Electra Glide in Blue (1973)

When James William Guercio set out to direct his first film, a cynical character study of a small town bike cop who aspires to become a detective, little did he know that he the film's core message, that no matter how big the fish, sometimes the pond just swallows 'em all up, would become the epitaph of his short career as a film maker.

Robert Blake stars as John Wintergreen, the bike cop who discovers a suicide, and sees it as an opportunity to make a play for the gold badge. He butts heads at the scene with an incompetent coroner (Royal Dano), who quickly assesses that the scene is exactly what it seems: a suicide. Enter Mitchell Ryan as grandstanding detective Harve Poole, who takes Blake under his wing as his new driver and protege. It soon becomes clear that Ryan has merely pressganged Blake to serve as an audience to his ego.

When Electra Glide came out back in '73 it was denounced by the Hollywood establishment as fascist for its inverse Easy Rider dynamic of two police officers who are constantly shit on by society. This completely baffles me, as the film (while certainly poking fun of its surface level, with one scene exhibiting Blake firing off rounds into an Easy Rider poster) consistently levels healthy doses of criticism at the institution of police officers. It takes great care to offer several differing and often difficult perspectives to illustrate a sceptic tank water cycle of detectives shitting on street cops, of street cops shitting on hippies, and hippies returning the fecal favor. Everyone's on latrine duty in this film, and it offers no simple Dirty Harry kill 'em all solutions that might suggest a fascistic point of view.

One example of these varying perspectives in the film is the character of Zipper (Billy "Green" Bush), who plays the foil to Blake's Wintergreen character and his partner. Zipper chastises Wintergreen for aspiring for more, and relishes the simple pleasures of lounging on his bike while reading pulp comics and occasionally getting off on hassling hippies by planting drugs on them when the opportunity arises. The only thing Zipper sees himself in lack of is his dream bike, the titular Electra Glide in blue:

"...a stroker. About 1400 cc's worth, tucked into a '74 straight legged chrome frame kicked.  Sixteen-inch Ricon mag rear wheels. With a chrome sprocket, chrome chain, chrome spokes, a chrome tranny, a chrome puddy and eight-inch extended sportster fork with a chrome dog bone. TT pipes, brass rocker boxes, couple of quartz eyed dyed running lights, and a full Farron you can really get behind. Contoured seat, with a two-foot poor boy cissy bar. And no squawk box, but a telephone. And an AM/FM and an insulated cocktail bar in the left pocket."

One mis-step of the film is its inability to self-edit its appetite for overwrought solioquy; apexing in a scene where a drunken barmaid (Jeannine Riley) lugubriously laments her aborted acting career while sobbing and dancing around the bar. Still though, scenes like this do serve the thematic agenda of the film, and something tells me that if Guercio continued directing that he would have learned to diffuse the self-indulgent tendencies of his scripts.

Electra Glide in Blue remains an underappreciated classic of this chaotic and introspective era of American filmmaking, a victim to the us-against-them political climate of those years. I see it as the Ferguson-to-Clarissa weird little brother of Decade-Under-the-Influence classics like Easy Rider, Five Easy Pieces, and the Killing of a Chinese Bookie who trades those films' art-damaged French New Wave influences for disenchanted westerns like The Searchers and Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid.

MVT: Toss-up between Robert Blake; whose understated performance stands in stark contrast to his unchecked character actor costars, and serves as the emotional core of the story, and cinematographer Conrad Hall, (Cool Hand Luke, Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid) for whom Guercio gave up his director's salary to bring aboard the production - a sacrifice that paid in spades to the look and feel of the film. 

Make or Break: The haunting final shot that brings the story full circle and evokes Monument Valley as a terrfying maw, all full of jagged rock pinnacle teeth, yawning to consume the everyman.

Score: 7.5/10

The Brotherhood of Satan (1971) - A Review

At first glance, The Brotherhood of Satan appears to be nothing more than another B-movie trying to capitalize on the success of Polanski’s Rosemary’s Baby. The box art to the old VHS informs you that it’s all about got old people using children as part of a satanic ritual. So, why bother?

Well, take a closer look at the credits. It’s directed by Bernard McVeety, a director best known for his work on TV westerns including 52 episodes of Gunsmoke. Co-written and co-produced by: L.Q. Jones, an character actor who, up until this point was best known as one of the Sam Peckinpah Players, as well as having countless TV western credits to him name. In fact, McVeety directed Jones on an episode of The Big Valley. Not only that, but it also starts TV western and Peckinpah mainstay, Strother Martin who was featured in a number of high profile and well regarded movies during this period.

So, what exactly are these folks doing putting together a low budget film about Satanists? Well, the locale should tell you something. It’s set in the west, in the desert, in the middle of nowhere. While the story takes place in the ‘modern day’, the setting gives it the sense of isolation that we’ve seen in every western from High Noon to the stagecoach way station in The Tall T. In addition, Jones and Martin were ‘besties’, so I assume that Martin has just supporting a pal.

The concept in nothing unusual: a young family get stranded in a small town filled with mysterious, and less than friendly locals. Slowly we learn that people are somehow prevented from leaving town and that a good number of children have a gone missing.

Why are all of the children in town disappearing? Well, it is the incredibly selfish old people. Apparently, they can’t get enough of the good life, and want another go round. Somehow, the planned satanic ritual will transfer their souls into the bodies of these children. Sort of like Freaky Friday, but really freaky. It all ends in one of the nuttiest finales you’ll ever see on film. It’s a frenzied massacre that comes across as neo-psychedelic. In fact, there are some very avant-garde, artsy moment in this film, which seems strange coming from a TV director.

