Name: JPRoscoe
Email:
Bio: Follow me on Twitter @JPRoscoe76! Loves all things pop-culture especially if it has a bit of a counter-culture twist. Plays video games (basically from the start when a neighbor brought home an Atari 2600), comic loving (for almost 30 years), and a true critic of movies. Enjoys the art house but also isn't afraid to let in one or two popular movies at the same time.
Posts by JPRoscoe:
Young and Innocent (1937)
March 6th, 2021Movie Info
Movie Name: Young and Innocent
Studio: Gaumont British Picture Corporation
Genre(s): Mystery/Suspense
Release Date(s): November 1937 (UK)/February 10, 1938 (US)
MPAA Rating: Not Rated
Robert, you’re about to become one of the most unlucky guys
When the body of Christine Clay (Pamela Carme) washes up on the coast, Robert Tisdall (Derrick De Marney) finds himself the prime suspect when he discovers the body. A turn of fate allows Robert to escape jail, and Robert finds himself teamed with an unlikely sidekick in the form of Erica Burgoyne (Nova Pilbeam) whose father is the chief constable. As Robert tries to convince Erica that he is innocent, they find themselves on a search for a stolen raincoat that could be the key to his freedom.
Directed by Alfred Hitchcock, Young and Innocent is a suspense thriller and released in the United States as She Was Young. The film is an adaptation of Josephine Tey’s 1936 novel A Shilling for Candles. Following Hitchcock’s Sabotage in 1936, the film fell into public domain and frequently is found in multi-movie packs.
Young and Innocent is one of those movies that just completely feels like a Hitchcock film. The movie has all the Hitchcock pieces and although you might not have seen Young and Innocent, it fits in nicely with Hitchcock’s bigger works.
This is going to be such a meet cute when we tell our grandkids how I was wanted for murder
The plot of Young and Innocent reminds me a lot of Saboteur (1942) which has an accused saboteur searching for the evidence to clear his name with an unwilling woman or it could resemble The 39 Steps (1935) which has a man teamed with a woman who must uncover the mystery…in other words, it isn’t very original in the bigger scheme of Hitchcock. The novel was focused on Inspector Alan Grant (who was the lead of the series of Tey’s books), but smartly switched it to the man on the run theme. The movie’s ending is rather inspired and has some great suspense in the “will he be cleared or won’t he period”.
The cast is alright Nova Pilbeam and Derrick De Marney aren’t the most memorable leads and are pretty bland. I like Edward Rigby as “Old Will” who gets pulled into the little detective circle by his ties to the crime. George Curzon as Guy is both fun and over-the-top as the killer who sees the law closing in on him. Hitchcock has his patented cameo as a photographer outside of the courthouse.
Not only are you a murderer, you’re culturally insensitive!
The movie doesn’t have a ton of innovative shots, but there is a rather impressive crane shot near the climax of the film. As the characters search for the blinking eye criminal (aka Guy), it slowly zooms in over a large party floor to Guy’s eyes which of course give him away to the audience. The reason the audience doesn’t know is slightly problematic, but also fits into the story. Guy’s part of the band and the band is performing in blackface. It is a little jarring (and also a reminder that blackface wasn’t an entirely just used in America), but it is central to the plot…that just doesn’t make it PC though.
Overall Young and Innocent is a fun and quick Hitchcock movie. There are some basic Hitchcock problems. It ends abruptly like many of his films, and it is rather coincidental that Robert discovers the body of a woman he knows and also happens to be the man who lost his trench coat that’s belt was used to killer her…but skewed logic and happenstance are pretty common in mysteries. Hitchcock followed Young and Innocent with The Lady Vanishes in 1938.
Batman: Soul of the Dragon (2021)
March 5th, 2021Movie Info
Movie Name: Batman: Soul of the Dragon
Studio: Warner Bros. Animation
Genre(s): Animated/Comic Book/Action/Adventure/Sci-Fi/Fantasy/Martial Arts
Release Date(s): January 12, 2021
MPAA Rating: R
Go Batman Team-Ninja!!!
Bruce Wayne has joined Shiva, Jade, Ben Turner, Rip Jagger, and Richard Dragon in Nanda Parbat to train with O-Sensei. O-Sensei’s training is both of the body and the soul, but Nanda Parbat also houses a dangerous secret. Years later, that secret once again threatens the world and Richard Dragon has set out to reach out to his former fellow students. Bruce, Shiva, and Ben, and Richard could be the only hope the world has…but even working as a team might not be enough.
Directed by Sam Liu, Batman: Soul of the Dragon is a DC Comics animated Elseworlds film. Following the DC Comics movie Superman: Man of Tomorrow in 2020, the film was released digitally on January 12, 2021 with a physical release following on January 26, 2021.
Snake arms…ok. Snake fingers on snake hands? That’s just overkill, guy
One of the more interesting aspects of comic books is their longevity and the fact that the same characters exist through different historical times and backgrounds. In the 1970s comics went horror, martial arts, and Blaxploitation to keep up with trends in films. Batman: Soul of the Dragon mixes aspects of all of these genres to tell a story that is different and unique.
