Throbbing Gristle

GRISTLEVISION*

*Stole that title from Simon Reynolds' piece on TG & Industrial here

Mo movies - March

RECENTLY RE/WATCHED

Jaws (1975)
SPOILER ALERT. I hadn't seen this for over 20 years and couldn't remember a thing about it so I thought I'd give it a whirl considering Emma bought me a Jaws t-shirt the other day. Amity Island has a killer shark roaming its beaches. How are they going to combat this commerce/people killing machine. The best part of the film is when it's just Brody, Quint and Hooper in a vessel out at sea to battle the Great White. Some very cool spectacular shit happens plus a ye olde drunken sailor sing along and eventually BOOM! there goes the shark. Robert Shaw as Quint the old salt and the shark as The Shark are the two outstanding creatures here. I will now wear my t-shirt with pride.

The Witness aka 목격자 (2018)
This was a first time watch for me as I only came across it one Sunday arvo on Stan. I'd never even heard of it. It's beginning to sound like a cliche but the South Koreans have done it again: This is a masterpiece. The Witness is where the serial killer thriller sub-genre is turned on its head. As I've said before eventually these films will be called Tangent movies and this one is no exception, many a tangent is gone off on. It never loses its pacing or entertainment value though. In fact it just keeps gaining in intrigue right up until the mortifying climax. Sang-Hoon (Lee Sung-min) witnesses a murder in his apartment complex but the killer Tae-ho (Kwak See-yang) sees him up in his sixth floor window. Sang-Hoon thinks he's going to be next on the killer's hit list so he doesn't report the crime to police. This is probably not the best of moves as shit soon hits the fan. Sang-Hoon is an infuriatingly spineless but believable character. Look out for a sterling performance from Kim Sang-ho as Detective Jae-Yeob. Kudos to the cast and crew who collectively pull off a piece of astonishing cinema. Totally recommended.

Big Bad Wolves (2013)
Excellent Israeli movie. You don't hear that sentence too often do you? This is some kind of violent crime/horror film. The plot here goes off in many unexpected directions and it's wonderful, darkly comic and brutally violent. A young male teacher is accused of paedophelia. The cops try to beat a confession out of  him but to no avail then things go apeshit. Who are the good guys? Who are the bad guys? Who's this bloke on a horse? Big Bad Wolves is a shocking tale executed to perfection. Creepy Israeli revenge horror anyone?

The Man With Two Brains (1983)
I was feeling very ill during the watching of this so I haven't got a hell of a lot to say except that this silly sci-fi comedy is pretty funny and even the occasional dated un-PC jokes are even funnier. Kathleen Turner is fabulous as the raunchy gold digger Dolores Benedict. Steve Martin was on a remarkable roll back in the late 70s/early 80s. It might be time to revisit teen favourites Dead Men Don't Wear Plaid (1982) and The Jerk (1979).

The Chaser aka 추격자 (2008)
Is this South Korean cinema's darkest film? It's certainly unrelentingly grim and horrific but it's still incredible film-making. This is an absurdly frustrating flick as the inept cops don't do their jobs properly and keep making things way way worse. A scumbag ex-cop turned pimp Eom Joong-ho suspects someone is selling his girls into slavery so he's on the look out for this scumbag Je Yeong-min only to discover that this scumbag is a way worse scumbag than he ever could have imagined. There's a lot more of police procedural in The Chaser than in (ab)normal South Korean terrifying thrillers. Na Hong-jin made an auspicious debut feature here and has gone on to direct two other highly regarded movies The Yellow Sea (2010) and The Wailing (2016). The Chaser is a hell of an experience that you won't forget too soon. Grisly fun for all the family.

Funny Games (1997)
I thought I'd never seen this attempt at a deconstruction of a thriller but then soon disappointingly realised I had. This is a really boring home invasion movie that feels like it was made by a bunch of year 11 students in the 90s. These kids would have thought we're gonna blow people's minds man by talking to the camera, blurring reality and fiction, fucking with linear narrative and timelines etc. Haneke thinks he's being oh so provocative and meta (man) but this is just amateur, dull and lame bullshit. An attempt at an intellectual exercise that falls flat on it obvious and bland face. I can't believe how many so called smart people have been sucked in by this but then again... Anyway if you are looking for a mental scuzzy home invasion type of film check out Canada's Death Weekend (1976) directed William Fruet. This is actually thrilling, horrifying and exhilarating ie. it's a successful thriller.

BUT THEN TV SHOWS STOPPED THE MOVIE VIEWING.
BANSHEE (2013-2016), LODGE 49 (2018-2019), CURB YOUR ENTHUSIASM (SEASON 10) & INSIDE No 9. (SEASON 5).

I got hooked on Banshee pretty quickly well I mean I'm seven years too late but whatever. I had to watch the entire first season with nothing else in-between. As I commented to KB Banshee is like primo 00s Alan Ball (an executive producer here) but like he's making an absurd ultra violent 11.30 pm time-slot 90s crime/action/cop show. A winning combo in my book. For others perhaps not. To put it another way it's like a HBO drama crossed with the aesthetics of Claws (2017- Corona Virus Panic). The finale of season one goes full Death Wish 3 (1985). Awesome trash.

Lodge 49 insidiously grabbed my attention and before I knew I'd watched the entire first season of that too. The key word of the moment in telly seems to be absurd and Lodge 49 isn't lacking in that department. This is treading a line between charming and stupid. It's a story of a small beach-side suburb where people's lives seem to be going nowhere but the mysterious Lodge 49 brings the disparate lives of the community together. I can't for the life of me figure out how it has managed to engage me for ten 40+ minute episodes. I have been watching it very late at night though...

