More On Movie...The Return III

Murder My Sweet (1944)

Is this the best movie ever or incoherent nonsense? I tend to think a statement made from an amalgamation of those two questions is correct. A confusing journey of going nowhere but cutely summarised at the end is this film's MO. You can either enjoy the ride or opt out.

King Boxer aka Five Fingers Of Death (1972)

Is this the most beautifully photographed 70s kung Fu flick? It is absolutely stunning to look and the story is ace too. This is the kinda kung fu movie I would recommend to those who enjoyed Crouching Tiger Hidden Camera.

A Woman's Vengeance (1948)

A murder mystery from the pen of Aldous Huxley, directed with an unbearably heavy hand. Still it's not a bad story but I couldn't recommend it unless you're a womens picture enthusiast or a noir completist. 

Cops V Thugs (1975)

Kinji Fukasaku directed Yakuza soap opera about real estate deal disputes and corruption in society. Hard to recommend this to anybody unless you're a Yakuza fanatic. 

After Dark My Sweet (1990)

This adaptation of the Jim Thompson novel is a flawed cult neo-noir. California's relentless glaring sunshine and desert mountains as the backdrop make this cinematically epic. Thirty five years later Rachel Ward's acting is still a bit ropey but I now think that maybe-perhaps Jason Patric's performance is genius and hey Bruce Dern never misses.

An escaped mental patient a Punch-drunk ex boxer meets actual drunk in a bar and uh-oh all of a sudden he's involved in a kidnapping conspiracy. He is coerced by a femme fatale and her uncle to kidnap a rich kid. A perplexing study of one man's mental turmoil.  

Larceny (1948)

Good fun little crime con story. Underrated noir with legends Dan Duryea and Shelley Winters.

Mr Vampire (1985)

Vampire-zombie-ghost comedy kinda thing that could have only come from Hong Kong in the 80s! So much fun if you can surrender to its silly charms, otherwise you're gonna hate it.

Under The Silver Lake (2018)

Very obvious homage to Altman's Long Goodbye and other sprawling noirs from David Robert Mitchell director of 2012's It Follows. In the first half hour I thought this was gonna be the great neo-noir of the new millennium. I was cursed from the moment that notion entered my head as it started quite a drastic downslide in quality from then on. 

Deported (1950)

An Italian-American crook is deported back to Italy after spending time in prison for a bankroll heist? How will he ever be able to live off the spoils of the loot without the American and Italian authorities catching him doing so? Includes romance with a wealthy countess, hang on just what is a countess?

Unusual crime/noir from legendary director Robert Siodmak. 

Violent Cop (1989)

Takeshi Kitano's auspicious directing debut. There's a doomed slow burning inevitability about this grim nihilistic tale. Does what it says on the tin in a very strange and effective manner.

Taken (2008)

Somehow I managed to miss this pop culture moment at the time. A tale of a daughter's kidnapping by an illegal immigrant in a foreign country and her fathers relentless crusade to track her down then exact revenge. Prescient themes to this day. No holds barred visceral filmmaking. Absolutely entertaining. 

Can you imagine what cry-baby's at The Guardian would say about Taken today as they bury their heads in the sand and ask for more censorship and cancelations. I mean Hollywood and the dead inside courtiers of the mainstream left press tried to bury Sound Of Freedom by running an unhinged smear campaign last year because it was a true story about pedophilic sex trafficking. Apparently pointing this out or caring about such things makes you a deplorable. 

Casino Raiders (1989)

An epic romantic saga disguised as a crime action flick. Gambling themes were a big thing in 80s Hong Kong gangster movies and it makes perfect cinematic sense as this device is a gift to visceral suspense.  

Romancing The Stone (1984)

This could only have been made in one decade. Once you suspend your disbelief and submit to the silliness this is whole lotta fun. Romance, adventure, exotic jungles, lost treasure, über 80s-ness and Michael Douglas dancing: What more do you need?

Wheels On Meals (1984)

More great Hong Kong 80s comedy action fun. This one's set in Spain with two mates who own a food truck, a detective, a mysterious pickpocket lady, swords and a looney bin. Let the shenanigans ensue.

This Gun For Hire (1942)

There aren't many iconic films from the noir cannon I can't get on board with, there's The Asphalt Jungle, The Big Clock and this, otherwise... 

A Long Kiss Goodnight (1996)

A deadly assassin with amnesia living a quiet suburban life starts getting flashbacks of her former life. Then the supreme action and absurd storyline unfurls. Some of the best ott action sequences and banter from the 90s. Charisma galore with Geena Davis and Samuel L Jackson plus top villainous performance from David Morse. Written by Shane Black. Entertainment! 