There are also some nice set pieces, most notably a scene in which someone is beheaded by a knight on horseback. WTF? The atmosphere is established well in certain scenes, especially the portrayal of heat, which gives the sense that this town is actually hell on Earth. The stuff involving the children is well down, as they are very, very creepy. So, what’s the downside? Well, it does drag a bit in the middle, as we wait for the third Act to get started. In addition, the power that is bringing this town to its knees is pretty ill-defined. In particular, one scene in which a doll with some form of telekinesis kills a husband and way is laughably melodramatic. The acting is all over the place, and particularly weak amongst the seniors in the cast. I do like the fact that the priest pronounces ‘coven’ like Mark Borchardt from American Movie.

All in all, this is a weird film, worth watching to try to connect the dots between Peckinpah westerns and A Boy and His Dog. It looks good, and is sufficiently strange to keep a viewer engaged, but it has a ton of pacing issues and Strother Martin and his group of satanic seniors might actually ham it up a bit too much.

Make of Break: It's a break for me, and it's the acting. The mood and setting were decent, but the acting among the coven member really ruin the chances for any tension, but didn't veer into SBIG territory.

MVT: The location. Placing this in an isolated desert town helped the story immensely and also helped differentiate it from urban films such as Rosemary's Baby.

Score: 5.25 out of 10. It's a decent time waster and interesting to see this particular group put a film together but it does drag in spots. I caught it on TCM Underground a couple of years back, but revisted it via Crackle.

Episode #141: Double Deuce Series: The Howling 1 and 2

Welcome to a very special return to our Double Deuce series, in these shows we like to take a two film series or perhaps an original and its sequel and cover them on the show. We hope you enjoy this weeks episode on our thoughts on The Howling Parts 1 and 2.

We brought aboard one of the most important members of the GGtMC for this episode in our editor in chief of the blog site, one Death Rattle Aaron. He has been with us for sometime behind the scenes and it was time to pull him onto the air for some film reviews!!!

Direct download: DD_HowlingRM.mp3

Emails to midnitecinema@gmail.com

Voicemails to 206-666-5207

Adios!!!

Exterminator 2 (1984)

Let's start this review off with the obvious question: "Hey, Todd, why not review The Exterminator before reviewing Mark Buntzman's Exterminator 2?" Well, for starters, I couldn't find a copy of the first film, and after viewing its sequel, I'm in no rush to procure one. The only obvious advantages of the earlier movie are that it was directed by James (McBain) Glickenhaus and features Christopher George and Steve James. Upon further contemplation, maybe I should track down a copy. Moving on...

Vigilantism has been a recurring motif in cinema for years. It all started with the archetype of "The Good Cop WhoDoesn't Play by the Rules" which eventually became a stereotype. As crime escalated in the United States, the citizens lost faith in their sworn protectors, especially in the post-Vietnam era when faith in authority was at an all-time low. It was time for a new cinematic hero (or in this case, antihero). Enter the "Vigilante" archetype, a common citizen who is pushed over the edge into violent retaliation by savage criminals and the ineffectuality of police bureaucracy. In the simplest terms, he (or she, witness Neil Jordan's fine The Brave One) is "Dirty" Harry Callahan with a screw loose, no badge, and tons of ordnance. The appeal lies in the vicarious righting of every wrong ever done the viewer.

Unfortunately, Exterminator 2, while hitting all the bullet points of the Vigilante film, somehow manages to mishandle just about everything, thematically and formally. The late Robert Ginty reprises his role of John Eastland, a Vietnam vet (we're clued into this visually by his wearing a very new-looking Army jacket almost ten years after the war's end) who hangs out at the most brightly-lit-ever club, watches Caroline (Deborah Geffner) gyrate onstage there, and occasionally incinerates evildoers with a flamethrower. Gang leader, X (Mario Van Peebles), meanwhile, wants control of all crime in the city, because, as he puts it, he "is the streets." Naturally, Eastland will be forced to confront X but only after everything has been taken from him. I'm tempted, but I won't spoil the ending.

The movie is rife with overkill, and this is one of its most entertaining aspects. The most obvious example is the basic premise. Out of any weapon you could use to fight crime, why would you choose a flamethrower? It's heavy, cumbersome, and can't melt any bullets fired at you. The answer is simplicity itself: It looks cool onscreen. Plus, it does much more grievous bodily harm than most guns. I'd hate to see the Exterminator use it in Central Park during a drought, though. Of course, X and his thugs are just as bad. The best instance that springs to mind is when the gang drags an armored car guard down into the subway (in procession with torches and everything, mind), spray paint a giant "X" on his torso, and then not only electrocute him on the subway's third rail, but also have him run over by said conveyance. The mafia goons who show up are just as ridiculous. Now, I'm not up on gangster fashion, but I'm fairly sure porkpie hats went out with the 60s (unless you're into ska music).

The 1980s inform every frame of this film, for better or worse. The very first shot is of a pre-Giuliani Times Square, and your anticipation swells. Sadly, the film never crawls fully down into the gutter, where it belongs, to wallow in the slop like it could have. Instead, we get sequences loaded with (hell, downright focused on) breakdancing and rollerskating (sometimes in the same scene). Buntzman even tries to justify this egregious padding by making a street performance into a plot point, but it's pretty flimsy. Geffner's aspiring dancer (aren't they all?) character is a blatant riff on Flashdance, and while she does seem to have some talent, the gaudy choreography (normally a plus) only serves to embarrass. Since movies like The Road Warrior and Escape From New York were popular at the time, the filmmakers also tried to sandwich in the post-apocalyptic angle via X's subterranean gang. Torches are the only lighting they know, aboveground or under. They paint their faces in tribal, "punk" fashion. Van Peeble's character dresses in modified football pads over a mesh shirt. This sort of incongruity can be pretty funny, just not really helpful to the film.

