'CREATIVELY WHOLESOME BOY BAND ANTICS' QUADRILOGY!
A HARD DAY'S NIGHT (1964, CRITERION BLU-RAY) HEAD (1968, CRITERION BLU-RAY) GIVEN PART 2: HIIRAGI MIX (2020) & GIVEN PART 3: TO THE SEA (2024, THEATER)
Richard Lester's time capsule of Beatlemania at its early '60's apex in Great Britain, "A Hard Day's Night" succeeds where other chasing-the-fad-of-the-moment feature films (then and now) failed: it doesn't take itself seriously. There's still the obligatory jukebox musical playback of The Beatles' early greatest hits (some of them two or three times!), but at least here we have Wilfrid Brambell mugging for attention as Paul's grandfather. Brambell cracks me up whenever he gets into mischief, and despite him being a lot in the movie I wanted more. I don't have a favorite Beatle, but from this screening I fell in love with Ringo. But all four lads have plenty of gags/jokes/throwaway quips/funny faces to kill time 'till the music starts. 4.25 UNDRESSED OLD MEN IN HOTEL CUPBOARDS (out of five).
Now, who wants "Head"? :-P Except for the theme show to their TV show I couldn't hum you a single tune by/from/about TV's The Monkees. I knew it was a popular enough program to help finance director Bob Rafelson's BBS Productions movie company during the late '60's/early '70's. But holy [talking] cow, "Head" (directed by Rafelson and co-written by Jack Nicholson) feels like '60's drug-fueled counterculture comedy at its most creatively liberated. This was a Mel Brooks, ZAZ sketch comedy and Austin Powers before there was even a "Saturday Night Live" to compare it to. The 'Indian attacking the pioneer wagons' skit (26:05 right after the interminable harem dance sequence) belongs in "Top Secret!" just as it is. It might be 'G' rated humor, but that comes with graphic war footage (iconic Vietnamese POW headshot kill... thrice!), corporate jabs (montage of roadside billboards, blowing up a Coca-Cola machine in the desert with a tank, etc.) and youth-empowering energy.
Ironically for a Monkees movie during Rock and Roll Day I found the quartet (Dolenz, Jones, Nesmith and Tork) unremarkable and constantly upstaged by the day players (Timothy Carey's cowboy, Logan Ramsey's copper, Victor Mature as a giant, etc.), plus the music quite forgettable unless rapid fire/psychedelic editing highlights the moment. Worth seeing just to recognize "Head's" influence on many comedies that built upon what it started. 3.85 GIANT EYES BEHIND THE MEDICINE CABINET MIRROR (out of five).
Never even knew there were "Given" anime movies made, but two of them ("Part 2: Hiiragi Mix" and the about-to-premiere-on-Crunchyroll "Part 3: To The Sea") were shown nationwide in theaters as a double feature recently. My screening was sold out and 90% of those in attendance were women who at some points screamed/shouted as if we were at a Taylor Swift concert. The struggles of four impossibly-anime-handsome amateur rock musicians juggling their pursuit of a recording career/contract in the music industry with high school/family responsibilities and their repressed love feelings for one another (hence the otaku girls shrieking anytime the guys came close to physical intimacy, which was infrequent), "Given" has surprisingly few big musical numbers. There's a lot of inner dialogue about the importance of music to their lives, sporadic visits to a rehearsal studio and lots of misinterpretation-of-actions comedy. And as usual, Tokyo streets are empty at night... yeah, right.
The characters are all anime central casting (shy but talented Mafuyu, all-around good guitarist Ritsuka, etc.) and one, Mafuyu's boyfriend Yuki Yoshida, lingers in everybody's actions/memories since his death before the series began. Both "Given" movies are well made (smart that we don't hear the never-recorded Yuki song that Ritsuka's reworking until the very end for maximum emotional impact) and I enjoyed them, but this one's best left for fans anxious to see these guys hook-up more than to see them succeed. 3.15 NOISY ROOFTOP APARTMENTS (out of five) for "Parts 2/3."
So many great options for today, I never realised how many good movies I own with rock n' roll at the center of it.
I went with Pump Up The Volume (1990). It's not about rock per se, but it is a tool used by the characters to rebel against the authorities of the school. Christian Slater, full of zits, is as charming as can be. And Samantha Mathis is just great.
A rock’n’roll urban western? The costumes and décor are 1950s-inspired, the outlaw gang is bikers clad in leather, and our honorable hero uses a Winchester repeating rifle in the paved streets. Oh, and there are a few distinctly 1980s musical numbers. I have not seen anything like Streets of Fire below. Everything begins with a rousing concert performance interrupted by the biker gang causing a fight and abducting the lead singer (Diane Lane). A dangerous rescue mission is mounted to retrieve her from the gang’s territory. Willem Dafoe is the gang leader and Rick Moranis portrays the a**hole manager of the kidnapped singer.
BILLY IDOL: STATE LINE (2023) Concert/documentary about Billy Idol performing the first-ever rock concert at Hoover Dam. It’s about the logistics of transforming the dam into a concert venue, while also looking back at Billy’s life and career. Billy and the filmmakers are given access to parts of the dam where camera crews aren’t normally allowed, which was interesting. Then we get the entire concert. Like any good rocker, Billy is happy to play all the hits you remember from his glory days. It’s refreshing to see a rock doc where everyone’s friendly and having fun, and not about a band’s breakup and/or descent into drug use, etc.
