What classics did you see last week ? ( 4 Mar - 10 Mar 2018)

Daughter Of The Dragon / Lloyd Corrigan (1931). The evil Dr. Fu Manchu was created by author Sax Rohmer in the 1920s. In the early 1930s, Paramount launched a series of four films featuring the Asian crime lord. “Daughter Of The Dragon” is the third of the four. In the first three, Warner Oland takes the role of Dr. Fu but then leaves it to step into another series with an Asian lead, Charlie Chan. Top billed in “Daughter” is Anna May Wong, of Chinese ancestry but born in Los Angeles as the third generation of her family in the United States. She plays Ling Moy, a famous performer, a dancer, who is told that she will finally meet her long lost father. When she does, she learns he is Fu Manchu (Oland) who wants to take revenge on the Petrie family who he blames for the death of his wife and son during the Boxer Rebellion. Fu kills one member of the family but is mortally wounded by Asian detective Ah Kee (Sessue Hayakawa) working with Scotland Yard. Before dying, Fu extracts an oath from Ling Moy to carry out his plan of revenge. Even though the movie shows its age in many ways – mainly rather stiff acting by some of the cast and title cards (“Morning”) as if Paramount hadn’t left the silent era totally behind them - Wong and Hayakawa are especially good. The screen writer (Sidney Buchman) must have known his Shakespeare. Hayakawa’s line, “It is the triumph of irony that the only woman I have ever deeply loved should be born of blood that I loathe” echoes Juliet’s “My only love sprung from my only hate.” Although obviously not a modern motion picture, it was quite enjoyable.

Sessue Hayakawa and Anna May Wong


The Scarlet Claw / Roy William Neill (1944). #8 of the 14 Rathbone/Bruce Sherlock Holmes/Dr. Watson films, this one is set in French speaking Canada as what appears to be a glowing swamp monster near a small village embarks on a throat ripping killing spree starting with sheep and proceeding on to people. Lady Penrose of the Manor House is the first victim. At the time of her death, Lord Penrose is chairing a meeting in Quebec of the Occult Society. Holmes and Watson are in attendance when Penrose receives the message that his wife has been killed. The next morning, Holmes is delivered a letter that had been written by the now deceased Lady Penrose asking for his help. Taking the Lady as his first client who is dead, Holmes proceeds to the village to investigate. He finds himself up against a wily foe and master of disguise who may have established more than one identity in the village. The resulting body count turns out to be a little higher than should have occurred with Sherlock Holmes on the job, but it is an interesting story where anybody could be somebody else. Not a bad entry.

Holmes expresses his skepticism at a meeting of the Occult Society


Damn Yankees / George Abbott and Stanley Donen (1958). A highly successful film musical adapted from a Broadway hit from 1955 which, in turn, had been taken from a 1954 novel, “The Year The Yankees Lost The Pennant” by Douglas Wallop. Jack Warner bought the play strictly for Tab Hunter. Warner then hired the entire New York cast – except the actor playing the lead. The movie sticks very close to the story of the play with most of the songs intact – and each one a show stopper. Joe Boyd, a middle aged real estate broker, has a consuming passion for perennial losers, the Washington Senators who have especially bad luck against the New York Yankees. If they only had one long ball hitter, he laments. Enter Mr. Applegate (Ray Walston, repeating his Tony Award winning performance), a man handy with fire, who changes Boyd into Joe Hardy (Tab Hunter), a baseball player who can do no wrong on the field. Boyd negotiates an Escape Clause, a time when he can choose to turn back into himself. Applegate agrees, but he has schemes within schemes. One of his plans involves his number one homewrecker, Lola (Gwen Verdon, who does a brilliant send-up of a femme fatale seduction scene with the breakout hit song, “Whatever Lola Wants”). I have a particular interest in the film and play because I once had the privilege of playing Mr. Applegate in a community theater production. It was the only acting I ever did that got me – for the first and only time – recognized in public (“Hey, you were Mr. Applegate!”) One last Fun Fact: "Damn Yankees" features Jean Stapleton's film debut.

