Day 293: Phenomena (1985)

The only questions I have is who isn’t a fan of Oscar Award winning actress Jennifer Connelly (A Beautiful Mind) and who isn’t a fan of Italian horror legend Dario Argento (Suspiria)? Those are definitely the questions I asked when I decided to watch Phenomena for today’s film. Jennifer Corvino (Connelly) is the daughter of a famous Hollywood director who is going to be staying at a school in Switzerland. What the kids at the school do not realize is that even though she is a sleepwalker, she has an amazing ability where she can communicate with insects. That amazing ability will come in handy when a series of murders are occurring near the school as she is asked to use the ability to track down the killer. The film also stars Donald Pleasence (Halloween) as Professor John McGregor, Daria Nicolodi (Deep Red) as Frau Brückner, Fiore Argento (Demons) as Vera Brandt, Federica Mastroianni (State buoni se potete) as Sophie, Fiorenza Tessari (I’ll Do It Tonight) as Gisela Sulzer, Dalila Di Lazzaro (Flesh For Frankenstein) as Headmistress, Patrick Bauchau (A View To A Kill) as Inspector Rudolf Geiger, Davide Marotta (The Passion Of The Christ) as Brückner Son, and the film was directed by Dario Argento. To see the rest of the review, please click here to go to Moshpits and Movies.

Day 280: The Bird With The Crystal Plumage (1970)

I am always tying to find new and interesting ways to watch horror films when it comes to Eddie’s 31 Days Of Halloween. I did just that for today’s film with the app Frightpix and the film The Bird With The Crystal Plumage from Italian horror maestro Dario Argento (Suspira). Sam Dalmas (Tony Musante) is an American writer in Italy who is ready to leave the country to head back home. All of that changes for Sam when he witnesses an attempted murder. After the botched murder, he is stalked by the killer and soon is involved in a cat and mouse game with the killer as Sam tries to solve the case himself. Will he figure out who the killer is or will he eventually fall victim to the killer? The film also stars Suzy Kendall (To Sir, With Love) as Julia, Enrico Maria Salerno (Seasons Of Our Love) as Inspector Morosini, Eva Renzi (Funeral In Berlin) as Monica Ranieri, Umberto Raho (The Last Man On Earth) as Alberto Ranieri, Renato Romano (Seven Blood-Stained Orchids) as Professor Carlo Dover, Mario Adorf (The Lost Honor Of Katherina Blum) as Berto Consalvi, Rosita Torosh (Flesh For Frankenstein) as 4TH Victim, and Gildo Di Marco (Four Flies on Grey Velvet) as Garullo. To see the rest of the review, please click here to go to Moshpits and Movies.

Day 242: Critical Condition (1987)

In the 70’s and 80’s, there was no one bigger in the world of stand up and comedy than the legendary Richard Pryor (The Toy). That is why for today’s film I chose to watch a film from late in his career in Critical Condition. Kevin Lennihan (Pryor) is kind of a con man, but more of a Bullsh** artist if you ask me. One day as he was going to ask a mobster for a loan, he is framed alongside the mobster in a jewel smuggling scheme which sends him to jail. After faking that he is insane, he is sent to a psych ward at a hospital for them to evaluate him to tell if he’s insane or not. One night during a major storm, he is mistaken in the hospital for a doctor and he has to BS his way out of it. The film also stars Bob Saget (Full House) as Dr. Joffe, Rachel Ticotin (Total Recall) as Rachel, Rubén Blades (Fear The Walking Dead) as Louis, Joe Mantegna (Baby’s Day Out) as Chambers, Bob Dishy (Don Juan Demarco) as Dr. Foster, Sylvia Miles (Midnight Cowboy) as Nurse Lesser, Randall “Tex” Cobb (The Golden Child) as Box, Joe Dallesandro (Flesh For Frankenstein) as Stucky, and the film was directed by Michael Apted (Enough).

