I Bury The Living

1958
Directed By Albert Band


SYNOPSIS

The new caretaker of a cemetery (Richard Boone) sells two plots to newlyweds. He accidentally puts two black pushpins (meaning occupied plots) into the map in his office, instead of white ones (meaning unoccupied.) Within hours the two are tragically killed. He messes up again with the same results. He gets freaked out by his apparent godlike powers and questions his own sanity. Those he seeks for help don't believe him and urge him to use some more black pushpins. Then, he gets the idea to switch the black pushpins back to white ones... and the graves empty!

MY THOUGHTS


An ingenious and different 50's horror film.

I Bury The Living, like most of its genre at the time, is strictly a low budget 'B movie' affair. Unlike most of it's genre, it eschews the need for a silly looking monster or alien to bring the horror, keeping the film from becoming instant camp. Instead, 'I Bury' is able to provide authentic chills through psychology and paranoia.


Richard Boone's performance is roughly on par with most 50's sci fi/horror acting. It's a bit wooden, but Boone's a slight cut above the rest and helps to convey a darkness and paranoia in his character that benefits the film. Editing and music add to Boone's paranoiac performance.

Also look for Dennis The Menace's father Herbert Anderson in a supporting role, wearing what could be the same glasses from the TV classic.

My main fault with the film is its cop-out ending that lacks the punch of the rest of the film. Still, I Bury The Living is a worthy trip even though the destination is kind of lame.

Hickey & Boggs

1972
Directed By Robert Culp


SYNOPSIS

Two down on their luck LA private eyes (Bill Cosby + Robert Culp) are hired to track down a missing woman. When the two get mixed up with thugs and a missing $400,000, their careers and lives are in jeopardy

MY THOUGHTS

A stylish tough-as-nails neo-film noir.

It's amazing how many early 70's gems like this (or the recently reviewed Fat City) have fallen through the cracks and gone into undeserved obscurity.

The screenplay, by Walter Hill, plays like a Raymond Chandler novel, which definitely fits the noir mold. The end of the production code years earlier helps Hickey & Boggs to delve into the seedier and darker territories of Chandler's world than previous film incarnations of his actual work, like The Big Sleep.

The undeniable chemistry between Cosby and Culp is still in effect from their days starring on TV's I Spy. However, these roles are far different. Instead of playing hotshot spies, they are low-rent private eyes, both divorced, living from case to case at near-poverty levels. Also, apart from a sarcastic comment or two, the film is completely devoid of humor, an essential part of their I Spy roles. The dark and grimy story benefits from the lack of comedy.

Bill Cosby really stands out here. He fairs far better than the usual stand-up comic turned dramatic actor (a la Robin Williams.) Cosby plays the role with a detached (and badass) cool.

Culp is equally as good. It's a shame this was the only feature film he directed. Apart from some initially confusing cutaways early in the film, his direction is really strong for a first timer.

Also look for James Woods in an early role.

One of the main characters is the city of Los Angeles. We get to see many landmarks from city hall, to LA Colosseum, to Dodger Stadium as well as many city streets. It's great to see how much of the city has changed in nearly 40 years (and how much is still recognizable.)

This is a must-see not just for noir fans or fans of the stars, but for anyone who wants to see an intelligent, suspenseful lost classic.

Hickey & Boggs is unavailable on DVD (but is available on Netflix's streaming service and on Amazon's Video On Demand.)

Zelig

1983
Directed By Woody Allen


SYNOPSIS

A mockumentary examining the life of Leonard Zelig (Woody Allen,) a human chameleon. During the 1920s-30s, he has the unusual ability to become who he is around. When pared with obese people, he becomes fat; with Hasidic Jews, he spouts a beard; with African Americans, he becomes black, etc.

MY THOUGHTS

A hilarious change of pace from Woody Allen.

