Episode #143: Night Breathing

Welcome to this week's episode of the GGtMC programmed by Karl Brezdin, host of the Fist of the B-List blog and big time friend of the Gents!!!

This week we cover Breathing Fire (1991) starring Bolo Yeung and Jonathan Ke Quan and Night Warning (1983) starring Susan Tyrell and Bo Svenson.

We also cover a generous amount of feedback and make audible love to your ears!!!

Direct download: Night_BreathingRM.mp3

Emails to midnitecinema@gmail.com

Voicemails to 206-666-5207

Adios!!!

Black Moon Rising (1986)

Directed by: Harley Cokeliss

Written by: John Carpenter, William Gray & Desmond Nakano

Starring: Tommy Lee Jones & Linda Hamilton

Black Moon Rising delivers a premise we're all accustomed to in B-movie action cinema. Our very honorable government dislikes acquiring objects and information through unlawful means, but they have no issues hiring someone not on a covert alphabet soup agency payroll to do their dirty work. Enter professional thief Sam Quint (Tommy Lee Jones) to steal a highly valuable cassette tape that must contain awfully incriminating evidence against some big company. We know it is seriously incriminating because henchmen goons immediately pursue Quint with blaring automatic weapons to retrieve the tape. From what I gather, this cassette tape is a bootleg pre-release recording of Wham!'s pop masterpiece Music From The Edge of Heaven. I'd chase Tommy Lee Jones with an uzi, too, to keep that album off the black market circa 1986.

With these thugs hot on his trail, Quint manages to briefly escape for a pitstop at a gas station. Bad time for a bathroom break and to satiate that Baby Ruth craving, if you ask me. Nonetheless, Quint finds the perfect place to stash the sensitive cassette. He conceals it inside the hidden panel of a hi-tech prototype car, known as The Black Moon, en route to an exhibition. The car is hot crap because it runs on hydrogen and toplines at 300 mph. Unfortunately, a group of thieves led by female carjacker Nina (Linda Hamilton) heists the Black Moon for car theft ring overlord Mr. Ryland (Robert Vaughn) before Quint is able to get the cassette out. Further complicating matters is that the Black Moon is stored in the ruthless Mr. Ryland's skyscraper stronghold of stolen vehicles, which is something along the lines of a fortress to break into evidently. This leaves Quint with a 72 hours or else ultamatium from our secrective trustworthy government agency to get that tape back.

Black Moon Rising is probably most well known as written by John Carpenter and sold on spec shortly before his filmmaking career ascended. Supposedly the shooting script was heavily changed from Carpenter's original version that was turned in nearly a decade before the film went into production. If you examine Black Moon Rising closely, you can detect small Carpenter narrative threads woven into the story; the central plotline concerns an outlaw commissioned begrudgingly by the government to secure a much desired tape from a dangerous stronghold, reminiscent of Escape From New York. It should also be noted that the film features a strong lead female character not so uncommon to typical Carpenter pictures. Whatever revisions were made, the finished product is still a fun-filled affair. That is provided you can look past story quibbles like questioning Quint's strategy in hiding the tape in a moveable object such as a vehicle that can shatter land-speed records or, you know, in not duplicating the cassette tape.

The film generates the majority of its energy from the action scenes. While they're not exceptional, they are very well done with grittiness and served in abundance. Stylistically, the stripped down action reminds me of a 70s actioner, emphasizing car chases, gunplay and hand-to-hand fights. In particular, there's a nicely developed short fight exchange between Tommy Lee Jones and Lee Ving playing his old-time nemesis Marvin Ringer. Earlier in the film, there's also a simple though quite effective fight scene where Ryland's goon crew pummels Quint to a fairly brutal degree that concludes with a decent little surprise. And before the film wears out its welcome, the premise changes gears to more of a straight-ahead heist movie as Quint must work with the Black Moon creators on a tactical plan to enter Ryland's skyrise to get the prototype speedster back.

Director Harley Cokeliss isn't flashy in his approach, opting to basically stay out of the way and let the action on screen speak for itself without trying to punch it up with intensified editing or indulgent camera tricks. If not for the inclusion of the high powered roadster, Black Moon Rising would feel at home if tabbed as 70s action cinema, which is perhaps indicative of the length between the script's sale and actual production.

