Si algo hay que agradecerle, entre otras cosas, a Roger Corman es que a través de sus adaptaciones cinematográficas much@s han conocido la obra de Edgar Allan Poe. De la misma manera, los que ya admiraban al escritor norteamericano han recalado en el cine del primero atraídos por la estela de unos de los más geniales maestros del relato breve y, en concreto, del cuento de terror.

Roger Corman dirigió toda una serie de películas basadas en relatos de Poe que incluían “La caída de la casa Usher” (1960), “El péndulo de la muerte” (1961), “Historias de terror” (1961), “La obsesión” (1962), “El cuervo” (1963), “La máscara de la muerte roja” (1964) y “La tumba de Ligeia” (1965) a la que va dedicada la presente reseña.

El misterioso Vender Fell (Vincent Price) acaba de perder a su querida esposa Ligeia (Elizabeh Shepherd). A pesar de la oposición del sacerdote de la localidad ya que la mujer no está bautizada, Fell insiste en que sea enterrada en una abadía cercana. En plena cacería del zorro, la bella Rowena (papel también interpretado por Elizabeh Shepherd) descubre la tumba de Ligeia en donde se topa con un obsesionado Fell pertrechado con unas curiosas gafas oscuras. Ambos se sienten atraídos de inmediato, sobre todo Vender que observa cómo Rowena guarda un enorme parecido con la difunta. Tras desposarse, disfrutan de una feliz luna de miel que se trunca cuando vuelven a casa, puesto que Fell comienza a comportarse de una forma extraña y Rowena siente la poderosa presencia del recuerdo de Ligeia.

Rodada (como era habitual) con pocos recursos económicos, Corman echa mano de su imaginación y talento para llevar a cabo esta adaptación que, sin superar la maestría de “Historias de terror” o “La máscara de la muerte roja”, es un excelente ejemplo de las constantes que caracterizaron su cine de terror.

Y así, nos encontramos la recreación de un ambiente típicamente romántico (relativo al movimiento del Romanticismo del siglo XIX y entroncado con la novela gótica de la que Poe fue un claro seguidor) en el que destacan la noche, los claroscuros, las ruinas, la presencia perturbadora y fantasmagórica de algo indefinido, la palidez de los protagonistas (sobre todo las féminas), el tono decadente o la aparición del fuego redentor (muy “cormaniano”) que lo purifica todo y destruye la maldad.

La naturaleza externa viva y exultante, contrasta con lo tenebroso de la mansión de Fell cuyo aire enrarecido es palpable desde el otro lado de la pantalla. Rowena es el soplo de aire fresco que pretenderá regenerar a Fell, pero que deberá luchar (infructuosamente) contra la ponzoñosa presencia de Ligeia que, a través de ese terrorífico y arisco gato negro, seguirá imponiendo su dominio sobre Fell.

Encabezando el reparto encontramos al siempre magnífico Vincent Price, cuya sola presencia llena la pantalla eclipsando al resto de intérpretes. Lamentablemente el doblaje impide disfrutar de la voz cavernosa (y de las espeluznantes carcajadas) de Price que ya pudimos escuchar en el tema “Thriller” del inclasificable Michael Jackson. Recordado por su participación en películas de terror (su imponente aspecto físico y su rostro desasosegante eran su mejor baza), fue Tim Burton el que le rescató, a modo de homenaje, en “Eduardo Manostijeras” (1990): un hermosísimo canto de cisne para este actor inolvidable.

Una pequeña pieza de “bisutería” fílmica que nada tiene que envidiar a algunas supuestas “joyas” del terror que, con más recursos, no saben llegar de la misma manera al espectador.

Para ver la ficha de la película, pinchad aquí

Briony  

MONKEY RATING: THREE MONKEYS

(For a brief explanation of the Monkey Review rating system, click here.)

I can only imagine what compromising pictures there must be floating out there of Joan Allen to get her to agree to a role in director Paul W.S. Anderson's car porn flick, “Death Race.”

Granted, her role in the “Bourne” films was a supporting one, but this woman was thrice nominated for an Oscar.

I mean, she's got to be more proud of starring in Saturday Night Live's “The Best of Chris (Mr. Peepers) Kattan” video than this.

I know the argument: “It's just pure fun, it's a Roger Corman film, for crying out loud. Loosen up, Mr. Stuffy Movie Critic Guy!”

And while I will admit to a few inventive scenes (the one prisoner's head that seemingly explodes when he gets plowed into was a nifty little effect. But the director must have thought so too, and decided to show it on three separate occasions), the overall effect is nothing that watching a 90-minute string of Mountain Dew (or whatever your “Extreme” beverage of choice) commercials on a loop.
Sure, of Corman's 300-plus film credits, he's produced such titles as “Attack of the Giant Leeches,” “Eat My Dust,” “Bloodfist” and “Chopping Mall.” But in the original film, he was working with witty, subversive director Paul Bartel, who went on to direct the camp classics “Eating Raoul” and “Lust in the Dust.”

“The 1975 original stung with social commentary, from the rising tide of violence in professional sports to the Orwellian machinations of Big Brother inherent in the United States.

As over-the-top as it was, “Death Race 2000” was at least about something.

I suppose the new incarnation is as well. It's about 90 minutes.

Other than that, there is little to recommend for anyone other than the most adamant auto enthusiast who reads “Car & Driver” as if it were a “Penthouse Forum”: “She had a dual-door, quad-wheel, semi-hemi-V8, stacked with a 440 Mopar and a body for gear-grinding glory! Yeah, baby! Say it slower!”

Jason Statham, who is contractually obligated to release his films in cinematic dust bowl known as late August, stars as Jensen Ames, a laid-off steelworker and devoted family man who coincidentally happens to be a one-time racing champ. I say “coincidentally” because it is only after Jensen is framed for the murder of his wife and imprisoned that we find out this little piece of exposition.

Allen plays the icy warden of this futuristic prison, who is in dire need of a new driver for her popular “Death Race” television show that pits prisoners against one another buzzing around the facilities in “Mad Max” - like vehicles.

One by one, prisoners meet their demise as Jensen, fueled by the rage of his predicament and the promise of release if he wins, eliminates the competition.

This is the point in the review where I would list some of the supporting actors and the characters they portrayed, but, really, what's the point?

