Pan's Labyrinth (2006)

The festival kicked off officially with this film from Mexican director Guillermo del Toro and it was undoubtedly the best film of the weekend.  I believe this was its first major screening before a large audience since being in competition at Cannes (where it didn't win anything but did garner a 20-minute standing ovation), and it will be released in the UK in November and the US in December.  If you appreciate brilliant film-making, even if it comes with subtitles, be sure to see this movie.  Del Toro was in attendance and introduced the picture and answered questions afterwards; he is convinced that it is his finest film to date -- one that pleases him in every way -- and I would certainly not disagree with him.  It makes a fine companion piece to his earlier movie "The Devil's Backbone" since both are set in Spain just after the Civil War and both deal with the trauma of war on children.  The child here is played beautifully by 12-year Ivana Baquero whose widowed mother has remarried a real bastard of a captain and who 'though heavily pregnant joins him at a remote batallion surrounded by guerilla soldiers.  To face the horrors of her new life, the girl escapes into an Alice-like fantasy world where a magical faun tells her that she is a princess and that she must fulfil dangerous tasks to prove her worth; rather than depending on CGI, del Toro has the actor Doug Jones playing both the faun and the scary Pale Man on the posters for the movie (the one with his eyeballs in his palms!)  With her mother seriously ill, the girl has only one human ally in the housekeeper, played by Maribel Verdu (the sexpot from "Y Tu Mama Tambien") in a particularly strong performance.  Full credit too to Sergi Lopez whom I have only seen previously in French films for his strict and formidable captain.  I always prefer the del Toro films made in Spanish, starting with "Cronos", which he does inbetween accepting the Hollywood shilling (although even those have all been of interest).  What he gives us here is a very black allegory which straddles the war, fantasy and horror genres.  Miss it at your peril.

Some horrible Hammer horrors

I got it wrong; I actually skipped seven films at the FrightFest weekend.  Friday opened with three new (and I think slightly cut) prints of some "classic" Hammer films; I skipped the first one "Hound of the Baskervilles" since I prefer my Holmes in the person of Basil Rathbone.  The second of the three was "Countess Dracula" from 1970 starring Ingrid Pitt in a version of the bathe-in-the-blood-of-virgins story of Hungarian countess, Elisabeth Bathory.  The revived countess was meant to look nineteen and there is no way on this green earth that the then 33 year-old could pull that off believably, but the actress in question has always been so full of herself and convinced of her undying appeal that she probably thought she could.  I understand that Ms. Pitt asked for £1000 to put in an appearance at the fest; this was not taken up.  The second of the two films was "Twins of Evil" from 1971 featuring the Collinson twins who were the first twin Playboy centerfolds (but certainly never convincing actresses), but it did benefit from starring Peter Cushing as their witch-hunting uncle and Dennis Price in one of his late throw-away roles.  On many levels both movies were something of a hoot and have certainly not aged very well; nowadays many of the Hammers play as high camp and the sprinkle of titters from the audience underlined this sad fact.  Still it was like welcoming old friends, but hoping they would not hang around too long.

Severance (2006)

Well folks, I didn't quite make it back on-line yesterday after the exhaustions of FrightFest (16 movies plus various shorts between Friday and Monday -- and I did actually skip an additional six); reports will follow over the next few days (I hope).  The jollities started on Thursday evening with a charity premiere for the above British flick which is now on general release.  Directed by Chris Smith whose "Creep" was a real nerve-jangler, this one is an uneasy mix of humour and serious gore which went down better with the younger fan-boys in the audience than with me.  Seven staff of a munitions company go on a team-building weekend in Romania and when their driver refuses to take the bus further on, they take to foot -- always a bad mistake in the dark woods.  There they find some murderous rebels seeking revenge (who these adversaries are and what they really want is unknown.)  One by one our stellar cast bites the dust in occasionally imaginative ways with various quips to lighten the procedings.  Toby Stephens, a fine actor who deserves better, is one of the early casualties.  Tim NcInnery of Blackadder fame is the team leader -- while he lasts.  The nominal hero is slacker Danny Dyer who hardly deserves to survive -- if I'd written the script, he'd be the first to go -- an annoying twit -- and if you hear that his last line is worthy of "Some Like it Hot", don't believe it!