Zelig takes the form of countless (slightly dry) documentaries  that you would see on PBS by Ken Burns or others that examine a topic seriously with prominent talking heads. Woody Allen is able to capture this perfectly and subvert it perfectly.

The humor comes off as strong and zany as an extended Monty Python sketch. This is about as high praise as I can offer a comedy. The joke does, however, run a little thin by the end of its short 80 minute run-time, but is still filled with many laugh out loud moments.


Inserting Woody Allen in classic newsreel footage predates Forrest Gump, and is just as effective, despite the lack of high-tech special effects of Gump. Seeing him with the New York Yankees or with Hitler is far more amusing than the later film.

There are so many hilarious oneliners in the film that singleing a few out would be an injustice to the others.
If you like the intelligent later-day mockumentaries of Christopher Guest, or are in the mood to laugh, I highly recommend Zelig.

The Men

1950
Directed By Fred Zinnemann

SYNOPSIS

After a World War II soldier (Marlon Brando) is shot and paralyzed, he must face an even greater battle... conquering his depression in a VA hospital, allowing his pre-war fiancee (Teresa Wright) to see him again, and trying to bring some normalcy to his life.

MY THOUGHTS

Brando shines in his screen debut.

The film boldly tackles the difficulties faced by returning soldiers. Issues are dealt with head-on like acceptance by loved ones and a society that sees them as different and 'less of a man' and soldier's own difficulties dealing with the same issues internally. This was a problem of thousands of veterans returning from the war, yet rarely seen on screen. Surprising for a 1950 film, it even references bladder and bowel problems that these injured soldiers face. This stark approach brought the film more realism than most films of the era.


Marlon Brando's agonized character brought even more realism and helped to bring the growing Method acting revolution to greater heights on the big screen. Brando, along with his fellow injured friends (played by Richard Erdman and Jack Webb,) seemed very authentic as paralyzed soldiers. (just try and look for any leg assistance when they try and sit up) Webb is just about the complete opposite of his Dragnet persona, very real and human. Several real paralyzed war vets play the soldiers in the background.

Teresa Wright (better known as Mrs. Lou Gehrig in Pride of The Yankees and the heroine of Hitchcock's Shadow Of a Doubt) gives a solid performance, but her old-school acting style seems out-of-date in comparison to Brando's Method acting. He's clearly the one to watch. Regardless, they have great chemistry and the clash of old-school and new-school acting somehow works.

The film's stark black and white photography keep your eyes clearly focused on the actors, rather than the surroundings, where they should be.

American Grindhouse

2010
Directed By Elijah Drenner


SYNOPSIS

Robert Forster narrates this documentary tracing the history of exploitation films from the early days of film, to it's eventual death at the hands of porn, and it's influence on modern movies.

MY THOUGHTS

A great intro to the much-maligned and practically forgotten genre of exploitation films.

Exploitation films got their name because they had some content (usually sex and/or violence) that could be exploited to get people into theater seats. These cheaply made movies would find their audience in grimy, dingy, open all day/night theaters called grindhouses.

American Grindhouse covers the gamut of the subgenres of these films from titillating films of the silent era... to drug and prostitution films of the 1930's... to the monster, juvenile delinquent, nudist, burlesque, and teen beach movies of the 1950s... to the drug and biker films of the 60's... to the blaxploitation, Nazisploitation, extreme gore, women in prison films in the 1970's.

These films were mostly made far from Hollywood... yet many were able to influence Hollywood in a big way. The documentary is told in a very entertaining and fast paced way using dozens of clips of both the indie films and their Hollywood spawn.

American Grindhouse primarily uses exploitation film fans (and mainstream directors) John Landis and Joe Dante for interviews. They and the other interviewees (mostly filmmakers of these 'classics') all have a strong passion for these movies that are far from artistic masterpieces. They know they're not discussing high art and have a lot of fun. No snobbish film critics pop up with long-winded diatribes to slow the whole thing down.