Tommy Lee Jones' steely grittiness and subtle coolness anchors the cast and picture. Not to belabor the point, but Jones' Quint feels like he came from the 70s and it's that tone that really permeates the whole and elevates it from falling into zany 80s trappings of the era. It is further intriguing to see a much younger Tommy Lee Jones headlining this style of movie. For me, I see him so much more as the older hardass superior character barking orders whereas here he gets to play the bad ass loner who refuses to take orders. Linda Hamilton turns in strong work as a car thief as well. She subverts the natural inclination to soften her performance by giving into the romantic relationship developed through Quint's character. Rather, she constantly maintains a toughness throughout that doesn't undermine her character nor the film itself. I will say that Bubba Smith nearly steals the show as our secret government agent when telling an innocent bar patron relieving himself harmlessly at the urinal to "put it away and get out" so he can have a private bathroom to conference with Quint.

If there's one glaring weakness, it is that the car of the titular title is not that cool. Black Moon looks like a useless dark wedge of plastic, something akin to a blown-up version of a cheap Matchbox racer. In fact, the car visually comes off as so diminutive that it feels like I could pack it around in one of those Hot Wheels grid-like carrying cases. Perhaps, my dislike for the car derives from the incongruence of a vehicle that screams bad 80s design hot rodding around in a picture giving off an intense 70s vibe. Why can't George Lucas put his digital re-wizardry to work on movies like this and replace Black Moon with a much cooler muscle car?

Make or Break scene - The most standout make scene is probably the car chase sequence that takes place during the film's finale in the skyrise. It isn't mind-blowing, but it does the build-up justice and caps off with a cool little shortcut between two high rises. Despite not finding the car all that cool, the action assists in defining Black Moon as a desirable mode of thievery transport.

MVT - The action. The film keeps offering a steady diet of action bursts, and that's what saves the film from questionable narrative directions and thin characters. Although, it is difficult to pinpoint one element that is predominantly more valuable than another as everyone and everything turns out solidly.

Score - 7/10

Horror High (1974)

When I was a kid, our local ABC affiliate was WNEP (still is), and every afternoon, they would show a movie on the program "Dialing for Dollars." The premise of the show is fairly self-explanatory. You watch the movie, and at some point , the host (I want to say it was Nolan Johannes at this point in time, but if it wasn't, both he and his family have my apologies) would call a random phone number picked from viewer submissions and give the lucky person a chance to win money. Now, I know some other areas had the same type of program, but ours had a twist: gerbil racing. Yes, poor Nolan had to stand in front of a glass-fronted box split horizontally into three sections (or "racetracks," if you will), each containing one gerbil. The lucky contestant would pick a gerbil, and with not much fanfare at all (I know, hard to believe), the three rodents would be released into their respective sections. The terrified animals would usually sit stock-still, hyperventilating, but sometimes one or two would actually make a break for the other side of the case, the first making it past the finish line being the winner. And there was much rejoicing.

So, what the hell do gerbil races on "Dialing for Dollars" have to do with Horror High? Well, it was on this program that I first encountered the film, only I saw it under the title (and if you ask me, a better title than its theatrical one) Twisted Brain. To make the film palatable for network television, much of the violence had to be cut, and the filmmakers shot about eight minutes or so of a dead-end subplot involving the main character's dad and some floozy he's visiting. It is some of the dullest shit you will ever see, and I mention it specially here, because in my youth, I distinctly remember the film (and my enjoyment of it) grinding to a halt with this section. Without it, and in its uncut state, the film, while nothing to do cartwheels over, is an enjoyable variation on an old theme.

Vernon Potts (Pat Cardi) is the brainy whipping boy of his high school. He harbors a crush on school beauty, Robin (Rosie Holotik), and she obviously feels the same about him but is dating jock Roger (Mike McHenry). The problem is everyone at the school, other than Robin, hates Vernon for some wafer-thin reason or another. The slovenly, slack-mouthed janitor, Mr. Griggs (Jeff Alexander), gets psychotic when Vernon shoos Griggs' cat out of the school laboratory. Gum-chomping Type "A", Coach McCall (John Niland), despises Vernon for never being on time for Phys Ed and being a weakling. Miss Grindstaff (Joy Hash) abhors Vernon, because he pays more attention to science than her English class. Meanwhile, Vernon conducts experiments on his guinea pig, Mr. Mumps (note: not a gerbil and not suitable for racing), in an effort to change humans physically (the actual applications of such a drug are never explored) like illicit drugs do mentally. Needless to say, our young scientist takes his own medicine and transforms in hairy and bloodthirsty ways, bent on revenge (shouldn't that make it mentally and physically?).

