What I Watched in June

The idea behind BRIGHTBURN (2019) is a fascinating ‘what if’. Suppose that little Kal-El crashed to Earth just as he did in the legend first told over 80 years ago but grew up to become a villain instead of a hero. A kind of anti-Superman. Or Superboy, given that hitting puberty is the catalyst for the young alien discovering his true nature. Unfortunately, the film never really comes to life. Despite an excellent cast and a believably built scenario it never catches fire and never begins to feel like more than just an interesting exercise. It is flat. The narrative has no sense of escalating tension. The film can’t manage a feeling of dread and danger that becomes progressively more ominous as more terrible things occur. The feeling of foreboding never seems to become stronger in order to make it feel as if the series of violent events is growing instead of just happening.

Thinking about the film afterward I began to realize that some of the fault is in the film’s direction which doesn’t bring a rising tension to the details of the story. But I’m also sure that a vital scene was edited out of the film. I think the choice was made to hold a certain gruesome reveal until the latest possible moment but eliminating this from the knowledge of the father character makes the ‘hunting’ scene less believable and lacking in emotional resonance. I think this missing scene would have helped the film feel less flat injecting anxiety into the father's motives even if it wouldn’t have fixed the too deliberate pacing in the second half. This film had real potential but in the end it’s a misfire.

Although many fans hated the 2014 American made GODZILLA film I was not part of that pile on. The sequel GODZILLA KING OF THE MONSTERS (2019) seems to take the bitching from the fanbase to heart while staying true to the vision of a dystopian Earth plagued by ‘titan’ monsters coming back to life all over the planet. I’ve read all kinds of critiques of this new film and I find all of the negative carping pretty silly. Not because I think you should check your brain at the door for giant monster films of this sort but because not being able to enjoy this film seems curmudgeonly to the point of obstinance. I loved this gorgeous, monster packed adventure from beginning to end. With this being the flipside of Toho’s brilliant SHIN GODZILLA (2016) we are in a wonderful age of kaiju cinema with thoughtful social commentary on one end and all-out multi-monster battle spectacles on the other. You can pick your preferred type, or – like me – enjoy both!

Barring the possible release of the much-delayed NEW MUTANTS film, DARK PHOENIX (2019) is the end of the road for Fox’s 19 year run of X-Men movies. Since the film is one of the bigger financial disasters of the year so far, many fans of the series are not even bothering to see the movie during it’s theatrical run. That’s a shame. Although the choice to retell this story could be considered an odd decision, I think it was a bold move and one that pays off the recent run of X-films very well. Many will feel that the downbeat, dark tale of Jean Grey’s fate was the wrong way to end things but I think it’s the perfect way to cap this most recent rebirth of the series. Since 2011’s excellent FIRST CLASS these characters have been given their finest screen portrayals with older actors getting to shine beside strong younger cast members. The talents of Michael Fassbender and James McAvoy as the younger versions of Magneto and Professor X have made these last four film the weight they needed to succeed. They sell every scene with emotional depth adding much more than just their screen charisma to the stories. They make the larger action sequences seem all the more exciting because they are truly invested in these roles. The producers were very lucky to find these two guys to take over from such fine older actors as McKellen and Stewart.

Sadly, I think this film will find its largest audience on video. It will become one of those discoveries that fans will realize was unfairly maligned during it’s release. It will go through a long reassessment and be seen as a strong entry in the superhero genre with a number of things to chew on. It’s an excellent film with few answers to its difficult questions while it takes a hard look at the shaded motivations of ‘good’ men. DARK PHOENIX will be appreciated eventually as a fine ending to a noble run. With the mutants finally moving back to Marvel Studios there will be new versions of these characters but I don’t think it will be easy to forget this series’ high points.

