"Bonnie's Kids" is primo exploitation fare, which made to red-all-over print go down easy with an appreciative sold-out crowd. Two attractive young sisters, baby-faced Myra (Robin Mattson) and tough-as-nails Ellie (Tiffany Bolling), go live with their well-to-do uncle Ben (Scott Brady) after they murder their white trash stepfather for getting hands-on with Myra (yikes!) and hide his corpse. While appearing to be a legitimate businessman with a pretty trophy wife (Lenore Stevens' Diana), Ben is actually a crime boss that gets Ellie involved as a courier to intercept/deliver a mysterious package. Despite every male they come across gawking and making passes at them, the girls in "Bonnie's Kids" are surprisingly wholesome and likable. Writer/director Arthur Marx only stages one provocative scene (between Ellie and her road trip beau, Steve Sandor's Larry) and is content implying a lot more (Myra and Diana in bed) than what he shows. Alex Rocco (the same year "The Godfather" came out) stands out as one of two enforcers (Max Showalter is the other) sent to retrieve the package that Ellie and Larry keep to themselves. Mediocre movie overall, but if you approach it as a slice of exploitation heaven (it influenced Quentin Tarantino to homege it in "Pulp Fiction's" 'The Bonnie Situation' segment) it's worth a look.
Before he became an iconoclast filmmaker ("Drive," "The Neon Demon," etc.) Nicolas Winding Refn did some low-budget charmers like this little crime/action thriller set in his native Denmark. "Pusher" follows a week in the life of a low-level drug dealer (Kim Bodnia's Frank, a dead ringer for mid-90's Tom Sizemore) struggling to keep-up his payment obligations and getting deeper and deeper into debt with Yugoslav drug dealer Milo (Zlatko Buric). Not as violent as it appears to be, "Pusher" gets by on style (the mix of sound and music stands out) and its cast, including a still-looks-old Mads Mikkelsen in his feature film debut. 'It's fine,' but the downbeat ending didn't make me want to revisit it or seek out its sequels. Decent 35mm print shown at Metrograph, but this one's getting remastered as a 'Cannes Select' title soon so keep an eye out for an improved transfer.
The South Korean train started in last week's "Hijack 1971" continues in "Escape" with the fictitious account of a present-day North Korean sergeant and a high-ranking major (Lee Je-hoon and Hong Xa-bin, respectively) playing a dangerous game of chicken as the former's window to execute a long-planned attempt to defect to South Korea is closing down fast. There's a not-subtle-hint that the highest-ranking officer has a same-sex attraction toward his lower-ranking former college friend, but other than the scenes at the banquet set to honor the high-ranking officers nothing is made of this. Fans of "The Great Escape" and "Behind Enemy Lines" can have some fun with this one (provided they can tolerate in-your-face propaganda), but it crosses from the realm of improbability into fantasyland long before the so-tacked-on-it-hurts happy ending unfolds.
"Thelma" is a delightful and sweet senior citizen comedy about a 93-year old granny (Juno Squibb) trying to get back the $10,000 scammed from her by telephone. With Richard Roundtree's Ben by his side, these two must drive through Los Angeles traffic (on a scooter!) and get the job done early enough so that Ben can return to play the lead role in his retirement home's stage version of "Annie." Thelma's immediate family (Fred Hechinger's slacker grandson, Parker Posey's neurotic daughter and Clark Gregg's wound-too-tight son-in-law) have their own sitcom going as a 'B' subplot, so there's never a dull moment. Malcolm McDowell shows up to be his usual creepy self, and Tom Cruise gets shout-outs on-screen (tons of "Fallout" footage) and in the closing credits. The perfect movie to watch with my retired folks later this year. :-)
(note to self...this weekends thumbnail reminds me that i forgot to watch Phantom of the Paradise over junesploition! an error i shall correct post-haste!)
Monkey Man (2024 uhd)
Holy sh@t i had a great time with this. Dev Patel hit me with two biggies for his directorial debut: Style and Cinematography. The film is incredibly well shot with amazing settings and vibe. It was kind of marketed as a "Bollywood takes on John Wick" which has some validity however this film is paced different..i would label it more of a revenge film combined with a mythical superhero avenger for the people story. Loved the characters, settings, direction, fights, and most of all the insanely over the top action laden finale. Cant wait to see what Dev does next.