30 days of Georges Melies, day 18: THE ASTRONOMER’S DREAM (1898) Another wizard-like astronomer has a nightmare, featuring both the devil and menacing figures among the stars. It’s a Melies two-fer with both outer space AND Satan! This is a shorter one, mostly here to show off some neat effects and far-out visuals, but it works. There's one big "WTF" moment that I won't even try to describe. On the YouTube machine, commenters are alleging that all of Melies’ films are a shared universe, and this movie leads directly into A Trip To The Moon. I suspect this has less to do with Melies and more to do with how people watch movies these days.
I love your Melies thing you're doing. I have the Trip To The Moon bluray, as well as another disc with a bunch of his other stuff. I should rewatch them. Then watch Hugo
Rock 'n' Roll High School (1979, dir. Allan Arkush & Joe Dante)
The new principal at Vince Lombardi High (motto: "Winning is better than losing") is trying to keep order and uphold discipline, but the students are more interested in hooking up, slacking off, and listening to rock 'n' roll. When the Ramones come to town, half the school flocks to their gig and the movie turns into a concert film for 15 minutes, before the band help the students invade the school and stop the principal from burning all their rock albums (which she actually calls "the final solution").
The comedy is just silly and anarchic enough, and the performances are great. P.J. Soles and Dey Young are delightful as the leads, Mary Woronov as the uptight principal and Paul Bartel as a goofy teacher are both excellent. The Ramones play the three songs I knew from them plus a few more. The end credits include the line "Giant mouse created by Rob Bottin". A really fun one.
Watched this on Plex and it kept bombarding me with ads for The Martha Stewart Channel.
I saw it for the first time last year, then they release the 4k. The disc has the sequel as a bonus feature, with Corey Feldman, who I never liked. It's not good.
This was a first time watch for me and I just wonder how the hell it took me so long to finally watch it. As fun as it was it would have been 10 times better when I was 14.
That's happened to me multiple times! I thought maybe you watched STUNT ROCK like me, of which I thought, "If I were 10, I'd really dig this!" Happy you watched a better movie!
GET CRAZY (1983, Allan Arkush) First-time watch, Kino Blu-ray, 8/10. A friend & coworker has been recommending this movie for years & I'm so glad it turned out good. It's New Year's Eve at Allen Garfield's historical music venue, Daniel Stern is the stage manager, li'l sister Stacey Nelkin (HALLOWEEN III) wants to attend, Gail Edwards ("It's a Living") is causing animalistic visions with Stern & Dr. Paul Bartel is on duty. British rocker Malcolm McDowell is being a bigshot, Mary Woronov is on staff, Robert Picardo is looking for fires, Lee Ving is feral, Lou Reed is cabbing all over the place trying to get his mojo back, blues king Bill Henderson is hearing his influence & flamboyant, silver-clad villain Ed Begley Jr. has high-rise dreams. There's also the mysterious, scary-looking drug-spirit who essentially saves the day & a mostly all-girl punk band that's bigger than Lynyrd Skynyrd. I think I prefer this to ROCK 'N' ROLL HIGH SCHOOL. Or it's been too long since I last watched RNRHS.
Trenchard-Smith has directed some great Ozploitation flicks (MAN FORM HONG KONG, TURKEY SHOOT, DEAD END DRIVE-IN). This doesn’t rank with his finest. Plot synopsis: There’s STUNTS. There’s RAWK. Regrettably, much of the stunt footage is recycled from other films, and the RAWK… oh man, the band Sorcery did not put a spell on me with their recycled riffs. Sure, there’s a ton of cool pyrotechnics in their bombastic stage show, but their singer is uncharismatic and aurally unpleasant, and their music is a steaming Uriah Heep. On the plus side, there’s tons on ‘splosions, and Aussie stunt hunk Grant Page provides insight into the execution of stunts and the inner life of the men who love to perform them. Hard to believe that a movie entitled STUNT ROCK can be tedious and dull, but I just felt bored and wanted it to end. Thankfully, STUNT ROCK didn’t catch on as a genre, although I'd love to see Ted Nugent get blowed up real good.
I loved the movie, but I also love the Manchester music scene this is based on. I thought the documentary style, with Steve Coogan breaking the fourth wall, works really well. I love that the scary bad guy from Mission Impossible 5 and 6 is playing Ian Curtis from Joy Division (although nothing will ever top Sam Riley's portrayal in Control). I'm a little disappointed The Smiths weren't a part of the movie, but nothing about Morrissey surprises me anymore.
Turbulence 3: Heavy Metal (2001): This movie is so much better than it has any right to be. The third movie in a series of air disaster movies with a Hot Topic aesthetic should not be this good.
Slade Craven (John Mann, lead singer of Spirit of the West) is the Marilyn Manson of this universe, set to play his final concert on a TransContinental Airlines flight from Los Angeles to Toronto that will be covered by Z-Web-TV, who has sent cameraman Ethan (Ben Derrick) and reporter Erica Black (Monika Schnarre, who of course we all know from Waxwork II: Lost In Time).
FBI agent Kate Hayden (Gabrielle Anwar) has been trying to arrest computer hacker Nick Watts (Craig Sheffer, Cabal from Nightbreed) and finally tracks him down, just in time for Craven to get replaced by Satanic superfan Simon Flanders, who wants to crash this plane into Stull, Kansas. FBI agents Frank Garner (Joe Mantegna, predating his FBI agent role on Criminal Minds) and Dave Barrett (Mike Dopud) come on board just in time for Satanic agents to blow up a control tower, killing an FAA agent (Brad Loree, who was Michael Myers in Halloween: Resurrection).
When fans see through Simon’s disguise, he reveals that Erika — and co-pilot MacIntosh (Rutger Hauer) — are both part of the plan to crash the plane. Why Stull, Kansas? According to Wikipedia, “Since the 1970s, the town has become infamous due to an apocryphal legend that claims the nearby Stull Cemetery is possessed by demonic forces.” The film even brings up the unproven story that Pope John Paul II refused to fly over the city because of how Satanic it is.