The movie is primarily a martial arts movie set in the 1970s. Though “Batman” is the flagship title character, the movie largely feels like a Richard Dragon movie. Though I like Richard Dragon, he probably wouldn’t bring in the audience that would be necessarily to make the movie a success so Batman gets a lot of the credit while playing a relatively small role in the grand picture. With the genre as such a big part of the film, it feels less like a traditional comic book movie even though the story has very comic book elements.
In addition to the martial arts, there is a Blaxploitation theme both in the style of music and the Ben Turner (aka Bronze Tiger) character who appears very much like Jim Kelly’s character from Enter the Dragon more than the character from the comic. It is also ironic that Ben is played by Michael Jai White who previously portrayed him on Arrow and also parodied the genre in Black Dynamite.
Battle of the spirit animals!
Where the movie doesn’t go far enough is with the visuals. With a kicking ’70s soundtrack, I had hoped that the movie would take visual cues from older martial arts films. The movie is slick and clean, but it is too clean. A stylized “rough cut” version of the film that is choppy and dirty would have sealed the deal on the genre look and storytelling.
Batman: Soul of the Dragon continues to show what comic books can do with animated films. Unlike the big screen counterparts, it feels like more risks can be taken and more stylized and specific stories can be told without the fear of completely alienating viewers from a “franchise” mentality. Batman: Soul of the Dragon is a good film, but if it had turned out poorly, there isn’t as much damage control that is needed to “correct” the next film so it gives filmmakers more freedom to experiment. Batman: Soul of the Dragon is followed by Justice Society: World War II also in 2021.
WandaVision
March 5th, 2021
What show is this week?
Westview has new residents. Wanda (Elizabeth Olsen) and Vision (Paul Bettany) are moving in and trying to keep their abilities under wraps…but something is odd in Westfield. Time seems rather fluid and everything resembles old sitcoms. Outside of Westfield, questions are growing and a team is trying to find out what is happening in the town. Wanda can fix everything…but someone else might be pulling the strings.
WandaVision is a Marvel Comics TV mini-series airing on Disney+. The series was met with positive reviews and quickly gained a following. Episodes were released between January 15, 2021 and March 5, 2021.
Scarlet Witch and Vision were always really oddly unattainable characters. Wanda’s powers were rather questionable and Vision’s abilities seemed to always fit the situation that they needed. The first big Disney+ outing looked to wrap up ideas started in Avengers: Endgame and combined it with a unique stylized premise. Due to aspects of the show, a ******spoiler alert****** exists for the rest of the review.
Let’s get retro
The series started out a bit slow which led to initial turn offs from some viewers. It was easy to forget that WandaVision was a TV show and that the show moves at a different speed than the movies. People had to wait…which was a struggle. The show went from very classic sitcom based plots to high concept stories starting with the third episode…and then every episode became a must see.
As a fan of comics, WandaVision is also a reminder that the series isn’t based on comic books, but a version of the comic books. Agatha Harkness has traditionally been a “good guy” in the comics and the saga of the “white” Vision played out very differently. I will say that this series is a better homogenization of the comic world and the MCU while making something entirely new.
Fun Fact: This is Paul Bettany’s actual skin tone
The cast is good. Both Elizabeth Olsen and Paul Bettany finally get to demonstrate more acting “chops” that they didn’t really get to demonstrate in a bigger ensemble cast of the Avengers movies (and they have the ideal roles of getting to play different roles each episode). I look forward to seeing what is done with Teyonah Parris’s Monica Rambeau (a favorite character of mine), and it was good to see Randall Park back. For Thor and Thor: The Dark World, I found Kat Dennings kind of annoying, but I found her charming in this series. The introduction of Evan Peters as Quicksilver raises questions (although the final episode cancels it). The “breakout” star is longtime character actress Katherine Hahn who always brings great presence to series but finally gets more recognition here in her turn as Agatha Harkness who like Bettany and Olsen gets to have more range with her character.
The age old question…how powerful is the Scarlet Witch…and what exactly are her powers again?
The real star of WandaVision is the visuals. The show cleverly dips into different aspects of sitcoms from everything from what made humor at the time (a lot of groan-worthy humor in the early episodes) and how they evolved. The show goes as far as changing aspect ratios and of course going from black-and-white to color. Even on episodes like the birth episode (“Now in Color”) to play with how sitcoms cover up pregnancy with their female actors. The evolution of standard three camera sitcoms gives way to shows like Modern Family…it becomes fun to trace the different sitcoms hit upon and how they are interpreted.