You Gotta Have Haaaaaa-art


Wind River / Taylor Sheridan (2017). What do you know? An actual theatrical film that I have wanted to see is found on Netflix streaming. Whoever heard of that? Cory Lambert (Jeremy Renner) is a Fish and Wildlife officer living in Wyoming. He has an ex-wife who is Native American and a secret sorrow. Patrolling on his snowmobile one morning, he finds a dead body on a mountainside. It is a young woman he knows. From Las Vegas, there comes inexperienced FBI agent Jane Banner (Elizabeth Olsen) to head and coordinate the investigation. The major attraction of this film is how the specific place – the reservation, the cold, the snow, the mountains – are almost tangibly felt. The acting, like the police procedural story it carries, is low-key and matter-of-fact, as it should. My only real complaint is that the violent gun battle that resolves the mystery plot seems so out of place, discordant, with what went before. Two of our finest Native American actors take major supporting roles, Graham Greene (Dances With Wolves, Molly’s Game) and Gil Birmingham (Hell or High Water). Overall, recommended for that vivid sense of place.

Jeremy Renner and Gil Birmingham


…Continuing a watch straight through the 10 seasons of Doctor Who: New Series in anticipation of next year’s introduction of the 13th Doctor.

Christmas Special “The Husbands Of River Song” December 25, 2015. It is Christmas in a faraway Earth-settled planet. There he runs into River Song (Alex Kingston) who doesn’t recognize him. She knows that Time Lords have a limited number of regenerations that would already be past. What she doesn’t know is, as The Doctor later says, “A thing happened.” She is right in the middle of a conning an alien tyrant out of an invaluable jewel. The Doctor get swept up in her plans.

S.10, Ep. 1 “The Pilot” April 15, 2017. The first episode introduces The Doctor’s new companion, Bill Potts (Pearl Mackie) and sets up the plot arc for the season: The Doctor is guarding a secret vault below a University campus where he is lecturing on Time and Relative Dimension in Space. Babysitting The Doctor and constantly reminding him of his oath to never leave the vault unguarded is Nordole (Matt Lucas) who was first seen in the previous Christmas Special. Bill and The Doctor team up to defeat an alien stalker who wants Bill for her own.

S. 10, Ep. 2 “Smile” April 22, 2017. On Bill’s first trip off-planet, the TARDIS lands on an Earth colony that has been built by robots and awaits the arrival of most of the colonists. But something has gone wrong and the few humans there as a set-up team have been killed. The Doctor has to do something before the rest of the population arrives and is slaughtered.

The Doctor and Bill in “Smile”

Testament of Youth (2015) 5/10

American Made (2017) 7/10

The Black Knight (1954) 3/10

Captive (2015) 6/10

Black or White (2014) 7/10

Steve Jobs (2015) 8/10

The Odessa File (1974) 6/10

Dangerous (1935) 4/10

Dragnet (1987) 7/10

Darkest Hour (2017) 7/10

The Call of the Wild (1935) 6/10

The Burbs (1989) 6/10

The Money Pit (1986) 4/10

Mark Felt: The Man Who Brought Down the White House (2017) 3/10

Larceny, Inc. (1942) 8/10

Love the Dr. Strangelove poster, I want it framed on my wall!

DE-LOVELY (2005) MoviesonDemand

CHARADE (1963) Watched on TCM.

DARK SHADOWS (1968) Episodes 440-444. 50th Anniversary. Barnabas walls up Reverend Trask while Nathan Forbes sets his sights on Millicent. MPI Video DVD.

ER (1998) "My Brother's Keeper." 25th Anniversary. Warner DVD

DRAGON BALL SUPER (2017) "Gohan's Misfortune! An Unexpected Great Saiya-Man Movie?", "For Those He Loves! The Unbeatable Great Saiya-Man!!" and ""Awaken Your Sleeping Battle-Spirit! Son Gohan's Fight!" Import DVD.

DRAGON BALL Z: TREE OF MIGHT (1990) The second film based on the Anime Adaptation of DRAGON BALL Z. Always had a soft spot for this noncanonical film with its emphasis on Goku and his son Gohan. Viewed the Ocean Dub company version on Pioneer DVD (at the time, the US version of this film, its predecessor THE DEAD ZONE, and the following THE WORLD'S STRONGEST were the closest US audiences got an unedited faithfully translated version of the Anime; what was airing at the time was a different story).