I've been slowly working my way through season 5 of Inside No. 9 and season 10 of Curb. Saving and savouring each precious episode though. These two splendid shows are still the best telly has to offer.

Female Convict Scorpion: Beast Stable aka 女囚さそり けもの部屋 (1973)
Stop The Presses: MIND BLOWN! I've tried over the years to dig Japanese cinema but I just found much of it to be dull as fuck, just not for me. You can't like everything although I liked some stuff from the 70s, 80s & 90s that I saw on SBS-TV in the 90s which I only have vague recollections of now. Seijun Suzuki was the first Japanese director to make an indelible impression on me with the brilliant Tokyo Drifter (1966). Then I went through his filmography when the Melbourne International Film Festival held a retrospective of his work and down at the old video shop. Then I saw Hausu (1977) the fantastic off the wall cute psychedelic/comedy/horror directed by Nobuhiko Obayashi which is a work of pop art genius like no other. I didn't get into all that 90s/00s J-horror gear but hey maybe I need to give it another chance.

Female Convict Scorpion: Beast Stable is the third film in a series of four about Scorpion the female convict played by Meiko Kaji. It's a strange place to start but it's still a fucking good place. This has got be the most appealing style of film-making I've ever seen so thank-you director Shunya Itō for your rare and sublime aesthetic vision. Once again the epic scale of a greek tragedy clashes with pop culture exploitation to create a totally distinctive specimen of a movie. Scorpion aka Nami Matsushima aka Matsu breaks free from detective Kondo (Mikio Narita) in a jaw dropping moment of cinema. She eventually finds refuge with a prostitute Yuki and her mentally challenged brother. A game of cat and mouse ensues between Nami, the cops and Nami's nemesis Katsu (Reisen Lee) amongst taboo sex, brutal violence, nightmarish horror, surrealism and ethereal sequences. The adult themes are of the disturbing and very adult variety. Make no mistake though this is a cinematic masterpiece. I am curious now to see what else is waiting out there for me amongst the hundreds of Japanese exploitation films and whether they'll be this captivating?

Katalin Varga (2009/06)
This is a rural revenge film of the highest order. Right out of the gate the setting and cinematography (Márk Györi) here are fucking breathtaking. What a tone that sets for this utterly exquisite and idiosyncratic piece of cinema. The sound design (Gábor ifj. Erdélyi & György Kovács) and soundtrack are in complete harmony with the vision, narrative and atmosphere. This has got to be one of the best sound designed films ever. A soundtrack featuring Nurse With Wound, Roj, Xylitol, Steven Stapleton & Geoff Cox, David Tibet, The Csavas Band, Alan Burbridge, Sonic Catering Band, Adam Bohman etc. is a subterranean music lovers delight. To add to the peculiar tone Peter Strickland, an Englishman, directed this film in foreign languages he didn't understand. Katalin (Hilda Péter) is banished from her home and village as her husband discovered their child Orbán (Norbert Tankó) is not his. So Katalin and Orbán set out on a crusade for revenge somewhere in the exotic Carpathian Mountains in Romania. An extraordinary low budget DIY cinematic feat.

Shirkers (2018)
A bunch of young and naive film lovers become film-makers (Sandi Tan, Jasmine Ng & Sophia Siddique) along with an older male mentor (Georges Cardona) and make a movie in Singapore in the early 90s. The film was called Shirkers. These upstarts were set for world domination with their punk-ish and quirky DIY debut feature film. One day though, the film canisters disappeared along with their fellow film-maker Georges Cardona. In this documentary Sandi Tan, a unique and rambunctious individual, reveals a strange and mysterious story that will have you intrigued and probably infuriated for the duration of the movie. What happened to the film? Can it be rescued? Who was Cardona really? Was the movie actually any good? What has happened to this trio of ladies in the last 25 years? Some of these questions will be answered while you watch this fascinating 25 year journey. I recommend.

Lady Snowblood aka 修羅雪姫 (1973)
After watching Female Convict Scorpion: Beast Stable (1973) the other day I finally had to track down the most famous film starring Meiko Kaji Lady Snowblood. Perhaps I shouldn't have watched them so close together as I was comparing film styles way too much instead of just going with the flow of this film. It was like comparing MBV to Gang of Four. Two brilliant innovative bands who are nothing alike. Anyway Lady Snowblood turned out to be astounding anyway. This is where the Shakespearian Japanese folklore meets the absurdity of pop culture and it's irresistible. Splattered and spurting with ketchup coloured blood this is vengeance of the most fun variety although it's done with a serious straight-faced tone which makes it all the more glorious. Yuki Kashima (Meiko Kaji) is born in 1874 with a legacy to hunt down and kill three people who tormented and ruined her mother's life. From the age of eight Yuki is rigorously trained in the art of sword-fighting so by the time she is a young lady she is a flawless and ruthless assassin. Let the shenanigans begin. Will Yuki aka Lady Snowblood be able to fulfil the brutality expected of her? This is a great Japanese flick based on a Manga series. Oh and Quentin Tarantino ripped off swathes of this movie wholesale for his Kill Bill shows. Don't let that put you off though Lady Snowblood is a hundred times better than those empty homage flicks. Essential viewing.