In case it's not evident in my shoddy synopsizing, Horror High is a take on Robert Louis Stevenson's classic horror tale The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde. Frankly, I'm surprised it took this long to make something along this line. In 1957, producer Herman Cohen hit on the notion of horror movies where teenagers were the monsters. His "trilogy" of I Was a Teenage… movies (yes, I know Blood Of Dracula breaks the title motif) mixed juvenile delinquent themes with horror themes and played to packed drive-ins across the U.S. (to carloads of teens who were probably too busy necking to pay attention). A similar trend hit the film industry during the 1970s. Films like Blacula and Blackenstein blended the blaxploitation and horror genres with varying results. Here, the film seems stuck between the two. It has the "Leave It to Beaver" values dominant in visual media of the 1950s/early 60s and the sanguinary violence of the late 60s onward that became a huge staple of exploitation cinema. The chemicals Vernon uses in his potion bubble and smoke in that bygone way all transmogrifying potions in black and white movies do. Director Larry N. Stouffer is also a big fan of employing severe Dutch angles whenever Vernon is about to strike. At one point, I actually felt my neck stiffen from keeping it at an angle, and I had several flashbacks to the 60s' "Batman" TV series. The violence, in contrast to the more overtly camp aspects, is more horrifying in its graphic depiction. Watching Vernon stomp a victim to pulp with a pair of cleats draws a pretty clear line between the cutesy and grisly facets of the film.

The act of transformation in and of itself takes on a different flavor due to the film's setting. Vernon changes from 98-pound weakling to super-alpha male, sure, but the change can also be seen here as a metaphor for puberty and burgeoning adolescent sexuality. The creature makeup, in fact, bears this reading out, as it consists of little more than patches of hair pasted on Cardi's face and hands along with thickened eyebrows. Add to that, Robin almost triggers the change in Vernon when she tries to get intimate with him. Here, Vernon has orgasmic spasms and suddenly needs to excuse himself. It's an interesting angle, and the film would have been stronger exploring it more deeply. But it is in there.

Out of all the actors in the film, the two who do the best work are Cardi and Austin Stoker as Lt. Bozeman. While Stoker does bring some slight amount of gravitas to the proceedings (the man does have a natural authoritative air, used later to good effect in John Carpenter's Assault on Precinct 13), Cardi has his hands full playing both wimp and wildman. The introduction of Stoker's character presents a "cat and mouse" angle that, like so much else in the film, is underdeveloped. What's noticeably smart is how Cardi plays Vernon's reactions to events. The best example is after a human skull is found in a drum of sulfuric acid (why schools stopped leaving large containers of acid in classrooms is a mystery) during a science exam. While the other students scream and gather around to gawk, Vernon quietly continues his experiment. It's a subtle touch, and the film benefits from it, but the filmmakers didn't exploit this angle to its fullest potential. Everyone else delivers solidly bad performances, most notably Rosie Holotik. Literally half her performance consists of rolling her eyes and acting bubbly. I thought she could easily have been one of Marcia Brady's friends who think that Greg is "just groovy." Not that it really matters much, because every character with the exceptions of Vernon, Robin, and Bozeman are written and played to be utterly detestable and therefore okay for Vernon to slaughter.

When I initially saw this movie, I couldn't make out most of it, because the print on "Dialing for Dollars" was so crappy. Having seen it clearly, with all the scenes intact and with what I must say is a great psychedelic rock score, I'm a bit more pleased with it on the whole. There are nuances struggling to get to the surface, but it's difficult to say if they come from the filmmakers or if they're inherent in Stevenson's original story. Perhaps it's a little of both. Is it a great horror movie? No. But it's not the worst, and it does have a bit more going on under the surface than some. The problem is it's just not quite enough. Horror High is a better than average horror movie, but it could have been a really good one.

MVT: I have to give it to the original score by Don Hulette on this one. It's catchy and funky and fuzzy, and it really sets a great tone for the movie.

Make or Break: The "Make" is the scene where the skull is discovered. Vernon's refined non-reaction says all you need to know about how he's decided to proceed from this point forward.

