I was a little reluctant to rent this one as the box looked a little cheap and contrived but don't be fooled by the package. This is a really good teen angst film set in the early 80's that tells the story of a girl named Anna and her life in Grade 12. I think that my friend Stuart put it best when describing this film in saying that it really makes that point that a lot of people missed in "Dazed and Confused". Partying in high school could (and was) a lot of fun but there is also a lot more to life that many do not care to know about (or want to face). This, of course, is not the only thing that makes "Whatever" a great little film but also the fact that everyone is cool in their own way but many are misguided and some have unsavory intentions. I liked the fact that the characters were all shown as well, characters, but all had good and bad points and there were not simply the "cool people" and the "assholes". Hopefully, you will see what I am getting at by renting the damn movie. I am unfamiliar with the cast and director other than a supporting role from Frederic Forrest as an inspirational teacher. The soundtrack is great ranging from Siouxsie and the Banshees to the Pretenders and the movie was very well done in all aspects. It's too bad that little films like this don't get wider releases but I guess that is what makes them the little gems that I get to share with you every so often.
Some things change and some things stay the same. My love for the movie "Swamp Thing" has definitely changed as the rediscovery of one of my childhood favorites has led me to boredom. This movie takes me back to the days of Adrienne Barbeau and bad monsters and a plot that just seems to go around and around with evil Louis Jourdan leaving good Ray Wise for dead after stealing Ray's biological discovery that makes plants grow. What Louis doesn't know is that Ray didn't die but became the Swamp Thing. Meanwhile, Adrienne Barbeau is running around with Ray's notebook and she has a love thing going on with Swamp Thing so he beats Louis' henchmen up whenever they get near Adrienne. Eventually, they are captured and then some weirdly bad looking monster (reminiscent of the bad looking monster quality from "The Keep") shows up and fights Swamp Thing in the swamp. All of this comes from director Wes Craven in his attempt to put a comic book onscreen. He had the right idea with his cuts and fades but overall I think the effect was just too cheap. I liked it as a kid and it would probably still be good for the kids but for a 26 year old, it doesn't seem to cut it anymore. David Hess ("Last House On The Left") plays one of Louis' henchmen.
Vampires And Other Stereotypes (1994)
The low budget world of filmmaking continues to impress me with another great genre picture from director Kevin J. Lindenmuth. I know that I keep going off about this guy but it really is nice to see someone actually put care in their scripts and not just show tits and gore. A problem that I have with a lot of no budget filmmakers is that they are more concerned with making a lot of money than doing what they want to be doing. Sure, making money is nice but it does not buy much respect in the long run while taking the time to carefully write a decent script and make sure that the film is completed to the best of your means will garner a bigger payoff in the long run. Lindenmuth seems to understand this as his work is consistently well written and although some of the effects may look a little low budget, the script and acting helps them feel real. Just because you do not have a lot of cash to make your movie does not mean that you do not have to worry about things like light, sound, pacing, believability, and plot. Anyways, Bill White and Ed Hubbard star as a pair of peacekeepers who are in the middle of an interrogation when they are interrupted by a group of twentysomethings who are looking for a party. One of the youths also happens to be a demon who sends them all to hell and the non-demons need to find a way to get out. This is the first full length feature I have seen by Lindenmuth and it was a lot of fun. I really enjoy watching movies from this guy and it is not a chore to give exposure to someone who obviously enjoys what they are doing very much.
I have to admit that the cover of this one sucked me right in and I could tell that I would love it. It depicts a fishnet clad Japanese woman with a gun and the company that put it out is called Tokyo Shock. Sometimes, I feel like a sucker when I am sucked in like this but not this time. This was a good one. I really have no idea who played who or whatever because the credits don't really distinguish by character but everyone did a good job in this Japanese actioneer that felt like a typical Hong Kong action flick with a dash of comic book fantasy style that is typical of many of the Japanese films that I have seen. Zero Woman is the lead character who is a cop out to nail the bad people who stole some stock certificates. Soon everyone is double crossing everyone and Zero Woman is caught in the middle of it all. There are some memorable action sequences with the finale being in an abandoned warehouse. A decent type of flick that I'd like to see more of.