I've liked Patel as an actor for a while. I didn't like every movie he did, but he never was the problem. Monkey Man is good and i can't wait to see what he does next
The Marvels (2023): i don't understand the vitriol surrounding this movie, or any Marvel of Star Wars projects for that matter. It's not perfect, far from it. Mistakes were made, but good stuff happened too. For example, they didn't use the singing planet to its full potential. But the first fight scene when the 3 women start switching places is pretty fun. I could go on and on about what does or doesn't work. But I'm the freak who likes The Eternals and Incredible Hulk, so what do I know?
HORIZON CHAPTER ONE (2024) Just as good as everyone’s been saying. Again, I’m fascinated how movies and TV shows are evolving into one thing, but I hope this will somehow continue theatrically, because the big-screen presentation was terrific. Love the big vistas, sweeping score, and super-loud “ka-blam!” gunshots.
STEVEN UNIVERSE: THE MOVIE (2019) The TV show had a nearly perfect ending, so this movie and the sequel series feel like appendices. The script is about taking away Steven’s powers and his family, so he must face a threat on his own. By breaking him down and then building him back up again, it’s the series’ character development in microcosm.
THE JETSONS: THE MOVIE (1990) George Jetson gets a promotion, so the whole family must move to a remote asteroid. The story and jokes are ho-hum, but the animation is surprisingly excellent. Get this: It's co-directed by William Hanna and Joseph Barbera – the original Hanna-Barbera!
STAR TREK V: THE FINAL FRONTIER (1989) One word: Sybok.
ABIGAIL (2024) This was fun! A blood-soaked good time at the movies. It’s too bad, though, how so much of it was revealed in the trailers. This could have benefitted from Barbarian’s “don’t spoiler it” marketing campaign.
LISA FRANKENSTEIN (2024) Yeah, this is trying too hard, with all the ‘80s ephemera and whatnot, but I still enjoy it. I think the movie’s heart is in the right place.
i laughed out loud at your Pink Floyd The Wall dialog. a lot. well worded buddy! Also, i completely agree with you. ive been praying for a 4k of this for some time!!!
Last night I was the Mahoning Drive-In for VHSFest 8. The very first one was my first experience of the drive-in, and, though it’s not my favorite event there, I go back for sentimental reasons. And for the vendors. The first feature was 1988’s NIGHTMARE SISTERS, featuring a trio of top 1980 B-movie actresses. They are the highlight of this quickie production about three dorky sorority sisters who become sex goddesses when they are possessed by demons. The fact that the middle of the film is dominated by an extended bathing scene shows you what the agenda of this Nightmare Sisters is. For some reason the version shown was completely washed out of any color. TERRORVISION (1986) was a re-watch and not as annoying as I remember it being. Diane Franklin is so ‘80s in this. The final feature was an obscure passion project called ROBOT NINJA (1989). A comic artist disappointed with a television adaptation of his character (Robot Ninja) decides to become a vigilante dressed as his creation. He basically goes around trying to catching a gang committing violent crimes around his Mid-west hometown. He shows how human he can be.
The rest of my watches this week are all Bollywood productions.
DEVDAS (2002, dir. Sanjay Leela Bhansali)
Wow! This is one of the DVDs I found at the Salvation Army. The colors are beautiful, and there is a lavishness to the costumes and the sets that amazed me throughout the film. Certain parts of Devdas are very dreamy. The storytelling is not on the same level as the spectacle, however. It was at least good enough to not make the film tedious at three hours. Devdas stars three of the biggest actors of that era of Bollywood. Shah Rukh Khan and Aishwarya Rai were the ones I was familiar with. Adapted from a well-known Bengali novel, the story focuses on the enduring love between Devdas (Khan) and Parveti (Rai) as life takes them in different directions. Driven apart by social status, they either adapt or suffer a very bitter fate, but they still long for each other. It is not exactly a happy tale. As usual, I did have to do a little research to comprehend certain details.
DILWALE DULHANIA LE JAYENGE (1995, dir. Aditya Chopra)
One of the biggest Bollywood hits ever, this is a film I was not entirely unfamiliar with. Two decades ago, Turner Classic Movies devoted a month to Bollywood productions, and this was one I tried to watch. I could not get into it then and barely lasted the first hour. Noticing it available on Prime, I gave DDLJ another shot. There really is everything packed into this romance: comedy, melodrama, conflict, and a lot of singing and dancing. Two young Indians who grew up in London (Shah Rukh Khan and Kajol) meet and get to know each other during a trip across Europe. There are a lot of scenes of them in Switzerland. When they get back to Britain, Simran (Kajol) and her family leave for India in order for her to marry a man chosen by her father. Raj (Khan) follows her and uses all his wiles to alter her fate. Then the real craziness begins. The last 20 minutes has more going on than many films do in 90 minutes.