Score: 6.5/10

DVD/Blu-Ray Picks Of The Week - 8/2/11

Rupert Pupkin's Pick: JULIE DARLING (Region 1 DVD; Code Red)
This is a great little WTF movie I was first turned onto by Lars Nilsen from the Drafthouse. I know he programmed it for Weird Wednesday and also for a special screening as part of a triple feature at the New Beverly in Los Angeles(I think the other 2 films were POOR PRETTY EDDIE and PSYCHO FROM TEXAS). Very twisted but enjoyable film with Sybil Danning and a great lead performance by Isabelle Mejias. Also know as DAUGHTER OF DEATH. Don't come between her and her dad!

Links:
Amazon DVD
Diabolik DVD

Samurai's Pick: STAKE LAND (Region 1 Blu-Ray & DVD; Dark Sky/MPI)
This is a top 5 film so far this year for me, I ADORE it!! Outside of some flubs on the back end this film is very poetic and touching and makes vampires interesting instead of "sparkly" its just a great film and many places are selling this Blu cheap this week!!!

Large William's Pick: STAKE LAND (Region 1 Blu-Ray & DVD; Dark Sky/MPI)
Alright gang, I'm still basking in the moonshine-y, fundamentalist, downtrodden glow of one of the most straight-faced, best American Horror films I've seen in the past few years: Stakeland. While not without flaws(specifically near the back end of the film), it proves Mickle and Damici are 2 for 2 between this and Mulberry Street. TAKE NOTE young American genre filmmakers, you needn't be wink/nod/self-referential all the time. This film will harken to Cormac McCarthy's bleak vision of humanity at it's darkest hour, The Road, while still maintaining it's own vision. Between Mickle and West, off the top of my head, they're keeping American Horror's head above water. Stop lamenting for the good old glory days of U.S horror, and throw down your chingoleros on this one. Damici is like the subdued love child of William Smith and Josh Brolin(meaning he's one bad dude). The blu will look sublime for this one too; the locations they got for the film are a thing of decrepit beauty.

hugs and kisses,
William

p.s I know you're all tired of zombies and vampires, but TRUST this one delivers. Like Werner, I'll eat my shoe if you hate it..

Links:
Amazon Blu-Ray and DVD

They Call Him Chad's Pick: MYSTERY SCIENCE THEATER 3000 XXI - MST3K VS. GAMERA (Region 1 DVD; Shout! Factory)
I'll admit upfront that I unabashedly love MST3K. Therefore, I could quite easily recommend every set that Shout! Factory releases at a thrice-a-year clip. However, this one is particularly fitting for the GGTMC crowd as every single episode contains the Scottie Pippen of kaiju, the one and only airborn turtle Gamera!!!!! For MST3K fans, this is a monumental release as it seemed that Toho would never make the rights available for any MST3K'd editions of these films (they apparently take their big monster movies very seriously). With this in mind, I wouldn't be surprised if this edition goes OOP sooner rather than later. And come on, how can you pass on that collector's tin?!

Links:
Amazon DVD

Aaron's Pick: CONAN THE BARBARIAN - International Cut (Region 1 Blu-Ray; Universal)
Honestly, the release I'm looking forward to the most this week is STAKE LAND, because A) I'm a huge horror fan and am always on the lookout for something "different" from the genre, and B) because of the high praises it's been receiving, but I thought I'd go with a pick this week of a movie that I've actually seen, so I'm going with the classic CONAN THE BARBARIAN on Blu-Ray. This week sees BARBARIAN getting the high-def treatment for the first time in the U.S. along with its sequel CONAN THE DESTROYER just in time to get everyone pumped for the remake. Need I say more? It's CONAN for crying out loud!

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

Episode #142: Chungking Confessions

Welcome to the GGtMC, your place for all things breakfast pastry and cereal bound!!!

This episode we go over two films in conjunction with diabolikdvd.com, we cover Chungking Express (1994) from director Wong Kar-Wai and Confessions of a Dog (2006) from director Gen Takahashi.

We hope you enjoy and please leave us a review on iTunes!!!

Adios!!!

Direct download: Chungking_ConfessionsRM.mp3

The War In Space (1977)

Brotman's Rule has been attributed by Roger Ebert to Chicago movie exhibitor, Oscar Brotman. This movie "law" states that, "if nothing has happened by the end of the first reel, nothing is going to happen." While I'm sure both Jun Fukuda and the folks at Toho Studios had never even heard of Mr. Brotman, their film, The War in Space (aka Wakusei daisenso), adheres to his tenet like spaghetti to Shemp's face. The first act alone contains enough UFO attacks, explosions, gunfights, and window-breaking to please anyone. This is all, of course, a ploy to maintain a fast pace during an exposition-heavy start. It works.

