Topic: The little known movie review depot

[Jimmy]

MOVIE / DVD INFO:

                         

Title: Confessions of a Driving Instructor (1976)

Genre: Comedy
Director: Norman Cohen (Till Death Us Do Part)         
Rating: 18
Length: 1h25
Video: Widescreen
Audio: English
Subtitles: English and Dutch

Stars:
Robin Askwith (Confessions of a Window Cleaner)
Anthony Booth (Confessions of a Window Cleaner)
Sheila White (Confessions of a Window Cleaner)
Doris Hare (Another Time, Another Place)   
Bill Maynard (Confessions of a Window Cleaner)

Plot:
Our virile adventurer Timothy Lea (Robin Askwith) is back with a vengeance in this exhilarating farce based around the rivalry between driving instruction schools.

My Thoughts:

This is the second movie in the Confessions of ... boxset. No need of a big introduction here. Like in the previous one Robin Askwith and Antony Booth did a good job again. But why did they change the actress portraying Timmy mother's, I enjoyed the other actress (Dandy Nichols) more.

I haven't enjoy this one as much as the first one. Too much slapstick comedy for my taste. The side story between Lea and Mary (Lynda Bellingham) is not really interesting contrary to the one in the first film. By moment it almost looks like a Benny Hill sketch (not that I wasn't find him funny, but I'm not 12 years old anymore). The rugby game at the end is funny, but that's not enough to save the movie.

comparatively to Window Cleaner, I can't really recommand it. Not that it is awfully bad, but this one have lost all the good thing of the first one.
   
Rating : 

[Najemikon]

Glad you liked the original least! Not sure that they will get better... I'd forgotten Lynda Bellingham was in that though.

The 18 rating will be because of nudity. In general, a PG might show polite snogging, a 15 can go topless, but full nudity is 18. Traditionally the BBFC used to leave sex uncut, but will still rate it 18, and cut violence. Whereas the US tend to be the other way around. It's a long time since I've seen the film, but if it features male nudity, that's a really big no-no.

[Jimmy]

(...)if it features male nudity, that's a really big no-no.

No frontal, but yes it have male nudity. The rating is clearer now, I didn't think that it have a lot of nudity when I was watching (completly forgot that it's not the same for male and female nudity).

[Jimmy]

MOVIE / DVD INFO:

               

Title: Confessions of a Pop Performer (1975)

Genre: Comedy
Director: Norman Cohen (Till Death Us Do Part)         
Rating: 18
Length: 1h27
Video: Widescreen
Audio: English
Subtitles: English and Dutch

Stars:
Robin Askwith (Confessions of a Window Cleaner)
Anthony Booth (Confessions of a Window Cleaner)
Sheila White (Confessions of a Window Cleaner)
Doris Hare (Another Time, Another Place)   
Bill Maynard (Confessions of a Window Cleaner)

Plot:
Either you've got it or you haven't - some like randy young Timothy Lea (Robin Askwith), manage to get it all the time! A classic for those who want to know how to "get more" out of music!

My Thoughts:

This is the second « confessions » movie in the serie and this one is almost as good than the original one. As usual Askwith and Booth are good, but in this one Bill Maynard (Timmy father's) got more screen time and he had many good line. Like the first there are some beautifull woman again (the girl at the disc store and the girl at the theatre especially). The situation happen again because of misunderstanding dialogue and no childish slapstick this time. The majority of those situation are funny (the theatre escape in a horse disguise, the love scene at the music store,...). The music by the band is good, the theme song is the best one (at least in the 3 that I've seen).


Rating : 

[Jimmy]

MOVIE / DVD INFO:

                   

Title: Confessions from a Holiday Camp (1977)

Genre: Comedy
Director: Norman Cohen (Confessions of a Pop Performer)         
Rating: 18 (UK)
Length: 1h25
Video: Widescreen
Audio: English
Subtitles: English and Dutch

Stars:
Robin Askwith (Confessions of a Window Cleaner)
Anthony Booth (Confessions of a Window Cleaner)
Bill Maynard (Confessions of a Window Cleaner)
Doris Hare (Confessions of a Pop Performer)
Sheila White (Confessions of a Window Cleaner)

Plot:
The amorous adventurer Timothy Lee (Robin Askwith) is back and having the time of his life as the Entertainments Officer at a holiday camp.

Seductions are the order of the day as he 'Rises' to the occasion and organises the beauty contest. Soon a bevy of babes are queing up to bestow special favours in the hope of improving their chances of winning.