Director Paul W.S. Anderson (who apparently added the initials so we would not confuse his oeuvre -- “Alien vs. Predator,” “Mortal Kombat,” “Soldier” -- with that of Paul Anderson, director of award-winning films such as “Boogie Nights,” “Magnolia” and “There Will Be Blood”) is solely invested on playing to the ADHD crowd.

There is not a camera held steady for more than 20 seconds and both the race and fight scenes are seemingly filmed by hiccup-plagued cameramen. To compensate, he fills the speakers with death-metal dirges designed solely to increase adrenaline or elicit spontaneous ear-bleeding.

And atop this wreckage of twisted metal Allen is perched, barking out lines as though she was attempting to hold back the bile induced by even having her name affixed to it. Forget menacing, it would be a stretch if she even appeared interested during her minutes on screen.

One can only hope that after the sobbing concludes, she can dust herself off and head back into roles the captivating actress so richly deserves.

The reason I am the only thing in focus here is sheer power of the "stare". Don't try it at home.

There has always been a trend in Hollywood to go back and remake classics, but the term "classics" is loosely defined between critically acclaimed movies and those which we just have a hell of time watching over and over again, sometimes re-coined as "cult classics". Fans of both good and bad films raise their respective hands in horror and disbelief everytime another remake is greenlit, while others furrow their brows in confusion as to what inner voices compelled movie execs to take on that particular film update. So here we are again, witnessing the results of nervous hands reaching back into the annals of film history for something to bring back, something to put new wrapping paper on and re-gift to a whole new audience. Happy Birthday, Movie Fans; It's Death Race!

The original film, Death Race 2000, was produced by legendary film icon Roger Corman, who also acted as one of the producers for the update as well. It was yet one more notch in the belt of an already stellar B-movie career, which included gems like The Little Shop of Horrors, Dementia 13 and Big Bad Mama. Another tidbit the former Death Race had on it's side was the performances of Sylvester Stallone and David Carradine as Machine Gun Joe and Frankenstein respectively. Both were big names already, with Stallone only one year away from the stardom of Rocky, and these two actors lend a huge amount of camp value to digging through the DVD rental racks just to discover this timeless story of pre-eminent road rage. You might be thinking to yourself, without those two actors, how can this remake hold up? Well, the answer is simple, find a younger actor who can seemingly play absolutely any character with a car and a bad attitude: Jason Statham.

For those who have been living under a rock for the past ten years, Jason Statham is one of the most under-appreciated action stars of our generation. Launching himself to critical appeal in Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels in 1998 he cemented his career moving forward by getting cast as the kung-fu thrilling, one liner spouting and impossibly percise driving lead in The Transporter. His trail through the movie ranks has been a tad wobbly at times, like his starring role in Uwe Boll's In the Name of the King, but no one can fault him for striking while the iron is hot. Statham continues his streak in this flick with a heap of glaring shots through broken windshields and stare down moments after taking unbelievable punches and kicks to the head. The only piece missing for the true Statham fan is a distinct lack of martial arts, which makes sense on the story side of things, but I still wished for one good spin kick, ridgehand chop to the neck or even better, a homage to the greased pig fight ala Transporter style.

Surrounding our steely-eyed hero are a couple of people worth mentioning. Ian McShane, who is most recently known for mercilessly killing and beating people down in the Old West town of Deadwood, plays Coach, the institutionalized leader of Statham's pit crew. Tyrese Gibson brings his own version of the stone cold glare over to play as the new Machine Gun Joe, which for one reason or another the new writers decided to make gay. Joan Allen takes a striking departure from her usual fare and turns in a stereotyped performance as the fiendishly powerful warden of the futuristic prison where the Death Race takes place. To get a literary glimpse into her role, picture her performance as Pam Landy from the last two Bourne films and turn the bitchiness up three more notches. Lastly, rounding out the cast, as well as her wardrobe, is the film debut of the dangerously curvy Natalie Martinez as Case, the navigator in Statham's rolling wagon of destruction. The eye candy in this flick just got a little spicy.

The movie gives you exactly what you expect, fast cars, loud guns and explosions one after another. There are a few really impressive stunt sequences and the realism of the shots seemingly prompted the studio to put up a disclaimer at the end of the film to make sure people don't go home that night and try to mount mini-cannons on the hood of their Honda Civic. One of the main things I can attack about this flick is not the movie itself, but the trailer. The first trailer to hit the screens was way too long and showed each and every plot twist. Admittedly, you don't sit down for this with popcorn in hand expecting to be dazzled by well written story elements, but at least give the movie a chance to hit on all cylinders (oh hell yes, car references get me bonus points in this one).

Recommendation: It's not bad for the die-hard Jason Statham fans and road rage enthusiasts, but for the genre it lands in, I might lean towards the recent decapitation-fest Doomsday. The theater experience is only going to help this one out, so hit up a matinée if you're feeling the fire for it.

:: :: :: :: :: :: :: :: :: :: ::

[tratto da wikipedia]

Cioè, Fellini, Groucho Marx, Roger Corman... Cary Grant???

Nicco ha chiesto: "perchè peter falk non compare nella lista?"

Ha ragione, perchè?

I love Rock and Roll High School. It's the right combination of insane and cheesy to really sit well in my heart. The Ramones hang out with PJ Soles? Sure, I'm definitely down with that. Even if it's too late to get the Feel Good Friday blogroll bump.

Aim for the babies and the Boy Scouts, because Death Race 2000 is the Greatest Movie EVER!

I'll throw some pics up later. This episode is super late. I was sick all weekend.

Many apologies for the inconwenience.

Welcome to the July edition of Remake Radar, where we tackle Hollywood's penchant for remaking previous films (for better or worse). Ripping down the highway of recent “remakes” is none other than “Death Race 2000.”

“Death Race 2000” (1975)

Stars: David Carradine, Sylvester Stallone

Director: Roger Corman

Story: It’s the future and David Carradine is Frankenstein, a government racer in a three-part transcontinental auto race where you earn points by killing people and surviving against the other drivers. Frankenstein has been continuously rebuilt and is as much machine as man. He is the government’s champion.