Green Fish aka 초록 물고기 (1997)
If you are curious about the rise of South Korean cinema in the 21st century look no further than this right here. South Korea was so cool that they had a film director in their ministerial cabinet. Novelist and film director Lee Chang-dong was the minister of Culture in the early 00s. He directed his first flick, this terrific little gangster film in 1997, just before the pop culture blockbuster phenomenon of Kang Je-gyu's Shiri (1999) ignited the current new wave of South Korean cinema. Green Fish is a charming, bittersweet and rough around the edges family drama/gangster movie. This is not the super-slick South Korean cinema we all know and love in 2020. The violence here is is so shonky it's almost at Dolemite (1975) levels. The story however is a lil bewdy which more than makes up for any shortcomings this movie might have. Mak-dong (Han Sook-Kyu) is discharged from military service. Whilst travelling back home on a train he becomes embroiled in the life of Mi-ae (Shim Hye-jin) a gangster's moll. The directionless Mak-dong ends up working for this gangster who goes by the name of Bae Tae-gon (Moon Sung-keun). Things then start to unravel in this uncertain, bewildering and disillusioned time despite an economic upturn. Look out for two unforgettable gangster death scenes one in a toilet and one on the windscreen of a car. Green Fish was an auspicious debut for Lee Chang-dong who has gone on to further acclaim directing another five films including Peppermint Candy (2000), Poetry (2010) and Burning (2018).

Confessions aka 告白 (2010)

21st century vengeance Japanese stylee. This is on the artier side of the revenge movie genre, much of which is informed by dance, movement and choreography, so it's not going to be for everyone as its not action packed. Confessions is a top shelf cerebral, dark, atypical and mental revenge tale. I am constantly amazed at the inventiveness of revenge stories in this day and age. You would think you'd seen and heard it all before by now but nope here is another slice of unique Asian revenge cinema. A high school teacher's child is murdered by some of her pupils, further incredible, grim and devastating events unfold from there.

Mother aka 마더 (2009)
One of only two Bong Joon-ho films I had seen previous to Parasite (2019). I don't know why I never followed up on his other movies in that 10 year gap. I think they just didn't sound like they'd be up me alley like Mother (2009) and Memories of A Murder (2003) were. Anyway I feel like there's a definite theme running through the last few blog posts. Here's another epic tale of tragedy and vengeance of the biblical proportions. Sophocles with cell phones. Yoon Do-joon (Won Bin) a mentally challenged young man is charged with the murder of schoolgirl Moon Ah-jung (Moon Hee-ra). Do-joon's Mother (Kim Hye-ja) knows he's innocent though, so she sets out on a mission to find out the real facts as the police and even her own lawyers are content to just lazily blame her son. Kim Hye-ja puts in a dazzling performance as Mother and Won Bin is impeccable. Bong Joon-ho and his cinematographer Hong Kyung-pyo were already at the peak of their superior powers here. Ten years later the American mainstream took notice. Mother is a 21st century classic. 

MR FLAGIO - TAKE A CHANCE

SPACE DEBRIS GOES TO THE ITALO DISCO AGAIN (I Think)

1983
Italian electro cosmic disco.

Adriano Celentano - L'Unica Chance

Here he is again "il molleggiato" (Bendy Man) with Lola Falana. This tune is so darn funky. Celentano was a renaissance man. He did the showbiz works. He was a singer-songwriter, dancing man, musician, actor, comedian, record company owner, film director, vegetarian, Inter Milan supporter and a whole lot more. The best thing about him though is mos def his dancing. We all need to be this seriously suave so I've been practicing. 

K.C. & The Sunshine Band - Keep It Comin' Love

SPACE DEBRIS GOES TO THE DISCO PART 13?

1976
That's it front load your tune with the chorus and we're in immediately. After hearing this today I can't get it out of my head. I also think it's been ripped off in the last 20 years but I can't quite put my finger on who by, it's driving me insane. Great tune this.

*Added Entry 10/12/20: Metronomy's The Look (2011) is the song that borrows heavily from Keep It Comin' Love (1976). 

Keep It Comin' Love works better with this awesome transition/connected track I'm Your Boogie Man like how you gotta have Donna Summer connected with Now I Need You/Workin' The Midnight Shift, INXS' remarkable Burn For You dropping right into Face The Change and not forgetting the one transcendent moment on The Pixies Trompe Le Monde LP when Palace Of The Brine is all of a sudden Letter From Memphis. These trax shouldn't be separated, there's a reason there's no silence between these tuuuuunes. They're of a piece and sort of a continuation of the previous number. Anyway the moment that little Keep It Comin' Love motif enters into the realm of sound it is a bliss rush, that is damn fine.

Had to do it. Sorry KC. Ooh that transition is sublime! One million of the world's best DJs couldn't emulate that spine tingling moment. Fucking ecstasy. 

More On Movies XXVIII

The Villainess aka 악녀 (2017)
It's funny that Parasite (2019) was a major cross over hit with western audiences because this film ticks all the right blockbuster entertainment boxes and is probably even more commercial. The Villainess is a sort of gangster/assassin/revenge movie but mainly it's just an outstanding ultra violent action flick. This is the sort of unbelievable fun action thrills we want, relentless and exhilarating. There is also emotional attachment to certain characters too which is quite an achievement from writer/director Jeon Byung-gil. Sook-hee (Kim Ok-vin) is the titular character who was raised on violence to blossom into a consummate smiling assassin. She is captured by an intel agency who want to use her for their own gains so she is sent to a reform prison for Assassins. Let the batshit crazy shenanigans begin. We get fake deaths, plastic surgery, questionable babies, gassings, murdered fathers, fake identities, bombs, sword fights on motorbikes, even love and that's not the half of it. After watching this it's hard not to say "That is the fucking best!" and yeah in my book it's probably the best action flick of the 10s. If you've not seen it was on either Stan or the nettflix. Good times.