Craven ends up saving the day and with the help of the hacker — and a copy of Flight Simulator — he lands the plane. The hacker is supposed to be arrested, but we’re left with the idea that he’s about to have kinky sex with the FBI agent.
The funniest part is when Temu Marilyn Manson has to land the plane. He takes off his evil necklace and starts to pray to God. This is after a long scene where he gets checked by the TSA and has to show off every evil piece of jewelry he has.
The last movie released by Trimark, this was directed by Jorge Montesi — it has the look of TV shows, like his work on Total Recall 2070, Relic Hunter, Jake 2.0, Mutant X, Highlander, Forever Knight and the TV movies Omen IV: The Awakening and the remake of Mother, May I Sleep With Danger? — and written by Wade Ferley.
Do we not know that Craig Sheffer was in the last movie in this series in a different role? Is this prescient as it pertains to 9/11? Do I like the drugs even if they don’t like me?
Act 1: Podunk 80s hair metal band goes to small town. Towns people discuss the sins of rock music...vote to not let band play concert and eliminate all rock and roll. Think "Footloose" made for $1.98.
Act 2: Band randomly killed off one by one by an old mans group of henchmen. Did i mention the old man is quickly revealed as Hitler, still alive? And that his girlfriend occasionally turns into a werewolf for no reason? Band comes back as undead, with knockoff KISS makeup, when a fan plays one of their songs. Kills the Hitler gang and plays rock music.
Act 3: Hitler gang and bunches more come back as low rent zombies and walk around town.
Oh..i forgot to mention the "love" story between the 28ish year old lead singer and a like 13 year old girl played off as if its acceptable. So much so that the band plays a song about it acknowledging that she's young? Or that the final scene involves a gas chamber? The inappropriateness, even for a sploitation flick, is off the charts.
This movie has been languishing in the depths of my watchlist for close to two decades now, and I can only kick myself for that, because I was missing out on a real banger. Tempting as it is to call it “punk rock Spinal Tap”, that would be awfully reductive. HCL doesn’t aim for straight satire - it has great comedic moments, but its overall tone is a lot darker, more nakedly emotional. The guys in the band are all distinct, all compelling, and the mockumentary format is used in many creative ways, keeping the movie as unpredictable as its characters. Thank you, Junesploitation, for giving me the push I needed to finally watch this gem.
I've always been a Gary Busey fan mainly due to his work in 90s action movies but I've never seen his signature role until now. WOW! He was rightfully Oscar nominated for this amazing performance in which he also does all his own singing and playing. This movie is pretty much movie and musical joy for two hours. It starts with Buddy Holly and the Crickets playing in a roller-rink and the crowd is loving it and honestly I could have just watched that for two hours. I loved it (although I kept thinking about Dewey Cox for some reason...).
A Hard Day’s Night Even those with a only a passing knowledge of the 1960s and Beatlemania can appreciate the impact the music and this film had on the world. The opening twang of the title song is like a starter gun as we race along with the Fab Four as they are chased through an about-to-swing London. It doesn’t slow down and the plotless exuberance is freewheeling, fun, and infectious. Sexual liberation was on the way. This fresh-faced quartet might seem a little sexless, but the screaming girls that are always present, a threat from which these boys are always fleeing, are a sign that sex is coming. Their youthful ebullience raises a finger to the establishment, giving a sardonic edge to their boyishness. The establishment should be scared of what these boys will unleash. Jump cuts, hand held cameras, and inventive composition add to the cinematic turbulence, just a few shots away from anarchy and disorder, but it’s still tight and controlled. It’s the worlds first music video, and feels as vibrant, subversive, and modern as anything we might see today.
I was struck by how scary some of the crowd scenes are. I doubt the fans of time had bad intentions, but it is hard not to feel sympathy for the young lads having to dodge a charging mob wherever they go.
Incidentally, I went for a walk this afternoon in sunny Pottstown & spotted a barely high school-aged lad wearing a PURPLE RAIN T-shirt. I'm guessing he's a listener...
KISS Meets the Phantom of the Park (1978) Watched the "Ultimate Fan Super-edit Version (2023 Upgrade)" on Vimeo, which improves the original cut of the film. That's probably why I didn't mind how terrible it was on the first-time watch. Ace's stunt double made me howl with laughter.
Scooby-Doo! and Kiss: Rock and Roll Mystery (2015) Not as fun for me this time, maybe because I know more about the band and too much knowledge is a bad thing for this cartoon. Surely that's not really Gene doing the voice, right?
Dean Cameron has problems. He's 400 years old, still lives with his mother, his best friend is his reflection and hes still a virgin. Every 22 years he meets his reincarnated soulmate and every 22 years she dies. After trying to avoid even meeting the girl he falls in love once again starts a band and decides its time to end the curse once and for all. I expected to hate this. Shockingly I didn't. None of the music is catchy, everything looks lipsynced and the rap scene is especially bad but the movie is filled with energy has some good jokes and ends up being fun. Dean Cameron carries the hell out of this one. Toni Basil as his mom and Tawny Fere as the love interest also both do a really good job. Bonus points awarded for the out of practice Bat transformation. My favorite practical effect of this Junesploitation.
IT'S A HAUNTED HAPPENIN' (2002, Pat Bishow) First-time watch, Bleeding Skull Blu-ray, 6/10. It's time for the annual battle of the girl-bands & rivals The Darlings & The Soultanglers (Bishow's most "famous" flick is THE SOULTANGLER) are both staying at a creepy mansion where strange goings on go on, including a mummy & a gorilla (suited man) prowling about. Fueled by '50s/'60s schlock & Scooby-Doo ethics, IAHH is coming from all the right places for me. It doesn't translate from concept to screen quite as well, but for a homemade, 74-minute SOV endeavor with a mad scientist, a town of miniatures, a used-cool-stuff store, several music video-type interludes & varying degrees of charm, I can't actively dislike it. Maybe the performances lean too far into wink-wink-bad-movie nonsense for me, despite it not being one big elbow to the ribs.