Second stringer is “Machine Gun” Joe Viterbo (Stallone) plans on taking Frankenstein out of the picture; he’s tired of always coming in as #2. Added to that is Annie (Simone Griffeth) who is against the government and slips into being Frankenstein’s co-driver.

What do we know now? It’s coming out in August! Although Roger Corman was against it, the makers of the film showed him designs and clips from the film, and now he’s apparently on board (in a manner of speaking). Directed by Paul W.S. Anderson (“Resident Evil,” “Mortal Kombat,” “Event Horizon”) it’s due for release on August 22. 2008 and will be called “Death Race.” Purportedly this film is a “prequel” to “DR2000.”

Cast

Jason Statham              Frankenstein

Tyrese Gibson              Machine-Gun Joe

Joan Allen

Ian McShane                Coach

A Folha de S. Paulo de hoje traz a dica para download de um dos primeiros filmes do consagrado cineasta Francis Ford Coppola (da trilogia O Poderoso Chefão). Dementia 13, filme de terror de 1963, foi produzido por Roger Corman, um dos grandes mestres do cinema B.

Download
Dementia 13

Link relacionado
Francis Ford Coppola — A Life Behind the Lens

THE TERROR ( 1965 )
Boris Karloff and Jack Nicholson appear in this Corman quicky that was filmed on the same sets as The Raven (also starring the pair) days after it wrapped.  Karloff was still under contract so he agreed to stay on for another go-round. Numerous individuals wrote and directed The Terror, including Francis Ford Coppola, Jack Hill and Nicholson himself. Much of the writing was done on the fly during production. Nicholson stars in this one as a French soldier who's lost his way, taking refuge in Baron Karloff's castle which is haunted by the ghost of his young dead wife (Sandra Knight, Nicholson's girlfriend at the time). There are few real scares but there's definitely a curiosity appeal here and the real castle set is impressive adding an expensive gothic vibe to a low-budget lark. Johanthan Haze, who'd previously starred with Nicholson in Corman's The Little Shop of Horrors appears, as does Corman regular, Dick Miller. For Corman, Karloff or Nicholson fans. Most others won't be interested.
**

...THE CURSE OF FRANKENSTEIN.

Yes! This week we watch all the Terence Fisher Hammer Productions about Baron Frankenstein and his varied creations.

This means omitting EVIL OF FRANKENSTEIN, which isn't a Fisher and doesn't fit the continuity of the other films (indeed, it seems to go all-out to destroy all coherence) and HORROR OF FRANKENSTEIN which stars Ralph Bates instead of Cushing and likewise isn't a Fisher.

Most of the Fishers are written by Jimmy Sangster, Hammer's prime creator of thick-eared dialogue and inventive plotting, a very important figure in the development of the Hammer style. While the cast may have despaired of Sangster's speeches (Christopher Lee grumbled about having no lines and Cushing told him to be grateful), he was instrumental in stripping away the niceties of Universal's gothic tales, substituting brutality, villainy and nihilism.

Of course, part of the Hammer approach is catchpenny hucksterism, beginning with the title of this one -- there's no curse mentioned in the movie. (Similarly, the later VIKING QUEEN has no Vikings, but a line of dialogue has been helpfully added to appease pedantic Scots like me: "She is our Viking Queen!") Hammer obviously wanted a title distinctly different from Universal's, because they were nervous of lawsuits. I don't see any evidence that Sangster ever read Mary Shelley's original novel (try it, it's perfectly readable and entertaining), but he probably glanced at it, borrowing the notion of referring to Lee's mangled creation as "the creature" rather than "the monster", which again was useful in differentiating the new film from its predecessor.

Despite the fear of being seen as an unlicensed remake, Sangster cooked up a few references to the first two James Whale movies -- at one point, a small boy and a blind man are introduced. The boy immediately heads to the shore of a lake, where he sits and picks something off the ground, immediately recalling Boris Karloff's encounter with the flower-picking little girl. Meanwhile, the blind man, a direct swipe from BRIDE OF FRANKENSTEIN, meets and is immediately attacked by the creature. Hammer films are setting out their store: there is to be no pathos and no sentimentality here, just nasty surprises all the way.

The other classic horror film that seems to inform this movie is Murnau's NOSFERATU, both in the cut of Lee's coat, and in his pose when spying on Hazel Court through a skylight. Images like this show Fisher's flair for this kind of storytelling. Robbed of the dreamlike somnambulism of Murnau, CURSE picks up the pace and delivers muscular thrills and punchy delivery. Fisher is helped enormously in this by his cast.

First, Cushing. Influenced by his admiration for Laurence Olivier, Cushing delivers an energetic and highly physical performance, throwing himself into the action sequences with abandon (see how he mimes getting a stitch in his side after running upstairs to fight the monster-- sorry, "creature"). Baron Frankenstein may be a man of science, but he's also a MAN. Sangster has also added an illicit affair with the French maid, so that from the very first film, Cushing's Baron is morally tainted by more than his zeal for medicine. MOST of his crimes are motivated by a desire to achieve greatness in science, but he's also perfectly capable of beastly behaviour for purely selfish ends.

Cushing is so perfect for this film, and this genre, and somebody was smart enough to realise it. He goes with the generally vigorous style of the movie (vigorous in a slightly stiff way, like Lee's energetic yet ungainly creature) but adds cultivation and a believable intelligence. He's also adroit at getting away with Sangster's more boggling lines of dialogue, such as "We hold in the palms of our hands such secrets that have never been dreamed of." And when handed a nice gag, like "Let him rest in peace -- while he can," he underplays magnificently.

Playing the juvenile version of Cushing is Melvyn Hayes, whose presence can be distracting to some: he's famous in Britain for playing a transvestite bombardier in a campy sitcom about a military "concert party" (troupe of entertainers) in WWII Burma, called It Ain't Half Hot Mum. Imagine OBJECTIVE, BURMA! only with more songs and dragging up. But Hayes is a very good actor and, unlikely as it seems, a resonably plausible physical embodiment of a juvenile Cushing. (Irrelevant sidenote: Cushing was dressed as a girl by his mother, a reaction perhaps to so many boys being lost in WWI.)

