Random Film of the Week(end): The Chairman

Posted on August 17, 2013 by geelw

One of those films that some overly reactionary folk will take WAY too seriously if they ever see it (or already have if they remember seeing it on TV), 1969’s The Chairman is an intriguing mix of drama, action and spy flick that despite a huge chunk of ambition and a nice sense of scale, really doesn’t do much other than shake the pot it’s in before burning up from its good idea/bad ideas never quite blending correctly.

Granted, seeing Gregory Peck play an egghead genius type sent to communist China by the US government to retrieve a special enzyme that can grow crops in any type of soil (cue evil Monsanto theme if there is such a thing) is both the most interesting and most baffling thing about this one. But don’t let that poster fool you too much into thinking Peck will fight Mao in a one on one battle or anything. They meet, but it’s a meeting of wills here – Peck’s got plenty of other stuff to worry about before and after that little engagement, however…

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Random Film of the Week: Kiss Me Deadly (1955)

Posted on August 9, 2013 by geelw

(thanks, criterioncollection!)

If you’ve never seen this Robert Aldrich-produced and directed film noir masterpiece, drop what you’re doing (well, unless you’re operating heavy machinery or in the middle of something where dropping anything will cause a major or minor disaster) and go look this one up. You’re guaranteed to say something like “What the…” at least two or three (or a dozen) times while watching this one, trust me. Mike Hammer is supposed to be a hard as nails private eye, but in this flick, he spends about a quarter of the film either getting chased, beaten up, shot at and otherwise maimed by assorted people who want him out of the picture he’s supposed to be starring in.

Deviating quite dramatically from the Mickey Spillane novel, this one’s a blazing hot mix of a downward spiral into a particularly dark hell for private eye Mike Hammer (masterfully played by Ralph Meeker), who has so many brushes with death here that the film ends up having a nasty comic edge thanks to the level of violence on display. No one here escapes unscathed, as everyone either wants Hammer dead or disabled (or both) and the few people on his side tend to drop like flies or come pretty close to it. The film also offers up a big twist at the end that turns it into a sort of wild sci-fi flick, but I won’t spoil that surprise other than to say it’s a big reason the film is so insanely brilliant…

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Random Film of the Week: Kind Hearts and Coronets

Posted on August 5, 2013 by geelw

Did Ealing Studios ever make a bad comedy? I’ve yet to see one, and the streak they were on brought some of the most memorable flicks to lucky audiences that are still great today. One of the best black comedies ever made and featuring Alec Guinness in an amazing eight roles, 1949’s Kind Hearts and Coronets is a truly classic film that’s still as effectively dryly hilarious and fun to watch as ever. If anyone tells you that movies with voice overs that spell things out are “bad” films, sit them down with this one and watch them choke on that thought as they die laughing.

The film manages to be great despite that running narration by its murderous lead character Louis Mazzini, the tenth Duke of Chalfont (Dennis Price) as he retells his family history and lays out how he’s dispatched the assorted surviving members of a wealthy family in a quest for revenge, a title and the affections of two ladies who drop in and out of his life. Granted, you’ll feel a lot more for Mazzini than you do for his victims in the D’Ascoyne family, most of whom seem somewhat deserving of their assorted fates…

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The World’s End: Doomsday With Drinks? I’ll Take A Ticket, Please…

Posted on July 31, 2013 by geelw

Nice. I just put myself down for a screening next week of The World’s End (there’s one tomorrow, but I’m not free to attend) for this upcoming Focus Features film featuring Simon Pegg and Nick Frost (and a bunch of other talented and funny folks), so I’m probably going to review it here as well. OK, I’m absolutely going to review it, as it’s tough to get me out of the home office as it is, so I may as well let you all know if this one’s worth stepping outside and maybe having a meteor clobbering you on the skull. Or worse.

HOW much worse? Oh, I dunno… use your imagination (or just watch that trailer above a few times)…

KRONOS: 1957’s Alien Planet Eater Makes For An Interesting Muse…

Posted on July 29, 2013 by geelw

(thanks, ScienceFictionFLIX!)

Another favorite sci-fi flick from my younger days (OK, it still holds up today on a few fronts), Kurt Neumann’s 1957 film KRONOS is a really well-made and fun cheapie that benefits from some prescient scripting, pretty decent effects work (some nice for the era animation of the titular massive alien energy accumulator in a few quick shots), a snappy running time and a few unintentional chuckles from the usual overacting cast members emoting with relish about the over-sized and unstoppable alien threat of the week. Anyway, back in 2011 I was dinking around in MS Paint and had a sudden flash of inspiration to do a goofy tribute image and here you go. I guess it’s technically a piece of “fan art” although I have to chuckle at the “fan” part as it’s not exactly something I do on a regular basis. Yeah, I guess this gets added to the Random Film of the Week pile at some point. Feel free to check it out, as yep – it comes highly recommended.