In the far-off future of 1988, the Earth is besieged by evil, green-skinned aliens. Their UFOs (not really, they are clearly identified) fly sorties around the globe, blowing up cities like crazy. Meanwhile, Miyoshi (Kensaku Morita) has returned from America to the United Nations Special Defense Federation's Japan branch to find that his ex-girlfriend, Jun (Yûko Asano), has gotten engaged to his best friend, Muroi (Hiroshi Miyauchi). Amidst this drama, Jun's dad, Professor Takigawa (Ryô Ikebe), is ordered to resurrect and complete the abandoned "space defense unit", Gohten, a space-faring submarine with a giant drill at the bow and plenty of surprises under the hull. Joined by old teammate Jimmy (David Perin), the four blast-off with the crew of Gohten to fight the baddies in space.

By 1975, the first cycle of Godzilla films (known as the "Showa" series) had ended with Terror of Mechagodzilla. However, Tokusatsu (literally, "special filming") entertainment was still prevalent in Japan. While this style is usually identified with superheroes, like the "Super Sentai" series and the "Ultra" series, it also encompasses any film or television show that is heavy on special effects. In the wake of Star Wars, there was an avalanche of rip-offs from every corner of the globe. The War in Space capitalizes on the Lucas film in its marketing, and there are obvious riffs on the movie. The land rover has an "R2" antenna. There's a Death-Star-trench-assault-style scene towards the end. The film also borrows heavily from such shows as "Space Battleship Yamato" (aka "Star Blazers") and such films as 2001: A Space Odyssey. However, at its heart, and for all intents and purposes, Fukuda's film is a remake of Ishirô Honda's Atragon. But instead of repelling invaders from the ocean's depths, they're from the depths of outer space. Plus, the theme of Japanese nationalism is dropped in favor of an idealistic spirit of unity.

If you've ever seen a story about alien invasion made in Japan, you'll recognize the story here. Although not really original, it fits like an old pair of sweatpants and feels just as comfy. The acting is all melodramatic but not totally over the top. The editing is where you begin to get a sense that Fukuda's hand is at work. The aerial combat scenes are loaded with zooms, Dutch angles, and jump cuts. Fukuda seems to prefer this style to keep up his frenetic pacing, but there's never any confusion. His sense of spatial relationships is solid and key in crafting dynamic action scenes. Unfortunately, the finale comes off a bit flat, but this is due to the special effects. More precisely how they're shot. The effects work is well-done throughout the movie (I don't think I ever spotted a wire holding a model up), but the models at the climax don't display any sense of physics. Consequently, it feels more like playing with your G.I. Joes in the bathtub rather than a life-or-death dogfight.

The Japanese people have a fascination with combining old and new things in their fantasy worlds. Spaceships like Gohten and Yamato are designed after (and in the case of Yamato at least, actually employ) old military vehicles but with interstellar capabilities and futuristic weaponry. The evil aliens' flagship is based on a Roman galley, the "oars" actually rotating laser cannons. While we're at it, how do the Japanese seem to have a fully-functioning defense force for every eventuality from giant monsters (G-Force) to extraterrestrial marauders (the other G-Force)? It's as if a Godzilla-free day is the exception rather than the norm (thank you, MST3K).

Despite everything, it's the film's wildness that carries it through. Commander Hell's (William Ross) Roman galley spaceship comes complete with marble halls and pillars. Tell me, why would an advanced, alien civilization be based on Earth's ancient Roman Empire? Cause it looks good, is my guess, though the sets may have been extant from another production. However, only the aliens' leader dresses like a centurion. The soldiers of planet Meshie 13 dress similar to Louis Feuillade's "Fantômas" (black hoods, tunics, and pants). It must be said, dressing like medieval executioners goes a long way in projecting an aura of menace. The Gohten has a giant revolver cylinder that alternately shoots lasers and jet fighters (space jet fighters, of course). Also, the seemingly-useless drill bit at the ship's bow has a delightfully gonzo payoff at the film's end. Hell, they actually blow up one of the nine planets of our solar system (I still include Pluto, please and thank you). But what ultimately sold me on this film was the sight of a captive Jun in leather fetish gear struggling against the iron grip of...the Space Beast.