The biggest problem I had with the film, though, was its depiction of the title character. For the first two-thirds, when the Exterminator does show up, it's usually for only a few seconds. He immolates a few hoodlums and disappears. The eponymous character is peripheral in his own story, almost like "Godot" but without the existential angst (and the Exterminator does make an appearance now and then). Add to that, the fact that no one ever addresses that Eastland is a vigilante, even Eastland. In fact, Ginty never plays Eastland as anything other than an exuberant schlub. His performance is totally at cross-purposes with the feel and point of this genre. It's frustrating to the point of distraction.

The technical aspects call attention to themselves, as well. On multiple occasions, the characters eyelines are noticeably off. It's so flagrant in fact, it yanks you right out of the movie. The dialogue is horrid, but quite risible. Alas, Van Peebles is the biggest offender in this regard. He strains for an air of cool menace, but he sounds like a litany of non sequiturs overheard at a Jim Jones picnic. And, even though it's the best scene in the film, the final showdown is edited like a Scooby Doo chase montage. I was waiting for Don Knotts and Tim Conway to pop in for a guest spot. Now, I'm willing to forgive a lot in the name of entertainment, but if the filmmakers can't even be bothered to adhere to cinematic basics, it diminishes my enthusiasm.

Exterminator 2 is just one wasted opportunity after another. There's no character development at all. It's as if they felt it was all covered in The Exterminator, so there's no need. There's a nice set-up for a pimped-out garbage truck, but the execution is like the difference between comic book ads for X-ray specs and an actual pair of X-ray specs. The mafia angle is dropped as soon as it has served its purpose. There's no police investigation into any of the goings-on. And worst of all, there's not the slightest hint of tension for the climactic showdown. Everything just kind of happens. And these are not all things that would have cost tons of money to address. Either the filmmakers' ineptness or their lack of respect for the audience ultimately unravels what could have been a decent, little Vigilante movie. Whether it's a spot on the ass of its predecessor, I'll leave for others to debate.

MVT: The A-Team-esque, tricked-out garbage truck. It's a nice buildup to a good idea that fails in execution.

Make or Break: The "Break" is when Eastland, the Executioner, decides to team-up with his pal, Be Gee (Frankie Faison), to go after the punks. Eastland's supposed to be a vigilante, a solo act by all accounts. It totally defies logic for him to go this route after what he's done already. And it's totally unsatisfying.

Score: 5.5/10

DVD/Blu-Ray Picks Of The Week - 7/19/11

Large William's Picks:
THE PAOLO SORRENTINO COLLECTION (Region 2 PAL DVD; Artificial Eye)
Technically, this release is from a few weeks ago, but I believe so strongly in spreading the word, that I'm breaking our own rules to discuss it. Paolo Sorrentino is absolutely the BEST filmmaker hardly anyone knows about. For me, he came out of the gates with a crushing home run, Il Divo; the labyrinthine tale of corruption and back door dealing where criminals and politicians mingle and jockey for power. Il Divo was my number 1 film of 2009, ahead of Enter the Void, Inglourious Basterds, City of Life and Death, and a slew of others. He'll remind you of Scorsese, Tarantino, and still feel like a breath of dizzying fresh air. This region 2 box set features 4 of his films, including Il Divo, and 2 more films of his I've had the distinct pleasure of seeing, The consequences of love and One man up(both of which, along with Il Divo, feature master turns from the best actor you've never heard of, Toni Servillo). I cannot recommend this set highly enough. Outside of Il Divo, Sorrentino's films have never been officially released with English subtitles, until now. BUY BUY BUY!

Links:
Amazon.co.uk DVD

SMALL TOWN MURDER SONGS (Region 1 DVD; Monterey Video)
Now that I've caught my breath, and let my boner for the Italian combo of Sorrentino and Servillo subside, allow me to recommend a film that I've not yet seen, but really wanted to at TIFF this past year; Small Town Murder Songs takes place in a small Northern Ontario(Canada) town, and stars sublime character actor Peter Stormare as a chief of a town made up primarily of Mennonites, where the body of a strange woman washes up on the shore... Nice and tight at 72 minutes, this one should be rock solid, and a nice peek into some Canadiana.

hugs and kisses,
William

Links:
Amazon DVD

Aaron's Pick: DARK DAYS - 10th Anniversary (Region 1 DVD; Oscilloscope Laboratories)
"Dark Days" is the multi-award winning documentary from Marc Singer about a community of homeless people living in a train tunnel beneath Manhattan. The film depicts a way of life that is unimaginable to most of those who walk the streets above. In the pitch black of the tunnel, rats swarm through piles of garbage as high-speed trains leaving Penn Station tear through the darkness. For some of those who have gone underground, it has been home for as long as twenty-five years. The director abandoned life on the outside to spend all of his time in the tunnels, making it his home for two years. Surprisingly entertaining and deeply moving, "Dark Days" is an eye-opening experience that shatters the myths of homelessness with the strength and universality of the people the film represents."

If your thirst for Bumsploitation wasn't quenched by the recent DVD/Blu-Ray release of HOBO WITH A SHOTGUN, you're in luck, because the folks at Oscilloscope Laboratories are re-releasing the fascinating OOP documentary DARK DAYS as a 10th anniversary special edition. It's a 2-disc set packed with bonus features - some of which have never been available on previous prints. I recommend the documentary highly to anyone who hasn't seen it, and even if the subject matter doesn't necessarily appeal to you, anyone with an appreciation for artistic filmmaking should be won over by the ironically-beautiful grainy black & white footage, as well as the original haunting score by DJ Shadow. I know I've recommended some duds in the past (DRIVE ANGRY), but trust me on this one.

