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Gone (2012)
proof political correctness can bury a great movie
Every time I watch this movie I appreciate it more. It is far from perfect (name one that isn't!), but the internal logic is much better than usual, and the protagonist & plot are nowhere near the same old... The direction (Brazilian Heitor Dhalia's first in English) and editing are quite good, with excellent performances from all, including Jennifer Carpenter, who has been likable but weak under the direction in every other thing I've seen her in.
This one is truly wild & woolly, intelligent and deadly serious but still unrelentingly tense and entertaining. Not the best "date movie" and not a chick flick. The Rotten Tomatoes rating of 11% is nonsense. Reading the snippets, it's clear the negative reaction is due to shock at and disapproval of the protagonist's actions, especially that it is a "damaged" woman who acts so resolutely, and the use of a revolver is a positive influence (though "tossed" as soon as it is no longer needed). It is not the usual PC propaganda that seems to have somehow become the unwritten law for movies after the "pre-code" era.
Gidam (2007)
visually fascinating, sincere, intelligent horror
People that enjoy movies that sustain a horrific atmosphere and internal logic that allows "the suspension of disbelief" should give the 2007 Korean horror movie "Epitaph" ("Gidam") a chance. It is really good looking throughout and I thought the last minute or so was really great.
Even better, the visual effects have accessible meaning the way they do in some of the best Thai movies, aren't just eye candy or so obscure you'd have to be a film student to get them.
It has an irritatingly convoluted plot, but it does come together at the very end. I think the typically Asian sincerity more than makes up for the typically Asian convolution.
Mesa of Lost Women (1953)
what David Lynch was trying to do
Anyone expecting a film Terrence Malick or Mike Figgis might make has stumbled over the wrong toadstool. Hijacked and mutated by Ron Ormond, the crazy man's Kubrick, this is 68 minutes of just plain wrong. Cult movie precious dialog reciters have a goldmine here. This amalgam of beautiful, dangerous women, evil dwarfs, unnerving soundtrack music, bizarre images and "huh?" dialog are too reminiscent of David Lynch to be a coincidence. Just the scenes with Tandra Quinn as "Tarantella" are enough to make this a must see, especially the extended Mexican cantina scene where "Tarantella" dances "The Tarantella." Also notable are Jackie Coogan and Harmon Stevens who play, respectively, a mad scientist and a scientist who's been driven mad. Stevens plays his character tweaked and bug-eyed, like W.C. Fields traded booze for methamphetamine.
Spider Baby or, the Maddest Story Ever Told (1967)
the quintessential "cult film"
Written and directed by Jack Hill, Roger Corman's go-to director, this black comedy / horror movie is the quintessential "cult film." Actually filmed in 1964, the stunningly original "Spider Baby" is still surprising at every turn. Hill elicited unique performances from the cast, with very appealing performances from the women, albeit a very disturbing appeal in the cases of Jill Banner and Beverly Washburn. Lon Chaney, Jr. delivers what is hands down his greatest performance. A DVD commentary reveals this was made more convincing and affecting - sweating and bug-eyed intense - because Chaney saw the role as his chance for a comeback and refused to drink during filming, causing him to suffer from alcohol abstinence distress. All told, the prize has to go to Sid Haig for his feral, wall- crawling "Ralphie."
Maniac (1934)
The "Citizen Kane" of classic roadshow exploitation movies
Dwain Esper's "Maniac" (1934) is a wildly imaginative 51 minute manic mindfudge that deserves much more respect than it gets (none). "Released" (taken out on he road) 3 years after "Frankenstein," "Maniac" raises the stakes by making the reanimated corpse that of an beautiful woman and then having it abducted, stripped to the waist, and raped by a raving psychotic who has been fired up with a "hypo" of "super- adrenaline." The scene is made all the more sensational by the victim's centerfold ready bare breasts. Purloined Poe references permeate the proceedings. Women of all sorts dominate the cast and are responsible for the lioness' share of the jazzy, almost psychedelic dialogue that ranges from carny to proto-beatnik. Two women are tricked into arming themselves with huge hypodermic needles, each thinking the other is a violent lunatic, lured into a filthy basement, plunged into darkness, and fight a prolonged battle as physical as a professional wrestling match. The already hectic movie has a busy background undercurrent of cat insanity: hyperkinetic cat fights both literal and figurative, a skulking black cat / Satan stand-in, a circular cat-rat fur scam ("The cats eat the rats, the rats eat the cats, and I get the skins"), and miscellaneous wtf? cat themed dialogue ( "I think too much of Satan to use cats for experiments"). A trash masterpiece.
No Orchids for Miss Blandish (1948)
Plan 9 from the UK
I was surprised by the consistent entertainment value of this movie.
This psycho pseudo-noir is actually quite successful visually, the sort of film that begs you to hit the "mute" button. With the sound turned on the dialog and the attempts at acting tough by the brit-sissies playing American gangsters (who I admit are brutally butch looking) are both spectacularly, bad in a very disorienting, familiar way: though it precedes "Plan 9..." by 11 years, this movie sports serious (Ed) Wood. It has a similarly quirky charm.
The one actual (expatriate) American in the movie, Jack La Rue, is almost as miscast as the Brits. This is odd considering his earlier, much more convincing work in The Story of Temple Drake, etc.
One telling scene near the end, a nightclub routine almost as bizarre as Jim Carrey's thalidomide baby routine in the Clint Eastwood movie "Pink Cadilac," made me wonder if the whole film was a goof, intended to have a "camp" sensibility.
Black Terrorist (1978)
Psychotronic pro-apartheid propaganda
The reason this movie is so obscure is that it promotes a regime in South Africa that used drum-fed "street sweeper" shotguns to prop up minority rule. The original title, "Terrorist," assumes the "Black" qualifier.
It is as hateful as Nazi propaganda, but its comical, low-budget ineptness, pervasive surreality, and unapologetic wrong-headed stance makes it highly entertaining. Its like watching Ed Wood burn a cross. It makes my Psychotronic Top Ten without breaking a sweat.
The main character is an absurdly accented "American"* whose initial liberalism turns into maniacal blood-lust after witnessing outrageous atrocities committed by a tiny force of Outside Agitators. The anti-hero who oversees this transformation is an Afrikaner commando working undercover as a gas-station attendant. His decidedly incorrect political views provide the most eye-brow raising moments in the movie.
The icing on this cow pie is the "funky" musical score that bears an unmistakable resemblance to the later noodling of fellow countryman Dave Matthews.
*I had snarky comments on this movie posted on a local video store's website and it drew an angry, disdainful reply from a fan who seemed very knowledgeable about the movie. He said Robert Aberdeen ("August Rush[!]") was born and raised in America. All I can say is that they don't talk that way 'round here!