I am surprised that The Wall does not have a decent North American release. As a big Pink Floyd fan in my adolescence, I watched it many times on VHS.
Vanishing Point was a Junesploitation watch a few years ago. Though there is a refreshing simplicity to the story, it does tackle the cultural conflicts within American society at the time. That is why the film worked then and would likely not transfer over to other decades. Those kind of cars are not made today, either.
Another entry into the recent trend of "screen time" horror...aka horror based on computer/phone interfaces with the world. Stuff like Host, Unfriended, Deadstream. The plot is pretty similar in premise to Deastream (which i reallllly dig) but focuses on a few teams of really annoying young "influencers" doing a live feed from a vacant home reported to be involved with cult activities. It was ok but i dont think id suggest it as while everyone did great pretending to be annoying youtubers..it mostly comes across as watching 80m of annoying youtubers. Theres a bit of tension but no real craft with twists or turns or fake outs or interesting deaths.
Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes (2024): finally saw it. It's fine. It's not the Matt Reeves movies, but it's a very good movie. As summer blockbusters go, it's one of the best.
Ladies in Black (2018): i didn't expect to like this movie as much. Part hangout movie, part coming of age, the tone is fairly light. There's no giant drama, no real bad guy (you'd expect the store manager to be a pain in the butt), just ladies living their lives.
BONNIE'S KIDS (35MM, 1972, BROOKLYN'S NITEHAWK CINEMA)
ReplyDeletePUSHER (35MM, 1996, NYC's METROGRAPH)
ESCAPE (SOUTH KOREA, 2024, THEATER)
THELMA (2024, THEATER)
"Bonnie's Kids" is primo exploitation fare, which made to red-all-over print go down easy with an appreciative sold-out crowd. Two attractive young sisters, baby-faced Myra (Robin Mattson) and tough-as-nails Ellie (Tiffany Bolling), go live with their well-to-do uncle Ben (Scott Brady) after they murder their white trash stepfather for getting hands-on with Myra (yikes!) and hide his corpse. While appearing to be a legitimate businessman with a pretty trophy wife (Lenore Stevens' Diana), Ben is actually a crime boss that gets Ellie involved as a courier to intercept/deliver a mysterious package. Despite every male they come across gawking and making passes at them, the girls in "Bonnie's Kids" are surprisingly wholesome and likable. Writer/director Arthur Marx only stages one provocative scene (between Ellie and her road trip beau, Steve Sandor's Larry) and is content implying a lot more (Myra and Diana in bed) than what he shows. Alex Rocco (the same year "The Godfather" came out) stands out as one of two enforcers (Max Showalter is the other) sent to retrieve the package that Ellie and Larry keep to themselves. Mediocre movie overall, but if you approach it as a slice of exploitation heaven (it influenced Quentin Tarantino to homege it in "Pulp Fiction's" 'The Bonnie Situation' segment) it's worth a look.
Before he became an iconoclast filmmaker ("Drive," "The Neon Demon," etc.) Nicolas Winding Refn did some low-budget charmers like this little crime/action thriller set in his native Denmark. "Pusher" follows a week in the life of a low-level drug dealer (Kim Bodnia's Frank, a dead ringer for mid-90's Tom Sizemore) struggling to keep-up his payment obligations and getting deeper and deeper into debt with Yugoslav drug dealer Milo (Zlatko Buric). Not as violent as it appears to be, "Pusher" gets by on style (the mix of sound and music stands out) and its cast, including a still-looks-old Mads Mikkelsen in his feature film debut. 'It's fine,' but the downbeat ending didn't make me want to revisit it or seek out its sequels. Decent 35mm print shown at Metrograph, but this one's getting remastered as a 'Cannes Select' title soon so keep an eye out for an improved transfer.