THE LIST 

FORT VENGEANCE (1953) - 6 (solid Canadian Mountie story)

X-MEN: FIRST CLASS (2011) - 8 (rewatch)

THE DRACULA SAGA (1973) - 7 (rewatch)

THE IGUANA WITH THE TONGUE OF FIRE (1971) – 6 (rewatch on Blu) 

BRIGHTBURN (2019) - 5

WEST OF SHANGHAI (1937) -7 (Karloff as a Chinese revolutionary figure)

THE HEAD OF PANCHO VILLA (1954) - 6 (Mexican singing cowboy, horror adventure)

GODZILLA, KING OF THE MONSTERS (2019) - 8

X-MEN: DAYS OF FUTURE PAST (2014) - 9 (rewatch of Rogue Cut)

X-MEN: APOCALYPSE (2016) - 8 (rewatch) 

THE THIN MAN GOES HOME (1944) – 7 

IT CAME FROM BENEATH THE SEA (1955) – 7 (rewatch)

THE BLACK CAT (1934) – 9 (rewatch) 

DRACULA A.D. 72 (1972) - 7 (rewatch)

DARK PHOENIX (2019) - 8 

THE LOST WORLD (1960) – 6

THE BLACK SCORPION (1957) – 7 (rewatch)

THE MONSTER THAT CHALLENGED THE WORLD (1957) – 7 (rewatch) 

20 MILLION MILES TO EARTH (1957) – 7 (rewatch) 

Rare 'Ice Block' Teaser Trailer THE THING (1982)

I think I have seen this teaser before but I can't be sure. I suspect it has turned up on one of the two most recent Blu-Ray releases but I haven't checked.  

MARS ATTACKS (1996) Art Gallery

Ack! Ack ack ack! 

(If you know what I mean.) 

Dario Argento's THE STENDHAL SYNDROME (1996)

I think THE STENDHAL SYNDROME (1996) was Dario Argento’s final great film. Not that I knew it the first time I watched it. That first time through I enjoyed it but was disappointed in the rather downbeat and slightly unsatisfying ending. But I did like it enough to watch it again and on that second viewing it opened up like a flower stretching toward the sun. My god! What a beautiful but deadly thing. Much like a gorgeous plant far too poisonous to touch, THE STENDHAL SYNDROME is easy to admire but nasty in its effects. Bleak to the point of teeth gritting nausea it boasts a rape and murder scene that is rough even for a horror movie veteran to take. And the thing the killer does with a razor blade still makes me flinch just to think of it. But alongside these terrible things are some wonderful moments of cinematic beauty.

This was the last time I could feel that Argento really had a handle on what made a thriller work. Not that he hasn’t made some interesting stuff since then but THE STENDHAL SYNDROME was the last time I felt he made an entire film that stood up and rewarded repeated viewings. It also has one of the most surrealistic scenes I have ever witnessed in a horror film involving Asia Argento kissing a fish. This has to be seen to be believed if not understood.

Of course, the film has its share of problems, as all Argento movies do. There is some dodgy CGI that doesn’t quite work, some of the dubbing is bad and at least one character is too poorly defined for the ending to really be effective. But still…..this is a good movie. It’s got a great twist, some amazing set pieces, a truly scary villain and probably Argento’s last great use of color. Not to mention the sense of dread and horror that breaks at the half way point only to slowly build again in the last half. There are few things scarier than the fear that you are going mad and this film gets that across almost without you noticing.

Trailer - SPIRIT OF '76 (1990)

In from the great outdoors to avoid the pouring rain and it's time to watch one of my favorite Holiday comedies! This should have become a traditions decades ago. 

Happy 4th of July From Captain America!

Re-Viewing ATTACK OF THE PUPPET PEOPLE (1958)

The other night I settled down to watch the ATTACK OF THE PUPPET PEOPLE (1958) for the second time in my life. The only reason I watched this in 2019 is because Shout Factory has been nice enough to put it out on a gorgeous looking Blu-ray. I've owned the old DVD for years but after my initial viewing easily slotted this film into the ‘why bother again’ category and placed it on the shelf. After the second viewing I'm thinking it might be time to get rid of both copies of this film as I can never imagine watching this thing again. There are a number of Bert I Gordon films that I enjoy but this one just does not have nearly enough in it to keep me consistently interested for its admittedly short running time. In fact, I find it to be a pretty good cure for insomnia even for someone as in love with films of this type as I am. It feels like a 45-minute long idea stretched to feature-length and is extraordinarily boring for long stretches. Not even the presence of the stalwart 50’s B-movie icon John Agar or his amiable female co-star June Kenney can keep this from being a pretty turgid affair.

The new Blu-ray does have a commentary by the great Tom Weaver and after the first 15 minutes I'll have to admit he's keeping me interested enough to finish listening to what he has to say. He's begun making a decent defense for the movie and a couple of his points so far have amused me, but I really doubt even the entire track is going to change my mind on the qualities of this Bert I Gordon effort. We’ll see though.