Unstoppable (2010)
An alright blockbuster action flick if you can get past the thickly layered on Hollywood cheese which almost destroys an unbeatable premise of an explosive runaway train. I mean It's still pretty naff. Sometimes you just gotta put that shit aside and try to just enjoy the ride. An unmanned train carrying carriages of diabolical chemicals picks up speed and needs to be stopped before destroying thousands of lives when it crashes. Frank (Denzel Washington) and Will (Chris Pine) are on another train ready for the rescue mission with the help of Connie (Rosario Dawson) in the control room and Ned (Lew Temple) in his 4WD. The tension and excitement build but Tony Scott turns the picture into something resembling a sports telecast, with people cheering and screaming while they watch events unfold on their TV screens. This was unnecessary and mawkish. Unstoppable is way way overrated (Hello QT & re-watchables podcast). I guess this is what they like to call a pizza or popcorn movie. Then again I'm happy to eat popcorn or pizza watching a Lars Von Trier film.

Sympathy For Mr Vengeance aka 복수는 나의 것 (2002)
Goin back to the original peak years for South Korean cinema when my video shop was the only place to find this shit. Recent (last 20 years) revenge movies don't come more mental or any better than those from South Korea. Particularly from the master director of the genre Park Chan-wook. This is the first in his trilogy of Vengeance movies and it is an auspicious entry. We go right into the underbelly of criminal organ trading here as a young deaf brother is trying to raise enough cash so that his sister may get a kidney. He comes up with a scam that goes horrifically awry. Some seriously grim events occur. Park Chan-wook who also co-wrote the screenplay is at the peak of his powers here. Brilliant.

A Bittersweet Life aka 달콤한 인생 (2005)
A mega violent gangster picture with a bit of a naive romance fantasy thrown in.  Kim Jee-woon the man who directed one of the all time classic South Korean revenge films, I Saw The Devil (2010), presents these unusual gangsters with confusing motivations behind their actions. Their moral, brotherhood and gangster codes are all fucked up and wrong. Throw in some Catholic shit and pure Nihilism and voilà you've got yourself a an entertaining 21st century gangster flick.

Sweet Virginia (2017)
An average story of small town crime that gets out of hand. Set in rural Alaska. The main criminal is Charlie from HBO's Girls. It's just missing some pizzaz so it's not in the same ball park as low key crime gems like The Friends Of Eddie Coyle (1973), Going In Style (1979) Breaking In (1989), Blue Ruin (2004) etc. 

Murder Mystery (2019)
A bit of silly fun that is seriously good. Knives Out (2019) gets all this critical praise for reinvigorating the Agatha Christie style whodunnit? genre but hey I think director Kyle Newacheck beat the critically acclaimed Rian Johnson to the punch. After watching Uncut Gems (2019) I wondered how many other good Adam Sandler movies I've ignored since I last saw him in Punch Drunk Love (2002) so I ended up here. Murder Mystery's been on my Netflix list for 7 or 8 months. A down on his luck NY cop Nick Spitz (Adam Sandler) is accidentally pushed into buying a European holiday for him and his wife Audrey (Jennifer Aniston) for their 15th wedding anniversary. In Europe they end up at a billionaire's family reunion on a yacht when the murder begins. The French detective believes it was Nick & Audrey Spitz though. How are they going to get out of this jam? Exciting fun ensues with much crap detective work, a game of cat & mouse, a body count and a spectacular car chase with Aniston behind the wheel of a Ferrari.

More On Movies - February

RECENTLY RE/WATCHED

I Saw The Devil aka 악마를 보았다 (2010)
In the last few movie posts I've been going back through the last 20 years. It's is nowhere near as bleak as I thought out there in the world of movies in the twenty first century. Here's one that I thought was at the end of the South Korean Revenge Movie cycle but it kind of reinvigorated it although has anything topped it since? I Saw The Devil is a unique epic tale of vengeance. First of all the cinematography is absolutely gorgeous so kudos to DP Lee Moe-gae and director Kim Jee-woon. Kim Soo-hyun (Lee Byung-hun) a National Intelligence Service (NIS) agent has his world turned upside-down when his fiancée is brutally murdered. Agent Soo-hyun is then on the rampage to track down the killer Jang Kyung-chul (Choi Min-sik) to exact vengeance upon him. Oh boy that is just the beginning. A brutal and bizarre game of cat and mouse continues for the rest of this spectacular movie. This is not for those with delicate sensibilities as it's very demented. Quite possibly best South Korean movie of the 10s.

Dracula (1992)
Or is it Bram Stoker's Dracula anyway it's the 1992 one directed by Francis Coppola. After watching Mark Gatiss's 66.66% brilliant (ie. first two episodes are great & the third is a fail) three part Dracula (2020) series on Netflix I wanted to know more about the history of Dracula and Vampires. I'd only seen a couple of 70s Hammer iterations when I was a teenager, Buffy The Vampire Slayer (1997-2003) TV show, From Dusk Till Dawn (1996) and Daughters Of Darkness (1971). I wouldn't say I was a Dracula or Vampire fan, I mean I admire breasts plus I thought the first three seasons of Buffy were ace. The only vampire film to really make an impact on me and is indeed one of my favourite films is Daughters Of Darkness but I thought that was probably straying pretty far from orthodox tellings of these stories. So I asked Emma who's a scholar of gothic horror literature "What would be a good place to start with a fairly straight forward telling of the Dracula story?" So here we are with 1992's Dracula which is fine entertainment with my only quibble being Keanu Reeves but his role as Jonathan Harker doesn't take up too much air time. The rest of the cast are in fine form including a good performance from the sometimes inconsistent Winona Ryder.