Second lead: Robert Urquhart, as the Sensible Friend. "I bet nobody talks about him because they're all too busy looking at Cushing," says Fiona. "But he's GOOD." It's true. Playing straight man to Frankenstein can be a thankless role, but Urquhart (good, unpronounceable Scottish name) espouses the morality without becoming priggish or boring. Whenever he's given the chance to loosen up a little, he takes it, breathing life into the character as surely as he restores respiration to a dead puppy. Plus he gets that great end scene, betraying his old friend in the hour of his greatest need -- Hammer's moral characters often tend to be even nastier than the villains, and Urquhart's cold-bloodedness here prepares the way for horrible heroes like Van Helsing (what an appalling man!).

(Side-note -- the best perf in Kenneth Branagh's Francis Ford Coppola's MARY SHELLEY'S FRANKENSTEIN is Tom Hulce, in the tedious role of Sensible Friend. He should be a bore, but he winds up the only character you'd care to have a pint with. Hulce, the miracle-worker.)

Talk about thankless parts: Hazel Court has little to do save remain in ignorance throughout. Seeing her in something like MASQUE OF THE RED DEATH or THE RAVEN shows what a capable, sexy and witty performer she could be: Roger Corman always gave her enjoyable parts. She's in lots of Hammer films but rarely got any interesting business: she doesn't even get vampirized. Not once.

Then there's Christopher Lee, of course. I think it's fair to say, with no unkindness intended, that the man was cast for his height, here. The part nearly went to Bernard Bresslaw, another tall man, who had to content himself with fleshing out the role of Rubba-Teetee the mummy in CARRY ON SCREAMING instead. Lee's one-off perf as the creature -- he couldn't return in sequels because Sangster had, perhaps shortsightedly had him dumped in an acid bath at the end of this film (having already been shot and set alight) -- did, however, lead him to the role of Dracula, which he made his own and got a whole series out of. Indeed, a whole career (262 screen roles listed on the IMDb, and still going strong).

Lee's creature is devoid of any of the nobler qualities of the Karloff monster, but the performance is not without detail. "Looking like a road accident" in Phil Leakey's gruesome slap (crude but effective would be a polite way to describe it), Lee plays the character as brain-damaged and confused. The encounter with the blind man is particularly interesting for Lee's odd movements and posing. This creature isn't evil, as such, just bewildered, and he lashes out in violence at everything he doesn't understand -- which is EVERYTHING. It took some effort, but I was able to find him sympathetic at some level, although the character/behaviour is a bit too close to that of some school bullies I recall. At least the Lee-creature has an excuse: the jar with his brain in was smashed against a wall. His brain's probably full of broken beaker (his revival is prefigured by a sound of smashing glassware: Fiona wonders if this is the sound the creature makes when he thinks). "Why didn't Frankenstein just get a new brain?" asks Fiona, agitated. "Even a bog-standard brain would be better than a genius brain that's full of broken glass!"

Lee gets the film's coolest shot (quoted by Kubrick in LOLITA! I should write a whole piece about Kubrick and Hammer films' odd synergistic relationship) is Lee's unmasking. Lurching about in muslin wrapping, he's discovered by Cushing just as he raises his hand to the bandages swathing his lumpy kisser. The hand clutches the cloth, and just as it pulls away the covering, Fisher's camera switches from 24fps to something more like 6, and we track in impossibly fast, Lee swooping forward at us in all his milky-eyed awfulness, his small movements suddenly insectoid in their inhuman speed.

"Hold your horses, I'm thinking with GLASS, here!"

It's fascinating to me how Sangster and Fisher get away with delaying the monster's appearance until about halfway through, with only a bit of medical grue and gallows-robbing to sustain the tension until the big reveal. Of course there's something else at work: anticipation. Mary Shelley gets her monster onstage faster, but she was telling the story for the first time. Hammer realised they could rely on the audience already knowing the basic premise: they await the monster with eager dread. The tactic was to deliver a monster more unpleasant than expected.

The whole thing goes like a train, with the monster escaping, running amok, getting shot in the head, brought back to life, killing the French maid (as arranged by the Baron, since she's outlived her usefulness and grown inconvenient) and finally escaping AGAIN and attacking Hazel Court. Time for the first of Hammer's patented overkills (never JUST shove a stake through Dracula -- try throwing holy water in his face, causing him to fall from a belfry into a pit with a stake in it, then poke him with a shovel just for good measure: DRACULA A.D. 1972), as Cushing shows more of his physical dexterity:

"I've created a monst -- I mean, creature!"

Not only a great actor, also a great SHOT -- right into the lens! The slung lantern sets Lee alight, and he falls into the convenient acid bath. Every home should have one. Except -- not so convenient. Now there's no evidence the monst creature ever existed, so Cushing's going to be executed for the creature's crimes. Which is fair enough, really.

A missed opportunity! As Cushing is led off to be executed (it suddenly occurs to us to wonder how he was convicted of the French maid's murder, since presumably he dissolved her remains), we cut to the guillotine, its blade cranked up to the highest position. The credits roll...

And then -- nothing! Fade to black. When it's obvious to any gorehound that the blade should descend with a sickening SHOONK after the last credit has crawled off the top of the screen. THAT would be showbiz. Perhaps Hammer were already thinking about sequels, already regretting melting their creature like an Alka Seltzer. Using Cushing's Baron as the constant feature of the films that followed, rather than his first creation, makes the Hammer FRANKENSTEINS delightfully different from their Universal forebears.

As we shall see.

WRISTCUTTERS: A LOVE STORY ( 2007 )
When Patrick Fugit (Almost Famous) commits suicide over a break-up, he ends up in a bizarro-world purgatory which is just like the living world - but exponentially suckier. It's impossible to smile or experience any real happiness but that doesn't keep him from befriending Shannyn Sossamon (whom I haven't drooled over since Rules of Attraction). When he's informed that his ex has done herself in too he teams up with Sossamon and netherworld pal, a cranky Russian rocker, in classic road-movie style. Fugit is looking for his girlfriend and Sossamon is looking for whomever is in charge so she can plead her case. (She accidentally OD'd -- not an intentional suicide). Considering the subject matter WALS is surprisingly sweet, funny -- even marginally romantic. Tom Waits has a significant role and Arrested Development's Will Arnett has a brief funny appearance as a Jones-style cult leader who's responsible for dragging his followers into pergutory with him via mass suicide. Don't be put off by the subject matter and end up missing this soft-spoken, played-straight comedy.
***