My Thoughts:

This movie is the last of the series and they have made some changes to it. Askwith continue is good job and Maynard continue to have is fun one liner. The good news in the cast is that Linda Hayden is back and she's so beautifull. She plays a different character and at first it was weird, but is not hard to get over it (harder for the bad french accent), but we see much more of her. The situations continue to be funny when they involve Timmy and the girl (the swimming pool and the live radio broadcast especially).

But some things don't work for me. Sidney (Anthony Booth) is not his own boss this time and except shouting at Timmy, he doesn't do very much (in fact he is waste in the film). Chidren are present in the camp and I don't watch those film to see some child doing stupid child thing. Worst than all, the movie have a pie fight (I don't like that in Dawn of the Dead too, it's too childish).

Not that I find it bad, but the change was a big mistake (the next one was cancel, because of the box-office). 

Rating :

--------------------------------
The set is a good one. Only one movie is really bad. It doesn't have any extra and it's disappointing a little. A commentary track with Askwith and Booth on the first movie (I'm sure that they have some good anecdote to tell), a retrospective documentary with the cast or the 4 trailers would have been welcome. If you are equip to read DVD from all zone, this is a good set to buy.

[Jimmy]

MOVIE / DVD INFO:

Title: The Cheerleaders (1973)

Genre: Comedy
Director: Paul Glickler (Hot Circuit)         
Rating: R
Length: 1h23
Video: Full Frame
Audio: English
Subtitles: No Subtitles

Stars:
Stephanie Fondue
Denise Dillaway (Nightmare in Badham County)
Jovita Bush (Fox Style)
Brandy Woods
Kimberly Hyde (Candy Stripe Nurses)   

Plot:
Jeannie, a teenage girl attending Amorosa High, joins the school cheerleading squad as a means of finally attaining the success and social independence that was out of reach in the strict household her parents maintain. The liberated attitudes of her new friends becomes all the more evident when they come up with a plan to help the football team win the big game by having sex with everyone on the opposing team until they're too tired to even take the field.

My Thoughts:

This movie is an exemple that sometimes a VHS (in my case a DVD-R) can be better than a DVD, not that image or the sound are better (far for that). The problem with the DVD release by Anchor Bay some years ago is the widescreen image (yes, like everyone I prefer this image format), because of that a lot of information is lost (this is not a real widescreen movie). That's why I prefer my DVD-R even if the image and sound quality are awfull, I want to see the movie as it was really presented on screen.

Here we have a mature teen comedy like they were made in the seventies, it means that they were not affraid to show nudity. The story is simple Jeannie (Fondue) joins the cheerleaders squad, because she's always a virgin at 16 years old and she wants to change that. So it's not that different than some recent teen movies (like I always say they don't make anything original now).

One thing of interest is that the only other movie directed by Glickler before this is an adult movie (never see it, but it looks interesting). The girls are not really good actresses (Dillaway is the only exception) but that's not the reason why they were cast. Three of the cheerleaders are particullary beautifull (in my taste) : Fondue (a fake name, she was an adult model), Dillaway and Woods (she had no other credit, but I'm sure that I've seen her in something else). The only real actor in this is Patrick Wright and as usual he is good. There a lot of good moment : anything with Dillaway. The end is great (yes, Jeannie loose it).

A good and funny movie like they were able to make them in the seventies and to proove that something have change the movie is rated R even if they show a lot of complete female nudity and man back nudity. Now, if I could find the theme song I would be happy (this song is very good)

Rating : 

Movie Trailer
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MD2doJqYJlI

[Jimmy]

MOVIE / DVD INFO:

Title: Debbie Does Dallas (1978)

Genre: Adult Comedy
Director: Jim Buckley (Teenage Pajama Party)         
Rating: XXX
Length: 1h20
Video: Full Frame
Audio: English and Spanish
Subtitles: No subtitles

Stars:
Bambi Woods (Debbie Does Dallas 2)
Robert Kerman (Cannibal Holocaust)
Christie Ford (The Nightbird)
Rikki O'Neal (Double Your Pleasure)
Georgette Sanders (Babylon Pink)   

Plot:
Sweet, virginal Debbie (Bambi Woods) wants to head to Texas to claim her spot on the "cowgirl" cheerleading squad. But the trip costs money and her parents aren't willing to help.

With the aid of her cheerleading girlfriends (including Arcardia Lake and Georgette Sanders), they devise a plan to raise the funds themselves. Initially, they all take odd jobs. However they quickly discover there's a lot more money to be made by baring their bodies and providing sexual favors for horny men.

My Thoughts:

For this one I cheat a little bit, I don't really think that someone doesn't know this movie (if you haven't seen it, the name certainly ring a bell). But my last one give me the desire to watch this adult classic another time.