The Addiction (1995)
Grainy black & white vampire film. I finally watched The Addiction which me old mate Derek from Picture Search was always recommending to me ever since it came out. It felt and looked like a pretentious student film from the the late 60s or early 70s. It was like Ferrara was trying to convey every little bit of knowledge he had gained in his philosophy degree into one film while the genre was perhaps obligatory and could have been anything. This is the total opposite of what I was expecting. I guess I imagined it was going to be all flash and glamour and sexy vampires and a shallow empty 80s vibe. Oh well you can't win em all. It was still pretty good though. Kathleen (Lili Taylor) is doing a dissertation at NYU to get her Doctorate of Philosophy but one night she is bitten by a vampire (Annabella Sciora) in a dark stairwell. Then things get weird and it's particularly satisfying when the Vampire mayhem gets out of control at a posh academic party. Christopher Walken in a bit part steals the show as Piena the coolest old vampire ever. Sopranos fans take note as it features Carmela, Christopher and Gloria Trillo many years before they were cast in the greatest TV show of all time. Abel Ferrara always had a good eye for actors.

Interview With A Vampire (1994)
This was a first time watch for me and it was not what I was expecting at all. A surprise it certainly was. After watching Interview With A Vampire I didn't think these words would come out of my mouth "That was pretty fucking cool!" I'd always imagined it was going to be to be some kind of boring homo-erotic romance not the crazy shenanigans, bad arse vampires and exciting action we get here. It's perhaps 20 minutes too long but I can let that slide (because The Irishman is three & a half hours too long). Brad Pitt & Tom Cruise are great and Kirsten Dunst is brilliant. We get plenty of people on fire which is one of my favourite cinematic things next to bizarre usage of bows and arrows in modern settings. It left me wanting more, so I was disappointed to learn that the quasi-sequel was terrible.

Cops & Robbers (1973)
My favourite thing is cops and robbers movies made in the 70s so how could you go wrong with this? You can't because it's a secret lil gem of a film that ticks all the right boxes. Cesspool NYC check. Dodgy cops check. Mafia check. Absurd idea for a heist check. Great 70s music check. A movie with about the same production levels as Massacre Mafia Style check. New York Subway check. Choice 70s threads check. Late 60s/Early 70s cars check. Splendid low key acting check. Mild disillusion check. Car chases check. Joe Spinell check. My new favourite movie check. This has got lo-fi charm written all over it. It's not trying to be epic or profound or totally nihilistic. It's just ordinary people doing desperate things in desperate times. If you love your 70s crime and/or movies like The Friends Of Eddie Coyle (1973) and you haven't seen this you are in for a treat. This is going straight into the Space Debris Hall of Fame.

Uncut Gems (2019)
Movie most closely resembling an anxiety attack since Magnolia (1999). How did Adam Sandler not win an academy award for this? A dodgy jewellery dealer and degenerate gambler Howard Ratner (Adam Sandler) gets himself into a pickle. Will his fortunes change now that he's acquired a new expensive uncut gem. This is an incredible ensemble cast, there are no week links here in this impeccably styled film. Uncut Gems is like a Robert Altman film gone hyper-berserk. The Weekend fans are in for a treat as he makes a funny and memorable cameo. This nerve shredding film is executed so well you'll probably need a couple of valium after watching it. It doesn't get better than this.

Oldboy aka 올드보이 (2003)
As far as South Korean Revenge movies go this is THE ONE! Oldboy has got to be the most mental story of vengeance ever told on celluloid. People talk about batshit crazy movies but those flicks seem trivial as nothing can come close to this. This story outdoes the bible in epic biblical proportioning. Also Oldboy is without doubt the greatest film of the 00s. A man Oh dae-su (Choi Min-sik) is held captive in a room for 15 years for reasons unknown to him. His resentment and physical strength build every second of every day so that one day he will be able to wreak spectacular vengeance upon whoever is responsible for imprisoning him. When he is released the mystery unfolds until the devastating and controversial climax. Oldboy is a masterpiece. A brilliant premise executed to perfection by director/writer Park Chan-wook and his magic cinematic team.

Good Time (2017)
Finally got around to re-watching this 2017 offering from the Safdie Brothers after seeing their brand new masterpiece Uncut Gems (2020). The best thing about this film is of course the Oneohtrix Point Never soundtrack which was a return to the music of his glory days ie. Russian Mind (2009) Rifts (2009) and Returnal (2010). So it was his best album in 7 years and boy does doing soundtracks suit his sonic palate. Good Time is a bad day in the life/one crazy night sort of film. It makes After Hours (1985) seem like a breezy walk in the Park. The brothers Safdie haven't quite ratcheted up the tension to obscene heights like in Uncut Gems but the stress levels here are still through the roof. Brothers Connie (Robert Pattinson) and Nick (Benny Safdie) Nikas rob a bank but guess what? It doesn't quite work out how they had planned. How are they going to get themselves out of this dilemma? Especially when they keep crossing paths of other disastrous people who are a hinderance to their cause. The cast are are all terrific particularly the aforementioned duo plus Buddy Duress as Ray the crappy criminal and Taliah Lennice Webster as Crystal the naive pawn. An uncut gem of a film.

