Yes, Rasputin Celebrates Hump Day HIS Way

Posted on April 15, 2015 by geelw

I keep meaning to review Don Sharp’s 1966 flick Rasputin, The Mad Monk one of these days for the site or perhaps a blogathon or something. But I also keep forgetting to track down a personal copy so I can watch it whenever I need a good laugh. Waiting for TCM to show it again sometimes pays off in the long run because there’s a decent enough chance they’ll also show something suitably loopy.

This is one of those films that defies proper categorization because it’s kind of all over the map in terms of tone. It’s a biopic, a horror film of sorts, a gold mine of unintentional comic relief and of course, a showpiece for the great Christopher Lee. Yeah, I’d normally have done this up already (and most likely for The Great Villain Blogathon 2015). But it’s been busy as hell here what with the roof being repaired (again!), more work going to happen in the apartment (STRESS!) and some other stuff that’s keeping my productivity lower than usual.

That said, I’ll give ol’ Raspy a two word review for those of you curious types who need to know: SEE IT. You’ll very likely laugh yourself extremely silly and get your cringe on as well because the film can be a bit creepy on a few fronts.

Random Film of the Week: The Thief of Bagdad (1940)

Posted on November 7, 2014 by geelw

(Thanks, ClassicTrailerGuy!)

Still one of the best and most thrilling fantasy films ever made, The Thief of Bagdad is a perfect movie that’s stuck with me ever since I first saw it as a child. After years of experiencing it in black and while, I didn’t even realize the film was in glorious Technicolor until sometime in the 1980’s when I finally saw it after a few years and fell for its charms all over again.

Considering at least three and as many as six people directed the film and production went from England to America due to a little world war breaking out, the film is even more incredible. Yes, some of you have seen this countless times, but if you know someone who hasn’t, it’s time to change that. Sit them down with this gem when it pops up on TCM or just plop down the cost of whatever this costs on DVD and prepare to be transported into a fantastic fairytale world… Continue reading →

“Once Upon A Time…” Is Soon To Be A Well-Read (and Seen!) Verse Again…

Posted on September 12, 2014 by geelw

Well, well welly-well well! It seems that there’s yet another blogathon I get to be a part of and yes, you’re invited for the ride as a reader OR writer if you want to huff and puff and show your stuff. Movies, Silently is hosting The Fairy Tale Blogathon from November 9-11, 2014, so zip on over there on your magic carpet to check out the rules and see what’s already been snapped up.

Given that the blogathon is open to such a wide range of films, TV shows and commentary on them, I’m betting a bunch of you can join in and post your own two gold eggs about a favorite fairy tale adaptation. I won’t reveal what I’m doing just yet, but if you’re clever enough and look in the right place, you’ll figure it out really quickly. Okay, the image on the left is a BIG giveaway and that’s all I’ll say.

Um, and they lived happily ever after, the end? I guess that’s how it usually goes in that sunshine, birdies and rainbows world some of you expect. Usually. But I say expect some surprises if you think ALL fairy tales end this way!

Random Film of the Week: The Big Parade

Posted on September 4, 2014 by geelw

(thanks, SilentPianoNinja for making this spectacular modernized trailer!)

If you know someone who’s straddling the silent movie fence or avoiding it entirely for some strange reason, The Big Parade is a great movie to get them into appreciating a great many important films they’re missing out on. Director King Vidor’s absolutely brilliant and hugely influential 1925 film benefits from stellar performances all around, and a half comedic/half dramatic structure that introduces its cast of characters with vigor and plenty of humor in that first half before pulling no punches in its latter half’s battle scenes.

The great and handsome as heck John Gilbert along with the beautiful Renée Adorée give what would have been Academy Award-winning performances had the Academy existed at that point in time and for me, this is one of the more stirring pre-sound epics worth rounding up friends and/or family to watch this classic with. You’ll need a kettle of popcorn, a barrel of root beer (that barrel will come in handy later) and perhaps a box of tissues to go ’round the room, as this is 141 minutes of fantastic film making that’s truly stood the test of time Continue reading →

Random Film of the Week: KONGA

Posted on June 24, 2014 by geelw

(thanks, Movie Trailer Graveyard!)

While it’s not the worst man in a gorilla suit sci-fi/horror hybrid out there (Bela Lugosi Meets A Brooklyn Gorilla or A*P*E*, anyone?) 1961’s KONGA is nevertheless a terrifyingly bad movie that’s worth a watch for a few reasons. You’ll marvel at the ferocious, scenery chewing by Michael Gough’s mad botanist/scientist Dr. Charles Decker, the kitchen sink plot that tosses in carnivorous plants, terrible, inaccurate science, botany and biology, a love triangle that’s actually a square that gets whittled away corner by corner as the film progresses and some mostly lousy special effects that make this a total howler. I’ll get back to the ape suit later and the man in it, as both are another key to making this film so hysterically funny.

You have to admire a film that wants you to believe that Dr. Decker returns from his year-long trip to Africa (he’s actually missing and presumed dead!) with some strange ideas, some recipes for a serum that can make plants and animals grow to extreme sizes and a cute baby chimpanzee. His plant experiments end up creating a number of oversize man-eating varieties including (eek) some that look like gigantic black rubber penises with green veins a’poppin’ and red tongues hanging out (seriously). Before that rolls around in your head too much, Decker’s real showpiece is Konga, that baby chimpanzee he gives his serum who SOMEHOW changes into a gorilla (Wait, WHAT? Science takes another hit, folks POW!) before using his new “pet” to get revenge on a few of his peers (spoilers inbound, but it doesn’t matter because even if it’s all given away, this one’s worth seeing for the laughs it provides)… Continue reading →

The 1984-a-Thon Is Coming! Are Your Ready To Go Back In Time To The Movies?

