Topic: The little known movie review depot

[Jimmy]

MOVIE / DVD INFO:

Title: Impulse
Year: 1974
Genre: Thriller
Director: William Grefe (Sting of Death)         
Rating: PG
Length: 1h27
Video: Full Screen
Audio: English
Subtitles: No Subtitles

Stars:
William Shatner (Star Trek)
Ruth Roman (The Baby)
Jennifer Bishop (Mako: The Jaws of Death)
Kim Nicholas (Santa and the Ice Cream Bunny)
Harold Sakata (Goldfinger)   

Plot:
A paranoid, leisure-suit-wearing conman/gigolo named Matt Stone seduces lonely women, bilks them of their savings via an investment scam, then kills them. When he begins seeing an attractive widow, her daughter Tina becomes suspicious of his motives.

My Thoughts:

William Shatner was certainly the most active of the cast member of Star trek after the end of the show. Not necessary in quality term, but in quantity. The movie here is a low budget Florida production by Bill Greffé who was an important director in the Florida states exploitation scene.

The film start strong with the always welcome Bill Kerwin (Blood Feast, Two Thousand Maniacs, Porky's 2,...) in a flashback scene. I have no idea where Shatner had studied acting, but I've never seen an actor over-acting that much. This is not that I dislike that but sometimes too much is like not enough, every little reactions are amplify at an extreme level. The story is good, but thing are not explicated at all and some of those look important. By example at one moment a man visit Matthew Stone (Shatner) and he wants to get in the scam with him, but we have no idea who he is and why he knows about that. The little girl is very annoying, she pass the majority of her screen time angry for every reasons. Ruth Roman does a good job as she did in « The Baby ».

This is not the best movie made by Greffé. Not really recommanded, but if you are an admirator of Shatner the chances are high that you could like it.
 
Rating : 
Movie Trailer : No Trailer

[Jimmy]

MOVIE / DVD INFO:

Title: The All-American Girl
Year: 1972
Genre: Drama
Director: Mark Haggard (The First Nudie Musical)         
Rating: Unrated
Length: 1h22
Video: Fullscreen
Audio: English
Subtitles: No Subtitle

Stars:
Peggy Church (A Touch of Sweden)
Alan Burton
Andy Mitchell (The Teaser)
Paul Berry
Tracy Rodgers (The Big Snatch)   

Plot:
Debbie's boyfriend Bobby has left for Guatemala for three months and Debbie is expecting a boring summer. But then she hasn't considered her neighbours and their 14-year old son Johnny...

My Thoughts:

The American exploitation films were about the familiarity of the woman, every fan have is favourite one. Many of those girls had a long career like Rene Bond, Marsha Jordan, Ushi Diggart, Maria Arnold, ... But some didn't made a lot of film. Peggy Church is one of them and it's very hard to find her films and to find them with good quality. She had done seven features in six years and her first two are considered lost. The All-American Girl is her last one and the only one where she is the star.

If I had to choose one movie in the Something Weird Video collection that I would like to have in a special edition, this is the one. But, their distributor (Image Entertainment) have always refuse it. So the only way to watch it is on DVD-R (note : SVW have all the rights of their movie, so no bootleg here) with no remastering job, so the image and sound are not really great.

The story is interesting, but it can be shocking for some viewer since Peggy Church plays an 16 years old (she had 18, but she was young looking), she have relation with an adult man, an adult woman and a 14 years old boy (who look much more like 30). Peggy Church performance is really good in this and she proove that she can be a star, it's surprising that she had stop her career with this one. The rest of the cast is OK, this only exeption is Paul Berry (the 14 years old) who is a real bad actor and never did anything else. Some scenes are pretty borderline for a soft X film : girl masturbation (no close up but it's clear that it's the real thing) and adult-teenager sexual relation. Now keep in mind that it's not a pornographic movie, but an exploitation picture who goes just a little bit farther than usual. Last thing the theme song is really catchy.

I like this one, but because of the poor quality of the print use it's hard to recommand it. unless you are a fan like me and you are satisfy to have one film and the quality doesn't matter.

Rating : 
Movie Trailer
Sorry it was a good one, but Youtube had deleted it because of some cry-baby.

[Kathy]

Jimmy,

I'm interested in how/who got you interested in these films. I've only heard of a few of the ones you've been kind enough to critique. The only problem is between you and Pete I'm slowly going broke!

[Jimmy]

Jimmy,

I'm interested in how/who got you interested in these films. I've only heard of a few of the ones you've been kind enough to critique. The only problem is between you and Pete I'm slowly going broke!

Like everyone else, I've started watching mainstream movie (not that I really have a choice, since I'm from a town with less than 1000 peoples. I live in bigger one now, but not that much). But my main preference was the horror movie, good or bad it didn't make a difference.