One of the film's few flaws was to completely forget Roger Corman, the king of B-movies of the 50's, 60s, and 70's. They show a few posters of his films, but since he is still very much alive, his insight could have been fascinating. It's a glaring omission.

If you already consider yourself to be an expert on grindhouse films, you probably won't learn much new here.... but American Grindhouse serves as an excellent Exploitation 101 course for the newbie.

My Son, My Son What Have Ye Done

2009
Directed By Werner Herzog


SYNOPSIS

A mentally unstable man (Michael Shannon) murders his mother. Through a series of flashbacks we find out the strange circumstances that drive him to kill.

MY THOUGHTS

Pretentious bullshit.

My Son, My Son What Have Ye Done was produced by David Lynch and the film features many of the hallmarks of his directoral career (extreme oddball characters, use of music, etc.) I couldn't help but to think of Lynch's latest film as director, Inland Empire. Both films are overly ridiculous and obtuse. They are very pale copies of David Lynch's earlier films, or quality films for that matter. Film can be overly artsy and still be good, if they have something to say. My Son and Inland Empire do not.

Director Werner Herzog is a unique talent and it is painful to see him try and ape another's style and utterly fail to make a decent film.

In the lead, Michael Shannon is completely awful. He creates a completely unsympathetic character who never once seems to be connected to reality or the people around him. He plays the role so over the top (or completely flat) that I found myself laughing unintentionally at his performance, drawing me out of the film.

The film features some excellent character actors to fill out the main cast but all are wasted. William Dafoe, Chloe Sevigny, Brad Dourif, and Udo Kier are given little to do but react. It's hard to empathize with them either since we learn basically nothing about them and they do nothing. I'm guessing the actors all signed up for the film just to work with Herzog.

As a fan of both Herzog and Lynch, I found the film to be nearly unwatchable.

Batman: Under The Red Hood

2010 - Warner Animation
Directed By Brandon Vietti


SYNOPSIS

5 years after The Joker (John Di Maggio) killed his second Robin, Batman (Bruce Greenwood) must contend with a new menace in Gotham City, The Red Hood (Jensen Ackles.) This new vigilante astounds Batman with his fight moves, and the Caped Crusader quickly determines it is Jason Todd, his second Robin, somehow back from the dead. Now Batman must discover how he is still alive and how (and if) he should stop his old partner.

MY THOUGHTS

DC Comics and Warner Animation have put an outstanding series of direct-to-DVD films, and this is probably the best of the lot yet.

Like the others, this is based on actual story from the comics, and they remain faithful to the characters in the comic books, which are often tweaked and altered for feature films.
One of the strengths of the film's story is that it didn't waste any time with a dull Bruce Wayne subplot. It is ALL Batman all the time.
But on the other hand the big drawback to Red Hood is it's short run time. The film clocks in at only 1 hour and 15 minutes. It could have been longer but that probably would have been added Wayne-filler and ruined the taught pace of the story. So it's a strength and a drawback at the same time.

Fanboys would probably chide the film for not casting Kevin Conroy (Batman) and Mark Hamill (Joker) because of their long involvement with the 1990s Batman animated series and the many offshoots of that show... but Greenwood and DiMaggio are excellent. The rest of the cast is also strong. Neil Patrick Harris as Nightwing, Jason Isaacs as Ra's Al Ghul, and Jensen Ackles as the Red Hood round out the major players.

The film is a visual delight. The high-quality (2-D) animation rivals any theatrical release. That is where the DC series triumphs over Marvel's similar line of direct-to-disc series (which look like 1990's TV animation.)

The staging of the fight scenes are cleverly done and look more realistic than the average animated fare. 'Red Hood' also offers a more realistic and less stylish Gotham City than the Batman animated series, much like the Gotham of the recent live-action Christopher Nolan films compared with the earlier Burton/Schumacher series.


The film is an excellent addition to any comic book geek's collection, as long as they are old enough. The story is very dark and not for children.