Now, I've always had an affection for hirsute monsters. Maybe it's because I'm bald. War of the Gargantuas is my favorite daikaiju movie. Sasquatch is my favorite member of the Canadian superhero team, Alpha Flight. You can see where I'm coming from. Here, the Space Beast (played by the appropriately-named Mammoth Suzuki) is our Chewbacca the Wookiee stand-in. He looks like the result of a Bionic Bigfoot, Chewie, and Minotaur love-in. With a giant battleaxe. The costume is cheap and saggy, but you can't (well, I can't) take your eyes off it. Tragically, the character has no discernible personality and is wholly underused. I still loved it.

My feeling has always been that Jun Fukuda has forever been compared unfavorably to Ishirô Honda. It's as if he's the second-tier Honda, and I feel that attitude is dismissive to his work as a filmmaker. His films (most famously, Godzilla vs. Megalon) are often unjustly maligned. The War in Space is, to be truthful, a derivative film, but it gleefully captures what legendary FX creator Eiji Tsubaraya called, "a sense of wonder." And that's something to be cherished and admired, in my estimation.

MVT: Teruyoshi Nakano's special effects are exceptionally well-done on what had to be a shoestring budget.

Make or Break: The "Make" is when Jun is first seen in captivity with the Space Beast. Two great tastes that taste great together.

Score: 7/10

DVD/Blu-Ray Picks Of The Week - 7/26/11

Samurai's Pick: BLUES BROTHERS (Region 1 Blu-Ray; Universal Studios)
It would be very predictable for me to pick Kurosawa's High and Low on Criterion Blu, it is a superior film. However, this is one of my favorite films from Landis, only behind American Werewolf in my adoration....GREAT stunts, GREAT comic timing between the leads...AWESOME musical buts and honoring the music that inspired the Blues Brother act....plus Princess Leia heavily armed with massive guns ( I mean actual guns) Totally worth the pick up....

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

Large William's Pick: HEARTBEATS (Region 1 DVD; IFC/MPI)
This week, I've decided to continue the love for the CanCon, and go with a film from one of Canada's brightest young talents, Xavier Dolan and his 2010 film Heartbeats(Les amours imaginaires). Dolan burst onto the scene at Cannes in 2009, with I Killed My Mother, and promptly picked up a hat trick of hardware on the French Riviera. His second film, Heartbeats made my to 25 last year, and harkens to the French New Wave, Wong Kar-Wai, Almodovar and several other cinematic guiding lights of our time. Check out this film, and don't let the synopsis fool you(the story of two friends who both fall in love with the same man). C'est magnifique!

au revoir,
Le Grande William

Links:
Amazon DVD

New York Cop (1993)

Directed by: Toru Mukawara

Starring: Toru Nakamura, Chad McQueen & Mira Sorvino

After stopping a hip-hop mugger from robbing a pervert, a Japanese New York cop, Toshi (Toru Nakamura), receives a supposedly high-level assignment to infiltrate the illegal gun running circle overlorded by Italian mafioso Mr. C (Tony Sirico)and put an end to the recent killings of cops working undercover as vagrants. Captain Brodsky tabs Toshi as the best officer to pose as a homeless man based solely on his ethnicity, proudly affirming his brilliance by proclaiming that "no one will ever suspect a Japanese undercover cop!" If only Captain Brodsky wasn't a fictional character, we could have really used his expertise (and racism) in cracking those Jack the Ripper, Zodiac killer and Black Dahlia cases back in the day. Toshi seems to agree as he readily accepts the assignment and adamantly professes his martial arts training will keep him safe. Although, it's entirely possible Toshi didn't understand the words coming out of Brodsky's mouth. Toshi has the same constipated reaction when attempting to speak and comprehend English as I do when tackling trigonometry; a red-faced, sweat-dripping furrowed brow with pensively squinted eyes while muttering something indecipherable through clenched teeth.

Proving himself adept for this undercover work, Toshi hits the seedy streets in the best lookin' bum disguise I've ever seen; finely groomed peach fuzz, a super sheeny combed hairdo, a three-quarters length Men's Warehouse jacket, some polyester shirts and a Mentos white smile. Toshi looks like a metro-sexual interior designer. This homeless guise is so pathetic that a bunch of street toughs try to shake down Toshi for a few bills, to which he quickly hands over some crisp greenbacks right out of his pocket -- no money clip, no wallet -- looking as pristine as if steam-ironed five minutes ago. To me, this screams undercover cop. To the street thugs, not so much as they chase after Toshi, flailing their hands bombastically as though they're glory walkin' in an NWA rap video. In one of the worst fence-clming escapes ever put to celluloid, Toshi manages to narrowly escape into the car of a struggling artist named Maria (Mira Sorvino). There's no real reason why Maria opts to help Toshi out, but I can only assume that she has a soft-spot for recently mugged homeless dudes rocking business casual attire.