Links:
Oscilloscope Laboratories
Amazon DVD

They Call Him Chad's Pick: TAKE ME HOME TONIGHT (Region 1 Blu-Ray; 20th Century Fox)
And I just shot my cult movie lovin' street cred in the foot with the pick...you've heard the Gents talk about all of us having cinematic blind spots, right? Well, I think we all have cinematic soft spots, too. For me, one of those soft spots happens to be John Hughesian style teen/college coming-of-age stories. Hey, what can I say, I'm a child of the 80s that grew up in Illinois. These films are in my DNA. Now, that's not to say Take Me Home Tonight ranks with Hughes' best works, because it doesn't. It's a solid entry in that territory, and one that I enjoyed far more anticipated. If you're a fan of this subgenre, you know what to expect; the Eighties, parties, popped collars, cheesy synth rock and an uncool guy finally getting a shot at his unattainable high school crush. Oh, and this one sprinkles in a little bit of cocaine. It even makes me nostalgic for Suncoast Video, sniff.

Links:
Amazon Blu-Ray and DVD

Trigger Man (2007)

Directed by: Ti West

Starring: Reggie Cunningham, Ray Sullivan & Sean Reid

Three old pals -- Sean, Ray & Reggie -- get together for a weekend deer hunting trip to re-connect and get away from the city. The recently engaged Sean is the most experienced, though not overly gun savvy, having organized the excursion by borrowing firearms and demonstrating proper rifle techniques to his friends. A painfully monotonous day unfolds as the inexperienced trio find nothing to shoot at other than big tree trunks and a littered beer bottle. Their hunt abruptly kickstarts when an unseen assailant splatters Sean's brain chunks across the foliage with a fatal burst of gunfire.

As the shooter sets his sights on Ray and Reggie, the remaining duo frantically scramble for cover and flee through the woods. After the shooting seems to stop, Ray and Reggie devise a plan to carefully traverse their woodland surroundings with a route that should allow them to safely escape Sean's grisly fate. Unfortunately, the path to safety is short-lived as they quickly navigate themselves right back under the crosshairs of this mysterious shooter. With few options, Reggie ceases the escape attempts and turns his eye toward tracking down this assassin. Reggie eventually pinpoints the shooter's location to a sprawl of dilapidated factory buildings on the far side of a river bordering the treeline and must locate this deadly trigger man amidst deserted structures and shadows before he's the next one gunned down.

The most important thing to know about Trigger Man is that this is a Ti West film. If you're not familiar with the phrase "Ti West film" then it's probably best to educate yourself to some degree before watching Trigger Man or any other selections from his filmography (sans Cabin Fever II, a film West has since renounced). The Ti West crib notes are primarily a feature made high on atmosphere, slow on pace, low on budget and thin on story.

Admittedly, I wasn't aware of this when I viewed The Roost, Ti West's debut film, upon its release. The Roost didn't work at all for me, causing me to write-off Trigger Man entirely. I may not have ever given it a chance if not for West's far superior House of the Devil, which could not be ignored at a certain point due to an abundance of strong reviews and festival buzz. House of the Devil is the pinnacle of West's work and epitomizes his trademarks and motifs to their fullest and most satisfying, and it left me wondering if perhaps starting with House of the Devil is the best entry point for delving into the director's catalogue.

Trigger Man checks all the Ti West boxes, starting with an extremely low budget. The film was reportedly shot over 7 days for a meager $10,000 budget. When considering this, West's accomplishment is much more impressive and some of the hamstrung elements are a little more easily forgiven. This scant budget plays into West's strength for creating atmosphere. West crafts an uneasy atmosphere by shooting everything with a documental feel. It's a bold choice given that this is not a found footage film or a faux documentary. By employing handheld techniques, it creates a natural realism and the sense that someone unbeknownst to our trio is stalking them just out of sight. Being familiar with West's aesthetic, this visual tactic not only aided in pulling me through the first act sludge, but it allowed me to plug into the threatening voyeurism and forthcoming dread awaiting them.

As for the pacing, Trigger Man is a painfully slow burn -- I'm talking tortoise slow with pilot light simmer. If you enjoy scenes of people walking in the woods, this film will give Lord of the Rings a run for the money in that department. I will say that the terribly slow pace and uneventfulness in this section of the film contributes to the harsh boredom of deer hunting; the waiting for hours on end with merely a hope to fire off some shots at a live target. It doesn't necessarily help matters that West avoids utilizing this time to make his characters likable. Instead, he focuses on making them relatable through this monotony and with slight character beats that nod to relationship issues with significant others as well as awkwardness between old friends that have grown apart. This approach does payoff eventually if you can stick with the film (or stay awake) until the action finally breaks loose probably more than halfway through the runtime.

Once the shooting starts, it is a series of effective jolts that serve as little injections of terror. I suppose West's intent was to almost lull the viewer asleep only to snap them awake with a hard slap across the chops. This suddenness manufactures a similar shock and disorientation that abruptly strikes Ray and Reggie, equally unprepared and unsure of the surroundings. As they run and hide, the documentary shots pay dividends in two-folded fashion; first, you're never certain if these shots are from the killer's P.O.V, meaning all of Reggie or Ray's efforts to conceal and defend themselves are virtually useless even with guns in their hands, and second, the visuals are composed in such a ride-along manner that it essentially places the viewer in-step with the characters as if actually inserted into the fray. These traits thicken the tension underlying simple evasion scenes and plotting beats, always milking the hair-raising sensation of walking head-long into a bullet. And while there's not a lot of gore, the damage on display is ghastly enough that you definitely fear the trigger squeeze.