So fast forward at the time where I get the internet (something like 10 years ago). I was searching for some horror movie and one of the place (lordman??) who doesn't exist anymore was about "weird" movie.  The way that they describe those films catch my interest and I have start to order some of them (at that time on VHS and hard to find since I was ordering them by mail to french canadian seller). This database make me discover some movie like Nekromantik, Bad taste, Guinea pig, I spit on your grave, Bloodsucking freaks, etc...

So it was a natural when I move to DVD to try to find the same genre of film. But with the DVD it was easier to find them and the price was better than it was for the VHS. I've found that one label (SWV) was specialize in those movie and everything they release became an "I have to have this title". So with them at my new starting point I have discover some other label (Shriek show, Barrel, Grindhouse releasing, Dark sky,...) and my taste expand way more (exploitation, italian movie, asian,...).

I think that I've said it before, but I find that those genre movie are better than the studio production. Not on the screen since it's obvious that they don't have the same ressources, but the actor/actress seem to care, many times those movies are more original and they take more chances because they are outside the studio system.

But I can appreciate something like "Batman" too, just not enough to buy it. 

I hope that I was not too boring 

[Jimmy]

MOVIE / DVD INFO:

                       
               DVD Cover                                                             Theatrical Poster

Title: Incubus
Year: 2005
Genre: Horror
Director: Anya Camilleri         
Rating: Unrated
Length: 1h27
Video: Widescreen
Audio: English
Subtitles: English, French

Stars:
Tara Reid (Alone in the Dark)
Akemnji Ndifermyan (Doctors – TV series)
Alice O'Connell (Separate Lies)
Christian Brassington (Elizabeth: The Golden Age)
Mihai Stanescu (Catacombs)   

Plot:
In the dead of night, a group of lost college students stumble upon what appears to be an abandoned laboratory hidden deep within the woods. Cold and exhausted, they break in, only to find the hallways littered with dead bodies. Coming across a coma patient locked within an isolation cell, they discover The Sleeper, a deranged murderer who can literally dream his way into their minds.

My Thoughts:

I don't watch only « old » movie, sometimes I like to try a relatively new film who look interesting. The results are rarely the same, some of those movie were really good but some were just lost of money and time.

This one has two prejudice against it : It was released as a direct download (DD) and Tara Reid is the star in it. For a DD movie this is not a cheap one badly done (I've seen far worse direct to DVD), so forget about this bias. For Tara Reid forget the fact that her private life is a mess and what you I've seen of her in « Alone in the Dark ». She can act when she is cast for a role in her range.

Sure this is not an a+ horror movie, but the feeling of claustrophobia is always present since they are locked in the building where 95% of the movie take place. The killer doesn't seem dangerous at first (he doesn't move), but the way he use to do is work is very hard to fight. But the protagonists are not really brilliant, why enter in a vacant building by the ventilation roof system if you are not chase by a bunch of zombie? There not really a reason for that. The movie was filmed in Romania and the accent could be disturbing sometimes since this is suppose to happen in the United States.

This is not a great movie, but it's certainly better than the remake that are considered as good horror now. It could be a good renting, since it is a little bit costly for a DVD without any extra.
 
Rating : 
Movie Trailer
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IJttMNOCEEc

[Najemikon]

Oh, whatever happened to Tara Reid? Sexy, husky voiced little minx had so much promise. I'm particularly fond of her in Jodie and The Pussycats...

"If you're happy and you know it..."

[Jimmy]

Especially for you Jon. Enjoy 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qfxwsgvtgq8

[Jimmy]

MOVIE / DVD INFO:

                     
              DVD Cover                                             Theatrical Poster       

Title: Silent Night, Deadly Night Part 2
Year: 1987
Genre: Slasher movie
Director: Lee Harry (Street Soldiers)         
Rating: R
Length: 1h28
Video: Widescreen
Audio: English
Subtitles: CC

Stars:
Eric Freeman
James Newman (The Cool and the Crazy)
Elizabeth Kaitan (Vice Academy Part 3)
Jean Miller (Speak of the Devil)
Frank Novak (Carnosaur)

Plot:
In Silent Night, Deadly Night Part 2, Ricky (Eric Freeman) follows in the familly tradition of Christmas carnage. Psycho Santa is back ... to deck the halls with chunk of bodies !

My Thoughts:

I has already review the original one last Christmas, so you can read it in one of my previous review topic. This is the second entry in the « Silent Night » series, there 5 movies in this series but I've never seen the last three.

Maybe you have heard about this one, many peoples hate it because of the heavy use of footage of the original (more than 40 minutes). But those so-call critics miss the point, the producer wanted to re-edit the first one because of all the contreversy that it have. But the director had decided to make a new movie and since the budget was low (250 000$), he have done the best he can.