In 1998 the wealthiest man in the world (Chief Dan George) calls in his $500 billion loan to the bankrupt United States prompting the president (John Ritter) to hold a telethon. Sounds hilarious? It’s not.
Ritter gets a couple genuine laughs as does telethon host Harvey Korman. Jay Leno also gets one while boxing his mom: “I’m gonna kill you ma!”. The only truly standout scene features Meatloaf wrestling a car in a match with play-by-play by Tommy Lasorda. Meatloaf’s stunt double takes over for plenty of it, but Mr. Loaf genuinely puts a pickaxe through the hood at one point.
My reason for wanting to watch this in the first place was my desire of seeing every last awkward Elvis Costello movie cameo. He does not disappoint in this one: miming his song “Crawling to the U.S.A.” using the most exaggerated gestures and facial expressions imaginable.
Costello is the most notable musical performer other than the the Del Rubio Triplets. George Carlin’s narration is only occasionally amusing. Fred Willard is wasted. Interesting oddity, but one of those 85 minute comedies that feel like three hours.
P.s. Co-writer Monica Johnson’s collaborator, Albert Brooks wrote a novel set in the future about the U.S. running out of money. Very interesting.
A bunch of different characters converge into a bar, where 2 criminals eventually reveal themselves and try to take control. The musical performances throughout this quick 62 minutes make the actual story very brief in total. Interesting characters each with own issues, including Dick Miller playing someone who could be at home in a film-noir, Mel Welles playing a hepcat type of rock manager, and Russell Johnson as one of the criminals (who played The Professor from Gillian's island)! Overall a pretty good flick.
The Girl Can’t Help It (1956) Thoroughly delightful live-action cartoon served up by Frank Tashlin. Fun story about Tom Ewell trying to make Jayne Mansfield a singing star, featuring musical numbers with Julie London, the Platters, Gene Vincent, Little Richard, Fats Domino, and Eddie Cochran. It’s the coolest, hepcat.Sight gags aplenty… and beautiful, life-like color by Deluxe. Does anyone else think this film is actually progressive and anti-sexist because it’s arguing that the Mansfield character should be allowed to choose domestic life over a career, if that’s what she really wants?
ROCK A DOODLE (1991, Don Bluth) First-time watch, Olive Films Blu-ray, 6/10. This is just fine for me. I couldn't get angry at it, nor could I get excited about it. I kept wondering if the story was going to continue into Glen Campbell's truly sad real later years, but as a rooster. It didn't happen. The real question: how bad was Kathryn Holcomb's voice that they needed Dee Wallace to dub the live actor? Not that I EVER have a problem hearing Dee Wallace's voice...
Across the Universe (2007) Beatles music is great, Julie Taymor is a visionary, but jukebox musicals are bad. Unfortunately, the jukebox of it all wins out. It goes down easy in the beginning, but ultimately there are too many square pegs being jammed down round holes. In no surprise, none of the covers were better than The Beatles, but every cover that tried to be different went slo-emo. I was hoping for some more raucous angrier versions given the backdrop of the Vietnam war.
I have wanted to revisit this in the days since Brian Wilson's passing and used Rock and Roll day as an excuse. It's still very good. I like the Paul Dano/'60s stuff better of the two halves but even the Cusack stuff is good, which is surprising because he seems so miscast. I wanted to listen to Pet Sounds as soon as it was over.
Missed Fulci day to watch hockey, but back on track today.
Streets of Fire (1984) Hadn't seen it and today seemed like the perfect occasion. It's fun! Great no-frills vibe (very Walter Hill-y) and a great cast, highlighted by Amy Madigan as McCoy. Musically, The Sorels are much more my jam than Ellen Aim, but the movie's got a fun variety of lo-fi, gritty tunes that perfectly match the rest of its aesthetic. Perfect Junesploitation fare.
'CREATIVELY WHOLESOME BOY BAND ANTICS' QUADRILOGY!
ReplyDeleteA HARD DAY'S NIGHT (1964, CRITERION BLU-RAY)
HEAD (1968, CRITERION BLU-RAY)
GIVEN PART 2: HIIRAGI MIX (2020) &
GIVEN PART 3: TO THE SEA (2024, THEATER)
Richard Lester's time capsule of Beatlemania at its early '60's apex in Great Britain, "A Hard Day's Night" succeeds where other chasing-the-fad-of-the-moment feature films (then and now) failed: it doesn't take itself seriously. There's still the obligatory jukebox musical playback of The Beatles' early greatest hits (some of them two or three times!), but at least here we have Wilfrid Brambell mugging for attention as Paul's grandfather. Brambell cracks me up whenever he gets into mischief, and despite him being a lot in the movie I wanted more. I don't have a favorite Beatle, but from this screening I fell in love with Ringo. But all four lads have plenty of gags/jokes/throwaway quips/funny faces to kill time 'till the music starts. 4.25 UNDRESSED OLD MEN IN HOTEL CUPBOARDS (out of five).
