Of Interest:
The Mack (1973) Dir. Michael Campus - US
A Royal Scandal (1945) Dir. Otto Preminger - US
Tell Me That You Love Me, Junie Moon (1970) Dir. Otto Preminger - US
Recommended:
L'enfer (1994) Dir. Claude Chabrol - France
C.R.A.Z.Y. (2005) Dir. Jean-Marc Vallee - Canada
Essential Cinema:
Come Back to the 5 and Dime Jimmy Dean, Jimmy Dean (1982) Dir. Robert Altman - US
It (1927) Dir. Clarence G. Badger - US
Theatrical Screenings:
Fright Night (2011) Dir. Craig Gillespie - US 7/10
Detective Dee and the Mystery of the Phantom Flame (2010) Dir. Tsui Hark - Hong Kong/China 7/10
Killer Elite (2011) Dir. Gary McKendry - US 4/10
The Mack (1973): This is considered fine dining blaxploitation, and I will give it credit for being more polished than many a title in this genre. However, as the tone is a bit more serious, it's a bit harder to swallow the inherent sexism threading it's way through the entire fabric of the film. Max Julien stars as our "mack," recently released from prison, he wants to run the streets of Oakland as the ultimate "mack" daddy. Well, you know what that means? Exploitin' bitches! Julien's a little monotone for my liking, and Richard Pryor does show up as his sidekick in several scenes, but his role isn't very substantial (rumor has it that the success of this film put Pryor's career back on path, as previous antics on film sets, i.e., pissing on Shelley Winters on the set of Wild In the Streets, 1968, earned him a bad rap---Shelley drowned in several movies, so I can see why she hadn't a taste for watersports). Predicatable, ridiculous, and, well, offensive by today's PC standards, the film is notable and should be must-see viewing for the professed cinefile.
A Royal Scandal (1945): Preminger's followup to his amazing flick, Laura (1944), this period drama about Russian empress Catherine the Great's sexual liaisons was supposed to be directed by Ernst Lubitsch. A minor entry on Preminger's resume, this weird little number features none other than Tallulah Bankhead as the Russian empress. Her growly cat/smurf voice (imagine Shirley Henderson with a testosterone cocktail) does make her seem strange and foreign, but hardly Russian. No matter, though. No one in the cast is. Anne Baxter stars as a Countess whose lover (an overacting William Eythe who nearly sinks the film with his "charming" performance) is seduced by the Empress; Charles Coburn is the Chancellor; and Vincent Price is the Marquis from France, who is required to speak with an accent. Tallulah is such a strange and interesting actress she makes anything watchable, and, indeed, she's the sole reason to view the film.
Tell Me That You Love Me, Junie Moon (1970): Preminger directed a lot of strange and not well received films towards the end of his illustrious career---this strange little gem is one of those, starring Liza Minnelli as Junie Moon, a girl whose face is burned by acid by a perverted man that makes her get naked in a cemetary on their first date. She laughs at him afterwards, and, well, he beats her and throws acid on her. Kinda weird. In the hospital, she meets a paraplegic homosexual (director Robert Moore in his first onscreen appearance) and a man suffering from a weird epileptic disorder (Ken Howard). They decide they will live together with their disabilities to help each other cope through life. Anne Revere, blaxploitation star Fred Williamson, and James Coco all show up in supporting roles. This is based on a famous novel at the time by Marjorie Kellogg, and it's not a bad film---it's just a little dull at times. Liza's the best part of the show, with her fake ass scars and all. After shooting, Liza publicly commented, in tears, that she would never work for Preminger again, called him tryannical. Liza's ma, Judy died while this was filming---I'm sure he wasn't patient with her while she mourned. The gays had stonewall and Liza played Junie Moon. The worst parts of the film are, frankly, when Preminger deals with Moore's homosexuality---some scenes come across as forced, fake, and unrealistic. But to his credit, Preminger was always a director that pressed buttons. If you can find a copy (I have been visiting a wonderful video rental store in Los Angeles, called Cinefile) I recommend you see it.
