Monthly Archives: December 2015

Miscellanea

19TH ANNUAL ONLINE FILM CRITICS SOCIETY AWARDS (WITH OUR VOTES AND COMMENTS)

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The 2015 Online Film Critics Society awards awards are out. As usual, weird films were underrepresented or ignored when it came time to dish out cinematic props. Despite some encouraging advocacy among my peers, our best weird shot, The Forbidden Room, ‘s love letter to lost film, was not nominated for any awards. Critical darling ‘s third chapter in his absurd “being human” trilogy, A Pigeon Sat on a Branch Reflecting on Existence, was also shut out. The best we weirdophiles could muster this year was a “Best Animated Feature” nomination for ‘s stop-motion psychological dramedy Anomalisa (where it was forced to compete with Pixar/Disney’s Inside Out juggernaut).

As always, despite the levity in my tone, I take my voting responsibility very seriously, and I do not put forward weird films at the expense of worthier mainstream candidates just because it’s “my thing.” Here is the list of this year’s winners, along with my choices and a touch of personal commentary.

BEST PICTURE

Still from Mad Max: Fury Road (2015)Winner: Mad Max: Fury Road

Also Nominated: Brooklyn, Carol, Ex Machina, Inside Out, The Martian, The Revenant, Room, Sicario, Spotlight

G. Smalley’s Vote: Ex Machina

Comments: Mad Max winning the OFCS awards will be one of the shocks of the awards season, and will likely negatively impact the Society’s record of correctly predicting the Academy Award winner. Max was fine, and I’m not mad (or even furious) that it won, but Ex Machina was a far more thoughtful picture that still managed to deliver great drama and suspense. Disclosure: I did not see the late-release movies Revenant or Room (no screeners were provided by the studios for these contenders).

BEST ANIMATED FEATURE

Winner: Inside Out

Also Nominated: Anomalisa, The Good Dinosaur, The Peanuts Movie,
Shaun the Sheep Movie 

G. Smalley’s Vote: Inside Out

Comments: A toughie. In another year ‘s adult-oriented Anomalisa (rated R for graphic puppet cunnilingus) could have won. Though it’s an intensely different film aimed at a younger demographic, I thought the inventive and relatively sophisticated Inside Out edged Kaufman by a nose (sorry, Charlie!)

BEST FILM NOT IN THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE

Winner: The Assassin

Also Nominated: Goodnight Mommy, Mustang, Phoenix, Son of Saul

G. Smalley’s Vote: White God (not nominated), Goodnight Mommy (of the nominees)

Comments: I thought non-domestic filmmakers let us down this Continue reading 19TH ANNUAL ONLINE FILM CRITICS SOCIETY AWARDS (WITH OUR VOTES AND COMMENTS) →

Capsules

CAPSULE: CATCH MY SOUL (1974)

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AKA Santa Fe Satan

DIRECTOR: Patrick McGoohan

FEATURING: Richie Havens, Lance LeGault, , Tony Joe White, Season Hubley, Bonnie Bramlett, Delaney Bramlett

PLOT: An adaptation of “Othello,” set in the Santa Fe, NM area in the summer of 1967. Traveling preacher Othello (Richie Havens) comes across a remote commune in the desert and eventually settles there, becoming the defacto leader and falling in love with and marrying Desdemona. This does not sit well with Iago, who plans revenge on Othello, manipulating everyone around him, including his wife Emila.

Still from Catch My Soul (1974)

WHY IT WON’T MAKE THE LIST: Catch My Soul is definitely of an artifact of its time, and the merging of Shakespeare and gospel makes for a unique interpretation, but it’s a pretty straightforward presentation of the basic story.

COMMENTS: Catch My Soul was an intriguing moment in the careers of everyone involved. It was the only feature film directed by Patrick McGoohan, who’d proved himself earlier directing episodes of “Danger Man,” “Secret Agent” and “The Prisoner”; it featured the acting debuts of singers Richie Havens and Tony Joe White, as well as performances from cult favorites Susan Tyrell and Lance LeGault; and on top of all of that, the cameraman was Conrad Hall of “The Outer Limits,” In Cold Blood and Cool Hand Luke, among others. It was based on an acclaimed stage show and with that pedigree, it should have been a memorable addition to the genre of rock musicals. Instead, Catch My Soul barely opened at all—practically ignored by the public at large and garnering scathing reviews, the film disappeared from theaters only to reappear a year later under the title Santa Fe Satan, and was as successful under that title as it was under the original. The film then pretty much disappeared from view, never released on VHS and barely mentioned at all. McGoohan disowned Soul shortly before release and barely talked about it, except for one mention in a mid-90’s interview. For a long time the only available evidence of the film’s existence was the soundtrack LP, the most praised element of the film, which could be still be found in used vinyl bins even well into the 2000s. It was long thought to be a lost film, until the recent unearthing of a 35mm print in North Carolina and the subsequent discoveries of a 16mm print and the camera negative found in the bowels of 20th Century Fox studios.