Now, who wants "Head"? :-P Except for the theme show to their TV show I couldn't hum you a single tune by/from/about TV's The Monkees. I knew it was a popular enough program to help finance director Bob Rafelson's BBS Productions movie company during the late '60's/early '70's. But holy [talking] cow, "Head" (directed by Rafelson and co-written by Jack Nicholson) feels like '60's drug-fueled counterculture comedy at its most creatively liberated. This was a Mel Brooks, ZAZ sketch comedy and Austin Powers before there was even a "Saturday Night Live" to compare it to. The 'Indian attacking the pioneer wagons' skit (26:05 right after the interminable harem dance sequence) belongs in "Top Secret!" just as it is. It might be 'G' rated humor, but that comes with graphic war footage (iconic Vietnamese POW headshot kill... thrice!), corporate jabs (montage of roadside billboards, blowing up a Coca-Cola machine in the desert with a tank, etc.) and youth-empowering energy.
Ironically for a Monkees movie during Rock and Roll Day I found the quartet (Dolenz, Jones, Nesmith and Tork) unremarkable and constantly upstaged by the day players (Timothy Carey's cowboy, Logan Ramsey's copper, Victor Mature as a giant, etc.), plus the music quite forgettable unless rapid fire/psychedelic editing highlights the moment. Worth seeing just to recognize "Head's" influence on many comedies that built upon what it started. 3.85 GIANT EYES BEHIND THE MEDICINE CABINET MIRROR (out of five).
Never even knew there were "Given" anime movies made, but two of them ("Part 2: Hiiragi Mix" and the about-to-premiere-on-Crunchyroll "Part 3: To The Sea") were shown nationwide in theaters as a double feature recently. My screening was sold out and 90% of those in attendance were women who at some points screamed/shouted as if we were at a Taylor Swift concert. The struggles of four impossibly-anime-handsome amateur rock musicians juggling their pursuit of a recording career/contract in the music industry with high school/family responsibilities and their repressed love feelings for one another (hence the otaku girls shrieking anytime the guys came close to physical intimacy, which was infrequent), "Given" has surprisingly few big musical numbers. There's a lot of inner dialogue about the importance of music to their lives, sporadic visits to a rehearsal studio and lots of misinterpretation-of-actions comedy. And as usual, Tokyo streets are empty at night... yeah, right.
The characters are all anime central casting (shy but talented Mafuyu, all-around good guitarist Ritsuka, etc.) and one, Mafuyu's boyfriend Yuki Yoshida, lingers in everybody's actions/memories since his death before the series began. Both "Given" movies are well made (smart that we don't hear the never-recorded Yuki song that Ritsuka's reworking until the very end for maximum emotional impact) and I enjoyed them, but this one's best left for fans anxious to see these guys hook-up more than to see them succeed. 3.15 NOISY ROOFTOP APARTMENTS (out of five) for "Parts 2/3."
So many great options for today, I never realised how many good movies I own with rock n' roll at the center of it.
ReplyDeleteI went with Pump Up The Volume (1990). It's not about rock per se, but it is a tool used by the characters to rebel against the authorities of the school. Christian Slater, full of zits, is as charming as can be. And Samantha Mathis is just great.
This is absolutely a rock n roll movie and it RULES.
DeleteMy kids may never understand why whenever I see them eating a bowl of cereal I say, “Eat your cereal with a fork and do your homework in the dark.”
Great choice. One of my all time favorite movies.
DeleteSTREETS OF FIRE (1984, dir. Walter Hill)
ReplyDeleteA rock’n’roll urban western? The costumes and décor are 1950s-inspired, the outlaw gang is bikers clad in leather, and our honorable hero uses a Winchester repeating rifle in the paved streets. Oh, and there are a few distinctly 1980s musical numbers. I have not seen anything like Streets of Fire below. Everything begins with a rousing concert performance interrupted by the biker gang causing a fight and abducting the lead singer (Diane Lane). A dangerous rescue mission is mounted to retrieve her from the gang’s territory. Willem Dafoe is the gang leader and Rick Moranis portrays the a**hole manager of the kidnapped singer.
"Before" instead of "below". Sheesh! The importance of proofreading.
DeleteBILLY IDOL: STATE LINE (2023)
ReplyDeleteConcert/documentary about Billy Idol performing the first-ever rock concert at Hoover Dam. It’s about the logistics of transforming the dam into a concert venue, while also looking back at Billy’s life and career. Billy and the filmmakers are given access to parts of the dam where camera crews aren’t normally allowed, which was interesting. Then we get the entire concert. Like any good rocker, Billy is happy to play all the hits you remember from his glory days. It’s refreshing to see a rock doc where everyone’s friendly and having fun, and not about a band’s breakup and/or descent into drug use, etc.
30 days of Georges Melies, day 18: THE ASTRONOMER’S DREAM (1898)
Another wizard-like astronomer has a nightmare, featuring both the devil and menacing figures among the stars. It’s a Melies two-fer with both outer space AND Satan! This is a shorter one, mostly here to show off some neat effects and far-out visuals, but it works. There's one big "WTF" moment that I won't even try to describe. On the YouTube machine, commenters are alleging that all of Melies’ films are a shared universe, and this movie leads directly into A Trip To The Moon. I suspect this has less to do with Melies and more to do with how people watch movies these days.
Everything is a shared universe now
DeleteI love your Melies thing you're doing. I have the Trip To The Moon bluray, as well as another disc with a bunch of his other stuff. I should rewatch them. Then watch Hugo
Rock 'n' Roll High School (1979, dir. Allan Arkush & Joe Dante)
ReplyDeleteThe new principal at Vince Lombardi High (motto: "Winning is better than losing") is trying to keep order and uphold discipline, but the students are more interested in hooking up, slacking off, and listening to rock 'n' roll. When the Ramones come to town, half the school flocks to their gig and the movie turns into a concert film for 15 minutes, before the band help the students invade the school and stop the principal from burning all their rock albums (which she actually calls "the final solution").