WandaVision was a great watch. It was a high concept show that managed to be really accessible for the audience without dumbing it down. The final episode does fall into Marvel Universe movie territory with an extended fight, and that is a bit disappointing. Largely the non-traditional final play out of the series kept it from feeling like a rehash of the films, but though once again, the main characters literally are fighting almost duplicates of themselves in the end (and Agatha does not seem to have a very logical master plan). The series built it self a bit too big to please everyone, but I can forgive a lot of that simply because of the overall creativity of the show. WandaVision might be over, but it has given me hope on what Disney can do with future shows…and the idea that they can take chances that the movies do not allow. Bring on The Falcon and the Winter Soldier!
WandaVision—Season 1 Review and Episode Guide:
“Filmed Before a Live Studio Audience”
Episode 1 Filmed Before a Live Studio Audience Release Date: 01/15/21
It is Wanda (Elizabeth Olsen) and Vision’s anniversary, but Vision (Paul Bettany) has forgotten. The problem is amplified when Vision’s boss Mr. Hart (Fred Melamed) and his wife (Debra Jo Rupp) are scheduled for dinner…but is something else happening in Westview that Vision and Wanda don’t understand.
“Don’t Touch That Dial”
Episode 2 Don’t Touch That Dial Release Date: 01/15/21
Westview is having their annual talent show, and Wanda is out in another attempt to fit in. Unfortunately, Wanda’s magic show could face problems when Vision accidentally swallows a piece of gum. The magic show might turn into a bust which could anger the organizer Dottie Jones (Emma Caulfield Ford) and expose Wanda and Vision’s secret.
“Now in Color”
Episode 3 Now in Color Release Date: 01/22/21
Wanda is pregnant…and the pregnancy is happening a lot faster than expected. With the unexpected pregnancy progressing at an unnatural pace, Wanda and Vision must hide it from their neighbors including Geraldine (Teyonah Parris) who stops by for an unexpected visit…at the same time as the stork. Vision learns that the neighbors Herb (David Payton) and Agnes (Kathryn Hahn) have suspicions about Geraldine.
“We Interrupt This Program”
Episode 4 We Interrupt This Program Release Date: 01/29/21
Monica Rambeau returns from the Blip to discover her mother dead, and S.W.O.R.D. more important than ever. When she is sent to investigate the disappearance of the town of Westview with Jimmy Woo (Randall Park), she is sucked into the missing town. Meanwhile, Darcy Lewis (Kat Dennings) is called in to investigate the situation with other government agencies and discovers a strange broadcast from the missing town…leading to great suspicions about what is occurring in Westview.
“On a Very Special Episode…”
Episode 5 On a Very Special Episode… Release Date: 02/05/21
Wanda and Vision’s children Billy (Julian Hilliard) and Tommy (Jett Klyne) are growing fast and Wanda is getting tired of hiding. Monica tries to find a way back into the “hex” and finds herself at odds with Director Tyler Hayward (Josh Stamberg) who wants to treats Wanda as a terrorist. Vision learns from his coworker Norm (Asif Ali) that things aren’t all as perfect in Westview, and Vision has some questions for Wanda. An unexpected visitor arrives in the hex.
“All-New Halloween-Spooktacular!”
Episode 6 All-New Halloween Spooktacular! Release Date: 02/12/21
Hayward is taking over the project, and Darcy, Rambeau, and Woo are trying to see what he is up to…even if it could be detrimental to Monica’s health. Wanda adjusts to the arrival of Pietro (Evan Peters) and questions why he is different than she remembers. Vision begins to question Wanda’s actions and finds a darker side to Westview.
“Breaking the Fourth Wall”
Episode 7 Breaking the Fourth Wall Release Date: 02/19/21
The anomaly has expanded and Darcy finds herself trapped inside. Wanda is having a bad day, and the world around her seems to be falling apart. Vision knows what Wanda is controlling the reality as he finds himself in a circus after barely surviving his encounter with S.W.O.R.D. Billy and Tommy visit Agnes and question what is going on around them. As Monica forces her way into the anomaly against recommendations, the true villain is revealed!
“Previously On…”
Episode 8 Previously On Release Date: 02/26/21
Agatha Harkness has had her eye on Wanda and her abilities for a while. With Wanda’s children as her prisoners and Wanda already proving she’s willing to do anything to protect her family, Agatha dives into Wanda’s past and seeks to see what has made her so powerful and how she has been able to accomplish in Westview.
“The Series Finale”
Episode 9 The Series Finale Release Date: 03/05/21
Wanda and Agatha show off in final battle and the fate of Wanda’s version of Westview hangs in the balance. Vision finds himself faced with the original Vision and learns that stopping Hayward’s programming could release something else. With her magic tied to her family, Wanda must make a decision…and Agatha might be unstoppable.
For Your Eyes Only (1981)
March 5th, 2021Movie Info
Movie Name: For Your Eyes Only
Studio: Danjaq
Genre(s): Action/Adventure
Release Date(s): June 24, 1981
MPAA Rating: PG
You better move person who is definitely NOT Blofeld but shall remain unnamed.