Now that Soul has been rediscovered and can be seen with some 40 years of perspective, it seems that the initial reviews were too harsh and mean spirited. Far from being a hippie-themed train wreck, the film is an interesting curiosity showing how Shakespeare’s work is constantly adapted to reflect contemporary times. It’s especially fitting that McGoohan was the one to direct this, since he starred earlier as an Iago-inspired character in another musically-oriented Continue reading CAPSULE: CATCH MY SOUL (1974) →

Miscellanea

WEIRD HORIZON FOR THE WEEK OF 12/10/2015

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Our weekly look at what’s weird in theaters, on hot-off-the-presses DVDs, and on more distant horizons…

Trailers of new release movies are generally available at the official site links.

SCREENINGS – (Cinefamily, Los Angeles, Fri. Dec 11, 10 PM):

Belladonna of Sadness (1973): Read Alex Kittle’s capsule from Fantastic Fest. A rare screening of Japan’s lost psychedelic erotic acid trip anime about medieval witchcraft. This L.A. premier is the centerpiece of an “Animation Breakdown” mini-festival at the ‘family. Belladonna of Sadness at Cinefamily.

SCREENINGS – (Lincoln Center, New York City, Dec. 11-22):

“Lynch/Rivette”: The idea behind the Lincoln Center’s new series is to pair a film by French New Wave director Jacques Rivette with a thematically similar one from . We get The Duchess of Langais together with Blue Velvet; Joan the Maid and Twin Peaks: Fire Walk with Me; L’amour Fou and Wild at Heart; Paris Belongs to Us and Eraserhead; Lost Highway and Duelle; Story of Marie and Julien and INLAND EMPIRE; and, in the must-see double feature, the rarely screened Celine and Julie Go Boating paired with Lynch’s most popular movie, Mulholland Drive. The movies will be individually screened throughout the next two weeks, as well. What a Christmas gift to New York cinephiles! Check out the following link for showtimes. “Lynch/Rivette” at Film Society of Lincoln Center.

NEW ON DVD:

Thundercrack! (1975): A rare underground film with hardcore sex scenes, or a hardcore sex film with cult movie sensibilities, the scenario involves an old dark house and an amorous guy in a gorilla suit. Overheated, trashy dialogue supplied by Sins of the Fleshapoids scribe George Kuchar. First time ever on DVD. Buy Thundercrack!

NEW ON BLU-RAY:

The Garbage Pail Kids Movie (1987): Seven deformed children with antisocial attributes help a friendless kid deal with bullies. Little people in horrifying latex masks supplied by Uncanny Valley Design Co. portray the disgusting “kids” (with names like “Valerie Vomit”) in this notorious PG-rated gross-out flop. Buy The Garbage Pail Kids Movie [Blu-ray].

Thundercrack! (1975): See description in DVD above. The Blu-ray contains the bonus documentary It Came from Kuchar and a DVD packed with extras, and is actually cheaper at this writing than the standalone DVD. Buy Thundercrack! [Blu-ray].

NEPOTISM CORNER:

“The Projection Booth Phase IV Podcast”: Our own El Rob Hubbard is one of the three experts discussing poster-designer and credit-sequence specialist Saul Bass’ only feature film, Phase IV, wherein ants mobilize and threaten the human race. The original film ended with a surreal 2001-style montage that was severely edited by the studio for the theatrical release. Rob discusses the excised footage and more with podcast host Mike White and fellow guest Josh Hadley. The Projection Booth Phase IV Podcast.

FREE (LEGITIMATE RELEASE) MOVIES ON YOUTUBE:

Ninja III: The Domination (1984): A deceased ninja possesses the body of an aerobics instructor and forces her to carry out revenge killings. Only in the 80s! Watch Ninja III: The Domination free on YouTube.

What are you looking forward to? If you have any weird movie leads that I have overlooked, feel free to leave them in the COMMENTS section.