1917 (2019)
I was sitting in the cinema thinking "Why am I even here? I don't even really like war movies except for Apocalypse Now (1979) and Black Adder Goes Forth (1989). Anyway it turns out this is rather engrossing with a magical cinematic touch. It looks like the entire movie is filmed in two long continuous takes. 1917 is a World War One action army adventure with occasional comic moments amongst the grim devastation. Two young British corporals Will Schofield (George MacKay) and Thomas Blake (Dean Charles Chapman) are given orders to personally deliver a message to a Battalion many miles away to halt a planned attack as it will unnecessarily kill hundreds of men. This task is going to be treacherous and possibly deadly. Does this premise sound familiar to anybody? I think 1917 is just a different and much more fancy version of Gallipoli (1981). The two lead actors are terrific and a special mention must go to Andrew Scott for his brief appearance as the darkly comic Lieutenant Leslie. My only quibble is the use of unnecessary sentimental music in the final scene.  This is masterful film-making though and credit must go to cinematographer Roger Deakins, editor Lee Smith and obviously Sam Mendes the Film's director...oh and everyone else who worked on this flick. Total movie magic. Perhaps I should watch Dunkirk (2017) as I hear it's even better.

Sympathy for Lady Vengeance aka 친절한 금자씨 (2005)

The third part in Park Chan-wook's vengeance trilogy. The other two being Sympathy For Mr Vengeance (2002) and Oldboy (2003). Lee Geum-ja (Lee Young-ae) is convicted of kidnapping and murdering a five year old boy. Thirteen years later she is set free after good behaviour but she secretly has vengeance on her mind. A fantastic tale then unfolds from there. Park Chan-wook and his collaborators sure know how to write great stories and bring them to cinematic life with such assurance and magnificence. Is vengeance a big part of South Korean folklore or is it just these movies? Anyway this is totally entertaining and unforgettable.

Bad Day For The Cut (2017)
First of all the title is shite innit? So that's a shame. A bit of a change up here, this is a revenge film but this time it's from Northern Ireland. I was scrolling through Netflix on a Saturday night when the words "violent quest for revenge" caught my eye. Seeing as though I hadn't seen a film about vengeance in ages I thought I'd give it a go and much to my surprise it was a lil bewdy. Donal (Nigel O'Neill) is a middle aged farmer who lives with his poorly mum. One day she gets murdered though, so guess what? As hinted at above, a violent quest for revenge begins. Things get pretty complicated as the truth is unveiled over the course of the movie. Susan Lynch as Frankie Pierce is also on a revenge trip. Of course Donal and Frankie's paths cross as the bodies pile up. Does the violence ever end and at what cost to your soul? Woah existential man.

Judy (2019)
I broke my own rule of never watching another celebrity biopic again in my life. After 40 minutes I was totally regretting that decision as I was almost nodding off. It might as well have been a telly drama as it not cinematic at all. Celebrities get famous when they're young in a blaze of glory but there's trauma from early on then they get on the decline with mental health and drug problems and it all gets rather tragic blah, blah, blah. Anyway what pushes this film a smidge ahead of the rest of the cookie cutter biopics is two things. The first is that it just concentrated on two aspects of Judy Garland's (Renée Zelwegger) life that being the filming of Wizard of Oz (1939) and her London stage act several months prior to her death. The other being Renée Zelwegger's outstanding performance where she embodied Judy Garland so well it was sometimes uncanny. That doesn't mean the movie wasn't mostly fucking tedious though. I can't really recommend Judy but if you love your powerhouse actoring performances and biopics in general perhaps this is for you.

Movies XXVI

SLACK SUMMER SPECIAL

Blue Ruin (2013)
A lo-fi revenge movie of the highest order but don't expect fist pumping victory vengeance. The vengeance here is so poorly planned by Dwight Evans (Macon Blair) it goes terribly awry. I really enjoy crappy criminals on film, it just seems so much more real. This flaky dude hasn't studied the fine details of what to do about his vengeance, he's just feeling it and hoping for the best. Dwight has been living a transient life in his car since his parents were murdered 20 years ago. Then he is told that the killer Wade Cleland is being released from prison. The drama spirals out of control from there. This is a top lil crime film that will take you on an odd bittersweet journey. One of my favourite films of the 10s.

Mr Sleep (2019)
Well out of the four Stephen King movies of 2019 this is the best one but that wasn't a particularly hard achievement as the other three were not so good. Mr Sleep is a sequel to The Shining (1980). I can't say I loved it but I believe it's pretty faithful to the book so King fans are going to be pretty satisfied. It was entertaining enough while it was on to keep from being distracted. Director Mike Flanagan also seems to be trying to appease the Kubrick fans too, somewhat less successfully though. I mean last time I watched The Shining (1980) ten years ago I thought it was an OTT classic and I'll probably watch it again soon. I doubt I'll ever watch Mr Sleep again though. For Stephen King devotees.

The Nice Guys (2014)*
This isn't the laugh riot I was expecting so I just looked at it differently. The Nice Guys works well as a goofy private eye/neo-noir/buddy movie kinda thing. I felt like I was dreaming or tripping as all these recent obsessions of mine were all connecting up to this film somehow. When you think of LA neo-noir Robert Altman's The Long Goodbye (1971) is The one. Margaret Qualley is here and she's on LA streets and in cars on LA roads which is bit reminiscent of Once Upon A Time...in Hollywood (2019). We also get a hell of a lot of driving around LA Model Shop (1969) sylee plus there's scenes on those windy roads in the Hollywood hills like in Lost Highway (1997), Family Plot (1976) etc. At one stage a lady calls Holland March's (Ryan Gosling) daughter Holly (Angourie Rice) a strange hippy which is more connections with the Tarantino film ie. Rick Dalton's (Leo DiCaprio) contempt for hippies. John Boy from The Waltons (1972-81) is a character here and I've been crazy obsessed with The Americans (2013-18) TV show of late. Agent Gad from The Americans is played by Richard Earl Thomas who played the original John Boy which I only found out a week ago. I fucking hated The Waltons as a kid and wouldn't even watch it. Australians, or is it just me ?, don't understand the attraction to corny bullshit, it's just not in our DNA. Nice guys also has parallels to another LA private eye film Paul Thomas Anderson's Inherent Vice (2014) which I can't stop thinking about ever since I watched it a month ago. The Nice Guys also taps into the LA porn scene ala Boogie Nights (1997) another PTA film. Rusty Crowe and Ryan Gosling are not bad together as LA Private Eye duo reminiscent of film partnerships like those in Hickey and Boggs (1971) or Busting (1974). There was also a bit of Christmas in one bit which had me thinking of Christmas in LA Die Hard (1988) stylee which is weird as I attempted to watch that the other day...blah blah blah.