This was a low budget movie that was made after "Hard Target" and follows the same theme of hunting humans for sport. Usual low budget good guy, Danny Fendley, stars as Bobby Wilson, a psycho who likes to seduce girls in into his private plane so that he can fly them up to his wilderness cabin and then go all crazy and chase, taunt, and kill them. One of the girls who has gone missing has a friend who is concerned and it does not take too long for the friend and a cop to be onto Bobby's little "business trips". The rest of the film involves them threatening Bobby, Bobby threatening back, and it all building to a climax by the cabin. This is the best role that I have seen Fendley in and it may or may not be because he was playing a bad guy. I think that he suits the attitude that his character had and he was quite convincing as a rich prick and his crazy kicks. Donald Farmer directed this film and it has the low budget look that is typical of Farmer's films but it still looks good and keeps the viewer interested. Worth checking out if you are a fan of low budget action. (05/20/2000 Update: It was just brought to my attention that this was not in fact directed by Donald Farmer but was actually directed by British director Mark Bender. It turns out that Farmer only reshot the ending which was destroyed in a fire and for some reason he was given full credit on the final cut. Credit is due to Mark Bender as the main director.)
I did not think that this movie really existed. I have been looking for it for years and I finally found it for $5 at a video store on the other side of town. This is the story of how acid can really screw around with your mind and your hair. It seems that a bunch of people went to university together in the 60's and they all bought a type of acid called "blue sunshine" from the campus dealer. Now, ten years later, they have what you might call a super-flashback as their hair falls out and then they go on a killing rampage. One man, Jerry Zipkin (Zalman King), decides to find out the history behind the phenomenon and how to put an end to it. I was happy that this movie did not become the druggie movie that it could of but it played as a really good psycho-thriller that scared the shit out of me in the first ten minutes. I was also unaware that one of the kings of the 80's erotic cinema ("Wild Orchid", "Red Shoe Diaries"), Zalman King, is also an actor and quite a good one. He was very convincing as the scared and determined Jerry Zipkin and made the odd situations feel as odd as they were. If you like 70's movies, I highly recommend seeking this one out. Brion James ("Blade Runner") has a small part.
I admit that I have not seen many 50's delinquent movies but I have seen my share of Ed Wood. "The Violent Years" is a departure from the monster or sex movies that Wood is known for but it still has the b-movie charm that he was. Wood wrote this tale of four "bad girls" who raise hell for kicks by doing deeds like holding up gas stations, raping boys, destroying school classrooms, and having crazy (not really) pajama parties complete with boys, booze, and necking. Jean Moorehead plays the leader of the mini-gang and she is the coolest of the bunch with her uncaring swagger and an attitude that lacks any remorse for her actions. The script could have been better but what do you expect from a 50's b-movie. It is dated, sure, but having Moorehead's character, Paula, simply utter the words "so what" from a jail cell when she is told that she is pregnant must have been a big deal back in the day that this was released. Delinquent movies that I have seen are pretty fun but just knowing that a guy like Ed Wood was probably trying to write the "best" delinquent movie gives this one an edge that I have to admire. Plus, I didn't have to watch this in two sittings nor did it put me to sleep. Many may think this is a bad movie. I can think of much worse.
Although a lot of blaxploitation films contain the same sort of plot of the black community leader type trying to keep some outside group from infiltrating the neighborhood, they all have subtle differences that set them apart from one another. This one had two. The first difference is the main character, Samson, had some pretty unusual attire and he beat on people with a big stick. The second difference was that this one had quite the unique and messy ending that I really dug. Rockne Tarkington stars as Samson who runs a hip strip bar and is the nice guy of the neighborhood who makes sure that the streets are clean and that everyone is "ok". His girlfriend (Carol Speed from "The Mack") is worried about him when he starts to get in the way of some mafia guys who want to take over the neighborhood. They send in one of the mob leader's girlfriends (Connie Strickland from "Act Of Vengeance") to strip in his club and find out information. Soon, Samson is being pushed around too much and he does not want to take it anymore so he devises a plan to get rid of the mob once and for all. I absolutely love this genre and rarely have anything bad to say about any movie in it and this is no exception. Congratulations go to Warner Brothers for keeping this title in print for whatever reason. I wish that we could see more of that happening.
The cheesy song at the beginning is actually sung by Wings Hauser. If that makes you want to watch this movie, you will probably enjoy it. If you couldn't care less, you will have similar feelings towards this movie and its characters. Season Hubley stars as Princess, a Hollywood hooker who gives up a local pimp named Ramrod (Wings Hauser) to the cops. He is a nutbar and he doesn't like this so he escapes from justice and goes on a quest for Princess so that he can dismember her or something. This is a very average early 80's thriller that was fun while it lasted but when it was over, I just went to sleep. That song, "Neon Slime", did play in my head a little bit though.
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