Posted on June 21, 2014 by geelw

So, thesquonk calls and many have answered! However, there’s still a call out for writers for the upcoming 1984-a-Thon over at Forgotten Films, so if you’re feeling nostalgic and have a favorite film from that year of SO many great films from all over the world, go bug the man and see if you can participate!

I’m tackling a tough-love choice that’s gotten more love over the decades, Sergio Leone’s final (and in its original US theatrical release, VERY flawed) epic, Once Upon A Time In America, a film that I didn’t like at all when I first saw it, but it wasn’t due to the director or cast. I’ll not spoil my impressions because I still haven’t written anything about the film other than a nice opening segment. Hey, I have a good long time to complete that post, as the blogathon isn’t for another two months! Don’t rush me, grrrr. Anyway, if you think you’ve got time to scribble out a decent review, pick three flicks you think you’d like to cover (check the list on the site as well as the links, as there are no duplicate posts allowed, but a bunch of great films still need to be reviewed), zap out an e-mail and get that party started!

Random Film Of The Week: The Graduate

Posted on June 19, 2014 by geelw

(thanks, ryy79!)

It’s actually quite funny, sitting and watching a favorite film with people who haven’t seen it before who initially end up not liking as much as you do. I’ve had this happen countless times, but I don’t think I’d ever had such an odd reaction from the last screening I did of The Graduate, Mike Nichols’ excellent, classic 1967 comedy/drama. What I saw (and still see) as one of the many films of that year that were minor to major revolutions in film making, my friend and his wife (who are a tiny bit younger than me) ended up being divided on a few fronts, making for an interesting discussion afterwards. I’d initially planned a straightforward review of the film, but watching these two people interact during and after the movie made me scrap that in favor of this article.

Is Dustin Hoffman’s Benjamin Braddock merely a “spoiled rich kid, a stalker and a jerk!” or is he just “an elite everyman living a plastic life” like my friends debated (among other things)? If you look at the film with a modern eye, the answer is yes on both counts. However, that modern eye will miss a chunk of the film’s actual comedic value and even some of the most interesting elements of this classic. if there’s a lesson to be learned here, it’s this: spinning things into a too politically correct version of a movie that needs to be seen as a sign of the times it was made in isn’t always necessary, but it makes for some perky bits of conversation… Continue reading →

Random Film of the Week: Forbidden Planet

Posted on June 18, 2014 by geelw

Even though the first time I saw Forbidden Planet was when I was about five or six years old on a medium-sized black and white TV with not always perfect reception and the film was rather horribly panned and scanned from what I recall, I fell in love with it and it’s remained one of my favorite science fiction films. I’ve since seen it countless times and it remains quite a fun film to watch thanks to everything melding together so flawlessly (including its handful of flaws).

I think it was also one of the first movies I actually remember looking at the music credits for and being surprised that two people composed the “electronic tonalities” that were buzzing my eardrums and pleasantly sinking into my brain’s recesses. Louis and Bebe Barron’s impressive score drove home right away that this was no ordinary 1950’s flick with a low budget and cast of no-names mugging it up for the camera. I’ll also admit to thinking director Fred Wilcox was a relation, but I think my mother or father pointed out that many people have the same last name who aren’t related at all (but I don’t think I believed her at the time). Flash forward a few years later and when I finally saw the film in color on a huge TV in its original widescreen format, I was even more floored thanks to the beautiful color palette and (mostly) still impressive visual effects. I was also a bit jealous because back in 1956, it must have been blowing audiences back in their seats to see this on a massive Cinerama screen with those sounds booming from multiple theater speakers… Continue reading →

Let’s Get Snoop-id With The Sneaking Around: The Snoopathon Is Here!

Posted on June 1, 2014 by geelw

Whee! Super spies, evil guys (and gals) and perhaps some long trench coats and fog await you, dear reader over at Movies, Silently and a few other blogs over the next three days. Pop on over there and like a hero in a good spy mystery, you may find yourself rendered unconscious and wake up somehow back here reading not one, but TWO posts about secrety angenty stuff. I won’t say which flicks get the treatment here, but I bet you’ll wake up tomorrow and forget ALLLLL about what you saw. Um… Wait, that’s NOT a good thing! Hmmm… I should have diluted that formula a little more, huh? Oh well, as long as you click and read, I’m happy! Mua-ha-ha-ha-haaaaaaa…

Random Film of the Week: The Ipcress File

Posted on May 27, 2014 by geelw

(thanks, Classic British Film!)

As far as movie openings go, Sidney J. Furie’s 1965 spy drama The Ipcress File was and still is an attention grabber. There are no studio logos or bombastic fanfares to kick things off here – the film just begins with a pre-credit sequence that has two men walking to a car somewhere in London and you’re hooked in like a greedy trout. A leading British scientist being taken to a train station is mysteriously kidnapped and his escort killed by unseen assailants.

As you’re taking this in (head spinning slightly) the scene shifts to one Harry Palmer (Michael Caine), a myopic former soldier and petty criminal turned British government agent slowly rolling out of bed to start his workday as John Barry’s excellent main title theme buzzes your eardrums. Right from the beginning, this is one of those great ‘pay attention’ movies guaranteed to hold you in its grasp thanks to a cast and crew dedicated to their work… Continue reading →