CLOVERFIELD ( 2007 )
Though undeserving of its Internet buzz, Cloverfield is entertaining enough and probably what 1998's unforgivably bad Godzilla should have been. A giant monster comes ashore and begins demolishing Manhattan during a good-bye party for one of the young primaries. A cast of relative unknowns gab their way through the slow-moving first half hour (at said party), meant to introduce their characters as likeable twenty-somethings. But it fails in that regard because I didn't really like any of them enough to care if they live or die. The whole thing is shot on digital video by "the characters" to give the feel of real-time action. It kinda works -- but of course, the primary flaw with this strategy is who the hell is going to continue shooting footage when the shit really hits the fan? The monster looks better than I'd expected and the effects are...well, effective. I particularly liked the mini-monsters pouring off the main monster. (Godzilla 98 attempted something similar but only succeeded in refilming the raptor attack from Jurrasic Park). Racheting up some of the action's plausability would probably have made it a stronger movie, but rational or not, there's enough panic in the streets to strike that 9/11 chord in you, elevating the tension and suspense -- even if attempts at true horror fail. That said, the real Godzilla still might want to call his lawyer.
**1/2

LET'S GO TO PRISON ( 2006 )
From the sub-genre I like to call the What-else-could-possibly-go-wrong movie, LGtP is a slight but consistently funny prison comedy. Will Arnett plays the son of a judge who's responsible for the incarceration of Dax Shepard. When Arnett lands himself in the clink Shepard makes it his job to construct the most painful prison experience possible for his naive and overprivelaged new cellmate. There are some clever twists but all of the prison comedy cliches (see: flamboyantly gay big bad black guy. Oh the hilarity.) are trotted out as if they weren't mortally beaten horses. Most of the laughs are generated by Arnett's distressed mugging. This was directed by Bob Odenkirk of HBO's Mr. Show with Bob and David.
**

LIVE FREE OR DIE HARD ( 2007 )
The third sequel in the Die Hard franchise is the best without a doubt and the closest in spirit to the superior original. Bruce Willis' John McClane is circumstantially paired with hacker, Justin "Mac guy" Long, to stop a virtual terrorist (Timothy Olyphant) hellbent on creating chaos by pulling the plug on everything that keeps our proud nation chugging forward. After orhestrating the world's biggest traffic jam (by turning all lights green at once), and crippling the stockmarket, the east coast's major utility services are next unless McClane can find a way to stop him.  Naturally plausibility takes a hike about ten minutes in but that's the way things go in this series. The scope of LFoDH is far broader than even Die Hard with Avengence, straining beyond state lines -- and while the "city on fire" machinations are the same as in that sequel, it certainly feels like there's a lot more at risk here and as a story arc it's surprisingly effective. In a "post-9/11 world" everyone can relate to the fear of the rational world crumbling. Olyphant makes a decidedly menacing villain -- probably the most sinister of the series -- and that his plot is an act of venomous revenge makes his character even more dastardly. McClane has evidently graduated, with this outing, to being an indestructable superhero -- which doesn't allow for much suspense, but the over-the-top set pieces pay off anyway. The buddy-cop-style relationship between Long and Willis, while lacking any real chemistry, is passable and less cloying than it might have been. As McClane's daughter, the perfectly adorable (and capable) Mary Elizabeth Winstead is wasted, though she's still given significantly more to do than past pic peril-bait, Bonnie Bedelia. And natch, Willis is never more endearing or entertaining as when he's playing McClane. An 18-wheeler goes head to head with a fighter jet in one of the silliest action sequences in movie history. Though spectacular and impressive considering it's almost certainly 80% digitally rendered, it also signals that LFoDH has flown wildly off the tracks and things wind down to a dissappointingly flat conclusion. Despite that, some meteor-sized gaps in logic (car chases on streets that should be clogged with abandoned vehicles), and a two-hour-and-fifteen-minute running time (!), LFoDH is briskly paced and engaging enough to be a new fave over-the-top actioner. Maggie Q (who?) is a smoking hot kung-fu co-villain who carries the movie's best fight sequence. Kevin Smith has a moderately funny small roll as a tubby fanboy (who's acting?) superhacker.
***

VOYAGE TO THE PREHISTORIC PLANET ( 1965 )
A textbook case of Roger Corman frugality -- VttPP is made up of about 75% recycled footage from a 1962's Russian sci-fi movie. It's cut together with newly filmed footage of Basil (Sherlock Holmes) Rathbone and Faith Domergue (This Island Earth) on cheap sets, communicating, via radio, with the Russian movie's characters(!). There's actually a significant bit of artistry involved with the way this is all put together and the effects in the scenes from the source material are amazingly good for the era. The story is simple enough: two space crews travel to Venus ("with an atmoshere so similar to our own") where they face killer plants, lizard men, etc. There's a pretty useless robot named John and some laughable "underwater" scenes, but otherwise the effects are convincingly otherworldly. In the wrap-around scenes Rathbone practically reads from his script while Domergue appears to be acting under the influence of valium. Unbelievably -- Corman would recycle the Russian footage AGAIN three years later in a version featuring Mamie Van Doren that's directed by Peter Bogdanovich (under psuedonymn)!
**

VOYAGE TO THE PLANET OF PREHISTORIC WOMEN ( 1968 )
Yet another recycling of the relatively impressive Russian sci-fi movie, Planet of Storms -- this time narrated and directed by Peter Bogdanovich with appearances by a sadly long-in-the-tooth Mamie Van Doren (worshipping a pterodactyl God with other bathing beauties all dolled-up in clam-shell bras and glittery hip-huggers!). The story is the same in this third go-round -- astronauts go to Venus. Fight monsters. Find proof of life. Leave Venus. Watching VtoPoPW back-to-back with Voyage to the Prehistoric Planet (a feat not recommended for b-movie amateurs), makes for an interesting case study in inventive editing and bargain-basement production. VthPP fares better (in which the humanoid Venusians are only eluded too, rather than manifesting as telepathic mermaids) but either makes for fascinating (if sometimes confounding) b-movie viewing.
**

Al margen...