By my other topic you already know that my adult movie must have a story to interest me, that's why I watch mostly seventies adult one. The first thing that you have probably seen is that the director name isn't the usual one. In fact Jim Clark have never existed and it's just an alias for Jim Buckley (the co-owner of Screw Magazine and the producer of « It Happened in Hollywood »).

The movie like I've said has a story, not the most complicated of all time but a simple and classic one (read the plot and you got all the story). The acting talent in this one is on the male cast : you have Robert Kerman, Eric Edwards and Herschel Savage (3 professionals and good actors) and as a bonus we have Jake Teague as a creepy school librarian. No girls in this is really a good actress (Arcadia Lake is not so bad) and the prize for the most awfull one goes to Bambi Woods. But most of them are naturally beautifull and they look like girls that you could see and be with in real life. I particullary like the fact that they use the old tease trick in it, they know what the viewer is waiting for and they made him wait 1h10 for it (in case you didn't know it's the scene with Bambi Woods and the wait was not for nothing). The majority of the sex scene are highly erotic and tastefull.

This film is the high point of Bambi Woods career, she will start using drug not to long after this and, if you have seen the second part, became a complete wreck. By the way don't trust the stupid documentary made about her a couple of years ago : She's alive, She didn't die from an overdose, it was not her only film and she was not forced to do it. In fact, the dead girl in the cast is Arcadia Lake who has made a drug overdose.

A good exemple of what I like and I recommand it (if you have some problem with adult movie the collector's edition countains a R rated version, but I've never watch it. Why might I, adult movie isn't a problem for me  ) 

Rating :
Movie Trailer : I have it, but I don't want to loose my Youtube account posting it 

[Achim]

MOVIE / DVD INFO:

Title: Ebola Syndrome (1996)[/b]

Rating :

Phew...

I hadn't realized you hadn't seen it yet, when I ordered it upon your recent "recommendation". Glad to see now, that I didn't order something that you yourself think is a turkey.

[Jimmy]

Phew...

I hadn't realized you hadn't seen it yet, when I ordered it upon your recent "recommendation". Glad to see now, that I didn't order something that you yourself think is a turkey.

I wanted to see it for a long time maybe 10 years before I finally stop being chicken and bought it. The one that I've recommanded is "The Last Supper" in my january marathon, that where you have suggest "Dumpling" to me (I've it just don't watch it yet).

BTW : I was starting to be worried, you have post nothing for a week

[Jimmy]

MOVIE / DVD INFO:

                       

Title: The Language of Love (1969)
Original Title: Kärlekens språk

Genre: Documentary
Director: Torgny Wickman           
Rating: 18 (UK)
Length: 1h43
Video: Widescreen
Audio: English
Subtitles: No Subtitles

Plot:
The mother of all sex education films. A modern, advance film about sexual education and behaviour based on clinical research by famous American and Swedish doctors. The film deals with all kinds of problems connected with the sexual relationships of people, including the role of sex in society, the question of prejudices and taboos, sex in clothes and sex in art.

My Thoughts:

I have this one because it is one of the 3 films in my new Christina Lindberg boxset that I've receive today. This film is not the reason why I've bought the set (Exposed is the reason), but is here so why not watching it.

This a Swedish documentary made in 1969 about sexuality. Most of the time this is the 4 doctors who talk in a living room, here we have the first problem : the director had decide to make the movie in english and that make the dialogue hard to understand without subtitle (many medical terms and some doctors speak with a very pronounce Swedish accent). The quality of the print is not bad, but not really great either (a lot of scene are really dark). Between the doctor parts we see a visual exemple of what they talk about : female masturbation, sex class education, diaphragm installation (that doesn't look like the funiest thing to do for a woman, but I'm a man so maybe I'm completly wrong on that), how to caress your partner, ....

The documentary shows some sexual penetration, but this is not pornographic at all. This movie was probably presented at school class in Sweden at this time (that's not for nothing if they are less sexually repress than the average North American). It could be a good sex education material even now, but because of the language choice it's doubtfull.

Not something that I will watch again, not that it's bad, but it's too academic  for my taste.

Rating : 

[Achim]

I wanted to see it for a long time maybe 10 years before I finally stop being chicken and bought it. The one that I've recommanded is "The Last Supper" in my january marathon, that where you have suggest "Dumpling" to me (I've it just don't watch it yet).

damn. I knew there was one other title I should have asked my friend to pick up in Hong Kong for me...

BTW : I was starting to be worried, you have post nothing for a week

As you probably found in the other thread already, I was/am in Germany and had little time to visit the forums.