NARUTO SHIPPUDEN (2011, 2014) "The Worst Three-Legged Race", "A Shinobi's Dream", "Pursuing Hope," and "The Promise that was Kept."

DRAGON BALL (1988) "Come Back to Life, Son Goku!" 30th Anniversary of the debut of Yajirobe. Funi DVD.

DRAGON BALL Z (1992) "Goku's Composure!? Let's Wait and Rest for the Cell Games", "The Warriors Rest! The Girl, the Lies, and Gohan's Resolution!", and "Hidden Power! When Gohan was a Baby". Viewed on the DRAGON BOX DVD collection, Funimation DVD.

I LOVE THE 80S STRIKES BACK (2003) "1980, 1981, 1982, and 1983" Sequel anthology of VH1's series I LOVE THE 80S (which was based on a UK show), where actors, musicians, comics, and celebrities discuss films, TV shows, technologies, fashions, etc. like SUPERMAN II (Michael Ian Black: "Who cares if people are dying?! Superman's gotta tap that ---"), THE THORN BIRDS (Beth Littlefield: "So unrealistic; a priest in love...with a woman?"), YENTL (Mo Rocca: "If Barbara Striesand made out with Amy Irving, it would have been a different film maybe."), etc. Viewed on a VHS broadcast recorded late October 2002.

SATURDAY NIGHT LIVE (1978) "Art Garfunkel/Stephen Bishop" 40th Anniversary. This episode contains Andy Kaufman's infamous reading of THE GREAT GATSBY, and the film subject "Don't Look Back in Anger" as an ancient John Belushi (...) scours the cemetery of his deceased costars. Universal DVD.

Hi all,this week I went to the oldest cinema in the UK,and saw my first 2018 release:




Lynne Ramsay's You Were Never Really Here (2017/18) 6

Backed by the unsettling, screeching hum of Jonny Greenwood's Industrial score,writer/director Lynne Ramsay & cinematographer Thomas Townend wash the filth from the street in grainy digital, that gives the movie a visceral grubby atmosphere, as Joe searches backstreet buildings covered in grime,and the short,sharp shots of violence burn in dried red. Tracking Joe's shattered glass mind, Ramsay reflects his past in jagged flashbacks, with the rough edges strongly suggesting,but not fully revealing,what was there in Joe's childhood.

Caked in a scraggy beard, Joaquin Phoenix gives an excellent performance as Joe,whose Noir loner outlook is fuelled by Phoenix giving Joe a dead to the world gaze,which strikes with each hammer blow he gives to the scum of the earth. Finding an empathetic connection with Nina, (played by a very good Ekaterina Samsonov) Phoenix allows Joe to express care for Nina,whilst always remaining aware of the tar-pit they are trapped in. Taking the wheel from Jonathan Ames’s novel,the screenplay by Ramsay aims to examine the psychological side of Joe,but misses the mark with consistent “borrowing” from Taxi Driver. Suggesting that Joe is a damaged war vet,Ramsay is unable to avoid drawing from Taxi Driver’s child prostitute,pimps,loners and corrupt politicians in the most empty manner possible,with Ramsay failing to give any additional depth to the themes explored in Taxi. Weaving flashbacks to Joe’s abusive childhood, Ramsay’s attempt to give Joe a psychological depth disappointingly fails to fully alight, due to Joe’s fight to protect Nina not becoming fully thread with his own past,which was never really here…

Popstar: Never Stop Never Stopping (2016) 8

Blending all the major trends in the current music scenes, the screenplay by co-writers/(with Jorma Taccone)co-stars/co-directors Akiva Schaffer & Andy Samberg play a pitch-perfect parody of the times,from the hilariously vicious riffs on social media memes and gossip shows like TMZ, (here called CMZ) to the "bad boy" image Pop stars use to make themselves look edgy,and the deafening beats of EDM. Giving Conner chart-topping tunes,the writers spin super-catchy spoof tracks, ranging from pounding Hip-Hop,to very funny, R&B/Pop tracks on subjects that include Osama Bin Laden. Stealing all of Conner's Pop fame, Chris Redd gives a fantastic performance as rapper Hunter,with Redd giving his stage performances a rough, exciting atmosphere. Looking every inch the modern chart-topper, Andy Samberg gives a great performance as Conner,whose arrogance Samberg uses to keep him completely lacking in self-awareness as all those who worked with him quitting,over Conner believing he is a Popstar who will never stop stopping.