Resulta que al final nos quedaremos definitivamente sin la película de Los 4 Fantásticos que había producido Concorde Films para Neue Constantin, a pesar de estar completamente terminada.
¿Motivo? Resulta que Chris Columbus y la 20th Century Fox se han interesado por el cuarteto, y están dispuestos a invertir 40 millones de dólares, diez veces más que el presupuesto de la película ya terminada y que muy posiblemente no saldrá ni siquiera en video.
Con esto, más Cameron y su Spiderman, más la tercera temporada de los dibujos animados de La Patrulla-X, más la nueva serie de dibujos de Spidey, y un nuevo proyecto para la próxima temporada, Marvel Action Hour, con dos medias horas protagonizadas por El Hombre de Hierro y Los 4 Fantásticos, parece que Marvel se está espabilando un tanto en las versiones fílmicas y televisivas de sus personajes.

El resto de la historia ya lo sabemos. Sólo los proyectos de animación vieron la luz, con 5 temporadas (76 episodios) para X-Men, mientras que Iron Man y los FF apenas tuvieron dos temporadas de 26 episodios. Aún no aparecía la tercera serie animada (después de X-Men y Batman) de mayor duración de la época, Spider-Man.

Columbus no llegó a hacer la película de la primera familia de Marvel, sino Tim Story, 11 años después. The Fantastic Four-gotten cuenta lo que pasó con la película de Corman/Concorde/Neue Constantin. Con el arácnido y James Cameron pasó lo mismo, y Diario de un cineasta también se encargó de preservar la historia.

Tampoco es para ser pesimistas sobre la batería de películas que la Casa de las Ideas ha anunciado de aquí al 2011. Recordemos que en los 90's los altos mandos de la Marvel andaban medio locos y casi llevan a la empresa a la quiebra, y por otro lado, que hasta hoy van cumpliendo con los lanzamientos programados, por lo menos dentro del año en que los anuncian.

Jamie Lee Curtis got her first real opportunity to gain the respect of the critical mass, with this atypical Roger Corman production. Curtis plays a young woman who discovers that her mother had an extramarital affair. As she becomes increasingly obsessed with her mother's dark secret, Curtis commences a clandestine love affair with a married photographer. Honestly, when I saw Corman's name during the title credit sequence, I convinced myself that this was going to be another one of the famous producer's sleazy dramas. I was wrong. Love Letters is extremely well acted and director Jones (who also wrote the insightful script) handles the difficult material in a very sensitive manner. The film is an intriguing examination of the consequences of romantic passion that operates without moral boundaries. It raises some tough questions, but Jones does not give the viewer easy answers. In one of her first non-horror films, Curtis is extraordinary. James Keach (as Curtis' married lover) is overshadowed by Curtis' excellent work. A mature, thought-provoking, and very interesting melodrama.

The story is, naturally, concerned with the origins of the Four, setting up the friends to enemies relationship of Reed Richards (Alex Hype-White) and Victor von Doom (Joseph Culp) plus the transformation of Richards, Ben Grim and Susan and Johnny Storm (Michael Baily Smith, Rebecca Staab and Jay Underwood) into Mr Fantastic, The Thing (played by Carl Ciarfalio), The Invisible Girl and The Human Torch.  Along the way they tussle with Doom and his minions and there is some strange business with some bizarre homeless types whilst the heroes come to terms with their powers.

Yes, the shoestring budget is obvious in the decision to use camera angles and shaking, long sleeves and animation instead of the special effects one might expect.  Yes, you could mock the acting, in fact you could mock the whole thing (not to mention The Thing) but it is actually very enjoyable.  Joseph Culp's Doom takes the top spot and a montage of medical examinations creates genuine laughs and represents the good humour on display throughout.

At the end of the day the cast and crew bring a sheer energy and enthusiasm to the production that is not only present on the screen but is utterly infectious - which is much more that I can say for the official releases.

Alex Orr's zestful cheapie BLOOD CAR played the Edinburgh Film fest this year (the Fest has a long history of supporting imaginative exploitation cinema, starting with its ahead-of-the-curve Corman retrospective back in the '70s) and the writer-director was around for the whole event. He seemed very approachable so I cornered him for the first Shadowplay interview.

Well, it turns out I suck at interviewing, but am OK at free-ranging movie conversation, so once we stopped with the programmed blather things went much better. This means that I only garnered a tiny amount of useable on-topic stuff to print here. So I'm using ALL of it.

BLOOD CAR details the misadventures of vegan schoolteacher Archie Andrews, who's trying to convert his car to run on wheat grass, but inadvertently discovers it prefers blood. The day before the interview I heard someone describe the film as "technically horrible" (it's not, but it's shot on digital) but "conceptually brilliant". The political subtext of "blood for oil" is never stressed, but it doesn't need to be. The filmmakers were certainly well aware of it.

"A B movie should just be a BIG AWESOME RETARDED THING," he says, citing Verhoeven's STARSHIP TROOPERS as the big-budget version of that principle: Pretty kids getting eaten by bugs, plus a weird Nazi vibe. It's all in the concept.

Alex and his pals were pitching ideas in the car, trying to find an exploitable low-budget scenario, and I guess the idea of a car came naturally to mind since they were in one. I bet lots of cyber-thrillers are thought up while the writers are staring at their P.C.s. It's obvious, really.

Being an aspiring low-budget filmmaker myself, I had to ask Alex the budget and schedule question. The movie was made for "around 25-30" and shot in 12 days, but there was a subplot that didn't work, comprising about a third of the footage, so that was ditched and a further couple days new material was produced to bring the film up to length and add touches like the very funny baby-kissing coda. (OK, there IS some overt political satire).

Alex has a group of friends he regularly works with, and had helped out on horror films before, but never made one. His leading man is a friend whom everybody thought it would be amusing to systematically degrade and smear in blood. The "meat girl" character is Alex's girlfriend (lucky guy). A local rap artist was drafted in to play a carjacker.

A little money was spent on one essential prosthetic effect, and a device to spray blood at high pressure was hired. And about fifty gallons of "Kensington gore" was purchased at a knock-down price.

The resulting movie has sold in Germany and has U.S. distribution, arranged through a sales agent. It's pretty clearly going to turn a profit, and hopefully Alex will be able to make his next project.

"It's about a white supremacist who gets a black hand transplanted onto him. It's called BLACK HAND."