The comedy is just silly and anarchic enough, and the performances are great. P.J. Soles and Dey Young are delightful as the leads, Mary Woronov as the uptight principal and Paul Bartel as a goofy teacher are both excellent. The Ramones play the three songs I knew from them plus a few more. The end credits include the line "Giant mouse created by Rob Bottin". A really fun one.
Watched this on Plex and it kept bombarding me with ads for The Martha Stewart Channel.
I saw it for the first time last year, then they release the 4k. The disc has the sequel as a bonus feature, with Corey Feldman, who I never liked. It's not good.
DeleteDidn't even know there was a sequel, but good to know I shouldn't bother.
DeleteThis was a first time watch for me and I just wonder how the hell it took me so long to finally watch it. As fun as it was it would have been 10 times better when I was 14.
ReplyDeleteWhat did you watch, Chris?
DeleteI meant to reply to Mikko’s ROCK N ROLL HIGH SCHOOL post.
DeleteHit the wrong box.
That's happened to me multiple times! I thought maybe you watched STUNT ROCK like me, of which I thought, "If I were 10, I'd really dig this!" Happy you watched a better movie!
DeleteNeowolf (2010)
ReplyDeleteAnd IMDB review said "Don't bother..." and I should have listened. Not even bad in a fun way and the rock music was super boring too.
A Hard Day’s Night
ReplyDelete88 minutes of pure joy, plus more running than any 4 Tom Cruise movies combined.
GET CRAZY (1983, Allan Arkush)
ReplyDeleteFirst-time watch, Kino Blu-ray, 8/10.
A friend & coworker has been recommending this movie for years & I'm so glad it turned out good. It's New Year's Eve at Allen Garfield's historical music venue, Daniel Stern is the stage manager, li'l sister Stacey Nelkin (HALLOWEEN III) wants to attend, Gail Edwards ("It's a Living") is causing animalistic visions with Stern & Dr. Paul Bartel is on duty. British rocker Malcolm McDowell is being a bigshot, Mary Woronov is on staff, Robert Picardo is looking for fires, Lee Ving is feral, Lou Reed is cabbing all over the place trying to get his mojo back, blues king Bill Henderson is hearing his influence & flamboyant, silver-clad villain Ed Begley Jr. has high-rise dreams. There's also the mysterious, scary-looking drug-spirit who essentially saves the day & a mostly all-girl punk band that's bigger than Lynyrd Skynyrd. I think I prefer this to ROCK 'N' ROLL HIGH SCHOOL. Or it's been too long since I last watched RNRHS.
STUNT ROCK (1978, Brian Trenchard-Smith)
ReplyDeleteAlternative Title: THIS IS SPINAL STUNT
Trenchard-Smith has directed some great Ozploitation flicks (MAN FORM HONG KONG, TURKEY SHOOT, DEAD END DRIVE-IN). This doesn’t rank with his finest. Plot synopsis: There’s STUNTS. There’s RAWK. Regrettably, much of the stunt footage is recycled from other films, and the RAWK… oh man, the band Sorcery did not put a spell on me with their recycled riffs. Sure, there’s a ton of cool pyrotechnics in their bombastic stage show, but their singer is uncharismatic and aurally unpleasant, and their music is a steaming Uriah Heep. On the plus side, there’s tons on ‘splosions, and Aussie stunt hunk Grant Page provides insight into the execution of stunts and the inner life of the men who love to perform them. Hard to believe that a movie entitled STUNT ROCK can be tedious and dull, but I just felt bored and wanted it to end. Thankfully, STUNT ROCK didn’t catch on as a genre, although I'd love to see Ted Nugent get blowed up real good.
I laughed at "steaming Uriah Heep".
DeleteThanks, Adam!
Delete24 Hour Party People (2002)
ReplyDeleteI loved the movie, but I also love the Manchester music scene this is based on. I thought the documentary style, with Steve Coogan breaking the fourth wall, works really well. I love that the scary bad guy from Mission Impossible 5 and 6 is playing Ian Curtis from Joy Division (although nothing will ever top Sam Riley's portrayal in Control). I'm a little disappointed The Smiths weren't a part of the movie, but nothing about Morrissey surprises me anymore.
Freakin' love that movie. First time I saw it was at a festival, in the most beautiful movie theatre in the city. It was awesome.
DeleteTurbulence 3: Heavy Metal (2001): This movie is so much better than it has any right to be. The third movie in a series of air disaster movies with a Hot Topic aesthetic should not be this good.
ReplyDeleteSlade Craven (John Mann, lead singer of Spirit of the West) is the Marilyn Manson of this universe, set to play his final concert on a TransContinental Airlines flight from Los Angeles to Toronto that will be covered by Z-Web-TV, who has sent cameraman Ethan (Ben Derrick) and reporter Erica Black (Monika Schnarre, who of course we all know from Waxwork II: Lost In Time).
FBI agent Kate Hayden (Gabrielle Anwar) has been trying to arrest computer hacker Nick Watts (Craig Sheffer, Cabal from Nightbreed) and finally tracks him down, just in time for Craven to get replaced by Satanic superfan Simon Flanders, who wants to crash this plane into Stull, Kansas. FBI agents Frank Garner (Joe Mantegna, predating his FBI agent role on Criminal Minds) and Dave Barrett (Mike Dopud) come on board just in time for Satanic agents to blow up a control tower, killing an FAA agent (Brad Loree, who was Michael Myers in Halloween: Resurrection).
When fans see through Simon’s disguise, he reveals that Erika — and co-pilot MacIntosh (Rutger Hauer) — are both part of the plan to crash the plane. Why Stull, Kansas? According to Wikipedia, “Since the 1970s, the town has become infamous due to an apocryphal legend that claims the nearby Stull Cemetery is possessed by demonic forces.” The film even brings up the unproven story that Pope John Paul II refused to fly over the city because of how Satanic it is.