[Jimmy]

MOVIE / DVD INFO:

                   

Title: The Living Dead at the Manchester Morgue (1974)
Original Title: Non si deve profanare il sonno dei morti

Genre: Horror
Director: Jorge Grau (Blood Castle)         
Rating: 18 (UK)
Length: 1h29
Video: Widescreen
Audio: English
Subtitles: No Subtitles

Stars:
Ray Lovelock (Fiddler on the Roof)
Christine Galbo (The House That Screamed)
Arthur Kennedy (Lawrence of Arabia)
Aldo Massasso (Dario Argento's The Phantom of the Opera)
Giorgio Trestini (Don't Look Now)

Plot:
Two traveling companions, George (Ray Lovelock) and Edna Simon (Christine Galbo), come across a small town infested with the “living dead” that are satisfying their cannibalistic hunger on anyone they come across. Discovering that an agricultural machine using radiation waves is at the root of all the havoc, George and Edna fight or survival and their innocence as they are pursued by a relentless detective who is convinced they are responsible for the ghoulish acts of violence plaguing the countryside.

My Thoughts:

This one was very hard to find if you were late for the DVD game like I was. The movie was released in 2000 by Anchor bay (I start buying in 2003) and it goes rapidly out of print, in fact this release is always costly to buy. That why the only real choice when I've bought it was the region 2 release (it's not for nothing if my DVD reader is multizone). But now the situation had change, Blue Underground had re-release the Anchor bay DVD (they own the rights now) and that's not all : they had release a 2 disc special edition not too long ago.

This one is what I call an intelligent zombie movie. The goal of the movie is not to show a lot of gore. The story is center on the 2 principals characters (Lovelock and Galbo) and the way they deal with a strange situation and all this time they are chase by the police. The director use the music score and a dark lightning to create the ambiance (the sound of the living deads is particullary creepy). The zombies are slow moving (like a real one is suppose to be) and they are not stupid, they can use some « tool » to smash up door and they can act like living people when they are freshly dead.

The film is a little bit slow moving. I don't see that as a problem, but if you are only used to the actual zombie movie the chance are high that you will have some problem with the slow pace. The end is really good, the first time that I've watched this movie I was really surprised. In fact, the only thing that I don't like with the movie is the english dubbing. This is quite regular with European movie (that's why I prefer the original language track) and most of the time those dubbing are over the top and this one isn't an exception, but it is not as bad as the Zombie 3 and 4 ones.

I really recommand this movie. Now it is really easy to find at a good price, so you have no excuse for not having it in your collection if you are an horror fans.

Rating : 

Movie Trailer (he is in really bad quality)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NpjM4DPL2Mw

[Jimmy]

MOVIE / DVD INFO:

Title: Eugenie De Sade (1970)

Genre: Drama
Director: Jesus Franco (Vampiros lesbos)          
Rating: Unrated
Length: 1h31
Video: Widescreen  
Audio: French and English
Subtitles: English

Stars:
Soledad Miranda (She Killed in Ecstasy)
Paul Muller (Lady Frankenstein)
Andrés Monales (Nightmares Come at Night)
Greta Schmidt
Alice Arno (Justine de Sade)
  
Plot:
Esteemed author Albert Radeck is the toast of the Berlin literati and the object of his stepdaughter Eugenie’s affections. However, when his doe-eyed little darling unmasks her sophisticated father figure as a sex-crazed psychopath obsessed with perpetrating the perfect crime, she transforms from innocent ward to a willing accomplice. The deadly duo seduce and destroy everyone in their path - until Eugenie’s charms spark a jealous rage in Albert that threatens to consume them both

My Thoughts:

Usually I'm not a fan of Jess Franco, but I've heard a lot of good thing about his films base on the Marquis de Sade writting. When I've seen that Blue Underground have release this one, I have pre-order it and now it's the time to watch it.

One word of caution first, the DVD is unrated but this is definitely not a kids movie. It is not as cruel than "Salo, or the 120 Days of Sodom", the only other movie base on François de Sade writings that I've seen, but there a lot of adult theme in it.

The film start with the end of the story, so you already know that the end will not be an happy one. The story is about Eugenie (Miranda) and her father (Muller) who goes together on a sadistic journey to commit the perfect crime. The story had an « incestuous » relation between the 2 characters, but because it was a taboo at this time the father is the stepfather of Eugenie (he was the one who have raised her since her mother died not too long after she was born).

