reincarnation fairly straightforwardly. But in the 1970s, the only genre interested in 'life after death' was horror. The Reincarnation of Peter Proud wasn't a big hit, so it's a surprise to see that director David Fincher (Fight Club, Se7en) is currently interested in a remake. it's an odd choice, but could be very interesting if it happens.
Peter Proud is having recurring dreams, of places he's never been, people he doesn't know, and in a time before he was born. Vividly, he also feels that he's been swimming in a lake at night, just before being violently murdered. While he tries to stop the dreams through sleep therapy and psychoanalysis, he starts to recognise elements of these dreams in real life. They're not in his imagination after all. A car, actual landmarks and eventually faces that are all familiar.
Past-life regression was one of many psychic bandwagons that got popular. Hypnotism helped people remember the experiences of their former selves (just before they started remembering alien abduction scenarios). When science fails him, Peter has to seek the advice of less conventional experts... But he quickly (too quickly) decides he's reincarnated and sets off in search of who he was in his previous life...
This is a very seventies, very adult thriller, strong on a sexual theme. It's a good example of just how far you could go in a mainstream film. While the men flashed their chests and bums, the women were expected to go further, more often - while baring their chests was a big deal, full frontal nudity was both encouraged and permitted.
Two of the actresses seem to have been picked for their willingness to get sexual, rather than be able to act. The result is that the film opens rather shakily with some rather flat punny dialogue. Not helped by Corinne O'Neil (Peter's girlfriend, Nora) who exclaims her way through the early scenes. But she looks good in bed, so she got the part I guess. There's a bizarre scene where even a helpful teenager tries to vamp Peter, and seems disappointed that she doesn't get jumped. Her only reason to be in the film is for a car washing scene in cutoff denim shorts - all very seventies. She's useless to the plot, except for making Peter look less like Mr Average and more like James Bond.
The acting settles down when Margot Kidder (inbetween Black Christmas and The Amityville Horror) and Jennifer O'Neill (before Scanners and Cover Up) get involved, though both get compulsory sex scenes. Kidder famously also gets very naked in the bath, during a flashback of a sexual assault. In true 70s style, it's ambiguous whether she's actually enjoying the memory.
But there's also man-flesh. Michael Sarrazin (pictured below on the CD cover) was a body beautiful back then, swanning around in a towel in Eye of the Cat, and being the perfect physical creation for Frankenstein - The True Story. But his physique is outclassed by actor Tony Stephano (also in Tron but nothing else), who reminds me a lot of Joe Dallesandro (Blood for Dracula, Flesh For Frankenstein) who, as far as I'm concerned, looked like raw sex. Stephano was also extremely fit and gets to show it all off, well, almost all. I also think that it's Stephano who's in the 'screaming' movie poster, and not Sarrazin.From the end of the sixties (They Shoot Horses Don't They?, The Flim-Flam Man) through most of the seventies (For Pete's Sake, The Gumball Rally) Michael Sarrazin was a leading man. But none of his films have endured with any sizable success to keep his career outside of TV work, or ensure any sort of comeback like, say, Burt Reynolds. But at the time he was big and almost always the star. Good in both comedy and drama, he also did mainstream fantasy - Peter Proud, Frankenstein, Eye of the Cat and The Groundstar Conspiracy (where, after he survives a huge explosion, the authorities aren't sure whether or not he's an alien). I last saw him in the two recent Harry Alan Towers adaptions of Harry Palmer novels (Bullet To Beijing, Midnight In Saint Petersburg), the return of Michael Caine's cold war spy.
The excess of swinging sex is matched by 70s visuals, mostly frantic intercutting as the past 'flashes' into the present, when Peter's "pre-natal memories" start catching up on him. Like Close Encounters of the Third Kind, he accidentally catches one of his dreamed images on TV. Like Friday the 13th, the trail of clues leads to Crystal Lake... I'm not making this up, see it for yourself!
The film is quite hypnotic. Maybe because it's from a different era (it feels odd to be looking back in time at a film that's looking back in time), but it has plenty to offer as a mystery, as to how it's all going to pan out. Also, it's not coy! I don't think there's nearly as much sex or nudity in mainstream horror (or thrillers) at the moment. There are some surprises from the director J. Lee Thompson (Happy Birthday to Me, Cape Fear (1962), Conquest of the Planet of the Apes) as well as the actors. Interesting to see Margot Kidder playing in two different timeframes, old and young - let down slightly by the old-age make-up.