L'enfer (1994): Chabrol's take on Clouzet's film that never got made decades prior, this sparse little thriller stars Francois Cluzet as the owner of a sea-side hotel. Saddled with debt as he buys his business, he marries the alluring and beautiful Emmanuelle Beart---and suffers some kind of paranoid break, imagining her to be carrying on sexual liaisons with all the male guests at the resort. Things spiral out of control and it's obvious that Cluzet is going insane, listening to voices in his head. But is Beart truly an innocent victim? An interesting look at jealousy and paranoia, L'enfer translates as Hell---and these characters are surely in it.
C.R.A.Z.Y. (2005): A breakout hit for French Canadian Jean-Marc Vallee, this is one strange and unpredictable coming of age story about a gay teenager in 1970's Quebec. A family drama/comedy with a story arc that spans the younger years to adulthood of lead character, Zach (Marc-Andre Grondin), it can hardly be described as typical. While I believe that 20 to 30 minutes could have been cut from the film, it's views on Catholocism and a unique father/son, mother/son relationship is completely worth the watch.
It (1927): The silent film classic is the definitive Clara Bow performance, cinema's original "it" girl. "It" was code for sex appeal, and Bow was considered to have plenty of it. The film is really just a simple story about a shopgirl that falls in love with the owner of the department store (Antonio Moreno) and the comedy of errors involved in them getting together. I must say that Clara Bow is completely charming and very appealing. It's a lovely, cute little picture. It is definitely worth your time.
Come Back to the 5 and Dime Jimmy Dean, Jimmy Dean (1982): Robert Altman's lost classic has to be one of my favorite films I've seen of his. I absolutely loved this film, based on the stage play, concerning a group of women who have vowed to come together after twenty years to meet on the anniversary of James Dean's death in a small Texas town. Dean's film Giant (1956) was filmed not far from them, and this small group of women, especially Sandy Dennis, were all in love with him. Dennis's character managed to land a role as an extra in Giant, and came back pregnant with the son of James Dean, or so she told everyone. Cher stars as the waitress co-worker of Dennis at the dime store, while Karen Black, Kathy Bates, and several others are women known as the Disciples of James Dean. Told in present time and flashback, this film is sad, melancholy gust of wind. The three lead actresses are all just damn good in this and I didn't want it to end---weird, strange, and from an era when material like this actually got produced. My, times have changed. I hope one day this gets a DVD release of some kind. Definitely worth seeking out if you can find it.
Fright Night (2011): Well, the original 1985 film wasn't that good, so I was actually glad to see this remake revamping (hardy har) itself with some different twists. While the Las Vegas locale is a great idea for the purposes of this story, the film squanders itself on some subpar special effects and some bland and boring characters (Yelchin, Poots, Mintz-Plasse---the younger actors are all pretty uninspired or just plain corny)---and I hope I am not the only one that thought James Franco's little brother and his sidekick in the film (Reid Ewing) seemed gay gay gay. Toni Collette is given absolutely nothing to do beyond being a "cool mom." David Tennant scores some laughs as Peter Vincent (this time around, a magician with a show called Fright Night) but his Russell Brand type humor was a little over the top at times. What this Fright Night does have is a great performance from Colin Farrell---there's one scene in particular where he's trying to lure his way into Yelchin's house that is the best scene in the whole film. But the performance is not enough to save the film (and even Chris Sarandon pops up for a cameo). Definitely not worth seeing in 3D---what a ridiculous idea for this film. Director Craig Gillespie has an interesting resume. His first two films, both released in 2007, couldn't be more wildly different (Mr. Woodcock and Lars and the Real Girl). His choices are interesting, if not altogether well thought out.
For my reviews on Detective Dee and the Mystery of the Phantom Flame (release 9/2/11) and Killer Elite (release 9/23/11) for ioncinema.com, please check back closer to those release dates.
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