Now, is the back-half of the film worth waiting for? That's hard to gauge and ultimately depends on your patience and appreciation of simplicity. For me, it was just enough to hang in there. As noted, you have to go into this film knowing that the first half is even more sluggish than the proverbial slow burn. I would compare Trigger Man's slow burn to a gas explosion -- it's simple to leave the gas on, but you're gonna have to wait a long while to see something happen, but when it does? You'll get an explosion.

Make or Break scene - Easily the scene that makes Trigger Man is when Sean relieves himself atop a high cliff and then has his skull blown to smithereens before finishing. This makes the film because you're at the point where something needs to happen and if it doesn't then you can't stick with the film any further. Fortunately, West delivers the needed incentive with a bit of nice trickery by focusing the camera on Reggie in mid-conversation and caught off-guard as a gun-pop resounds then blood splashes his face. I also enjoyed the touch of dark humor in the way Sean was caught with his pants down literally when killed.

MVT - Ti West. The film hinges on Ti West implementing his aesthetic successfully and he accomplished that for me. Granted, the finished product isn't great and it's probably a little short of being good, but it is watchable and moderately engaging once the tension breaks. Moreover, I think a number of other indie directors would've struggled to churn out a product as polished and as nerve-racking if hampered by the same limitations.

Score - 6.5/10

Episode #140: The Big Arzenta

Welcome to another episode of the GGtMC folks!!!

This week, Sammy was detained by some rude force known as a job...couldnt make it on the show but fear not sweet listeners!!! Rupert came on the show this week to work with large william and they reviewed The Big Heat (1953) directed by Fritz lang and Tony Arzenta (1973) starring Alain Delon.

Kick back and relax and enjoy the show!!!

Not sure what we are covering next week as Sammy is still incredibly busy away from the show, but do not fret...there will be programming for all of you next week in some shape or form...

Also we skipped feedback this week, we will try to catch up next week...apologies.

Direct download: The_Big_Arzenta.mp3

Emails to midnitecinema@gmail.com

Voicemails to 206-666-5207

Adios!!!

Candid Cuties: Best of the Best, Indeed

When not busy winning international martial arts tournament against Team Korea, Eric Roberts has been known to spend much of his time tantalizing those that dare to glance his way.

It's difficult to tell if E.R. (short for Emergency Room, 'cause that's where the ladies end up after a night taking a ride on Roberts Runaway Train) is giving the hard SHHH sign like he has some sort of sexy secret to share, or if he is actually so irresistible that he cannot help but kiss his own finger. From the looks of it, he might be working on kissing something else the way his right hand is working them underwear right there. There's another Runaway Train joke in that last sentence somewhere…

The Eight Diagram Pole Fighter (1983)

When I was in college, just about every woman I knew loved Grease. If you went to a party at a woman's apartment, you were assured of three things. One, they usually bought better quality booze than you. Two, at least one track, if not an entire side of the Grease soundtrack would be played. And three, when it was, every woman in the place (and some guys) would gather in a circle, dancing and bellowing out the lyrics. Men have the same sort of love for martial arts movies. Although, by college age, most men don't run out and imitate the fighting moves they've just seen onscreen, you can bet your ass they did when they were kids. This urge lives on into adulthood, it's just that imitating, say, Philip Kwok while attending a "kegger" is a surefire way to not get laid. Of course, some men love musicals, and some women love martial arts movies. But, by-and-large, I think the above represents the balance of nature in this regard.


In the broadest of terms, old school martial arts films will generally follow a set pattern. A young person's family/school/what-have-you is destroyed by a cadre of bad guys. The young person narrowly escapes death and comes upon a mentor figure who teaches the youngster a powerful, unique fighting skill. The young person confronts and defeats the villain(s) who ruined his/her life. Naturally, there are all sorts of variations on this, but that's the basics. Chia-Liang Liu's The Eight Diagram Pole Fighter, while fitting snugly into this paradigm, also subverts it, and the movie has more on its mind than just bloody revenge.

The men of the Yang family are betrayed by the traitorous Mongols, Pan Mei (Ming Ku) and Yelu Lin (Lung Wei Wang). Using poles, the ends of which can wrap around and ensnare weapons and limbs alike, Mei and Lin's fighters kill all the Yang males, save two. Brother #6 (Alexander Fu Sheng) returns to his mother (Lily Li) and sisters, 8 and 9 (the lovely Kara Hui and Ching-Ching Yeung, respectively), a paranoiac. Brother #5 (Gordon Liu), believed dead, tries to become a monk, but the monastery's abbot (Phillip Ko) won't accept him as a disciple. #5 stubbornly refuses to leave, believing a monk's life will redeem his diehard, soldierly ways. Meanwhile, the villains seek to draw out and kill the brothers in order to cover up their treason.
In musicals, conflicts are resolved and emotional depths revealed through song and dance numbers. In martial arts films, the same is done through stunt-fueled fights. Whenever a character is confronted emotionally or physically, their first reaction is normally to start throwing punches and kicks. Every time someone visits the Yang house, the insane #5 (the characters are actually addressed by number for most of the film) immediately goes on the warpath, and his mom and sisters need to knock some sense into him or risk discovery. Likewise, #6 starts cleaning house whenever he's told the abbot wants him gone.