Alex admires the seemingly loose but actually tightly organised plotting of LITTLE BIG MAN, and hopes to achieve a similar historical sweep. "Sex and violence can't really offend anybody in a movie anymore, what with the Internet," he says, "and nobody takes religion seriously," so his plan is to use race, which is still a hot enough potato to get people talking.

"You gotta have an angle, other than 'I'm great!'"

Oh, I also want to mention Alex's excellent abstract Peter Bogdanovich impersonation. "I met that guy, and he's like a caricature of himself. He's all, like, 'Ah-wub-wub-wub.'" The sound can best be characterised as a smug burble. But Alex paid tribute to the burbler: "Your first two movies are the reason I became a filmmaker." Bogdanovich is quite used to soaking up deserved praise for THE LAST PICTURE SHOW, but: "What? Targets???" referring to his low-budget Corman-produced debut, to which Alex could only reply "YES Targets!" 

I agree, it's a terrific movie, and Bogdanovich gets extra points for gamely seizing a poisoned-chalice project that had to incorporate ten minutes of outtakes from Corman's THE TERROR, and turning it into a smart and touching homage to Boris Karloff, as well as a chilling meditation on modern-day violence.

It's the kind of low-budget derring-do I'd like to see more of in British cinema.

MUSICALS -- You won't find too many straight men who admit they enjoy the occasional musical, but the Gill Man is comfortable enough with his sexuality to stand up and be counted. Here are a few musicals I've screened over the past few months that walk the line between cult flick and big gay musical production. This is why we call it Gill-Ty Pleasure Thursdays. Okay?

HAIRSPRAY (2007)
Being a big fan of John Waters' original non-musical Hairspray (arguably his best, most well-rounded feature), I was ready to hate this version, based on the stage musical of the same name. Despite the stunt casting of John Travolta in terrifying drag and pounds of latex as the heroine's mom, there's no denying the chripy charm of what's been done with Waters' story. It's the story of Tracy Turnblad (Nikki Blonsky), a fat teen girl living in Baltimore on the cusp of social segregation. Racial conflict is observed in the context of The Corny Collins Show, a local teen dance show in the American Bandstand format, that reserves one day a week for black teens to strut their stuff ("Negro Day"). Tracy with the help of her best friend (a deliciously cute Amanda Bynes), her new hoofer crush (High School Musical pretty boy, Zach Effron) and Negro Day host, Motormouth Mabel (Queen Latifah) pretty much lead a revolution, bringing televised dancy equality to Baltimore to the dismay of evil TV program manager (Michelle Pfeiffer) and her snot-nosed teen queen daughter. The songs are decent though they begin to sound a lot alike as we move into the second hour. One of the things that made the source material so great was Waters' impeccable ear for period music to fill his soundtracks. None of those great songs are here and it's a strike against the idea of turning Hairspray into a musical. That the teen dancers in this version never boogie down to the "Mashed Potato Time" or do "the Madison" is a crime. But overall, for a two hour running time, things move along briskly and some of the more inspired casting makes the whole affair fun. Rikki Lake, who played teen tracy in the original, has a cameo as does Waters' (as a flasher in the opening number!). Christopher Walken plays Tracey's father and husband to Travolta's character. They tango and make allusions to sex. The implications of that coupling will provide plenty of material for some inevitable nightmares. Sweet, sincere and faithful to its roots but filled with wall-to-wall numbers that are hardly memorable.
***

LITTLE SHOP OF HORRORS (1986)
Based on the off-Broadway musical which, itself, is based on Roger Corman's 60s cheap-o quicky, LSoH is a musical that gets just about everything right. The source material is really only used as a story framework, but everything else is uniquely inspired. In short, a giant flytrap from outer space lands in the hands of a nerdy flower shop employee (Rick Moranis) who must feed the botanical nightmare blood to keep it alive, and keep business booming. Steve Martin's turn as a villainous sadistic dentist provides the movie's best number and performance. Moranis is no singer but he belts it out with believable heart as does love interest, Audrey, played by Ellen Green who played the same character in the original stage production. The stage version's unhappy ending was clipped from the film's final cut after test screenings boo-hoo'd over it. Instead we're left with a generic sci-fi throw-down that feels misplaced and lets the air out of the final 20 minutes. One original song written specifically for the movie, "Mean Green Mother from Outer Space," was nominated for an Oscar(!).  Frank Miss-Piggy-Yoda-Fozzie-Bear Oz directs. John Candy, Christopher Guests and Bill Murray (as a masochistic dental patient) all make funny brief appearances. If you haven't seen the original Corman cult-status classic, you should.
***

ROCKY HORROR PICTURE SHOW, THE (1975)
Based on Richard O'Brian's original stage show (The Rocky Horror Show) this campy ode to 50s sci-fi, Americana, sexploitation and cross-dressing is truly one bizarre (and ambitious) flick. Obviously, it's become more of a pop phenomenon than a movie but strip away the midnight showings, the obnoxious fans and the audience participation and you're left with...well...SOMEthing. The entire show has Tim Curry to thank for everything. As Frank N. Furter a "sweet transvestite" from the planet Transexual in the galaxy of Transylvania (no, seriously), Curry minces, stomps and belts out the tunes like no one else. He's a commanding presence who never seemed to find the niche he deserved in post-Rocky pics. A young and very sexy Susan Sarandon plays one half of a wholesome couple who stumble upon Furter's castle/spaceship during an alien convention (just in time to witness "The Time Warp"). Before long they're seduced, betrayed and dropped in drag by their host and his domestic help -- RHPS creator O'Brian and Patricia Quinn. The central story is a Frankenstein-esque fable: Curry's alien scientist attempts a second draft of his ideal "perfect man" (the first being Meat Loaf!) -- only to be betrayed by said creation when he corrupts young Sarandon's good girl, Janet Weiss. It's hard to see RHPS with virgin eyes after many-a midnight viewings in my teen years, but at it's core it's actually a very sweet and endearing love letter to genre movies that has some interesting points to make about gender roles. The pacing is off in many places (a common pitfall of stage-to-movie adapatations) and the sets range from passable to cheaply stupid, but overrall RHPS still holds up as big campy fun.
**1/2