This was definitely an interesting film to say the least, but it’s one that I felt was a little all over the place. At first I thought we were going to get a film that was about him trying to prove that he is insane, but then it turns into a film where he’s trying to get by pretending to be a doctor hoping that no one will catch him. I have to be honest in saying that the best part of the film is when he becomes the doctor because you can kind of see the brilliance that was Richard Pryor come out on screen. There is the awful cast rapping scene, the helicopter scene, and even the scene where he’s is negotiating with the drug addicts that was pretty good. Some of my favorite scenes also took place in the psych ward, but it as scenes without Pryor in them. They really gave Mantegna and Cobb the spotlight during those scenes as Mantegna’s character is trying to negotiate his way out of there. I have to admit as well that Bob Saget really held his own in this film as he has some memorable moments and if you look you’ll notice a young Wesley Snipes as an ambulance driver. Of all the Pryor films that I have seen (which is not a lot) this is definitely not my favorite one. I am not saying that it was a bad film, but it’s probably just one that once was enough for me. I am going to give the film an B-/C+ for a final grade. It’s somewhere between those two.

Day 89: Nymphomaniac: Vol. II (2013)

I figured since I watched the first of the two films in Lars von Trier’s Nymphomaniac, I would watch and finish the second film for today. To recap what happened at the end of the previous film, Joe (Charlotte Gainsbourg) was at the point where all of a sudden during a sexual encounter with Jerome (Shia LaBeouf), she lost the sensation to feel an orgasm. In Nymphomaniac: Vol. II, Joe is telling the rest of her story to Seligman (Stellan Skarsgård) that sees her seek sexual pleasure threw some of the most desperate attempts in a darker world, the loss of Jerome and her child, and a new business that brought some gratification for her. Ultimately, she will tell him what exactly led her to be in Seligman’s care through the final chapters. The film also stars Stacy Martin (Nymphomaniac: Vol. I) as Young Joe, Christian Slater (Pump Up The Volume) as Joe’s Dad, Jamie Bell (The Adventures Of Tin Tin) as K, Willem Dafoe (Spider-Man) as L., Mia Goth (Everest) as P., Michaël Pas (Code 37) as Older Joe, Jean-Marc Barr (Europa) as gentlemen Debtor, Udo Kier (Flesh For Frankenstein) as The Waiter, Uma Thurman (Kill Bill Vol. 1) as Mrs. H., and Sophie Kennedy Clark (Dark Shadows).

The second of the two films is definitely darker and more sadistic than the first film, but contains the same amount of sexuality. The film definitely goes in some darker directions especially with gentlemen debtor scene or the S&M beating scene that Joe goes through. Like I said in the previous post, this film if released in theaters here in the states would have been rated NC-17 and it’s for the sexual content. Like the fact that Tarantino has been accused of focusing on feet, Lars von Trier likes to focus the camera on both the female and male organs for periods of time. The sexual intercourse scenes in these films seem so very real in my opinion which is another factor on the rating. The two films are definitely great studies on the sexual revolution and why sex shouldn’t be so taboo in today’s society. Whats crazy is that Shia LeBeouf must have met his fiance on the set of this film as Mia Goth stars in the film. She almost steals the show towards the end of the film as sort a protege/lover for Joe’s character that plays a very integral part in the later part of the story. One thing that bothered me about the film is the end of the movie. The ending was one of those that I completely saw coming and that kind of bothers me cause I just felt it was expected. Other than that, this was definitely two very interesting films. Check them out for yourself right now on Netflix if you dare, but definitely a NSFW film. I am going to give the final volume an A- for a final grade.

 

Day 62: Johnny Mnemonic (1995)

For today’s Ass Whoopin Wednesday film, I wanted to check out something else from Keanu Reeves after the news I had heard about John Wick 2. I have always been curious about Johnny Mnemonic and I figured what better time than now and we are promoting a Mixed tag team (man and woman) match this week. In the distant future of 2021, things are a lot different on the planet Earth as corporations now runs things in the world. The way information is delivered has also changed as human couriers named Mnemonics upload information into their heads. Johnny (Reeves) is a courier who agrees to carry an unusually large amount of information that will prove to be dangerous. What I mean by dangerous is that the Yakuza who basically do the dirty work for corporations wants the info in his head and with the help of his new bodyguard Jane (Dina Myer), he will have to do his best to get the information to the proper place before he dies because of it. The film also stars Ice-T (New Jack City) as J-Bone, Henry Rollins (Heat) as Spyder, Dolph Lundgren (Rocky IV) as Street Preacher, Udo Kier (Flesh For Frankenstein) as Ralfi, Tracy Tweed (Sunset Heat) as Pretty, and the film was directed by Robert Longo. To read the rest of the review and check out the stats, click here.