As Toshi and Maria bond over unintelligible accents, other undercover cops start getting picked off one-by-one as Mr. C sniffs them out and sics his laser-sighted gun wielding cab driving assassin after them. Yes, Mr. C employs a cab driver to carry out hits on undercover cops. And this assassin does the job, apparently, while on duty as he's always chasing them in his cab. I feel bad that cab drivers had it so rough in 1993 that they resorted to making ends meet by rubbing out cops. Trust me, I'll never look sideways at the fare per mile on vacation again.

Luckily, Toshi gets his opening to stop the killings when discovering that Maria's hard-ass biker-looking brother, Hawk (Chad McQueen), happens to be the head of a gun-running gang known as The Brotherhood. At first, Hawk despises Toshi for making the moves on his sister and generally assuming homeless people are worthless. However, Toshi easily overcomes Hawk's nay-saying by assertively telling him that he knows martial arts. Honestly, I had no idea that knowing martial arts was such a resume builder (if so I would've minored in Shudokhan in college), considering that through the course of the film that many a random thug sports karate from Mr. C's stringbean Italian goombas to Hawk's curly perm mulleted henchman. Granted, these martial artists throw some of the worst karate kicks in film history.

In order to forge a path to Mr. C, Toshi has to earn Hawk's trust by setting up deals and taking on some grunt work. The problem soon arises that Hawk's Brotherhood cronies somehow pick up on the possibility that Toshi may not be a crescent kick throwin' bum off the street. This places Toshi in high danger as he must carefully balance allegiances between his fellow officers, Hawk and his growing romance with Maria while simultaneously avoiding exposure en reoute to putting an end to Mr. C and this deadly cabbie's cop murdering ways.

Unfortunately, New York Cop is not bad movie fun despite numerous ludicrous elements highlighted in this review. As I suffered through the film and reflected upon it, it was hard to pinpoint why this isn't more entertainingly awful. If pressed, I would say it's a lack of commitment from the majority of the key contributors. In other words, they're phoning it in.

Mira Sorvino has never been worse, and she doesn't seem to care. I'm not suggesting that Sorvino is a great actress by any stretch, but she certainly has the most capability amongst the cast assembled to mine a decent performance from the weak material. She listlessly utters lines in an accent that I still cannot figure out; it sounds like an odd mix of Italian and Spanish, and sometimes vacillates between the two and then she throws in straight American for good measure. Sorvino treats her accent like an off-speed pro-baseball pitcher, showing us a lot of different pitches when all we really want is her fastball. I can picture the director crouched behind the camera flashing through two, three and four finger signals as she settles on a different verbal slant. I'd call her Greg Maddux, but there's no need to insult a hall of famer and give an impression that her work's at a comparable level. Let's go with Bob Tewksbury. Mira is the Bob Tewksbury of accents in this film.

The film further suffers by anchoring itself to Toru Nakamura as the leading man. Nakamura is a puzzling headliner choice. It's obvious from the get-go that Nakamura's not well-versed in English, concentrating so hard on line delivery that it permeates his character with a lack of confidence and stifles any penchant of charisma that may be hidden under the surface. The one dialogue snippet that Nakamura nails with bluster is "I know martial arts." Sadly, director Toru Murakawa never allows him to back this up, rarely allotting an opportunity for Nakamura to cut loose with an impressive exhibition of fighting skills that could have saved New York Cop. That said, it leaves one to question if perhaps Nakamura's martial arts background was not extensive and therefore unworthy of spotlighting. The most impressive combat comes from the hip-hop mugger at the film's opening, who unleashes a fiery pugilistic barrage of hooks and uppercuts on an unsuspecting and overmatched porn connoisseur like he's vying for the WBC Middleweight Championship. I wouldn't be surprised if Marvin Hagler was the mugger's on-set fight coordinator.