Life is a Miracle (2004)

If the word "zany" could only be accurately applied to one film-maker, it would have to be Emir Kusturica -- now Serbian but originally Yugoslav and the creator of some of the most outlandish movies ever.  I'm thinking here of "Underground" and "Black Cat White Cat" as well as his English-language feature of some years back "Arizona Dreams"; any film that co-stars Johnny Depp, Jerry Lewis, Faye Dunaway, Lili Taylor, and Vincent Gallo has to be from another galaxy.  But getting back to the above, only Kusturica could make a war film without any battle scenes which shows up the idiocy of sectarian disputes and still is life-affirming.  It centers on the unexpected romance between a Serbian engineer and a gorgeous Bosnian Muslim hostage whom he is holding prisoner (in the very loosest sense of the word) and whom he hopes to exchange for his POW son.  This all takes place during the absence of his very nutty opera-singing wife who has run off with a Hungarian musician.  The movie abounds with kooky characters, lovely landscapes, and great musical choices.  Kusturica is himself an active band member and his love of music and of life is just about unquenchable. 

 

It's catch-up time...again

Oh yes, I've been a very lazy Patty (or an otherwise preoccupied one), so here's a multiple entry to let you know what's what:

Charlie and the Chocolate Factory (2005):  This was the main attraction over the last few days and I am having trouble making up my mind about it.  I usually love most Tim Burton films and of course Johnny Depp is every red-blooded woman's dream (and probably a few red-blooded fellows as well), but his interpretation of Willy Wonka was just so weird and out-of-sight that it threw me for a loop.  I don't know who his interpretation was based on -- I don't buy the Michael Jackson theory -- but he was such an automaton and apparently child-hater that the blackness of the story didn't quite sit.  Against this the movie was brilliantly conceived and designed -- even if they multiplied one actor into many Oompa-Loompas through the magic of CGI.  I recall reading that Dahl didn't much care for the Gene Wilder version but somehow a cross between his playing of the role and Depp's might have produced a less distracting result.

Millions (2004):  Director Danny Boyle has produced a real oddity here in his story of two young lads (one of them obsessed by saints who keep appearing) who find a wad of cash that they need to spend before Britain enters the Euro club.  Obviously a fantasy!  Fairly amusing in part, but weird.

The Sea Wolves (1980): Haven't seen this geriatric Boys' Own tale for a while but it was still good to see Gregory Peck, David Niven, Trevor Howard, Roger Moore's eyebrow, and a host of familiar British faces in this purportedly true tale of patriotic derring-do in India during WW II.

The Reluctant Dragon (1941): Another oddity, but one I've not watched before.  It's a combination of a cartoon compilation and a tour of the Disney studios, through the eyes of Robert Benchley, a screen humorist of the period.  Fairly charming stuff.

Overnight (2004):  I'd heard about this documentary which tells how a bumptious bar-tender won a big film deal with Miramax and then totally blew it by growing a swollen head and a potty mouth.  For once I was pleased to see an annoying idiot get his just desserts.

Sumurun (1920): Finally my obscure oddity from the last few days -- a German silent directed by the wonderful Ernst Lubitsch which was shown in the U.S. in a shorter version entitled 'One Arabian Night'.  This was the full-length original and was a baroquely-designed extravaganza of Arabian opulence and intrigue starring Pola Negri as an exotic dancer and Lubitsch himself as a hunchbacked admirer in their band of travelling players.  If nothing else it proves that he could overact with the best of them.  Still the movie was full of his characteristic humorous "touches" and a worthy addition to his filmography; it was certainly lovely to look at.

