"ARRIVEDERCI ALL'ANNO PROSSIMO, È STATO UN PIACERE" TWO-FER!
MIAMI GOLEM (1985, YOUTUBE) THE STENDHAL SYNDROME (1996, BLUE UNDERGROUN BLU-RAY)
Been wanting to watch "Miami Golem" since B&S About Movies (whose detailed daily reviews are a constant Junesploitation! highlight! :-D) described it a couple of years back. And as a diehard fan of director Alberto de Martino ("The Pumaman," "The Antichrist," etc,) I couldn't pass a chance to see the last movie he directed. Strangely compelling despite making zero sense, "MG" follows bad-ass local journalist Craig Milford (David Warbeck, who looks/acts like the Frank West character from the Capcom "Dead Rising" videogame series) as he tries to stay alive after his television report on a group of scientists making cloning experiments from the DNA extracted off a meteorite ends up with the assassination of those scientist. Since his faulty equipment got a reaction out of the cell as he was filming it, Craig knowing about its weaknesses gives him a leg up to counter the final alien life form having the power to toss people around like ragged dolls. I just watched "MG" and all I can remember is the endless daytime driving around Miami streets, with an odd car exploding and lots of bloody gunshot squibs.
Everything from the music (a poor Italian man's "Beverly Hills Cop" rip-off) to the fashions and the attitude (Craig's unshaved mug) scream "Miami Vice," but with a cheapo sci-fi twist and conspiracy theory tropes. Typical of these Italian movies during this era [era!], an old-time Hollywood legend ("My Darling Clementine's" John Ireland) makes a supporting cast appearance to pay the rent. What "MG" lacks in graphic gore or violence it compensates for with that crazy Italian dream logic and many WTF! moments. 'It's fine.' 3.5 YELLOW GOOGLY ALIEN EYES (out of five).
I've had the Blue Underground DVD of Dario Argento's "The Stendhal Syndrome" since forever, but recently upgraded to the second Blu-ray version of the movie that includes the DVD's bonus features (the first BD release lacked the legacy material) and a Tim Lucas commentary. Maybe an eventual 4K transfer will surpass it, but for now the leap from standard definition DVD to the BD's high-resolution 2K transfer with the extras blew me away and made me fall in love with "TSS" all over again. Since watching detailed works of art that render protagonist Anna Mani (a too-young-for-the-role-but-still-compelling Asia Argento) overwhelmed with apprehension is a key part of Dario's narrative the visual upgrade is not just for show. I felt drawn closer to Detective Mani's plight, which makes it harrower when bad guy Alfredo Grossi (Thomas Kretschmann, channeling a young Rutger Hauer) has his way with her. I'm convinced if Asia had used her actual voice instead of an English dub (which isn't horrible but at times flounders) this would be on par with "Suspiria" or "Deep Red" as a towering Argento achievement. As it exists now it's one of the last great Dario films (the way he makes the audience sympathize with Anna even after her last act ordeal by making the male cops handling her seem worse than even Grossi is just masterful), one whose disturbing subject matter make me want to see it only once every few years. 4.5 "ATOMIC BLONDE"-INSPIRING WIG & DARK SHADES (out of five).
It's my day off from work, so I might watch one or two more Italian horror flicks to conclude the monthly festivities. Stay tuned! :-)
"ARRIVEDERCI ALL'ANNO PROSSIMO, È STATO UN PIACERE" TWO-FER!
ReplyDeleteMIAMI GOLEM (1985, YOUTUBE)
THE STENDHAL SYNDROME (1996, BLUE UNDERGROUN BLU-RAY)
Been wanting to watch "Miami Golem" since B&S About Movies (whose detailed daily reviews are a constant Junesploitation! highlight! :-D) described it a couple of years back. And as a diehard fan of director Alberto de Martino ("The Pumaman," "The Antichrist," etc,) I couldn't pass a chance to see the last movie he directed. Strangely compelling despite making zero sense, "MG" follows bad-ass local journalist Craig Milford (David Warbeck, who looks/acts like the Frank West character from the Capcom "Dead Rising" videogame series) as he tries to stay alive after his television report on a group of scientists making cloning experiments from the DNA extracted off a meteorite ends up with the assassination of those scientist. Since his faulty equipment got a reaction out of the cell as he was filming it, Craig knowing about its weaknesses gives him a leg up to counter the final alien life form having the power to toss people around like ragged dolls. I just watched "MG" and all I can remember is the endless daytime driving around Miami streets, with an odd car exploding and lots of bloody gunshot squibs.
Everything from the music (a poor Italian man's "Beverly Hills Cop" rip-off) to the fashions and the attitude (Craig's unshaved mug) scream "Miami Vice," but with a cheapo sci-fi twist and conspiracy theory tropes. Typical of these Italian movies during this era [era!], an old-time Hollywood legend ("My Darling Clementine's" John Ireland) makes a supporting cast appearance to pay the rent. What "MG" lacks in graphic gore or violence it compensates for with that crazy Italian dream logic and many WTF! moments. 'It's fine.' 3.5 YELLOW GOOGLY ALIEN EYES (out of five).
I've had the Blue Underground DVD of Dario Argento's "The Stendhal Syndrome" since forever, but recently upgraded to the second Blu-ray version of the movie that includes the DVD's bonus features (the first BD release lacked the legacy material) and a Tim Lucas commentary. Maybe an eventual 4K transfer will surpass it, but for now the leap from standard definition DVD to the BD's high-resolution 2K transfer with the extras blew me away and made me fall in love with "TSS" all over again. Since watching detailed works of art that render protagonist Anna Mani (a too-young-for-the-role-but-still-compelling Asia Argento) overwhelmed with apprehension is a key part of Dario's narrative the visual upgrade is not just for show. I felt drawn closer to Detective Mani's plight, which makes it harrower when bad guy Alfredo Grossi (Thomas Kretschmann, channeling a young Rutger Hauer) has his way with her. I'm convinced if Asia had used her actual voice instead of an English dub (which isn't horrible but at times flounders) this would be on par with "Suspiria" or "Deep Red" as a towering Argento achievement. As it exists now it's one of the last great Dario films (the way he makes the audience sympathize with Anna even after her last act ordeal by making the male cops handling her seem worse than even Grossi is just masterful), one whose disturbing subject matter make me want to see it only once every few years. 4.5 "ATOMIC BLONDE"-INSPIRING WIG & DARK SHADES (out of five).
It's my day off from work, so I might watch one or two more Italian horror flicks to conclude the monthly festivities. Stay tuned! :-)