Alfred Eaker's Fringe Cinema, List Candidates

RUSS MEYER’S UP! (1976)

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followed up on the relative success of 1975’s Supervixens with Up! From a script based on Roger Ebert’s original story, Meyer produced his most surreal live-action, X-rated cartoon. There is no tangible plot, but rather loosely connected vignettes.

Up! opens with a sadomasochistic scene of Adolf Schwartz (Edward Schaaf) being tortured, and pleasured, by three female prostitutes, each belonging to a different ethnic group: the Ethiopian Chief (Elaine Collins), the Oriental Limehouse (Su Ling) and Pocahontas (Foxy Lae). Of course, the Native American requires a Captain Smith, who she get in puritan pilgrim Paul (Robert McLane, with a foot-long prosthetic penis). Candy Samples also appears, under a mask, to breast slap Adolf, who is actually the aged Adolf Hitler, having apparently faked his 1944 suicide. He’s living in a Bavarian castle (his mailbox has a red flag) until a mysterious black-gloved assassin drops a piranha in the Fuhrer’s bathtub to the strains of the Horst-Wessel-Lied. Although obviously justified, Adolf’s death is actually a disappointment: within the dank dungeon, Schaff is the most animated sex participant, expressively enjoying his carnality. The remaining cast members all engage with the outdoor, sunny California countryside, but under a spell of kinetic blankness, like sex machines gone wild. That is intentional. It is essential to be aware of this film’s time period. The country was still under the spell and success of the hardcore XXX film Deep Throat (1972). It influenced the entire sexploitation industry and Up! is a venomous, satirical rejection of the hardcore phenomenon. Paradoxically, Up! is also an attempt to appease changing tastes.

appears (nude, except for leather boots) as “the Greek Chorus”: a mythological goddess come down to pleasure our eyes and inform us that Adolf’s death was “a murder most foul.” Throughout the rest of the film, Natividad sits atop phallic trees, prances through the landscape, and quotes dabs of Shakespeare mixed with nonsensical phrases such as “the kamikaze of cunnilingus” and “the black sperm of revenge” while Sweet L’il Alice (Janet Woods) engages in interracial dildo sex with Gwendoline (Linda Sue Ragsdale).

Cue the second opening (apparently, the first was a kind of overture): Margo Winchester (busty Raven de la Croix, in an amusing Mae West impersonation) is hitching a ride not far from the castle when the vile redneck Leonard Box (Larry Dean) chases her into a lake and brutally rapes her. In retaliation, she kills him, but copper Homer Johnson (Monty Bane) threatens to arrest her. Naturally, they retreat to a mountain cabin where she repeatedly pleasures Johnson’s johnson (another foot long prosthetic) and avoids incarceration.

Natividad returns sporadically to try to guide us through the dizziness (thankfully, she fails) and consistently reminds us that “a murder most foul,” has been committed (as if we care, unless you’re a mournful Meyer with a Nazi fetish).

Johnson’s johnson gets pleasured by more busty babes, including “Chesty Young Thing” Marianne Marks, on her knees. Winchester (after trying out numerous studs) decides to get a job at Paul and Alice’s diner as a dancing waitress, where her cleavage makes her a local sensation. Unfortunately, her gyrating arouses backwoodsman Rafe (Bob Schott) who rapes her on a table to a cheering crowd of sex-starved hayseeds (Meyer himself, billed as “Hitchcock,” is among the rabble). Rafe gets carried away and gets axed by Homer (remember him?), but survives long enough to reciprocate. Gallons of deep cadmium red and ploopy sound effects ramp up this mean-spirited, chainsaw to the crotch of a cartoon, which occasionally seems a precursor to Sam Raimi.

Before things get too out of hand, Natividad splashes through the tulips, crying again, “a murder most foul has been committed.” Winchester already knows, because she is an undercover detective. Both Paul and the bi-sexual Alice lust after Winchester, prompting a duel (return of the dildo) and, finally, uncovering the identity of Hitler’s assassin. The finale, shot and edited like future music videos, is a frenzied marathon of sex and violence run amok.

Still from Up! (1976)References to Citizen Kane (1941), Psycho (1960), and John Ford’s cavalry westerns abound. It is surprising that Up! is not better known. De la Croix  is femme fatale comparable to Tura Satana (both break the backs of lesser men). Woods and Natividad fill out the remaining trio of magnetic leads. Natividad went onto have a long personal relationship with Meyer, until her entry into hardcore sex films prompted a breakup (although they remained friends until his death). Up! may be Meyer’s most pronounced rebellion against the status quo, and is a definitely List Contender.