SHOCK TREATMENT (1981)
A sequel to Rocky Horror Picture Show is a concept with potential, but this truly bizarre, dreary spin-off is a fascinating misfire. Written by RHPS creator, Richard O'Brian, Shock Treatment is really "the further adventures of Brad and Janet," portrayed here by Cliff DeYoung and Jessica Harper. Their hometown, Denton, is part smalltown America and part TV studio (?!) where the daily lives of characters play out in literal soap operas, game shows and doctor dramas. The plot is all about Brad getting his groove back so that he's not such a wuss. O'Brian and Patricia Quinn return in new roles than the ones they played in RHPS -- but these characters ALSO happen to be incestuous twins. What's most disappointing about ST is that the music is solid and some numbers top RHPS' best - but great songs are framed by a bad, confusing and outrageously UGLY movie that doesn't seem to know what it's actually trying to do or say. Worth a look for fans of Rocky Horror and rock musicals. All others are best advised to steer clear.
*1/2

For those that ain't in the know like yours truly, there's a remake of Roger Corman's Death Race 2000 coming out this year from cinematic maestro Paul W.S. Anderson (Alien vs. Predator, Resident Evil) called simply... Death Race.  I guess tacking a "2000" on the end of something to make it sound cooler is just so last year.

Anyways, Death Race looks like pretty much every other P.W.S. Anderson movie: Like it's going to be terrible, but not terrible enough to offend me as a human being and want to claw my eyeballs out with a spork.  (That's Uwe Boll's job*.)

I might see it just because Jason Statham's in it and I have a man crush on him.  It also helps that Ian McShane is hanging out in front of the cameras, though it looks like he's kind of slumming it, doesn't it?  And let's not get started on Joan Allen.  She must be in debt to the mob or something.  The mob of SUCK.  Zing!

If you don't like the crappy YouTube quality of the clip above, you can watch it over at Yahoo! Movies in whatever crappy looking format they're using over in that neck of the woods.

For kicks, a much better trailer after the jump.

[Both trailers via the always awesome Gnolad]

*The offending is his job, not the actual spork eye-gouging.  Though I'm sure he'd be up for it.  Crazy fucker.

In the 1960’s, Major Studios in desperation started financing independent films and major conglomerates that invested and traded in the studios bought up the studios. A slew of new distribution companies such as American International Pictures, a up and coming production and distribution company, distributed some very popular series of movies, including Roger Corman’s films based on Edgar Allen Poe. American Intl’ Pictures started the genre of marketing films to teenagers. Jack Nicholson, Robert DeNiro and Francis Ford Coppola got their starts with American International.

In the 1960’s as well, John Cassavetes, considered the father of Independent Film, made courageous new works, such as “Faces” and “Shadows” with no help from financial banks, the major studios. He could not get anyone in America to distribute his film in the US, so he received international help. He did not care for pleasing anyone in monetary standards, a true maverick, only himself. In a interview with Ron Carney, a renown and controversial film critic, he says about Cassevetes films, they were about “change and process” they were about staying free and avoiding being limited by social rules or arrangements”. Carney says the master plot of all his work was to expose fraudulence and self-delusion. His stories weren’t about plot or about events like many movies to date but Cassavetes films “were about character”. (Carney, 2002)

Cassavettes was recognized as a spiritual father of independent filmmaking and although he wasn’t extremely successful because of lack of budgets to distribute his films, he impacted many other filmmakers and they could distribute their movies easier because they had a new niche in the market. By the early 1970’s, Blaxploitation film genres became popular with a commercially successful film by Melvin Van Peebles “Sweet Sweetback's Baadasssss Song.” Many notable indie filmmakers at the time that featured blaxploitation were Gordon Parks, William Crain and William Levy.

In 1975, the movie world would be changed forever and be a great blow to indie filmmakers that wanted to show their movies in theatres. Steven Spielberg created “Jaws” that caused courageous comeback by the Majors, started the rise of the Blockbuster movie and the rise of saturation marketing. George Lucas started the auxiliary market by betting his toys from his Star Wars trilogy would fund his movies. The studios had no idea of this profitable and lucrative auxiliary market of toys and licensing could be of such benefit to a filmmaker. At this moment of time, the budget of marketing for this film was the greatest amount of money ever spent on a film.

To see the full History of Film from 1890 to Present, click here

 Hoy podemos ver el trailer de una película que no se distribuyó ni en cine ni en el mercado doméstico. ¿La razón? pues algunos argumentan que era tan mala que nadie se atrevió a distribuirla por miedo a las pérdidas económicas. Creo que es la razón más lógica una vez la ves. Pero claro, el p2p permite encontrar cualquier cosa. La película que nos ocupa fue producida por el grandísimo Roger Corman y fue realizada para mantener los derechos que en esos momentos tenían sobre algunas de las adaptaciones de la editorial Marvel.

Y no tiene desperdicio el trailer, en serio.

Ahora parece que ha sido editada en dvd (aunque igual es un montaje de algún aficionado, a saber), puede ser que por la curiosidad de los aficionados. A mí me da igual que sean cutres o no la verdad. Lo importante es ver como llevaron en una epoca concreta a los personajes que he seguido durante años.

Quitando la casposidad que pueda desprender, con unos fx totalmente artesanales y que ruborizan (al final de la película Reed y Susan se casan, cuando van en el coche Mr. Fantástico saca la mano por el techo y se nota que es un palo con un guante. ¿Hace falta decir más?) a cualquiera, lo cierto es que hay algunos detalles muy fieles al cómic. Tanto el accidente que tienen (algo que fue modificado en cierta manera en la película de Tim Story) donde consiguen sus poderes, como cuando los descubren. Los trajes tambien guardan una gran similitud a los cómics de los años 60´s (un tono azul claro) y el aspecto físico de los personajes no esta nada mal. Incluso la armadura del Dr. Muerte y el traje de la Cosa estan logrados (más fiel que el actual diría yo). Habría que recordar que la película guarda más similitud con la primera época de este cuarteto que con la actual, pero ni con esas se salva la película. Al final queda la curiosidad, nada más que eso, de saber como fue el primer acercamiento al cine del primer grupo de superhéroes creado por Stan Lee.
 

 TRAILER DE "LOS 4 FANTÁSTICOS" producida por ROGER CORMAN

Fdo: Snake