This characterization through Kung Fu extends itself here into the weapons the characters carry. The Yang family's weapons are distinctive, and other characters recognize their owners through them. Further, the weapons, in a sense, define and reflect the characters' states. Fu Sheng's spear is with him at all times as he cries, screams, and carries on. He becomes nigh-catatonic when he is disarmed, nothing without his weapon. By contrast, Liu must burn his spear and cut the blade off in order to extricate his weapon from his enemies' bamboo snare. The next time we see it, it has a red bandage wrapped around the end, as if the weapon itself has been wounded. Also, it's no longer a spear but a pole, a reference to the transformation #5 will undergo for the remainder of the film.
At the monastery, #5 begs to be admitted as a monk, but the abbot steadfastly refuses. #5 must self-initiate himself, shaving his own head and burning the Jieba marks into his own scalp (accompanied by some gruesome sound effects). While he's told daily that he can't stay, it's heavily implied that the abbot is using reverse psychology on #5. He's helping the young soldier help himself on his path of self-discovery. Now, I'm not well-versed in Buddhism or Taoism, and consequently some of the characters' decisions and motives can seem a bit murky. But, when the film's theme is unveiled (during a fight, natch), things become much clearer (if not 100% understandable).

Here's where the martial arts movie pattern gets subverted. We expect #5 to eventually be accepted into the monastery. We also expect the monks to have some wildly-implausible Kung Fu skill that will help #5 beat the Mongols. We're teased with the prospect at the start of the temple scenes when Liu practices his fighting on some vines and a pond. But this never transpires, and that's the beauty of Chia-Liang's film. The new technique is not something external but internal. Even when the monks train on the overly-elaborate wolf-dummies, the outcome is not what we would expect (although this does pay off and will put you in mind of candy corn).
The concept of Yin and Yang lies at the heart of the movie, and Chia-Liang Liu is very conscious of reflecting this in almost every scene. Characters will move and often speak in sync. #5's spear has become a pole, two weapons, one sharp, the other blunt. The recognition of the interconnectedness of opposites is the ultimate goal of #5's journey. Some heady stuff, and while not presented in definitive terms (how could it be?), it leaves the viewer with a lot to think about.

But, lest we forget, this is a martial arts movie, and it certainly isn't shy about that fact. The setpieces are elaborate, each one outdoing the previous one. The choreography is outstanding, and every performer is at the top of their game. It's bloodier than I anticipated, but the level of fun throughout never diminishes. This is the type of martial arts movie I wish they all could be. But then, The Eight Diagram Pole Fighter wouldn't be as special as it is.

MVT: Since Alexander Fu Sheng died tragically during production of the film, I'd like to give it to him, simply out of respect. Unfortunately, his death resulted in a wasted part in the film that only hits one-note. The film world lost a charismatic and talented actor the day he died.

Make or Break: The "Make" scene is Liu's fight with Ko in the monastery. It's a sophisticated, graceful revelation of the film's main theme.

Score 8/10

DVD/Blu-Ray Picks Of The Week - 7/12/11

Samurai's Pick: BATTLE BEYOND THE STARS (Region 1 DVD/Blu-Ray; Shout! Factory)
Hopefully this comes out this time, I picked this a ways back and it was delayed. This is Seven Samurai in Outer Space with set design by James Cameron and Bill Paxton!!! In all seriousness this is an Incredibly cheap but incredibly fun rehash of a classic story.

Links:
Amazon DVD and Blu-Ray
Diabolik DVD and Blu-Ray
Blu-Ray.com Review

Matt-suzaka's Pick: INSIDIOUS (Region DVD and Blu-Ray; Sony)
There are a good number of wonderful films seeing release on both DVD and Blu-ray this week, and I could very easily go with any one of the ten-to-fifteen or so releases that speak to me depending on my current mood at any given moment. With that said, my pick for this week comes not in the form of a movie that I already love dearly, in fact, it’s one that I’ve yet to even see, and that would be James Wan’s haunted house film, Insidious. My reasoning is simple: I am what some would consider a hardcore horror fan (or a sinner, if you're religious enough), and the word of mouth has been mostly very solid on this year’s box office tortoise, so it’s a no-brainer for me that the first film I’m snagging today will be the horror film that I sadly missed in theaters.

Links:
Amazon DVD and Blu-Ray
Blu-Ray.com Review

Aaron's Picks: [REC] 2 (Region 1 DVD; Sony) and INSIDIOUS (Region 1 DVD/Blu-Ray; Sony)
Horror fans are in for a treat this week with two big releases from Sony Pictures. First up is the sequel to the terrifying Spanish "found-footage" horror film [REC]. It's been floating around on the gray market - or perhaps your local swap meet - for a while now, but now you can finally watch it on your big screen TV and crank up the surround sound for what will undoubtedly be an entertaining exercise in shaky-cam terror. Next up is INSIDIOUS, which has been getting some mixed reviews since its theatrical run (which was, what... like two months ago?!). "It could have been better", "Why was Darth Maul in it?", "The ending sucked", "Blah, blah, blah"... whatever. INSIDIOUS is far from terrible, and if you're looking for a fun horror movie to watch with your lady friend (or man friend... or by yourself) on a Saturday night, this is the way to go. If you have a blu-ray player, I'd definitely recommend going that route with INSIDIOUS. The nightmarish cinematography and vibrant colors towards the back end of the film will surely pop in high-def.

Links:
[REC 2] Amazon DVD
[REC 2] Blu-Ray (Amazon Canada)
[REC 2] Diabolik DVD
INSIDIOUS Amazon DVD and Blu-Ray
INSIDIOUS Blu-Ray.com Review

Episode #139: Virgins of Libido Mania

Here we go gang, a new episode hot off the hard drive and into your earholes!!!

This week the Gents cover a couple of releases from the fine label that is Camera Obscura, we go over Libido Mania (1979) from director Bruno Mattei and Virgins of the Seven Seas (1974) a Shaw Bros./German co-production....much fun conversation was had including some reveals of personal fetishes from the Gents...

Direct download: Virgins_of_Libido_ManiaRM.mp3

Emails to midnitecinema@gmail.com

Voicemails to 206-666-5207

Adios!!!