 

Wheels on Meals (1984)

It's not that I haven't seen any films in the last few days, but rather that I've been too busy with other things to post any reviews, but I shall make time for this one.  Not that long ago I wrote about Hong Kong "brothers" Sammo Hung, Jackie Chan, and Yuen Biao who were contemporaries at the Peking Opera School and who have appeared together in various combinations over the years, particularly in the '80s.  This is another offering which I can highly recommend to fans of one or more of these action stars.  Filmed for some reason in Barcelona and rather bogged down in exposition, the movie has cousins Jackie and Yuen running a fast-food wagon.  Sammo is a fledgling private detective called Moby (no doubt a reference to his girth) who keeps trying to find someone called "Fatso" by encountering fatter and fatter acquaintances.  He needs to find a missing heiress who turns out to be a pretty thief whom the cousins have befriended.  Sammo also directed the film and once it gets going, it really spotlights his fight choreography skills and the amazing abilities of the three leads.  This is rather more entertaining than the framing story.  In particular Jackie is paired again versus Benny "The Jet" Urquidez to produce one of the best fights of his career.  As I've said before, the boys are not afraid of taking a beating and are never portrayed as invincible like some Hollywood stars I could name.  The fact that they win in the end is, after all, the point of the procedings.

Fear Strikes Out (1957)

You might well ask why I occasionally review films that not many of my potential readers will have seen.  It's not that I'm a big show-off so much, as my wanting to get something on record for my own benefit that I can refer back to in later years.  Or something!  I've known about this movie for a long time since I read widely on film and it was on my continually growing list "to-see", but as far as I know it has never been on British TV although it is now available on disc.  For anyone who likes the late Anthony Perkins especially before he got cornered into Psycho-like roles, this is a good choice to demonstrate his acting chops.  It was the first joint effort of the producer/director team of Alan J. Pakula and Robert Mulligan who went on to give us "To Kill a Mockingbird".  It's the true story of baseball player Jimmy Piersall (not anyone I've heard of) who overcame a complete mental breakdown toward the start of  his long career in the sport.  The movie is based on Piersall's autobiography, published just before this film was made.  You don't need to be a baseball fan to enjoy this film, as the main action is between the young Perkins and his overbearing and pushy Dad, well-played by Karl Malden, showing us the stress that pushed him over the edge and how he came to grips with the problem.   (The bulk of Piersall's career took place long after this film was made.)   For sports fans, the baseball action is not too shoddy either. 

Freaked (1993)

In between trying to keep up with newish releases and watching worthy efforts, I always try to make room for trash cinema as some sort of palliative for my jaded soul.  I hadn't viewed this film directed by Alex Winter -- Keanu Reeves' partner in the Bill and Ted movies -- for a while, but it is the idiotic, off-the-wall picture I remembered.  Winter plays a Hollywood action star who is paid a lot of money to go to Central America or somesuch to promote a lethal product for a similarly poisonous corporation.  En route he and his sidekick are captured by Randy Quaid's Freakmaster and turned into mutant monstrosities to add to his cabinet of curiosities which includes Mr. T as a woman, a Cow Boy, a muppet-like "sock-head", and (in an uncredited role) Reeves as Ortiz the Dog Boy.  I bet that part doesn't feature large on his filmography.  It is all extremely stupid with only the occasional real laugh, but if you fancy parking your brains for ninety minutes or so, this film will certainly fit the bill.

A Dirty Shame (2004)

I bought the DVD of director John Waters' most recent film since I knew damn well that it was unlikely to appear in an uncut form on television in the forseeable future and I have usually appreciated his special brand of outrageous silliness.  The fact that I disliked his previous picture "Cecil B. DeMented" should have prepared me for the fact that this movie is not really a return to form and that while other directors may mature, Waters seems to regress.  After his early crude (but very funny) guerilla movies, he entered the Hollywood mainstream while still retaining his irreverence and gay sensibilities; I'm thinking here of films like "Cry Baby", "Hairspray", "Serial Mom", and "Pecker".  But the above film comes across as the work of a horny teenager and ranges between mildly amusing and highly embarrassing (and believe me, I'm no prude).  Part of the problem is his choice of lead, since Tracey Ullman is the sort of actress who puts my teeth on edge.  She plays an uptight matron who becomes a "sex addict" by being hit on the head accidentally -- as have most of the other cast -- and Waters provides them with various sexual perversions to talk about (he is something of an expert on this subject as the amusing documentary on the disc reveals; incidentally it was about the same length as the main feature and in its way more entertaining).  An unrecognizable Selma Blair plays Ullman's daughter, Ursula Udders, with the most incredibly huge pair of boobies ever known to mortal man, and there are roles for a number of his stock company, including Mink Stole and Patty Hearst.  It's a problem: I find it impossible to dislike Waters since he has provided me with much merriment over the years, but in his desire to shock, he has somehow lost his ability to entertain.  I say it's a dirty shame!