Jake Holmes - A Letter to Katherine December

Saturday Night - Jack Holmes (1968)

An insightful social commentary on modern day mating rituals or misguided angry jealousy directed at his ex-wife (Katherine)... probably both... whatever it is, it's a very 60s lyrically downbeat yet musically upbeat tune with strange orchestrations and wayward six string explorations. 

When somebody tells you there's a record you should check out "It's a bit like Love's Forever Changes by a dude who used to be in a band with Tim Rose" you can only ever end up disappointed. However after leaving the bootleg cd of A Letter To Katherine December languishing in my cobwebby collection for ages (twenty years) I've had a slight change of heart after coming across Holmes recently on a website.

For those that don't know Jake Holmes was an acid-folk singer/songwriter with psychedelic jazz undercurrents whose first LP The Above Ground Sound Of Jake Holmes (1967) had a little song on it by the name of Dazed And Confused which he wrote. Later in the 70s he would lend his songwriting talents to The Four Seasons, Frank Sinatra, Harry Belafonte and eventually the advertising world. 

Anyway we're talking here about the second Jake Holmes LP A Letter To Katherine (1968) which has surprisingly never had an official reissue since its original release date in 1968. The master tapes have never been found although a fairly sub-standard version did turn up on spotify a few years back. Several tunes have a lounge-y cabaret/show tunes influence while others are almost proto-new-wave, perhaps making Katherine not as cohesive as many would like. Whilst not exactly a masterpiece it definitely has its moments... there's really only one track, the irritating High School Hero, preventing this record from minor classic status. The Beatles always had annoying tunes on their great albums so perhaps I'm being too harsh. 

Late Sleeping Day - Jake Holmes (1968)

A tune of quiet turmoil that unfolds intensely yet cautiously featuring subtle understated acidic spike-y jazz guitar tones and strings. Nice.  

Chase Your Eyes - Jake Holmes (1968)

Chase Your Eyes is pretty impeccable 60s stuff, acid-folk gold. It's one of the tunes on the LP that is actually comparable in quality and aesthetic vision to Love. This vocal performance is quite a journey with its restrained melodic twists and turns. Add in an ace string arrangement and voilà...

Moving Day - Jake Holmes (1968)

Having been in the situation depicted in this song's scenario several times in my life, I find this heartbreaking. I get the feeling she left him and not the other way around. It's heartbreaking no matter who's doing the leaving though... er fabulous arrangement so quite the artistic achievement here.

 

Leaves Never Break - Jake Holmes (1968)

The noisy heavy-psych freakout track on the LP. This tune leaves a lot of people wondering what could have been if he'd done a whole side in this extreme chaotic acid-rock style or indeed an entire LP.

Sleeping Woman - Jake Holmes (1968)

Dreamy Rickenbacker twirls, that mesmerizing bass, luscious strings fused with soaring vocals all intertwine to make this THE incandescent jewel of this lost treasure. Surely one of the great lost moments in 60s music, am I wrong?

Houston Street - Jake Holmes (1968)

A restrained dark and intense whispered vocal with sparse ghostly guitar picking... kinda almost proto-Slint innit.

Fingerbobs

[1972]

S Reynolds points out Scampi Theme is also a banger which I totally agree. However I cannot abide Gulliver's (The Seagull) Theme which goes into very irritating almost Tiny Tim territory. The opening Fingerbobs Theme which incorporates Joffy's own little theme tune is also excellent as is the tortoise's tune aka Flash's Theme.

What's the story with Joffy I wonder?

A Canadian paper finger puppet master abroad gets his own show on the BBC. 

A quick glance on the interwebs reveals Joffy aka actor Rick Jones was a Play School presenter in Britain during the 60s and 70s who was involved in a drugs scandal which got him sacked from the BBC.

Rick Jones - Saskatchewan Sunrise (1971)
He had a #26 Canadian hit with this sorta baroque-country Gordon Lightfoot-esque tune. Pretty good.

 

Rick Jones later had a band called Meal Ticket. They did this tune for the The Flipside Of Dominick Hide which was an episode of Play For Today in 1980.

The Flipside Of Domonick Hide (1980)

I don't recall but surely Mark Fisher wrote about this show... I mean it's described as a tale about "genetic time slippage" ffs... actually this predated Back To The Future and fulfils some of the scenarios entertained therein ie. there is some kind of sex with a great-great-grandmother, oh dear this does sound demented, whereby Dominick spawns his own great-grandfather or something...