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The Banal, the Blah, the Banausic:
The Door in the Floor (2004) Dir. Tod Williams - US
Astounding Cinema:
7. Polyester (1981) Dir. John Waters - US
6. Blue Sunshine (1976) Dir. Jeff Lieberman - US
5. The Walker (2007) Dir. Paul Schrader - US
4. Torment (1944) Dir. Alf Sjoberg - Sweden
3. Young Torless (1966) Dir. Volker Schlondorff - West Germany
2. The Little Foxes (1941) Dir. William Wyler - US
1. Seconds (1966) Dir. John Frankenheimer - US
Theatrical Releases:
3. Zombieland (2009) Dir. Ruben Fleischer - US 8/10
2. A Serious Man (2009) Dir. Coen Bros. - US 8/10
1. Paranormal Activity (2007) Dir. Oren Peli - US 8/10
Though there's no official cess pool selections in this week's roundup, Tod William's sophomore feature came dangerously close to dipping its head in the septic tank. I've owned The Door in the Floor (2004) for a few years now, and sitting down to watch it left an unsettled feeling in the pit of my stomach. I admit that I have a soft spot in my heart for the ever alluring (though not always on the mark) Kim Basinger, who is relatively unscathed in this film. Jeff Bridges plays her husband, a successful children's author. Several years prior, the couple lost their teenage sons in a terrible car accident and had another child to make up for their loss, a daughter, played by a member of the Fannings (this decade's Culkin clan). Currently, Basinger is depressed, Bridges has lost his driver's license and hires a young student as a driver and asks Basinger for a separation. (Bridges is also sleeping with Mimi Rogers, in a wasted role, though she does get to show off ALL of her finely toned body). It is at the point where Jon Foster, as the student, starts sleeping with Basinger, that the film becomes disagreeable. I am deciding to place most of the blame on Foster, only because he left me in disbelief due to his lazy performance in this year's turkey, The Mysteries of Pittsburgh. Though not a travesty, the picture, based on part of a John Irving novel, could have been a hell of a lot better. And Bijou Phillips appears as a babysitter, and no matter how polished she looks, she always looks anemic and white-trashy to me. Poor Bijou.
Ahh, John Waters, how I adore thee. Polyester is perhaps most famous for two things: Tab Hunter, the aged and infamous gay Hollywood heartthrob and Water's gimmick, Odorama, which was fun even if not every smell was quite distinct. The plot is typical Waters with Divine playing more of an abused haus frau here. Though I prefer Divine's bitchier performances in Pink Flamingos (1972) or Female Trouble (1974), Polyester is still worth a watch.
Though at moments a bit over the top, Jeff Lieberman's 1976 druggie horror film, Blue Sunshine, is overall, quite creepy. A group of Stanford alums that dropped a batch of acid in college all lose their hair and their minds a decade letter after they suffer some wicked flashbacks. Apparently the hair goes first, and God help those who tear off the wigs, as that seems to be when the horror really begins. Definitely worth a look, especially for those loving vintage 70's horror thrillers. Stars Zalman King.
It's been a Woody week for me, and I happened to catch Harrelson in one of his best performances to date in Paul Schrader's film of political intrigue, The Walker, in which Harrelson stars as an escort of sorts to political figurehead's wives and becomes involved in a murder scandal when he attempts to cover for his friend and fag-hag, Kristin Scott Thomas. Lauren Bacall, Lily Tomlin and Mary Beth Hurt round out Harrelson's group of squirrely confidantes that show their true colors as Harrelson's reputation becomes tainted. Best of all, Schrader gives us a gay protagonist without a plot that hinges on his orientation, composing a political thriller that goes down like a gulp of wine.
Though included in the Eclipse series of early Ingmar Bergman works, Torment was actually the first major screenplay penned by Bergman and was directed by then Swedish hot shot Alf Sjoberg (whose most enduring work seems to be an adaptation of Strindberg's Miss Julie, 1951). Torment (1944) tells the story of Jan-Erik, who is bullied and abused by a malignant and cruel Latin instructor, named Caligula by the student body. Taking refuge in a new girlfriend, Bertha, whom he meets drunk on the streets and whom he helps to sober up, Jan-Erik's reputation suffers, especially when it is revealed that Bertha and Caligula are connected in their own catastrophic way.
Another boarding school abuse story is Volker Schlondorff's beautiful film debut, Young Torless (1966), which is credited with jump starting the German New Wave. Schlondorff's brilliant film centers on Torless, a young student that stands by passively when two schoolmates ruthlessly torture and sadistically manipulate a weaker student. At first curious of how the student's inner turmoil would break, Torless becomes disgusted and tries to remove himself from the predicament. Of course, things eventually go too far. Set in 1900, the film most obviously is an eerie mirror for the Nazi party that would hold the world in its grip four decades later.
Boy, I love Bette when she's a bitch, and William Wyler gives her a plum role in his adaptation of Lillian Hellman's play, The Little Foxes (1941), which tells the story of the Hubbard clan, two ruthless, greedy brothers and their equally opportunistic sister. Davis dreams up a vicious plot to screw her brothers out of an investment deal, but needs the cooperation of her run down and weak willed husband, the always dependable Herbert Marshall. Meanwhile, Teresa Wright (in her screen debut) plays Davis' daughter, who we're meant to see teetering between being a mini version of her piranha like mom and her passive, feeble, alcoholic aunt. No one seems to be able to get what they want, but by the far, the best part is the infamous scene where Herbert Marshall is struggling for his life on the stairway while Bette Davis sits with a cruel and grotesque look on her face, willing him into death.
And this week's number one selection belongs to John Frankenheimer's odd cult classic from the 60's, Seconds, which stars Rock Hudson. A failure upon release, the film is quite lauded today, and many claims Hudson's best performance is in this picture, which concerns the tale of Arthur Hamilton (John Randolph), who takes an opportunity offered by an organization to stage his death and surgically alter him in order to let him relive his life by doing all the things he had meant to do. In other words, seconds. But Hamilton doesn't quite know what he's getting into, and as he becomes Tony Wilson (Rock Hudson), he realizes he wants to go back, throwing him into a horrific and grotesque situation. While some scenes, namely an extended orgy of grape stomping, could have been trimmed a little, Frankenheimer's clever little film is a creepy little sci-fi thriller, worthy of celebration.
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