The Last Great Wilderness (2002)

I am forever scouring the television schedules on the lookout for films I don't know and I found this British movie on a minor channel at a non-social hour, so naturally I set it to watch.  I think I'm pretty pleased that I did, as it was an ambitious effort by Scottish director David Mackenzie, written by and starring his brother, Andrew Mackenzie.  I wish them a brighter future than the Chiodo Brothers (see below).  Anyhow, our hero Charlie leaves London enroute to Skye where he plans to burn down the house of the pop star who has stolen his wife; along the way he meets up with Vincente a small-time crook and gigolo who is on the run from Mr. Big whose wife he seduced.  So we have an unlikely pairing of a cuckold and a cuckolder.  In the wilds of Scotland they run out of petrol and make their way to a nearby house, occupied by a number of damaged souls who may or may not be there to recover.  Their stay is prolonged when their car is sabotaged and we are presented with assorted strangeness which includes walking on burning coals, Vincente being seduced by a ghostly presence, camera voyeurism and a cross-dressing wake.  I gather that the promoters of this film tried to draw an analogy to "The Wicker Man", but it is really not a horror film or even a scary film in that sense, although I felt that witchcraft might be afoot (which it wasn't).  It culminates in a truly horrific act which while not unexpected was still disturbing.  All in all a good effort by the brothers Mackenzie, although I doubt that it will ever reach much of an audience, especially if it's relegated to a minor channel in the middle of the night.

Killer Klowns from Outer Space (1988)

Sometimes an all-out bit of silliness is what the doctor ordered and this low-budget but highly inventive movie fills the bill.  Directed by Stephen Chiodo and produced by his two brothers, it is his only directing credit, although all three are still involved with lesser aspects of film production.  It's a straightforward little horror tale which is more comedic than horrid about a bunch of visiting aliens disguised as giant clowns who kill off the inhabitants of the small town where their craft lands by wrapping them in candy floss/cotton candy to later drink their blood through funny straws.  How far out can you go?  They kill by popcorn-loaded guns or by hand-shadows coming to life or by other similarly silly but ingenious means, including a surfeit of thrown custard pies.  What I particularly like about this movie are the nice bright colours and clear lighting, since I was never a fan of other '80s films which seem to have been shot in deep gloom.  There are only a few minor names in the cast, but getting some determined youngsters to save the day doesn't necessitate a major star; apart from anything else, the total budget was probably less than any "name" actor would have demanded.  It's a demented throwback to the alien-scare movies of the '50s and '60s and particularly good fun if you are prepared to just go with the flow and insanity on view.

Robots (2005)

Another day, another animation with the lead role voiced by Ewan McGregor -- not a pigeon this time, but a young robot called Rodney Copperbottom.  Do they choose him because he does indeed have a very young and innocent-sounding voice (which is pretty funny for a champion flasher!)  This American computer-generated effort was from 20th Century Fox -- not one of the three main leaders in the field, but it showed a great deal of thought and ingenuity in the design and execution of a robot world.  Otherwise it drove home the usual morals that goodness and love of one's fellows and family will bring one's just rewards and that greediness has no future in a perfect world.  (Pity we don't live in one!)  In its favour, it was mercifully short and colorful to look at and did not overstay its welcome.  The voice cast was probably less distinguished and recognizable than Valiant's and included Halle Berry, Mel Brooks, and the manic Robin Williams.  Tell me, do the vast majority still find his shtick amusing?