Casino Raiders (1989)

Casino Raiders (aka Zhi Zun Wu Shang) is a film from the era of Hong Kong cinema when gambling themes were hip. What's disappointing is that there aren't many casinos and no raiding whatsoever in it. So, if you watch this looking for action in the vein of John Woo, Ringo Lam, etc, forget it. What you will get, however, is a deceptively-presented, noir-tinged melodrama about two friends who happen to be professional gamblers with some meager action and nice twists. While we're at it, I can't continue without commenting on the subtitle translation presented on the DVD I viewed. It was bad. It's a very literal, confusing interpretation of the dialogue, and it would be nice to have something of higher quality. However, that we're able to see this movie at all is really kind of gift enough, isn't it? Onward…
Inveterate gambler, Crab (Andy Lau), gets released from prison, and he's picked up by Bo Bo (Rosamund Kwan), a prostitute and acquaintance of Crab's former partner-in-crime, Sam (Alan Tam). Crab and Sam reunite and fly off to Lake Tahoe to help casino manager and Italian mob associate, Lon (Charles Heung), who is having problems with a team of international gamblers led by Yakuza boss, Taro (Fong Lung). After exposing Taro's cheating, Sam falls for rich businesswoman, Tong (Idy Chan) and woos her with an elaborate subterfuge. Returning to Hong Kong, Crab injures his left hand saving Sam's life from gangster, Gold Teeth (Eddy Ko), and Sam decides to give up gambling and go to work for Tong's father in legitimate business. Meanwhile, Crab and Bo Bo's rivalry with Taro and his father, Kung (Kenzo Hagiwara), escalates and threatens Sam's newfound happiness with Tong.
This is primarily a buddy movie, and Lau and Tam deliver nice performances. The sense of camaraderie between the two is solid. Lau has always had a knack for playing the cocksure rogue, and while he sometimes verges on obnoxious (particularly with the Russian roulette episode), you sympathize most with him as the two men grow apart. Crab obviously hasn't had the same breaks as Sam, so he can't turn away from his lifestyle so easily. Still, he doesn't hold that against his friend. The rest of the cast do credible, if unexceptional, work. The women's parts are not complex to begin with, and the villainous roles are rather arch, so the actors should be commended for doing what they can with limited material.
The cinematography, credited to Henry Chan, is nicely-done, and it really plays into the film noir motifs of the filmmakers. Chan makes effective use of shadows and is always cautious about what information the camera reveals. Character's faces are blanketed in darkness, and the shadows themselves transform into looming characters in their own right, portents of the inescapable past with which Crab and Sam are on a collision course. The filmmakers (the movie is credited on IMDB to Jimmy Heung, Jing Wong, and Corey Yuen, but the reliability of internet-gathered info being what it is, I'll simply refer to them as "filmmakers") know where to place the camera for maximum effect. This really pays off in the gambling scenes, where the tension really does get quite unbearable.
The film spends 75% of the running time building characters. Unfortunately, this is a good and a bad thing. The characters' relationships are developed in depth, so when they start to unravel, they have that much more resonance. The downside is that there's really nothing we haven't seen before in these interconnections. And since we're treated to too few action/gambling scenes to start off, it drags the pace of the movie down. A judicious trim of at least twenty minutes would really benefit the film on a whole and place more emphasis on what the audience wants. Still, it's nice to have well-rounded characters in a film like this.
The movie is also enormously concerned with the deception of appearances. There are twists galore, many of which, I'm happy to report, actually took me by surprise. Every time Crab and Sam are knee-deep in a scam or gambling (or both), something (usually quite dramatic) will come up to either help or harm them. This thing will then turn out to also have a twist of its own and then even have that twisted yet again (occasionally). This is the standout feature of the film, excepting two things. One, they are few and far between. And two, some of the ploys the pair employs are pretty far-fetched. The most glaring example I can think of is when Sam and Tong take a trip to a "biker bar". This place makes Police Academy's "Blue Oyster Bar" look like Saturday night at the Sturgis Rally, and when the ruse is revealed, I actually rolled my eyes. But the ones that work are very satisfying, indeed.
Which brings me to the film's greatest strength, in my opinion, and that is the final twenty-three minutes. This is one of the tensest finales I've seen in some time. And, whereas Hitchcock always said suspense is built after the audience is shown the ticking bomb first, here (and in all card game showdowns) the ticking bomb is in the facedown cards we don't see. The audience has to play the game along with the characters, and the stakes are upped to a nigh-unendurable level, at the table and away from it. I would go so far as to say it is on a level with the setpiece poker game in Martin Campbell's Casino Royale. The catharsis achieved at the game's climax is tangible. But the filmmakers still aren't done with us. There's a final revelation which is not only completely unforeseen but also provides an elegant punctuation to the film in total.
It's difficult for me to give this film a total "recommend" review. The filmmakers definitely had more on their minds than just making an action movie, and it shows. Plus, the action that does happen never fails to please. It just takes a lot to get to these moments, and for some, it may prove too much of a drag. Personally, I'm glad I made the trip.
MVT: The clever turns of the characters' machinations are what will draw in most people, and they truly are worth the effort.
Make or Break: The "Make" is the finale. See the paragraph devoted to it above. It's great, and was worth an extra .75 points on my score.
Score: 7/10

DVD/Blu-Ray Picks Of The Week - 7/5/11

Samurai's Pick: 13 ASSASSINS (Region 1 Blu-Ray; Magnet/Magnolia)
This may be one of Takashi Miike's best films...I actually have no doubt that it is one of his best. He has grown into an amazingly diverse film maker who makes brave choices and stellar work. I promise you, you will watch this film again and again...its a Men on a Mission film that will stick with you long after its over and one of the worst bad guys EVER put to film...just an awful dude....BUY!!!