Random Film of the Week(end): The Indestructible Man

Posted on July 20, 2013 by geelw

(thanks, All Classic Video!)

One of those crazy 50’s “B” sci-fi/horror flicks that sticks in the mind thanks to the performance of its lead, The Indestructible Man is also one of those forgotten gems that modern audiences would most likely laugh out of a theater or change the channel after a few minutes of dialog during a slower moment. Of course, I grew up seeing this flick countless times on TV, so it was a formative part of my misspent youth. Combining sci-fi, horror and film noir elements and featuring a creepy performance from Lon Chaney Jr., this is one of those short, snappy little movies that makes for a nice jolt as well as few unintentional laughs.

Chaney plays Charles “Butcher” Benton, a convicted killer and thief who’s been given the gas chamber treatment, but has his dead body illegally sold to a scientist for research purposes. Of course, it being the 1950’s and a “B” movie and all, that scientist happens to be studying the effects of electricity and his own chemical concoctions on dead subjects and ends up quite thrilled when Benton is brought back to the land of the living. Naturally, when you beef up a dead man with voltage and vitamins, his first response will be to kill you and your assistant then take off with intent of wiping out just about anyone who sent him behind bars. Maybe that stupid scientist should have invented a time machine so he could pop up today and read this post, then zap back and get better prepared…

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Seventh Son Trailer #1: This May Be Dragon You Into Theaters Soon Enough…

Posted on July 15, 2013 by geelw

Boy, am I SO behind on my fantasy novel reading… I guess. I’d never even heard of The Wardstone Chronicles until this trailer for Seventh Son rolled around and while I don’t think I’ll be diving into any of the books anytime soon, this trailer looks pretty cool in a flash-forward about a year to “When I finally caught this on cable I was really surprised at how good it was!” manner. Of course, that’s not what WB and Legendary Pictures want to hear, but that’s how I roll these days with those crazy ticket prices. “I’ll take “LESS Expensive Cinema Gimmickry” for $200, Alex!”… or something like that…

Godzilla San Diego Comic-Com Poster: Building Up to the Bigger Reveal…

Posted on July 15, 2013 by geelw

Sure, it won’t be the final poster image, but it’s pretty cool nonetheless. of course, if you had a kaiju made of assorted rubble from wrecked buildings, all you’d need to defeat it would be a very large wrecking ball or a dump truck full of marbles, a pound of lard and a nice steep hill leading to the nearest deep body of water. That would be great for a few laughs, no? Hmph, some people have NO sense of humor. Anyway, it looks as if the BIG reveal of how this new Godzilla will look has been placed gently on the back burner, but I think it’ll be pretty cool. Or hell, at least a LOT more impressive that that last US-made Godzilla flick…

Captain America: The Winter Soldier Teaser Poster: That Shield Needs a Few Coats, I Think…

Posted on July 9, 2013 by geelw

“Uh-oh… better get Maaco!” Well, at least it’s rustproof, right? I actually hope that if there’s a soundtrack CD, that’s the image that goes on the disc so it looks as if it’s Cap’s shield spinning REALLY fast. Anyway, the first film was pretty fun, so I’m hoping this sequel keeps the stuff that worked and adds more without being too overblown for the sake of being a pre-summer 2014 blockbuster. I think that Marvel is on a very nice roll these days (mostly), so every good film they get out makes forgetting about the past mistakes easier. That said, some of the not so hot flicks has a few interesting elements, but I’m not sure the world is ready for revisiting those characters just yet…

There Are 22 Pacific Rim Posters (So Far). That’s A Lot of Wall Space.

Posted on July 3, 2013 by geelw

And that’s just that’s counting the US and Japan, based on the gallery over at Impawards.com (that page has 17- the other five show up if you click on any of the images). I don’t think that’s a record for number of poster designs for a single movie, but it is impressive to see the different sizes and art styles in a few cases that would dress up any boring wall in your home. I’m not one for collecting posters these days, but if I did, I’d say these would be perfect for kicking off a collection. That looooong banner sized monstrosity at the top of this post actually made me laugh the first time I saw it because I could see it running down one of the long hallways here in the home office (thus making the trip to the bathroom a pretty cool one unless there was something stomping around in the shower I didn’t want to see)…