The rather linear, inevitable storyline has only one place to go... I guess An Occurrence At Owl Creek Bridge (1962, a short film showcased in The Twilight Zone) could've been more of an influence here than any real-life case.
For me the film was also spoilt by most of the publicity shots coming from the closing seconds of the movie! Audrey Rose (1977) also presented reincarnation as horror material and was a much bigger hit, perhaps because Anthony Hopkins was already a bigger star, but it bored me tears at the time and was certainly not as downright dirty.
Once again, the soundtrack was released on CD (pictured) while the film hasn't made it to DVD. Jerry Goldsmith's haunting score helps the film immeasurably, and includes some spooky burbling synthesizers to clue us in that we're on the edge of something strange.
As far as I can tell, The Reincarnation of Peter Proud last surfaced on home video in America on VHS. Hopefully David Fincher's project will revive interest in Max Ehrlich's novel, and inspire a DVD release. But perhaps Margot isn't keen on any more exposure...
This 1975 issue of World of Horror gave me an appetite to see The Reincarnation of Peter Proud. Full of cartoons, fiction, movie news and gory colour photos, you can see that Fangoria wasn't the first magazine to have shocking front covers. The cover girl is Sheila Keith in Frightmare! Very eye-catching!
Tuesday, 15 December 2009
Niners on Monday Night Football
Niners win last night on Monday Night Football got me thinking to the glory days, I was looking on You Tube and found this 1992 Joe Montana comeback game against the Lions. It was Joe's return from nearly two years of not playing. He was put in during the second half. This clip is even cooler because it has the into to the game 90's style. It takes me back to when the niners were always in the playoffs and MNF was usually a great game. Oh and stay tuned after the highlight for an interview with Montana and TE Brent Jones, they even mention Rickey Henderson...lol...
IT! (1967) - the golem from Merton Park Studios
IT!
(1967, UK)
(1967, UK)
Not the one with the killer clown...
I wouldn't have bought this on DVD if IT! hadn't been on a double-bill with The Shuttered Room. But seeing a decent presentation of IT! has actually increased my appreciation of IT!. I used to dismiss this as one of my least favourite British horrors, but now IT!'s looking better than ever.
IT!'s still not great, but IT!'s never boring. I'm fascinated that IT! was made close to where I live. IT!'s also the only English-language movie about the golem, the mythical avenger from Jewish legend (more about the golem movies here).
After a warehouse fire, the museum owners are relieved and a little perplexed that a statue has survived completely unscathed. A further surprise is that the statue can be reanimated, follow orders and is virtually indestructible. Knowledge is power, but the only one who knows about it has small dreams, using the golem to get his boss's job and the girl of his dreams.
Quite an ambitious story for Merton Park Film Studios, this also has recognisable locations, by the River Thames at Hammersmith Bridge and in front of the Imperial War Museum. There are even a few visual effects of varying success, though nothing to match the potential scale of the story - especially in the climax. There's some simple modelwork on display and IT! has an impressive monster suit.
An added twist is that the man with the power is a little bit Norman Bates. He still keeps his mummified Mum around the house - a dessicated corpse almost more impressive than the golem outfit. I'd assumed that IT! looked melted because of the warehouse fire, but we soon learn IT!'s indestructible! I'm now guessing that the film-makers couldn't breach any copyrights by using the look from previous golem movies, hence the very different face.
With so much meat for a horror story, the film falls short by lacking in atmosphere and pulling its punches with any action scenes. There's plenty of murder but it's unimaginatively shot and mostly offscreen. It it wasn't for a semi-nude scene by Jill Haworth, IT! could easily pass with the lowest rating.
The fun is in the cast - Roddy McDowall is the main man, the year before he became his most popular screen character - an ape. As Cornelius, then Caesar, then Galen in the Planet of the Apes franchise, where he appeared in four of the original five films, as well as the TV series. He was also no stranger to the horror genre (like The Legend of Hell House, Fright Night) and is as famous for his voice (The Mad Hatter in Batman: The Animated Series and VINCENT in The Black Hole). Here he's at his paranoid best, especially in a nightmare scene that illuminates his character's obsessions far more than his dialogue does.
The obsessional love interest is Jill Haworth, who found fame in Exodus, but soon slipped into genre roles. She was in the classic The Outer Limits ('The Sixth Finger' episode), as well as Tower of Evil, and my favourite of hers The Haunted House Of Horror. In IT! she's less pro-active than her other roles, reduced to the classic 'mummy carrying a girl' cliche that ad-men loved to use in their posters.