Craven ends up saving the day and with the help of the hacker — and a copy of Flight Simulator — he lands the plane. The hacker is supposed to be arrested, but we’re left with the idea that he’s about to have kinky sex with the FBI agent.
The funniest part is when Temu Marilyn Manson has to land the plane. He takes off his evil necklace and starts to pray to God. This is after a long scene where he gets checked by the TSA and has to show off every evil piece of jewelry he has.
The last movie released by Trimark, this was directed by Jorge Montesi — it has the look of TV shows, like his work on Total Recall 2070, Relic Hunter, Jake 2.0, Mutant X, Highlander, Forever Knight and the TV movies Omen IV: The Awakening and the remake of Mother, May I Sleep With Danger? — and written by Wade Ferley.
Do we not know that Craig Sheffer was in the last movie in this series in a different role? Is this prescient as it pertains to 9/11? Do I like the drugs even if they don’t like me?
Hard Rock Zombies (1985) - a movie in 3 acts:
ReplyDeleteAct 1: Podunk 80s hair metal band goes to small town. Towns people discuss the sins of rock music...vote to not let band play concert and eliminate all rock and roll. Think "Footloose" made for $1.98.
Act 2: Band randomly killed off one by one by an old mans group of henchmen. Did i mention the old man is quickly revealed as Hitler, still alive? And that his girlfriend occasionally turns into a werewolf for no reason? Band comes back as undead, with knockoff KISS makeup, when a fan plays one of their songs. Kills the Hitler gang and plays rock music.
Act 3: Hitler gang and bunches more come back as low rent zombies and walk around town.
Oh..i forgot to mention the "love" story between the 28ish year old lead singer and a like 13 year old girl played off as if its acceptable. So much so that the band plays a song about it acknowledging that she's young? Or that the final scene involves a gas chamber? The inappropriateness, even for a sploitation flick, is off the charts.
Need to see this!
DeleteSame!
DeleteHard Core Logo (1996)
ReplyDeleteThis movie has been languishing in the depths of my watchlist for close to two decades now, and I can only kick myself for that, because I was missing out on a real banger. Tempting as it is to call it “punk rock Spinal Tap”, that would be awfully reductive. HCL doesn’t aim for straight satire - it has great comedic moments, but its overall tone is a lot darker, more nakedly emotional. The guys in the band are all distinct, all compelling, and the mockumentary format is used in many creative ways, keeping the movie as unpredictable as its characters. Thank you, Junesploitation, for giving me the push I needed to finally watch this gem.
The Buddy Holly Story (1978, dir. Steve Rash)
ReplyDeleteI've always been a Gary Busey fan mainly due to his work in 90s action movies but I've never seen his signature role until now. WOW! He was rightfully Oscar nominated for this amazing performance in which he also does all his own singing and playing. This movie is pretty much movie and musical joy for two hours. It starts with Buddy Holly and the Crickets playing in a roller-rink and the crowd is loving it and honestly I could have just watched that for two hours. I loved it (although I kept thinking about Dewey Cox for some reason...).
A Hard Day’s Night
ReplyDeleteEven those with a only a passing knowledge of the 1960s and Beatlemania can appreciate the impact the music and this film had on the world.
The opening twang of the title song is like a starter gun as we race along with the Fab Four as they are chased
through an about-to-swing London.
It doesn’t slow down and the plotless exuberance is freewheeling, fun, and infectious.
Sexual liberation was on the way.
This fresh-faced quartet might seem a little sexless, but the screaming girls that are always present, a threat from which these boys are always fleeing, are a sign that sex is coming.
Their youthful ebullience raises a finger to the establishment, giving a sardonic edge to their boyishness.
The establishment should be scared of what these boys will unleash.
Jump cuts, hand held cameras, and inventive composition add to the cinematic turbulence, just a few shots away from anarchy and disorder, but it’s still tight and controlled.
It’s the worlds first music video, and feels as vibrant, subversive, and modern as anything we might see today.
Junesploitation 2025 Day 18
I was struck by how scary some of the crowd scenes are. I doubt the fans of time had bad intentions, but it is hard not to feel sympathy for the young lads having to dodge a charging mob wherever they go.
DeleteIncidentally, I went for a walk this afternoon in sunny Pottstown & spotted a barely high school-aged lad wearing a PURPLE RAIN T-shirt.
ReplyDeleteI'm guessing he's a listener...
KISS Meets the Phantom of the Park (1978)
ReplyDeleteWatched the "Ultimate Fan Super-edit Version (2023 Upgrade)" on Vimeo, which improves the original cut of the film. That's probably why I didn't mind how terrible it was on the first-time watch. Ace's stunt double made me howl with laughter.
Scooby-Doo! and Kiss: Rock and Roll Mystery (2015)
Not as fun for me this time, maybe because I know more about the band and too much knowledge is a bad thing for this cartoon. Surely that's not really Gene doing the voice, right?
Rockula(1990 Dir Luca Bercovici)
ReplyDeleteDean Cameron has problems. He's 400 years old, still lives with his mother, his best friend is his reflection and hes still a virgin. Every 22 years he meets his reincarnated soulmate and every 22 years she dies. After trying to avoid even meeting the girl he falls in love once again starts a band and decides its time to end the curse once and for all. I expected to hate this. Shockingly I didn't. None of the music is catchy, everything looks lipsynced and the rap scene is especially bad but the movie is filled with energy has some good jokes and ends up being fun. Dean Cameron carries the hell out of this one. Toni Basil as his mom and Tawny Fere as the love interest also both do a really good job. Bonus points awarded for the out of practice Bat transformation. My favorite practical effect of this Junesploitation.