The sinking of a British ship has created a crisis for the British government. Onboard, the Automatic Targeting Attack Communicator was housed which could become a dangerous tool if the Soviets get ahold it. James Bond (Roger Moore) finds himself in a race to find the sunken ship and stop the operatives hired to bring in the ATAC for the Russians. Bond faces off against Aristotle Kristatos (Julian Glover) while discovering aid from an angry Melina Havelock (Carole Bouquet) out to avenge her parents’ murder and a covert group led by Milos Columbo (Topol). Time is running out and the ATAC has to be reclaimed!
Directed by John Glen, For Your Eyes Only is a James Bond action-adventure film. Following Moonraker in 1979, the film is the twelfth Bond film and takes its title and some story aspects of “From Your Eyes Only” and the second story titled “Risico” written by Ian Fleming and publish in 1960 in For Your Eyes Only. The movie’s theme song “For Your Eyes Only” was sung by Sheena Easton who appeared in the title credits (a first) and the song received an Academy Award nomination for Best Original Song. For Your Eyes Only was met with mixed reviews.
James Bond…original inventor of the X-Games
For Your Eyes Only might have been the first Bond film I saw (either that or A View to a Kill) when we got a VCR. The movie is classic Roger Moore…but like with Roger Moore Bond, you have to take the good and the bad.
Like many Bonds the story sometimes drags. The opening sequence quickly dispatches the great (but unnamed) Blofeld villain (which seems a bit anticlimactic due to the Bond-Blofeld movie history to this point…part of the reasoning was the legal debate over Thunderball which also resulted in Never Say Never Again in 1983), and then the story jumps into the ATAC adventure. The different action sequences do add up to some tension, but story-wise, they often feel like filler.
Roger Moore has adjusted to Bond here and sometimes feels like he’s going through the motions. He hadn’t intended on being Bond this long and he is too old for the character (which leads to creeper type moments with his young admirer Bibi Dahl played by Lynn-Holly Johnson). Carole Bouquet is a nice counter to Bond in that she isn’t playing the rescue-victim the entire movie like many Bond girls, and she and Moore work decently together. Topol and his group of soldiers are a bit late to the game and Julian Glover isn’t the best Bond villain. With Bernard Lee’s death, M is replaced by James Villiers and Geoffrey Keen who serve to brief Bond.
Look at grandpa climb! He’s good!
The movie does have some classic Bond action. The dragging behind the boat and scuba diving sequences work with both the Havelock character and the long Olympic ski chase sequence also is classic Bond (and made me want to ride in a bobsled track). I also feel the climbing to Aristotle’s base has a lot of tension (but also points to the age of Moore which isn’t helpful).
For Your Eyes Only despite its flaws is one of Moore better James Bond films. It is a bit darker than some of his movies and doesn’t go as goofy as some of them. Still, Moore and the filmmakers feel like they are kind of treading water at this point and many of the Bond novelties seem to be losing their punch. For Your Eyes Only was followed by Octopussy in 1983.
Preceded By:
Followed By:
Jamaica Inn (1939)
March 3rd, 2021Movie Info
Movie Name: Jamaica Inn
Studio: Mayflower Productions
Genre(s): Mystery/Suspense/Drama
Release Date(s): May 12, 1939 (UK)/October 11, 1939 (US)
MPAA Rating: Not Rated
Well my vacation in Cornwall didn’t turn out as I hoped
Mary Yellan (Maureen O’Hara) heads to the Cornwall coast after leaving Ireland after the loss of her family. She finds herself at the home of her aunt Patience (Marie Ney) who helps her husband (Leslie Banks) run the Jamaica Inn but quickly learns that everything at the Jamaica Inn isn’t pleasant. When she saves a man named Jem Trehearne (Robert Newton) from being hanged, Mary discovers that the men of the Jamaica Inn make their money by luring cargo ships to the coast in the night and killing the crew when they crash. On the run herself and questioning what to do about her aunt, Mary finds herself seeking aid from a judge named Sir Humphrey Pengallan (Charles Laughton), but Pengallan might have his own secrets.
Directed by Alfred Hitchcock, Jamaica Inn is a British suspense thriller. Following his film The Lady Vanishes in 1938, the movie is an adaptation of Daphne du Maurier’s 1936 novel. The film was Hitchcock’s last British before starting films in the United States. It is widely considered one of Hitchcock’s worst films.
…and it almost gets tense here
Hitchcock early films are often in public domain, cheap, and poorly transferred. As a result, it seems like everyone has copies of these early films. Some are silent and some like Jamaica Inn are on the verge of Hitchcock’s bigger and better work. I finally sat down with Jamaica Inn and found it a rather dull thriller that isn’t even aided by Hitchcock’s touch.
The film isn’t very long (just at an hour and a half), but it does plod. There isn’t really much suspense (you are introduced to the “profession” of the Jamaica Inn residences at the onset) and you even learn that the obviously villainous Pengallan is involved earlier than you should. Keeping either of these aspects of the story a secret longer could have helped the film which slowly meanders to a rather obvious ending (sprinkled with a few good moments).