Canadian-born Paul Maxwell was getting plenty of work in the sixties, adding an authentic North American accent to movies aimed at the international market. Here he gets some onscreen heroics to match his macho voice, which was so useful for beefing up Gerry Anderson's puppet characters. Maxwell voiced Steve Zodiac, the space-hero of Fireball XL5 and Captain Grey from Captain Scarlet and the Mysterons. Here's a chance to see him in the flesh.
Horror fans may spot a young Ian McCulloch, before he became one of TV's original Survivors and famously battled the Zombie Flesh Eaters, but he barely gets a word in, in this his movie debut.
The movie has been digitally remastered anamorphic widescreen, and definition and Eastmancolour have never looked better. IT! is on a double-bill DVD with the Lovecraftian The Shuttered Room (pictured above).
Now I'm off to look around for the strange castle used in the climax - it's got to be around here somewhere...
I wouldn't have bought this on DVD if IT! hadn't been on a double-bill with The Shuttered Room. But seeing a decent presentation of IT! has actually increased my appreciation of IT!. I used to dismiss this as one of my least favourite British horrors, but now IT!'s looking better than ever.
IT!'s still not great, but IT!'s never boring. I'm fascinated that IT! was made close to where I live. IT!'s also the only English-language movie about the golem, the mythical avenger from Jewish legend (more about the golem movies here).
After a warehouse fire, the museum owners are relieved and a little perplexed that a statue has survived completely unscathed. A further surprise is that the statue can be reanimated, follow orders and is virtually indestructible. Knowledge is power, but the only one who knows about it has small dreams, using the golem to get his boss's job and the girl of his dreams.
Quite an ambitious story for Merton Park Film Studios, this also has recognisable locations, by the River Thames at Hammersmith Bridge and in front of the Imperial War Museum. There are even a few visual effects of varying success, though nothing to match the potential scale of the story - especially in the climax. There's some simple modelwork on display and IT! has an impressive monster suit.
An added twist is that the man with the power is a little bit Norman Bates. He still keeps his mummified Mum around the house - a dessicated corpse almost more impressive than the golem outfit. I'd assumed that IT! looked melted because of the warehouse fire, but we soon learn IT!'s indestructible! I'm now guessing that the film-makers couldn't breach any copyrights by using the look from previous golem movies, hence the very different face.
With so much meat for a horror story, the film falls short by lacking in atmosphere and pulling its punches with any action scenes. There's plenty of murder but it's unimaginatively shot and mostly offscreen. It it wasn't for a semi-nude scene by Jill Haworth, IT! could easily pass with the lowest rating.
The fun is in the cast - Roddy McDowall is the main man, the year before he became his most popular screen character - an ape. As Cornelius, then Caesar, then Galen in the Planet of the Apes franchise, where he appeared in four of the original five films, as well as the TV series. He was also no stranger to the horror genre (like The Legend of Hell House, Fright Night) and is as famous for his voice (The Mad Hatter in Batman: The Animated Series and VINCENT in The Black Hole). Here he's at his paranoid best, especially in a nightmare scene that illuminates his character's obsessions far more than his dialogue does.
The obsessional love interest is Jill Haworth, who found fame in Exodus, but soon slipped into genre roles. She was in the classic The Outer Limits ('The Sixth Finger' episode), as well as Tower of Evil, and my favourite of hers The Haunted House Of Horror. In IT! she's less pro-active than her other roles, reduced to the classic 'mummy carrying a girl' cliche that ad-men loved to use in their posters.
Canadian-born Paul Maxwell was getting plenty of work in the sixties, adding an authentic North American accent to movies aimed at the international market. Here he gets some onscreen heroics to match his macho voice, which was so useful for beefing up Gerry Anderson's puppet characters. Maxwell voiced Steve Zodiac, the space-hero of Fireball XL5 and Captain Grey from Captain Scarlet and the Mysterons. Here's a chance to see him in the flesh.
Horror fans may spot a young Ian McCulloch, before he became one of TV's original Survivors and famously battled the Zombie Flesh Eaters, but he barely gets a word in, in this his movie debut.
The movie has been digitally remastered anamorphic widescreen, and definition and Eastmancolour have never looked better. IT! is on a double-bill DVD with the Lovecraftian The Shuttered Room (pictured above).
Now I'm off to look around for the strange castle used in the climax - it's got to be around here somewhere...
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