15/08/07 The Bird with Crystal Plumage - (D) Dario Argento

I've heard it said that Italian director Dario Argento has somewhat of a cult following. 'The Bird with the Crystal Plumage', his first feature film, seemed like as good a place to start as any. This film promised to be a 'Hitchcock-esque' thriller with an Ennio Morricone soundtrack...we were sold!

Our hero, Sam, witnesses the attempted murder of a glamorous art gallery owner, played by Eva Renzi. After further murders, for some reason, Sam decides to 'go detective' in order to discover the killer's identity.

There are some pretty amusing characters to be found along the way, such as dangerously effeminate antique dealers, cat-eating artists and hitmen running around in hi-vis clothing (not very stealth, dude)!

What ensued was, in my opinion, a fairly run of the mill serial killer/slasher movie, with a highly improbable ending. It should have ended about ten minutes before it actually did. Its as if they got to the end, it made sense, but the cameras kept running so they had to keep making more end up, until it ended up making no sense whatsoever (if you see what i mean). All in all, watchable, but by no means outstanding.

Corporal Tench

08/0/07 Hiruko the Goblin / The taking of Patty Hearst

Synopsis from IMDB: "A school was built on one of the Gates of Hell, behind which hordes of demons await the moment they will be free to roam the Earth. Hiruko is a goblin sent to Earth on a reconnaissance mission. He beheads students in order to assemble their heads on the demons' spider-like bodies."

I sat down to this film expecting a weird-out Jap fantasy/horror extravaganza like only the Japs can do! But after the first few minutes, having been encouraged to feel thrilled by the cut 'n' thrust world that is modern archeology, I knew I would probably be unable to suspend my disbelief for the duration...a fairly run-of the mill 'scary movie', but with a slightly impenetrable plot, loads of (unintentional) laughs, but worst of all....no god dam goblin! We waited and waited...we were teased! But goblin appeared there not.

Note to Japan: see picture above...this is what a goblin should look like!

The main feature was followed with a (short, eh? hmmm...) documentary, 'Guerilla - The Taking of Patti Hearst', about the 1970s kidnap and subsequent return of the wealthy socialite. A fairly interesting story for those who are unfamiliar with it...I'll leave it up to you to decide whether the crazy cat knew what she was doing, or was sooo spaced out on acid she thought it was all a nice dream...

Corporal Tench

01/08/07 : Bad Boy Bubby

This film was preceded by its reputation as so many people I know had seen it, loved it, hated it, recommended it, condemned it !

I needed to make up my own mind

The tag line reads - 'he's been in his room for 35 years - and it time to let him out'.

Infamously pushing the boundaries of good taste and dealing with taboo topics such as violence, incest and atheism it's not surprising that some people feel like their eyeballs have been violated after watching this 1993 Australian classic.

Whilst the above is certainly true - BB Bubby is also hilarious, clever and a must see film. It's interesting to know that due to budget constraints and lack of funding - the film was made over a 15 year period and involved 10 different producers. Subsequently - the feel and look of the film changes drastically throughout - its almost like one of those figures that you make with everyone drawing a different body part and then folding the paper over.

The director 'Rolf de Heer has since revealed that the dialogue was recorded using Binaural Microphones which were sewn into the wig of the leading actor to give a unique sound to resemble what the character would actually be hearing.

25/07/07 The Swimmer 1968

The Swimmer (1968)

Neddy Merrill (Burt Lancaster) decides to swim home across all the swimming pools in his exclusive neighbourhood. Along the way we discover that Neddy has been away for some time - and not everyone is pleased that he's back.

I had seen this film years ago and was pleased to watch it again. It stylishly done and the dialogue is great. At times its more like a play than a film and each scene unfolds another layer to Neddys background.

No car chases, not much action - but the script and performances mean that this doesn’t matter. A subtle portrayal of a man falling down!

18/07/07 Even Dwarfs Started Small (1970)

Another offering from the clubs director of choice 'Werner Herzog'.

In a nutshell : 'Incarcerated dwarfs run riot'

This is without doubt one of the strangest, yet most intriguing films I have ever watched.

The film raises lots of questions and by the end not many have been answered. We were all struck by the obvious lack of scripting or direction involved. The best way to capture 'dwarfs going mad in a prison' - is undoubtedly to stick a load of dwarfs in a prison and ask them to 'go mad'. .. you get the impression that Werner didn’t foresee that they would start throwing live chickens at each other but decided 'hey - keep rolling'

There are so many hilarious moments in this film - my favourite being the 'wedding party' made from a collection of petrified insects. The beetle wearing a top hat still makes me smile as does the grasshopper in a veil.

Its got to be seen to be believed - so see it and believe it !

11/07/07 Les Valseuses ( 1974 )

Les Valseuses ( 1974 )

Ooh la la ! Everyone's favourite Frenchman Gerard Depardu is joined by Patrick Dewaere as a couple of merry chancers up to no good. The film follows their 'sexploits' and general mis behavings which involves various women entering reluctantly into a ménage et tois - but then loving it really!

It was undeniably terrible - but then also quite funny in places and the general stylish ness of the French helped immensely. If it had been made at the other side of the channel it would have undoubtedly have included Robin Askwith in the cast - so we were thankful it wasn’t !

I liked the soundtrack that sounded very 'Francoise Hardy meets Serge Gainsbourg ' ( no surprises there ). Whilst I wouldn’t particularly recommend this film to anyone - I wouldn’t say I didn’t enjoy it either.

We think that the title translates as THE TESTICLES