The South Korean train started in last week's "Hijack 1971" continues in "Escape" with the fictitious account of a present-day North Korean sergeant and a high-ranking major (Lee Je-hoon and Hong Xa-bin, respectively) playing a dangerous game of chicken as the former's window to execute a long-planned attempt to defect to South Korea is closing down fast. There's a not-subtle-hint that the highest-ranking officer has a same-sex attraction toward his lower-ranking former college friend, but other than the scenes at the banquet set to honor the high-ranking officers nothing is made of this. Fans of "The Great Escape" and "Behind Enemy Lines" can have some fun with this one (provided they can tolerate in-your-face propaganda), but it crosses from the realm of improbability into fantasyland long before the so-tacked-on-it-hurts happy ending unfolds.
"Thelma" is a delightful and sweet senior citizen comedy about a 93-year old granny (Juno Squibb) trying to get back the $10,000 scammed from her by telephone. With Richard Roundtree's Ben by his side, these two must drive through Los Angeles traffic (on a scooter!) and get the job done early enough so that Ben can return to play the lead role in his retirement home's stage version of "Annie." Thelma's immediate family (Fred Hechinger's slacker grandson, Parker Posey's neurotic daughter and Clark Gregg's wound-too-tight son-in-law) have their own sitcom going as a 'B' subplot, so there's never a dull moment. Malcolm McDowell shows up to be his usual creepy self, and Tom Cruise gets shout-outs on-screen (tons of "Fallout" footage) and in the closing credits. The perfect movie to watch with my retired folks later this year. :-)
Tiffany Bolling makes any film better. I found Bonnie's Kids a satisfying Junesploitation watch.
Delete(note to self...this weekends thumbnail reminds me that i forgot to watch Phantom of the Paradise over junesploition! an error i shall correct post-haste!)
ReplyDeleteMonkey Man (2024 uhd)
Holy sh@t i had a great time with this. Dev Patel hit me with two biggies for his directorial debut: Style and Cinematography. The film is incredibly well shot with amazing settings and vibe. It was kind of marketed as a "Bollywood takes on John Wick" which has some validity however this film is paced different..i would label it more of a revenge film combined with a mythical superhero avenger for the people story. Loved the characters, settings, direction, fights, and most of all the insanely over the top action laden finale. Cant wait to see what Dev does next.
I've liked Patel as an actor for a while. I didn't like every movie he did, but he never was the problem. Monkey Man is good and i can't wait to see what he does next
DeleteThe Marvels (2023): i don't understand the vitriol surrounding this movie, or any Marvel of Star Wars projects for that matter. It's not perfect, far from it. Mistakes were made, but good stuff happened too. For example, they didn't use the singing planet to its full potential. But the first fight scene when the 3 women start switching places is pretty fun. I could go on and on about what does or doesn't work. But I'm the freak who likes The Eternals and Incredible Hulk, so what do I know?
ReplyDeleteHORIZON CHAPTER ONE (2024)
ReplyDeleteJust as good as everyone’s been saying. Again, I’m fascinated how movies and TV shows are evolving into one thing, but I hope this will somehow continue theatrically, because the big-screen presentation was terrific. Love the big vistas, sweeping score, and super-loud “ka-blam!” gunshots.
STEVEN UNIVERSE: THE MOVIE (2019)
The TV show had a nearly perfect ending, so this movie and the sequel series feel like appendices. The script is about taking away Steven’s powers and his family, so he must face a threat on his own. By breaking him down and then building him back up again, it’s the series’ character development in microcosm.
THE JETSONS: THE MOVIE (1990) George Jetson gets a promotion, so the whole family must move to a remote asteroid. The story and jokes are ho-hum, but the animation is surprisingly excellent. Get this: It's co-directed by William Hanna and Joseph Barbera – the original Hanna-Barbera!
STAR TREK V: THE FINAL FRONTIER (1989) One word: Sybok.
ABIGAIL (2024) This was fun! A blood-soaked good time at the movies. It’s too bad, though, how so much of it was revealed in the trailers. This could have benefitted from Barbarian’s “don’t spoiler it” marketing campaign.
LISA FRANKENSTEIN (2024) Yeah, this is trying too hard, with all the ‘80s ephemera and whatnot, but I still enjoy it. I think the movie’s heart is in the right place.
I read yesterday that Horizon Chapter Two won't be in theaters due to poor performances of Chapter One. Sorry Patrick and Adam.
Deletei laughed out loud at your Pink Floyd The Wall dialog. a lot. well worded buddy! Also, i completely agree with you. ive been praying for a 4k of this for some time!!!