The film is the leading role premiere of Maureen O’Hara who previously had only had a few bit parts, but there doesn’t seem to be much chemistry with her lead Robert Newton. Part of Hitchcock’s problem with the movie was due to Charles Laughton who butted headed with Hitchcock and also as a producer held some sway over the production leaving Hitchcock in a tricky situation when it came to directing.
Hey…why do you always do crazy stuff on ships?
The movie isn’t the most visual of Hitchcock’s movies especially when you consider some of the clever shots of his previous pictures like The Lady Vanishes, The Man Who Knew Too Much, and The 39 Steps. Scenes like Mary trying to warn the ship in danger and some of the cave scene almost reach the level you hope for but don’t have the innovation you expect.
Jamaica Inn isn’t a horrible movie, but it is a rather a very plain movie. There is room for thrills and suspense in the story, but it doesn’t feel like the movie fully capitalizes on these options. It still would be good to see more high quality prints of Hitchcock’s early movies become readily available simply to see how he evolved as a creator and to explore and understand why movies like Jamaica Inn weren’t even up to the standards he hoped for. Hitchcock followed Jamaica Inn with Rebecca in 1940.
The Virgin Spring (1960)
March 3rd, 2021Movie Info
Movie Name: The Virgin Spring
Studio: Janus Films
Genre(s): Drama
Release Date(s): February 8, 1960
MPAA Rating: Not Rated
Hey, Karin. You got something brown on your nose…
Karin (Birgitta Pettersson) is a pure, innocent (yet lazy) Christian girl who is loved by her father (Max von Sydow) and mother (Birgitta Valberg) while her Odin worshipping sister Ingeri (Gunnel Lindblom) has brought shame to the family by becoming pregnant out of wedlock. While delivering candles to church, Karin is attacked in the woods by two goat herders (Axel Düberg and Tor Isedal) who are travelling with their younger brother (Ove Porath) and left to die. When the men arrive at the home of Karin, a family’s revenge will seek to balance the loss.
Directed by Ingmar Bergman, The Virgin Spring (or Jungfrukällan) is Swedish drama. Following Bergman’s The Magician in 1958, it is an adaptation of the medieval ballad Töres döttrar i Wänge. The movie was released to critical acclaim but did have censorship and controversy surrounding the rape scene. The movie won an Academy Award for Best Foreign Film with a nomination for Best Costume Design—Black-and-White. The Criterion Collection released a remastered version of the film (Criterion #321) and also included it with Ingmar Bergman’s Cinema boxset.
Yeah…let’s have a picnic with these strange men in the woods
I first really heard of The Virgin Spring due to its ties to Wes Craven’s horror classic The Last House on the Left. I had seen Bergman films but hadn’t seen this movie. Like most of Bergman’s work, it is a movie that can be watched and rewatched to try to determine what Berman is saying about religion, God, and revenge. The first time I watched it I had no expectations so the second time I was able to look at it a bit more.
The Virgin Spring is a hard movie to watch because of the subject but also isn’t an easy movie to watch because of its meaning. The movie is layered with symbolism and with the symbolism there comes tons of questions that are left up to the audience to determine. With a basic story that often feels like a fairy tale with two sisters entering the big, bad woods, the movie becomes very allegorical.
Brutal in any version
One of the oddest aspects of the film has to be the pagan daughter Ingeri who is the half-sister of Karin. She is the polar opposite of her sister with a dark, brooding, and dirty and disheveled appearance. She worships the Norse gods and is treated poorly by her stepmother and her father who has an almost more than fatherly interest in Karin. It leaves you wondering if her father is a convert and the end of the film implies that Ingeri’s sins are washed away by the spring which erupted from her sister’s resting place. I find Ingeri the more sympathetic character who works hard for her life while her sister appears lazy and selfish…yet she’s the one put on a pedestal by her parents and the film.
Let’s just call the movie “Everyone Hates Ingeri”
With the pedestal aspect of Karin, it is really odd how the revenge is handled. The killings are ruthless and not even the boy who had nothing to really do with the death is spared. Instead of a lot of questions about the morality of revenge, the movie instead goes to show the miracle that has come out of Karin’s death…which in a way seems to justify in a way the slaying of the men and the child.
The cast of the movie is great, and Bergman’s regular Max Von Sydow continues to hold his own in Bergman’s films despite often being cast way too young for the role. He has a weight and age to him that helps him pull off the role. Birgitta Pettersson is a rather light weight in the role of the titular “virgin”, but it does work by how her character is crafted. Gunnel Lindblom is great as the shadowy sister (though it is pretty obvious that she isn’t as pregnant as her character is supposed to be in certain scenes). I think the young actor who plays the boy also does surprisingly decent for the weight of his role but I wish in general that the herders had been more developed to add sympathy or hatred toward them.
Hey at least the kid’s ok…welp…never mind
The Virgin Spring looks fantastic. The setting and great framing of each scene shows why Bergman is held in such high regard as a director. The movie was made in a time where color could have been used, but black-and-white photography was so much more powerful for the film.