Murakawa helms the picture lazily with boxy compisitions and wide tableuas, which are presumably less a stylistic choice than one made to eliminate camera setups. This would be forgiveable if Murakawa emphasized the fun factor by relying on more action, campy performances or perhaps some intensified editing. Instead, he's content to simply capture the scene and move ahead. It's a film crapped out of the low budget movie assembly line. He wastes Tony Sirico. When Sirico appeared, my interest piqued in hopes that he'd channel his future work as Paulie Walnuts in The Sopranos. I can only dream of how entertaining a movie with the hilarious and maniacal Paulie Walnuts as the capo would've been. My excitement soon fizzeled, realizing that Sirico's screentime is limited because Murakawa would rather focus on Toshi's romance and boorish tension to remain covert.

Come on, Mr. Murakawa, you can't keep me giggling like an idiot for 90 minutes with a hitman who pursues his targets in a cab and an undercover cop posing as a bum that wears dry-cleaned threads from Nordstrom's Rack? Where's the scene of this cabbie assassin flipping his sign to "off duty" after gunning down another hobo-posing pig? Or how about a scene of extreme chance where Toshi hails a taxi that just so happens to be the same one driven by Mr. C's favorite laser-sighted fare-grasping stooge?

Make or Break scene - The scene that breaks the film is when Toshi encouters the street gang that tries to roll him. To this point, we're led to believe that Toshi doesn't need to carry a gun or weapon of any kind because his martial arts training is that strong. This is the moment of truth and Toshi fails miserably. In most low budget actioners, this would be the moment where Toshi pummels an onslaught of charging adversaries. After feebly defending himself, Toshi heads for the hills, opting to run for his life rather than stand his ground. Worse, Toshi's not given a chance to redeem himself later, not that any viewer would be apt to stick around for it.

MVT - Chad McQueen. He's the one exception amid the cast and filmmakers. McQueen solidly commits to his performance as Hawk, bringing ample energy to his part and much needed aggressiveness. It doesn't matter that I think McQueen probably should've portrayed Hawk as less of a biker and more of a Latino. He's offering something amid counterparts that serve up nothing. It's too bad that they didn't ditch the Asian cop angle and turned the film over to McQueen as the undercover cop (it'd fit the film's title better, too). If that choice was made, this film would have potential to be a fun-filled cheesy direct-to-video crime movie.

Score - 3.5/10

Hunters Of The Golden Cobra (1982)

During World War II in Asia, a British Intelligence officer (John Steiner) teams up with a roving adventurer (David Warbeck) to chase down an ancient relic called The Golden Cobra from the clutches of a jungle tribe. Along the way they face brawls, big trucks, aeroplanes, mountains, spiders, snakes and twin sisters who are not all they seem.

Directed by Antonio Margheriti this is an obvious lift from 'Raiders Of The Lost Ark' yet manages to be an entertaining little bugger all on its own. Margheriti, under his Dawson alias, is his usual expert craftsman, putting together a lean picture with good humour. solid set pieces and barely any fat to its ninety minute run time. He also throws in solid use of mi natures and models, most obvious is the plane chase at the beginning. It is well done though and isn't awful in the way that Leone's miniature train was in 'Duck You Sucker'. There's little gore apart from a gruesome death by blowdart to the eye. On the whole Marghetti wasn't much for excess and this rides that straight ahead action road, using much of the same comic adventure tone of the Speilberg movies.



Another great plus is the chemistry between John Steiner and David Warbeck. They throw cheeky lines back and forward at each other at a machine gun rate, it's like watching Roger Moore verbally spar with Edmund Blackadder. I only knew Steiner from his villain turn in 'A Man Called Blade' so I'll be checking out what else he has done, so good is his performance here. Warbeck is his always watchable self, a genuine warm screen presence, even when he's falling down a rock face covered in mud.

The action comes thick and fast. Apart from some clumsy fist fight editing, it's all full throttle adventure cinema. You can see the budget lacks a little to properly deliver sometimes but that is the essence of such 80s Italian cinema. My only niggles with this film are how John Steiner is absent towards the end and how the finale just lacks a little energy compared to the reckless energy of the rest of the movie.



MVT: Steiner and Warbeck with Antonio Margheriti's hands at the wheel. Without their chemistry, it would just be a straight ahead action flick instead of a lot of fun. It's obvious Margheriti knew what he had with them as he used them again in another Indian Jones type film I'll be checking out soon.

Make Or Break: Steiner and Warbeck squabbling in the cockpit (tehehehe) of a fighter plane near the start of the film. Comedy gold for an Italian film.

Score: 7/10 The version I saw was a laserdisc rip with Jap subtitles.

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