2017 notes/duo:

Veronica (I) (2017) 8

Returning to feature films for the first time since Rec 3 in 2012,co-writer/(with Fernando Navarro) director Paco Plaza & cinematographer Pablo Rosso expand on the recurring, more subtle motifs featured in the first two Rec's,with Plaza and Rosso showing an impeccable eye for confined apartment buildings, with tracking shots following the demon spreading across the family apartment. Peculiarly not featuring an exorcism in a "demon" movie, Plaza elegantly uses startling images of a blind nun and discarded crosses to brew an atmosphere that any faith to defeat the evil,is hopeless.

Whilst the use of a CGI demon for jump-scares sits ill at ease with the classical mood of the picture, Plaza gets the demon to embody Veronica's fears with excellent,in-camera trick-shots that reflect the horror that has been unleashed. Taken from the only crime in Spain where "paranormal activity" has been officially registered as a contributing factor in the case by the police report, the screenplay by Plaza and Navarro builds up the horror by cutting into Veronica's family, with a great, gradual examination of Veronica's need to take care of her siblings whilst mum makes ends meets at work,leading to the outbreak of the demon to strike at them in a ruptured state. Conjuring the challenge of playing the lead in her debut, Sandra Escacena gives an utterly marvelous performance as Veronica, thanks to Escacena giving a dramatic depth to the horror by pulling open the raw insecure and fearful nerves of Veronica.



Gerald's Game (2017) 9

Adapting for the first time,the screenplay by co-writer/(with Jeff Howard)editor/ director Mike Flanagan cleverly crosses the horrors of Stephen King,with the themes Flanagan had built in Hush and Before I Go To Sleep. Referencing their past films and King's books in funny asides, (from The Dark Tower nods,to a book that Jessie takes with her being one that a character in Hush was writing) the writers open the remote house to the loss/decay of the suburban family that first became prominent in Oculas, as chilling flashbacks bring to light the childhood horrors that haunt Jessie.

Cuffing Jessie to isolated hell,Flanagan takes the abrasive isolating shocks in Hush to a psychological direction, where "ghosts" of Gerald and Jessie herself (!) causes the chained to the bed Jessie to question what her real reality is.Unlocking Fantasy for the first time since Before I Wake,King's creation of the slithering " The Moonlight Man" (who comes with King's "Carrie" newspaper-style clippings) give Flanagan's return to the genre a fittingly macabre edge,via the optimism Jessie feels getting undermined by the stuck in her memory face of The Moonlight Man.

Reuniting with composers The Newton Brothers,director Mike Flanagan wisely keeps their score for the final page,to instead work closely again with cinematographer Michael Fimognari in listening to the absolute silence that began in Hush,with the noise of rattling handcuffs against the headboard (made of the mirror from Oculas!), chirping birds and opening doors scoring the nightmare Jessie is locked in.Bringing Jessie's real childhood nightmare to light with an eclipse,Flanagan & Fimognari scramble her brain with simmering,ultra-stylised tracking shots,that surf on burning shots of deep red in Jessie's memories,and calmly span the bedroom for all the ghostly howls holding Jessie on the bed.

Joined by James Flanagan and Mike's wife Kate Siegel making their regular cameos, Henry Thomas returns from Ouija 2 to give a horrifically mundane performance as Jessie's dad Tom,which gives Tom's attempt to Jessie feel guilty for his sexual assault on her,an unsettling believably. The other man in her life, Bruce Greenwood gives a wonderfully brash performance as Gerald, whose playful manner Greenwood smoothly turns to aggressively sinister. Left with her own voice being the only company she has, Carla Gugino gives an incredibly expressive performance as Jessie. Allowing the loud screams of hope to fade out,Gugino grips onto the fragmented state Jessie goes into finding the will to face the ghosts of the past and the present,with Jessie becoming determined to beat Gerald's game.

On Saturday night I watched a film noir on TCM called The Crooked Way (1949). It was just OK.

broken blossoms 1919
dr. mabuse 1922 I think, part 1 only though
orphans of the storm
the avenging conscience