Bergman was a master and The Virgin Spring is just another example of why he has endured. Although the movie might not be his best film, it is a great film and worth watching. The drama has a lot of aspects of horror to it and that is why you can easily see how it developed into The Last House on the Left in 1972 and later its remake in 2009 despite having different themes and styles. Bergman followed The Virgin Spring with The Devil’s Eye also released in 1960.
Related Links:
The Last House on the Left (1972)
The Last House on the Left (2009)
Ebirah—Horror of the Deep (1966)
March 3rd, 2021Movie Info
Movie Name: Ebirah—Horror of the Deep (Godzilla vs. the Sea Monster)
Studio: Toho
Genre(s): Action/Adventure/Sci-Fi/Fantasy
Release Date(s): December 17, 1966
MPAA Rating: Not Rated
Who you calling a shrimp?
Ryota (Toru Watanabe) has lost his brother (Toru Ibuki) at sea but learns from a mystic that he might still be alive. With no one willing to help him search, Ryota steals a sailboat with his friends in tow, but Ryota finds a thief named Yoshimura (Akira Takarada) has already stolen the boat. Travelling into uncharted waters, Ryota, his friends, and Yoshimura find themselves trapped on an island run by a terrorist organization called the Red Bamboo who have sinister plans for the world. Protecting the Red Bamboo is a creature called Ebirah which patrols the waters for unsuspecting ship…now, the only hope of escape could be the monster known as Godzilla!
Nothing more compelling when your “star” falls asleep on a mountain…
Directed by Jun Fukuda, Ebirah—Horror of the Deep (ゴジラ・エビラ・モスラ 南海の大決闘 or Gojira, Ebira, Mosura Nankai no Daikettō aka Godzilla, Ebirah, Mothra: Big Duel in the South Seas) was retitled Godzilla vs. the Sea Monster. The film is the seventh film in the Godzilla series following Invasion of the Astro-Monster released in 1965. The Criterion Collection released the film as part of the box set Godzilla: The Showa-Era Films, 1954-1975 (Criterion #1000).
Godzilla movies are a love them or hate them type of endeavor. I grew up with them on Saturday mornings and love them…despite being bad, repetitive, and goofy looking. Ebirah is a bit different than other Godzilla films in that it takes so long for Godzilla to even become a factor.
No, Ebirah…you only get the point if you were the one serving!
Godzilla isn’t in a majority of the movie. He is lying dormant under the island and awakened by the “heroes” of the film. He then literally sits around for part of the movie watching (and falling asleep). It is an odd way to treat the “star” of the film, but the film is of course joined by more monsters which include the title character (a giant shrimp/lobster thing) called Ebirah and fan favorite Mothra. The story primarily comes down to an adventure with the humans.
The human characters of the movie are really one dimensional and they are pretty weak. The characters all have really weird interaction and despite an event that could destroy the world, the characters don’t seem to take it as seriously as they should, but like everything else, that is expected in a Godzilla film.
Looks like I’m having lobster for dinner!!!
Godzilla’s effects are…Godzilla effects. You get the guy in the big suit, snap zooms, fast cuts (so you can’t see characters), and lots of roaring. We do get to see Godzilla fight underwater which is a little different. The movie has four kaiju monsters with Godzilla, Ebirah, Mothra, and a giant bird.(just called Giant Condor). I particularly like when Godzilla and Ebirah play volleyball/soccer with a rock for a while.
Ebirah—Horror from the Deep or Godzilla vs. the Sea Monster is classic Godzilla. It might need a little more Godzilla, but it still is a Godzilla film. It might actually have more plot than many Godzilla films, but you do not come for plot. In its different approach, the movie feels not as standard Godzilla as some of the sequels, but fans expecting a Godzilla heavy movie might be disappointed. Ebirah—Horror of the Deep was followed by Son of Godzilla in 1967.
Preceded By:
Invasion of the Astro-Monster (1965)
Followed By:
Baadasssss! (2003)
March 2nd, 2021Movie Info
Movie Name: Baadasssss!
Studio: Bad Aaas Cinema
Genre(s): Drama
Release Date(s): September 7, 2003 (Toronto International Film Festival)/May 28, 2004 (US)
MPAA Rating: R
I’m being haunted by Sweetback?
After the success of his movie Watermelon Man, Melvin Van Peebles (Mario Van Peebles) rejects the offer to make more movies to appeal to a White audience and decides to make movies for Black viewers. With a multicultural crew, Melvin is out to make an ode to the Black Community and a movie that depicts life for the people he wants to see it. Unfortunately, Hollywood has other ideas of what Black audiences should watch. Melvin and his partner Bill Harris (Rainn Wilson) decide to go ahead and make Sweet Sweetback’s Baadasssss Song without the backing of Hollywood…but with no money and few backers, the dream might fall flat.