This one is about Ricky (the younger brother of Billy, the killer of the original) who are in a psychiatric institution where he is interviewed by a doctor. That's the first part of the movie and that's where the stock footage are use, some of his memory is illogic (he remember the night of his parents murder even if he was 1 or 2 years old), but that's not the end of the world. The real films start with his life remembering and this part is good. In a scene, that I consider great, he is at a theatre with his girlfriend and guess what movie they are watching? Silent night part one, it's illogic but it's a good reference. The best he kill an annoying guy who talk and do stupid jokes while the movie play, honestly everyone would like to do that sometimes at movie theatre. The principal actor really over-act, but in a good way (he didn't got a lot of acting job after that).

Sadly the movie is OOP and I don't think that it will be re-release anytime soon. But, I have add what I consider one of the best moment of the film at the end of my review for your enjoyment (if you want to see a stuntman almost get kill wait untill the 5 minutes mark).

Rating : 
Movie Trailer
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jJJCprO_vBY
           
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8xh7junyB2o

[Tom]

I'm particularly fond of her in Jodie and The Pussycats...

Great underrated movie! And it is my favorite Tara Reid performance. Reminded me of Bubbles of the Powerpuff Girls 

http://youtube.com/watch?v=7ntnSReyFt8

[Najemikon]

Especially for you Jon. Enjoy 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qfxwsgvtgq8

Thank you very much! Ain't she got the cutest ears? 

[Jimmy]

MOVIE / DVD INFO:

                   
                    DVD Cover                                            Theatrical Poster

Title: Score
Year: 1972
Genre: Comedy
Director: Radley Metzger (The Opening of Misty Beethoven)         
Rating: Unrated
Length: 1h29
Video: Widescreen
Audio: English
Subtitles: No Subtitle

Stars:
Claire Wilbur (Teenage Hitch-hikers)
Calvin Culver (The Opening of Misty Beethoven)
Lynn Lowry (The Crazies)
Gerald Grant (Naked Came the Stranger)
Carl Parker (The Image)

Plot:
In the village of Leisure - in the land of play - deep within the Erogenous Zone - live Jack and Elvira, a swinging married couple who have their sights set on seducing a pair of naïve newlyweds. The sparks fly in this erotic classic.

My Thoughts:

Radley Metzger is the best director when we talk of erotic movie and this film is not an exeption. This is the last softcore movie that he direct before he takes the pornographic road for 3 years as Henry Paris. Just this 3 years he had done some of the best adult movie ever made : The Opening of Misty Beethoven (a favourite of mine), The Private Afternoons of Pamela Mann, The Image and Naked Came the Stranger (sadly the DVD is heavily cut). But I'm not here to talk about this phase of his career.

The Score is base on a sucessfull off-broadway show about a sexual game play by one couple. Everyone is well cast in the film even Lynn Lowry (I'm not a big fan of her) in the role of the innocent young married woman. The movie was made in Croatia and the location add to the beauty of it. This film is highly erotic and I have just one warning to make. The game played by Elvira and Jack as one goal : Seduce a member of the same sex, so if this idea repulse you don't watch this. Habitually nobody had a problem with a girl-girl scene, but that's not the same thing with the opposite. Metzger is the only director who can make a man-man scene erotic, there are no penetration shot but Culver and Grant french-kiss each other, caress themselves mutually and use their mouth for something else than kissing (we don't see it really, but I'm sure that you understand what it is). This scene is intercut with the one of Lowry & Wilbur and the editing, the way it's film and the music use make of this one of the best scene I've seen in an erotic movie.

If you can forget the homosexual aspect this is a movie that you could appreciated. I'm 100% straight and I think that it's a masterpiece. Give it a chance, you could be very surprise and discover one of the best director of the sixties and the seventies. 


Rating : 

[Kathy]

Are you categorizing the genres in the movies you review? I find it interesting that this one is listed as a Comedy.

[Najemikon]

Comedy in the truest sense of the genre doesn't have to be funny... but somehow I bet this is!

[Achim]

Comedy in the truest sense of the genre doesn't have to be funny... but somehow I bet this is!

Sorry for this off-topic question, but I am really curipus about the "truest sense of the genre" for Comedy... What is that and why doesn't it have to be funny?

[Najemikon]

It's a comedy as long as it is light with a happy ending, or absurd, or ironic, or farcical, or satirical. You could even go so far as to say a musical by very definition is "comedy" because everyone is singing, even if the story is relatively serious, like The Sound of Music. Classical Greek Comedy was usually policial satire, rather than slapstick. In a broad sense, regarding Shakespeare, if most characters are still sane or at least alive by the end, then it was probably a comedy! 

You only have to think of the sub-genre, Romantic Comedy. Sleepless in Seattle has no laugh out loud moments, but the story as a whole is slight, convenient, broad and is designed to leave you with a huge grin at the end.

Comedy at it's very core is simply reflecting life, without necessarily making you laugh. Maybe that's why quite serious and dark stories about superheroes are published as "comics". I can't remember the last time Batman told a joke! And Judge Dredd can be funny, but only because it's so absurd, yet so applicable.