Links:
Amazon Blu-Ray and DVD
Diabolik DVD and Blu-Ray
Blu-Ray.com Review
High-Def Digest Review and Specs

Large William's Pick: HOBO WITH A SHOTGUN (Region 1 Blu-Ray; Magnet/Magnolia)
Although technically, I wanted to go with 13 Assassins; Miike's epic samurai tale of revenge and honor, I've got to have some civic pride, and go with Jason Eisener's Nova Scotian love letter to 80's VHS gold, that is of course, Hobo with a Shotgun. The color palette for this film, is a sickly neon, that will look sublime in blu. Lovingly referencing everything and everyone from Deodato to Cohen, Ginty to Carpenter, it's a sickly fun ride of revenge when one man, Rutger Hauer, the titular Hobo with a shotgun, get's fed up and decides to sleep in the scum of the City's carcasses TONIGHT!!

Check out the 2 disc'er gang, it's more stacked than a Russ Meyer film. Plenty 'o' bang for your loonies and toonies.

maple and black ice soaked kisses,
William

Links:
Amazon Blu-Ray
Amazon DVD: Single-Disc and Two-Disc versions
Blu-Ray.com Review
Diabolik DVD and Blu-Ray

Aaron's Pick: IT'S A MAD MAD MAD MAD WORLD (Region 1 Blu-Ray; MGM/20th Century Fox)
One of the greatest comedies of all time is now available in high-definition, but there's a catch... it's exclusive to Wal-Mart's official website. No big deal, though; just click on the link below, and while you're on the site, feel free to order some diapers, feminine hygiene products, batteries, SPAM or toothpaste at a competitive price! Personally, this is one of my favorite comedies ever, and watching it as a kid was one of the few instances in my life that I almost piss-pantsed myself from laughing so hard.

Links:
WalMart.com

High-Ballin' (1978)

Starring: Peter Fonda, Jerry Reed & Helen Shaver

Directed by: Peter Carter

In this Canadian trucking actioner, big rig hijackers make the open road a dangerous trade for independent long haul drivers. It is especially perilous for the dimwitted as such High-Ballin' begins with a trucker falling for the obvious ruse of helping a not-so-hot stranded female then getting accosted by ski-mask wearing, gun-toting thieves. Physically intimidated and intellectually overmatched, the indie truckers feel the only way to save their lives and their livelihood is to sell out and sign up with King Caroll, a commercial trucking outfit with enough security to protect them all.

Indie trucking lifer Duke (Jerry Reed) wants no part of King Caroll, shunning any and all offers to join the commercial way of life. Duke plans to make one last big run to setup his family and turns to his former trucker pal Rane (Peter Fonda) to assist him with it. For whatever reason, Rane left the trucker scene behind and is hesitant to get involved again; he much prefers to roam aimlessly on his motorcycle in some sort of flight suit getup and pilot's cap. Although, Rane doesn't stray too far as a romance develops with tomboy ratchet girl Pickup (Helen Shaver). He's soon pulled into this hijacking drama after Duke's shot and left for dead.

Out for revenge, Rane uncovers that the hijackings are actually masterminded by King Caroll in an effort to scare all the truckers into his fold. To keep him from going to the authorities, Rane's longtime bloodthirsty rival turned Caroll crony Harvey (David Ferry) kidnaps Pickup as a power play. With no where else to turn, Rane must unite the remaining indie truckers together to takedown King Caroll, rescue Pickup and save their business.

High-Ballin' reminds me of a brawler pulling his punches rather than firing off haymakers. The film has all the ingredients to make a fun, exciting little trucksplotation movie -- a quirky title, awesome theme song, machine guns, goofy thugs, the Fonda, Jerry Reed, superb poster artwork, crowbar fights -- but it never fully embraces these elements. Instead, we get all too short bursts that feel like the filmmakers are dipping only a toe in the water because they're afraid of getting wet.

For instance, it seems like we're headed to a great place early in the film when Fonda ups the ante of a boorish "let's step outside and talk about this" fight by suggesting they fight with what appears to be crowbars. Even better, Fonda wields two crowbars at once like some kind of jedi swashbuckler! Except, this fight lasts all of maybe five seconds (and that might be pushing it).

The same truncated manner plays out with the rest of the action. We never really get much of a truck chase for a film about hijacking 18-wheelers. The hijackers pack machine guns that are used more so as clubs than bullet-spitters. A quickdraw standoff between Rane and Harvey toward the end begs for a Spaghetti-style tinge as opposed to the minimalistic approach implemented. It's these fleeting moments that raise the film a hair above being completely average. Ultimately, this is a picture that, if that pun can be excused, is steering to stay in the middle of the road.

Make or Break scene - I've gone back and forth, but I'm selecting a hairline make. The scene that barely makes High-Ballin' is the diner scene toward the start of the film shortly following the first hijacking. This scene solidly develops the world of the truckers and the anxiety surrounding them. It establishes Duke's old school personality and paints him as the leader of the independents. There's ample cheesiness on display as tempers run high (and homophobia overkill) and Fonda's emoting a general unintentional goofiness that made me laugh.

MVT - Jerry Reed, hands down. Reed's value is attributed both to his performance and music contribution. He delivers the best performance. It's a familiar one, of course, but Reed plays Southern-fried very well as evidenced through his filmography with pictures to his credit like Smokey and The Bandit. High-Ballin' would have been better off centering the story on Reed's Duke and relegating Fonda's Rane to secondary position. Also, Reed's renowned for his musical artistry in many films, composing songs for a number of films. The High-Ballin' theme ("High Rollin'") is utterly, air-strummin' fantastic and it really might be the best thing about the entire movie.

Score - 5.75/10