Apart from all that we get some incredible action scenes particularly towards the end. The Burbank Hotel scene and that amazing sequence where the film canister is finally found. The Nice Guys could have almost been a classic but it just doesn't deliver on its promise. I mean it's light and breezy, it's not unfunny but it's rarely laugh out loud. The Nice Guys is almost charming but there's something not quite right about it all, something's a bit off. All of these issues will probably eventually make it into a cult film one day. Who knows? If any of this has you curious have a look.

* I am under no illusions that this is good writing. It's just a rough ramble through my thoughts.

Mandy (2018)
Umpteenth watch of this very re-watchable film. Linus Roche is amazing. He's got to be one of the most under utilised actors in cool movies ever. I mean apart from some good telly what good movies has he been in between Priest (1994) and Mandy (2018)?

Die Hard (1988)*
It was Christmas so I thought I'd give this another go but this film is for other people. I'm just not in the Die Hard gang. How people can enjoy Bruce Willis is one of the world's great mysteries so I don't get why every man and his dog loves this movie. Do any women? Anyway I don't have to get it because it ultimately doesn't matter. I don't like The Shawshank Redemption (199?) or The Big Lebowski (199?) either so...

*I'm not trying to be deliberately polemical because that's boring. I've given those 3 films several viewings in the hope that I might catch a glimpse of what other human specimens see in these films but to no avail.

It Follows (2014)
The vibe right from the get go is very unsettling, making you squeamish. It Follows is very well executed. A sexually transmitted curse haunts the lives of a bunch of youngsters in run down suburban Detroit. How are they going to overcome the malevolent masked entity or are they doomed? Early Cronenberg + Halloween + The Thing = excellent 10s horror movie.

The Grey (2011)
The Grey is an average Man Vs Wolf movie. There was an amazing scene of ten pairs of wolf eyes in the pitch darkness which was unforgettable and unnerving. It's too bad the rest of the film wasn't this cool. At least half an hour of fat could have been trimmed off this. The Grey was leading up to a final battle between John Ottway (Liam Neeeson) and the pack of wolves but it stupidly ends before the final showdown. That would have been the most fun and best part of the film. The audience would have loved seeing Ottway getting torn apart by a pack of wolves. We were left unsated, hungry like the wolf (...er, sorry).

Under The Skin (2013)
You will not forget this Jonathan Glazer film once you've seen it. It's a modern classic, perhaps the best film of the 2010s. Very good weird with a disturbing ending. This film is not for everyone and is pretty uncategorizible. An alien disguised as a female human (Scarlett Johansson) is on earth it seems to to lure men into her dark liquid pools of death. Along the way she ends up trying to be empathetic like some humans are. Perhaps that was part of her mission or maybe humanity just got under her skin. Under The Skin has hardly any dialogue. The nude Scarlett Johansson scene isn't the sexy scene you imagined it would be. In fact it is curiously un-erotic as she plays this robotically cold alien flawlessly. There are mysterious motorcycle men who I guess are her alien accomplices. Nothing is explained. You can read a whole lot of stuff into this film such as gender politics, the nature of rape, race relations, partisan politics or whatever you want really. Maybe just get off your head and enjoy the exquisite sound and vision synergy. Mica Levi provides one of the most off kilter, eerie and perfect soundtracks of all time.

Birth (2004)
More unforgettable weird from Jonathan Glazer. Birth is compelling, mysterious, creepy and surreal. A ten year old boy Sean (Cameron Bright) shows up at a party that Anna (Nicole Kidman) is attending claiming to be the reincarnation of her dead husband. Things get more strange from there. Birth is just so unusual I still don't know what to make of it. I like its uncanny vibe. If you haven't seen Birth it is well worth a look as it's a rare film experience seriously like no other.

Joker (2019)
This is an instant pop culture moment. The Joker is so engrossing and spectacularly put together the thought of checking your i-phone will never cross your mind. You cannot turn your eyes away from today's greatest working actor Jaoquin Phoenix. Joker is a bombastic cross between Taxi Driver (1976) and King Of Comedy (1982) thinly disguised as comic book film, probably so it could just get made. Joker is a disturbing family/crime/horror/drama. Phoenix puts on an incomparable virtuoso acting performance. He is scaling heights in acting that have rarely, if ever, been reached before.

The Bourne Identity (2002)
I don't really need to talk about these nifty action thrillers. We've all seen them and we all seem to enjoy them. Jason Bourne (Matt Damon) wakes up with amnesia but slowly discovers he's some kind of spy. An entertaining game of cat and mouse ensues across Europe.

The Bourne Supremacy (2004)
Is this the best Bourne movie? Two years later Jason Bourne (Matt Damon) is still suffering from amnesia despite some stuff slowly coming back to him. He realises he's some kind of assassin who worked for the CIA. Despite being at the ends of the earth some other assassins have tracked him down to a beach in India. Action and antics ensue. It's got all the good fun stuff car chases, identity theft, being framed, kidnapping, bombings, murder, phoney fingerprints, theft and more. Quite possibly the best action film of the 00s.