Written, produced, and directed by Mario Van Peebles (with additional writing by Dennis Haggerty and Melvin Van Peebles), Baadasssss! is a biographic drama. Based on Melvin’s 1971 diary chronicling the making of 1971’s Sweet Sweetback’s Baadasssss Song, the film premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival and received positive reviews.
It is interesting watching Baadasssss! in a time when the same problems and questions are arising. The movie was released in 2003 and tells the struggles of minority filmmakers in a majority White film industry and the attempt to have different voices heard. The story is set in the early 1970s, but the struggles still represent the 2020s…fifty years apart.
Got to strain to make it
There are tons of stories of directors fighting for their vision of their film. From the beginning of filmmaking, actors and directors butted heads with producers and distributors. The problem is that struggles for African-American filmmakers continue at a disproportionate level. While someone like Quentin Tarantino might have to fund and produce a first film like Reservoir Dogs through sketchy measures, he has a better shake at finding a distributor, and in 1971, that wasn’t even an option…the methods and the means might seem selfish and grandiose, but the bigger idea of creating a foundation from which to build from is more important than the individual behavior of Melvin Van Peebles in the film.
The film honestly works because you can’t sit and agree with Melvin’s actions on every turn. With Mario playing his father, he gets a distance from the character, but it still has that intimacy of a family story. Mario obviously doesn’t agree with his father’s actions all the time (as portrayed by the actor playing him in the film), and Melvin’s decisions aren’t always the best or right for a kid…but it demonstrates that he’s human, and Mario Van Peebles brings that humanity to the role.
Sweetback strikes back!
The movie is a weird blend of faux documentary and faux movie. The film stylistically is very clean and shiny and then it has to recreate a grimy lower quality film within the film. The documentary format of the movie doesn’t always work and I don’t know if I necessarily like how that was done…it almost feels like the people in the movie (if alive) should have always played the documentary versions of themselves (kind of like American Splendor or the Charlie Murphy stories on Chappelle’s Show). It would have been a nice validation throughout the movie that some of the events that couldn’t possibly be real were real by having the real person backing up the story.
Baadasssss! chronicles an interesting period in cinema and an important period. The odd aspect of movies like Sweet Sweetback’s Baadasssss Song is that it really helped lead to a boom of Blaxploitation films which did provide a lot of minority filmmakers and actors a voice that wasn’t previously available…but then it ended up almost collapsing on itself by creating a stereotype (something that Melvin Van Peebles was trying to avoid). The movie is worth seeking out but it is also important to try to have some background to understand the significance of what Melvin Van Peebles was trying to accomplish…and how he did it Baadasssss!
Moonraker (1979)
March 1st, 2021Movie Info
Movie Name: Moonraker
Studio: Danjaq/Eon Productions
Genre(s): Action/Adventure/Sci-Fi/Fantasy
Release Date(s): June 26, 1979
MPAA Rating: PG
Oooh…high tech!
A Moonraker space shuttle is stolen as it is transported from the United States to the United Kingdom, and James Bond (Roger Moore) is called in to investigate. The source of the investigation leads 007 to the Moonraker creator Hugo Drax (Michael Lonsdale) where he discovers Hugo creating a master race. Teaming with a C.I.A. agent named Holly Goodhead (Lois Chiles), Bond finds himself in a race around the world trying to keep up with Drax and his construction of a toxic nerve gas while evading the assassin Jaws (Richard Kiel). When Goodhead and Bond learn of Drax’s secret space station and his plans for humanity, 007 must shut Drax down forever.
He needed more iron in his diet
Directed by Lewis Gilbert, Moonraker is the eleventh film in the James Bond franchise. Following The Spy Who Loved Me in 1977, Moonraker takes the title from 1955 Ian Fleming novel Moonraker which does feature Hugo Drax, but the film dismisses most of the plot (even leading to a separate novelization called James Bond and Moonraker). The title track is performed by Shirley Bassey who previously performed the James Bond themes “Goldfinger” and “Diamonds Are Forever”. The movie received an Academy Award nomination for Best Visual Effects, but the movie is widely considered one of the worst Bonds (but also one of the box office Bonds).
Moonraker was never really supposed to happen when it did. The follow-up to The Spy Who Loved Me was meant to be For Your Eyes Only, but due to the success of Star Wars and the popularity of space-fantasy, Moonraker was pushed forward before For Your Eyes Only. Despite a lot of bad stuff in Moonraker and a plot that kind of plods, I enjoy a good cheesy Roger Moore Bond.
Roger Moore is kicking that rubber anaconda’s ass!!!
Moonraker is pretty bad, but for a kid, it is what you’d really want from a Bond. While The Spy Who Loved Me provided all the more adult aspects of Bond in a way that an adult would enjoy it (and a kid), Moonraker seems to be more for the kids. It is very cartoonish in the plot and action, and it does not seem to have the staying power of other James Bond films. It feels like they are just chasing the trends at this point.