ReplyDeleteLast night I was the Mahoning Drive-In for VHSFest 8. The very first one was my first experience of the drive-in, and, though it’s not my favorite event there, I go back for sentimental reasons. And for the vendors. The first feature was 1988’s NIGHTMARE SISTERS, featuring a trio of top 1980 B-movie actresses. They are the highlight of this quickie production about three dorky sorority sisters who become sex goddesses when they are possessed by demons. The fact that the middle of the film is dominated by an extended bathing scene shows you what the agenda of this Nightmare Sisters is. For some reason the version shown was completely washed out of any color. TERRORVISION (1986) was a re-watch and not as annoying as I remember it being. Diane Franklin is so ‘80s in this. The final feature was an obscure passion project called ROBOT NINJA (1989). A comic artist disappointed with a television adaptation of his character (Robot Ninja) decides to become a vigilante dressed as his creation. He basically goes around trying to catching a gang committing violent crimes around his Mid-west hometown. He shows how human he can be.
ReplyDeleteThe rest of my watches this week are all Bollywood productions.
DEVDAS (2002, dir. Sanjay Leela Bhansali)
Wow! This is one of the DVDs I found at the Salvation Army. The colors are beautiful, and there is a lavishness to the costumes and the sets that amazed me throughout the film. Certain parts of Devdas are very dreamy. The storytelling is not on the same level as the spectacle, however. It was at least good enough to not make the film tedious at three hours. Devdas stars three of the biggest actors of that era of Bollywood. Shah Rukh Khan and Aishwarya Rai were the ones I was familiar with. Adapted from a well-known Bengali novel, the story focuses on the enduring love between Devdas (Khan) and Parveti (Rai) as life takes them in different directions. Driven apart by social status, they either adapt or suffer a very bitter fate, but they still long for each other. It is not exactly a happy tale. As usual, I did have to do a little research to comprehend certain details.
DILWALE DULHANIA LE JAYENGE (1995, dir. Aditya Chopra)
One of the biggest Bollywood hits ever, this is a film I was not entirely unfamiliar with. Two decades ago, Turner Classic Movies devoted a month to Bollywood productions, and this was one I tried to watch. I could not get into it then and barely lasted the first hour. Noticing it available on Prime, I gave DDLJ another shot. There really is everything packed into this romance: comedy, melodrama, conflict, and a lot of singing and dancing. Two young Indians who grew up in London (Shah Rukh Khan and Kajol) meet and get to know each other during a trip across Europe. There are a lot of scenes of them in Switzerland. When they get back to Britain, Simran (Kajol) and her family leave for India in order for her to marry a man chosen by her father. Raj (Khan) follows her and uses all his wiles to alter her fate. Then the real craziness begins. The last 20 minutes has more going on than many films do in 90 minutes.
I am surprised that The Wall does not have a decent North American release. As a big Pink Floyd fan in my adolescence, I watched it many times on VHS.
ReplyDeleteVanishing Point was a Junesploitation watch a few years ago. Though there is a refreshing simplicity to the story, it does tackle the cultural conflicts within American society at the time. That is why the film worked then and would likely not transfer over to other decades. Those kind of cars are not made today, either.
#ChadGetsTheAxe (2022 Shudder)
ReplyDeleteAnother entry into the recent trend of "screen time" horror...aka horror based on computer/phone interfaces with the world. Stuff like Host, Unfriended, Deadstream. The plot is pretty similar in premise to Deastream (which i reallllly dig) but focuses on a few teams of really annoying young "influencers" doing a live feed from a vacant home reported to be involved with cult activities. It was ok but i dont think id suggest it as while everyone did great pretending to be annoying youtubers..it mostly comes across as watching 80m of annoying youtubers. Theres a bit of tension but no real craft with twists or turns or fake outs or interesting deaths.
i caught Vanishing Point for the first time earlier this year....absolutely LOVED it.
ReplyDeleteA couple of movies to end the weekend...
ReplyDeleteKingdom of the Planet of the Apes (2024): finally saw it. It's fine. It's not the Matt Reeves movies, but it's a very good movie. As summer blockbusters go, it's one of the best.
Ladies in Black (2018): i didn't expect to like this movie as much. Part hangout movie, part coming of age, the tone is fairly light. There's no giant drama, no real bad guy (you'd expect the store manager to be a pain in the butt), just ladies living their lives.