This sounds fun. Putting it on the watchlist.
DeleteIT'S A HAUNTED HAPPENIN' (2002, Pat Bishow)
ReplyDeleteFirst-time watch, Bleeding Skull Blu-ray, 6/10.
It's time for the annual battle of the girl-bands & rivals The Darlings & The Soultanglers (Bishow's most "famous" flick is THE SOULTANGLER) are both staying at a creepy mansion where strange goings on go on, including a mummy & a gorilla (suited man) prowling about. Fueled by '50s/'60s schlock & Scooby-Doo ethics, IAHH is coming from all the right places for me. It doesn't translate from concept to screen quite as well, but for a homemade, 74-minute SOV endeavor with a mad scientist, a town of miniatures, a used-cool-stuff store, several music video-type interludes & varying degrees of charm, I can't actively dislike it. Maybe the performances lean too far into wink-wink-bad-movie nonsense for me, despite it not being one big elbow to the ribs.
Sounds cool! Almost watched SOULTANGLER for zombie day, still need to screen it!
DeleteSOULTANGLER is pretty great
DeleteAmericathon (1979)
ReplyDeleteIn 1998 the wealthiest man in the world (Chief Dan George) calls in his $500 billion loan to the bankrupt United States prompting the president (John Ritter) to hold a telethon. Sounds hilarious? It’s not.
Ritter gets a couple genuine laughs as does telethon host Harvey Korman. Jay Leno also gets one while boxing his mom: “I’m gonna kill you ma!”. The only truly standout scene features Meatloaf wrestling a car in a match with play-by-play by Tommy Lasorda. Meatloaf’s stunt double takes over for plenty of it, but Mr. Loaf genuinely puts a pickaxe through the hood at one point.
My reason for wanting to watch this in the first place was my desire of seeing every last awkward Elvis Costello movie cameo. He does not disappoint in this one: miming his song “Crawling to the U.S.A.” using the most exaggerated gestures and facial expressions imaginable.
Costello is the most notable musical performer other than the the Del Rubio Triplets. George Carlin’s narration is only occasionally amusing. Fred Willard is wasted. Interesting oddity, but one of those 85 minute comedies that feel like three hours.
P.s. Co-writer Monica Johnson’s collaborator, Albert Brooks wrote a novel set in the future about the U.S. running out of money. Very interesting.
I'm assuming you've seen Elvis Costello as Hives, the Butler, in "Straight to Hell," directed by Alex Cox?
DeleteRock All Night 1957
ReplyDeleteDirected by Roger Corman
A bunch of different characters converge into a bar, where 2 criminals eventually reveal themselves and try to take control. The musical performances throughout this quick 62 minutes make the actual story very brief in total. Interesting characters each with own issues, including Dick Miller playing someone who could be at home in a film-noir, Mel Welles playing a hepcat type of rock manager, and Russell Johnson as one of the criminals (who played The Professor from Gillian's island)! Overall a pretty good flick.
The Girl Can’t Help It (1956)
ReplyDeleteThoroughly delightful live-action cartoon served up by Frank Tashlin. Fun story about Tom Ewell trying to make Jayne Mansfield a singing star, featuring musical numbers with Julie London, the Platters, Gene Vincent, Little Richard, Fats Domino, and Eddie Cochran. It’s the coolest, hepcat.Sight gags aplenty… and beautiful, life-like color by Deluxe. Does anyone else think this film is actually progressive and anti-sexist because it’s arguing that the Mansfield character should be allowed to choose domestic life over a career, if that’s what she really wants?
This disc has been on my shelf, unwatched, for a little too long...
DeleteROCK A DOODLE (1991, Don Bluth)
ReplyDeleteFirst-time watch, Olive Films Blu-ray, 6/10.
This is just fine for me. I couldn't get angry at it, nor could I get excited about it. I kept wondering if the story was going to continue into Glen Campbell's truly sad real later years, but as a rooster. It didn't happen.
The real question: how bad was Kathryn Holcomb's voice that they needed Dee Wallace to dub the live actor? Not that I EVER have a problem hearing Dee Wallace's voice...
Across the Universe (2007)
ReplyDeleteBeatles music is great,
Julie Taymor is a visionary,
but jukebox musicals are bad.
Unfortunately, the jukebox of it all wins out. It goes down easy in the beginning, but ultimately there are too many square pegs being jammed down round holes. In no surprise, none of the covers were better than The Beatles, but every cover that tried to be different went slo-emo. I was hoping for some more raucous angrier versions given the backdrop of the Vietnam war.
Love & Mercy (2014, dir. Bill Pohlad)
ReplyDeleteI have wanted to revisit this in the days since Brian Wilson's passing and used Rock and Roll day as an excuse. It's still very good. I like the Paul Dano/'60s stuff better of the two halves but even the Cusack stuff is good, which is surprising because he seems so miscast. I wanted to listen to Pet Sounds as soon as it was over.
I watched it last year. The Paul Dano half is so good I wish they'd stuck with it for the entire movie.
DeleteI thought about watching it today, but i ended doing other things after my morning movie
DeleteMissed Fulci day to watch hockey, but back on track today.
ReplyDeleteStreets of Fire (1984)
Hadn't seen it and today seemed like the perfect occasion. It's fun! Great no-frills vibe (very Walter Hill-y) and a great cast, highlighted by Amy Madigan as McCoy. Musically, The Sorels are much more my jam than Ellen Aim, but the movie's got a fun variety of lo-fi, gritty tunes that perfectly match the rest of its aesthetic. Perfect Junesploitation fare.