Moore also starts looking old in this picture. Moonraker, For Your Eyes Only, and definitely A View to a Kill have the super-spy looking a bit long in the tooth. Most of this movie has him not being too athletic, but I think if Bond really did have to run and jump, Moore would be in trouble. I do however like Lois Chiles as his romantic lead, and Chiles was originally sought out for The Spy Who Loved Me. Fortunately compensating for Bond, Jaws is back in this movie. Originally the character was meant to be killed in The Spy Who Loved Me, but here, he brings some fun to the script. With his Swiss Miss girlfriend (played by , Jaws flips sides (apparently killing everyone can be forgiven by Bond), and Jaws safely survives the film. The movie also features the final appearance of Bernard Lee as M.
Leads to the best Q double entendre “I think he’s attempting re-entry”
The movie tries really hard to be high tech, but when compared to other sci-fi of the time, it doesn’t hold up (though the parachute fight at the beginning is still pretty cool along with the gravity simulator scene). The weightless scenes apparently just involve wires and moving really slow…plus, you must not be able to talk in weightlessness because everyone seems to stop. The movie at least does succeed in getting a lot of exotic locations for the set-pieces including a trip to Rio.
Moonraker might be a low point in the Bond franchise, but it is still entertaining. If this were the Bond being used to introduce the character and the franchise to a modern viewer, it might not have the person coming back for seconds. I can see that the movie is bad but if you did grow-up with it, it gets a bit of a pass. Moonraker was followed by For Your Eyes Only in 1981.
Preceded By:
Followed By:
Frenzy (1972)
March 1st, 2021Movie Info
Movie Name: Frenzy
Studio: Universal Pictures
Genre(s): Mystery/Suspense
Release Date(s): June 21, 1972
MPAA Rating: R
Remember Bob’s your uncle…and he’s going to ruin your life
A murderer is stalking the streets of London and strangling women with his neckties. When Dick Blaney (Jon Finch) is fired from his job and visits his ex-wife Brenda (Barbara Leigh-Hunt), he instantly becomes a suspect when she is found dead. On the run with his girlfriend Babs (Anna Massey), Dick is unknowing being set-up by a man he calls his friend…and Bob Rusk (Barry Foster) isn’t done with Dick yet.
Directed by Alfred Hitchcock, Frenzy is a suspense thriller. Following Topaz in 1969, the movie adapts the 1966 novel Goodbye Piccadilly, Farewell Leicester Square by Arthur La Bern which in turn was based on the Jack the Stripper murders in London from 1964 to 1965. The movie was praised by critics and is often cited as Hitchcock’s last masterpiece.
It’s Hitch!
Frenzy is rather shocking. While Psycho had a lot of implied violence, there is little implied in Frenzy. While Hitchcock has his classic style, Frenzy seems very modern in comparison to some of his other films. Frenzy still is stylish and classy and has that Hitchcock thriller aspect to it.
The story for Frenzy is the standard “wrong man” story which in general drives me crazy. You can see Jon Finch’s character unintentionally setting himself up for problems at the beginning of the film and it makes you want to scream. Fortunately, the movie is often about the killer himself (another Hitchcock M.O.), and scenes like the potato truck adventure makes you want him to succeed and also get caught at the same time. Like many Hitchcock films, Hitchcock seems to get bored with the movie near the end and the film ends rather abruptly with little fanfare and is even more anticlimactic than some of his other films.
You make that face it might freeze that way…when you’re dead
The cast is good, but Hitchcock had a wildly different plan for the film. Hitchcock wanted Michael Caine for Bob Rusk (Barry Foster does resemble him) and he also auditioned Helen Mirren for the Babs role. I do like Jon Finch as the dirty and somewhat violent lead (he reminds me of Oliver Reed in the role) and Anna Massey’s inclusion as Babs is fun in that she was part of Peeping Tom which Psycho was widely compared to when Hitchcock released it. I didn’t really need the wacky inspector played Alec McCowen and his wife played by Vivien Merchant, but the movie needed some lightening up (and it is interesting to see thing like margaritas as something exotic and weird). The movie also has small roles by Jean Marsh and Bernard Cribbins.
Sorry, Babs…collateral damage.
Like with all Hitchcock movies, Hitchcock uses visuals that make the movie better. There are some great shots in this film including the nice opening helicopter shot to a gathered crowd (where you eventually see Hitch in his patented cameo). Another notable shot is the shot up and the reverse shot down the stairs from Rusk’s apartment to a busy street below. This emphasizing you never know what is going on behind closed doors…maybe just feet from you.
Frenzy is a bit flawed but still good. It is not as nuanced and polished as many of his films. The R-Rated film actually lives up to its R-Rating and is quite violent. The rape scene is quite intense and realistic. This could upset those who prefer Hitchcock’s suggestive style of shooting but also makes the movie feel like it fits in 1972 more instead of the older style of Hitchcock’s movies. Alfred Hitchcock followed Frenzy with his final film Family Plot in 1976.