Don't Fuck With Cats (2019)
Emma couldn't handle the grim animal cruelty being described so this had to go after a few minutes. I haven't got around to watching it on my own yet, I doubt I ever will.

Parasite aka 기생충 (2019)
Every film commentator I respect has been telling me to stop what I'm doing and immediately go watch this film for ages now. It's just that when I see the words South Korean Movie I want the word "revenge" in there. Parasite has been called so many things a drama, a mystery, a comedy, a crime film, a thriller, a black comedy etc. So the word crime finally gave me something to hang on to in the hope that I might like it. One day there is going to be a sub-genre named retroactively called tangent films. This will fit right in there. I would like to say to the dickhead who wrote that this just seemed derivative you are so so wrong. The Joker: That's derivative. If someone can name me a story that resembles anything remotely close to this I'd like to know about it and I'd be very surprised. Sure there is brutal violence and incredible style that we've seen previously but this is a story that's not been told before. South Koreans seem incredibly adept at coming up with amazing and innovative stories to chuck into their genre flicks. Although there has been no consensus of what Parasite's genre actually is. An unmotivated family of four who are lacking in the funds department accidentally come up with a plan to start earning some money off a wealthy family in an innocent scam. Things take a devious and sour turn as unpredictable events unfold. The climax is something there is no way you could have predicted at the beginning of this movie. Masterful cinematography, acting, writing and direction. If Parasite is a message film and it does feel like one it's not quite clear to me what that message is, unless it's one of utter nihilism. Anyway I don't need anybody to tell me what to think, I already know. I'll stick to this just being a brilliant story, exhilarating entertainment and a fantastic artistic achievement. This has already entered the South Korean film canon hasn't it? I'd probably have it somewhere in my South Korean top 3 films of the 10s along with The Villainess (2017) and I Saw The Devil (2010).

Two Popes (2019)
This should have been called Two Popes Go To Confession. This is an ok lil cheesy drama about the old pope and the new pope. It's basically two actors actoring. Is this what they call a chamber piece? If you dig two characters talking to each other for two hours you might like this. Pope Francis (Jonathan Pryce) describes some of his bad deeds while they both do confession on one another but Pope Benedict (Anthony Hopkins) seems to get off scot-free as his confession is muffled out in the sound design. I wanted to know more about his evil Nazi background. I like my catholic films with a bit more sex and violence than this I'm afraid. Two Popes won't be topping the catholic film charts anytime soon because how can you beat the all time masterpiece The Passion Of The Christ (2004)? 

Without Warning (1980)
A don't go in the woods movie with a twist. There's no monstrous serial killer on the loose but there is a killer alien throwing frisbee aliens at anyone who dares cross its path. How can the aliens be overcome? Jack Palance, Martin Landau, Kevin Peter Hall and David Caruso star in this sci-fi/horror gem directed by Greydon Clark. Late night movie of the week.

Friday The 13th Part V: A New Beginning (1985)
OK I've had a turnaround on my judgement of this flick. Previously I have not been able to make it to the end. My old stance on Friday The 13th films was that only the first four were worth watching and the order from best to worst was II, I, IV then III. Currently I would have this on as the third best of the first five with IV now being my least favourite. Stay tuned for where I stand now on VI & VII. Anyway this one is the most gutter-scuzz of the lot. Don't look here for an uplifting heartfelt human triumph of a story, instead expect some of the most base and lowest humans can go type of behaviour. Speaking of shit this film has a leather boy going for a shit in the woods as well as a dude doing a poo in an outhouse after he he ate a dodgy burrito or was it an enchilada? Unlike in Friday The 13th III we don't actually get the audio this time of faeces splashing in the toilet water. Enough of the scatology, what about the rest of the movie? This time round the setting is not a summer camp but a mental asylum near Crystal Lake with very relaxed rules about what the inmates can do. We get Jason's grave being dug up, plenty of wrong sexy time, murder, more murder and some more gruesome murder. This movie surely has the highest body count of all The Friday The 13th movies up to this point. Perhaps because of the amount of kills the emphasis on gore isn't as high as in the previous four, unless I saw some old censored or cut version. It was on one of the major streaming sites though. Who knows?

TOP 16 or 17 HORRIFIC/DISTURBING MOVIES OF THE 2010s
I Saw The Devil (2010)
Under The Skin (2013)
Mandy (2018)
The Perfection (2019)
The Invitation (2015)
It Follows (2014)
Black Swan (2010)
Calibre (2018)
You're Next (2011)
Starry Eyes (2014)
The Loved Ones (2010)
Maniac (2012)
The Shallows (2016)
Creep (2014)
All The Conjurings/Annabelles/Nuns (2013-2019) etc. are all intermingled in my brain so I can't recall which ones were the best but there were 2 or 3 really good ones.

MUD - Dyna-mite

Again because good times & MUD Rule!

It doesn't get much better than this, in fact it doesn't get any better! There is some seriously dangerous shoulder jive dancing here between singer Les Gray (RIP) and bass player Ray Stiles. Every time I watch this I still have the same anxiety that an injury is about to occur. 

Adriano Celentano - Prisencolinensinainciusol

I've watched this ten times today. Lee Ranaldo posted a section of this clip on Instagram and said he couldn't stop watching it, now I can't. This is the most infectious video of dancing & pop music since I saw that Mud video of Dyna-mite when it first turned up on youtube many years ago. All I know about Celentano is that he's an Italian showbiz all-rounder. You name it he's done it. His nickname "il molleggatio" however comes from his exceptional dancing. It means "bendy man". Press play you will not regret it. Good times!