For a rare time I've watch this one in my native language. The film is dub neither the english or the french track are the original one and the french one is  good (something not usual at all, usually the French accent fall on my nerve). The film score is really well done, it really helps to give an athmosphere to the movie. The dialog is almost poetic, don't worry this not poetry but the dialog hypnotize the viewer (the french one, I don't know for the english one). I can't really comment on the acting since the movie is dub, but even if this is not the voice of Soledad Miranda it's easy to see that she was a good actress. She had a powerfull screen presence , there was something with her who stick the viewer on the screen and I don't talk about her body. There was something hypnotic in her eyes and her innocent and pure look. In case you ask yourself why I talk of her on past tense thats because she have died in a car accident not too long after this movie at the age of 27 years old.

This is not a movie for everyone, but the subject is done with taste. The movie gives me the desire to read some Marquis de Sade writting and I've not read fiction for a long time. A movie who give you the envy to read can't be a bad one...  

Rating :  

Movie Trailer
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8pue_MgTzRU

[Jimmy]

MOVIE / DVD INFO:

Title: Eko Eko Azarak: Wizard of Darkness (1995)
Original Title: Eko eko azaraku

Genre: Supernatural Horror
Director: Shimako Sato (Birth of the Wizard)         
Rating: Unrated
Length: 1h22
Video: Widescreen
Audio: Japanese
Subtitles: English

Stars:
Kimika Yoshino (Gozu)
Miho Kanno (Tomie)
Naozumi Takahashi (Tenisu no ôjisama – TV series)
Ryôka Yuzuki (Armitage: Dual Matrix)   
Mio Takaki (Guinea Pig: Android of Notre Dame)
 
Plot:
There is a new girl in school. She is beautiful, charming, and to some scary. Her name is Misa, a mysterious loner who seems to bring pain and death to those around her. When the school explodes with supernatural activity, many of her colleagues are quick to point the finger. Is this powerful young witch the one who is wreaking havoc, or will she protect her mistrusting schoolmates in the face of this unknown danger?

My Thoughts:

I have bought a boxset with the 3 first films of this Japanese series last year. To be honest this was a complete blind buy, but it was looking like something funny to watch and it was not too pricy (a little bit over 20 $CAN for 3 movies) to take a risk.

This movie is not all what I was expecting, everything make it look like a movie that I could watch with my five years old niece (O.K. I exagerate a little bit). I was very surprise by the content : lesbian relation between student and teacher, a lot of blood and violence, a very dark theme and some others Japanese fetish. Maybe it looks like I don't like that, but it's just that I was caught of guard. Just think that I was expecting some kind of teen magic theme movie and I got an adult demons theme movie.

I can't say too much on my review, because I don't want to spoil it. The story is good (confusing at times and the end is surprising) and the special effect are good but they go too over the top sometimes. The acting is not so bad, but all they do is to shout at each other must of the time. At the end one the actress goes way too much over the top (you have to watch this, a perfect exemple of overacting).

This is a good movie, but seriously how this movie can be market for a teenage public. Don't take me wrong I like the movie, I'm not a member of the « Think of the chidren crowd ».


Rating : 

Movie Trailer (i've not seen it before buying, I rarely watch movie trailer)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l_QiQFZIRls

[Jimmy]

MOVIE / DVD INFO:

Title: Exposed (1971)
Original Title: Exponerad

Genre: Drama
Director: Gustav Wiklund (Wide Open)         
Rating: 18 UK
Length: 1h27
Video: Widescreen
Audio: Swedish
Subtitles: English

Stars:
Christina Lindberg (Thriller: A Cruel Picture)
Heinz Hopf
Björn Adelly
Siv Eriks
Janne Carlsson

Plot:
Lena is torn between her innocent boyfriend and the older, more experienced and sadistic sociopath Helge. To get away, Lena runs away and befriends a promiscuous and friendly couple, who she stays with in a summer cabin. Her boyfriend finds her there and takes her back to the city, where she is yet again torn between her boyfriend and the older man

My Thoughts:

This the fourth films with Christina Lindberg that I've watch and it's easy to understand why she was a big name in the Swedish « adult picture ». She have a beautifull body, but this is not what I like the most about her. Her best feature is her eyes, she always looks sad and vulnerable (any others fan will certainly agree with me on this).

This movie is the first one where she is the star. The story is quite complicated and it takes a certain time to really understand what happens since they use flashback and that's not clear at all. When you finally understand that the story is clearer untill the end when you became really confuse (at least it's my case). I don't want to spoil the movie and won't explain more (anyway maybe I'm completly wrong, another viewing will be necessary).

Christina Lindberg didn't have any difficulty to play this role, as I've said her eyes are made for those parts.

This is good movie, but it is not available at this time for the zone 1 (Synapse is suppose to release it in North America). The only way to have it is in a recent boxset release in Great Britain (and probably on a Sweden DVD too).

Rating :