Possibly a Grave Error

The man you see here is Dan Briggs. He is the director of the IMF (Impossible Missions Force), but his role as the team leader went up in smoke like so many reels of magnetic tape after the first season of Mission: Impossible. Turns out that Steven Hill is an observant Orthodox Jew and would not shoot after 4 pm on Fridays until sundown on Saturdays. This put a strain on his relationship with the seies and the other six seasons were led by Peter Graves as Jim Phelps.

Before recently being able to watch this first season of Mission: Impossible I had only heard the name Jim Phelps, but twenty-odd episodes later, I was hooked on Dan Briggs. Steven Hill played the role with a great subtlety, and the Peter Graves I knew was Captain Over.

This week I made the inevitable transition from Briggs to Phelps, jumping to season three due to circumstances beyond my control and I have to say...Peter Graves is allright so far. The first episode I watched, he disguised himself as a boisterous American Tourist in Europe and I felt like I was watching the caricature of Peter Graves that I knew from his more recent films: I was a bit nervous after that episode.

Now I've finished the first disc, and I think this will work out for the next six seasons. It is very different, but the returning supporting cast helps keep the familiarity high.

Same to same,

Capt. Hendry

"Bava"rian Fantasy

This past year I picked up the two box sets that comprise the Anchor Bay Mario Bava film collection and made him a bit of a personal film project for the year. Last night I watched what was described on the back of the slimcase packaging as "the film he'd envisioned his entire career..." Lisa and the Devil (this sentence was shortly followed by "after the commercial disaster of Lisa and the Devil). This rounded out a nice array of his work that I had now watched including Black Sunday, Black Sabbath, Baron Blood, Knives of the Avenger, Bay of Blood (a.k.a. Twitch of the Death Nerve) and 5 Dolls for an August Moon. I feel that even though I am saving some other gems in the collection for future viewing...much like keeping a fine vintage wine in the cellar...I

can say that I like Bava very much.

Italian cinema has a style all its own, and I love the way it permeates through all the genres of film. I especially love the way it embellishes the b-movie genres: Spaghetti westerns, ultra-violent cop dramas, sword and sandal, thrillers and horror. Bava touches upon all these genres, and adds a slight intellectual edginess in the visual style that I find immensely appealing. All his films have some moment that I find just beautiful, and while they may at times be a bit lacking in story or character, they are always saturated with stylization.


If you get the chance I highly recommend getting Black Sunday. It seems shockingly brutal for its time period. And it has some truly spectacular eyeball scenes.


Same to same,

Hendry

A Happy Halloween

This weekend I watched the remake of Halloween that Rob Zombie directed last year. I hadn't really heard much for reviews on this remake of the Carpenter classic, and I had assumed that this silence was indicative of a lackluster remake by the rocker-turned-horror-guru-turned-director. Turns out that I enjoyed the film immensely. I'm not sure why I enjoyed this film as much as I did, it could have easily just been a semi-euphoric delirium caused by starting this film at midnight and having a good bellyful of alcohol; but I think that the major factors at play were shooting style, casting and nudity.

Rob Zombie really comes into his own as a film director for this project. His last two films had their moments, but House of 1,000 Corpses felt like a huge music video to me, and while I can't remember if the specific problem with The Devil's Rejects was more a pacing or a stylistic issue, I pretty much remember just not liking it all that much. This film had a nice pace to it, especially considering the ambitious 124 minute running time. The shooting style echoed B movie seventies film, but at the same time took advantage of a larger budget and pulled off looking slick and run down at the same time. I think some of the best work was done with some point of view shots at the times of the victims' death, and Zombie definitely has a talent for painting a depressing picture of low class America that makes the viewer feel like pockets of Deliverance country exist in the middle of safe and sound suburbia. And I don't know if anybody else has ever done it, but the empty swimming pool was a brilliant little scene.

The casting was the other part of this film I loved. Udo Kier, Malcolm MacDowell, Cybil Dannning, Dee Wallace (Stone), William Forsythe and Brad Dourif brought solid acting to this project, and Danny Trejo and Tyler Mane both gave better performances than expected. This cornucopia of actors delivered smaller roles that all shine in their own way. Even Sherry Moon Zombie gave a performance that made her seem more a thespian than a go-go dancer.

That being said, the third factor that led to my enjoyment was the nudity. Nudity in wide release horror has been fairly scarce over the past few decades. At first I thought it was the greater focus on teen markets with films like Scream and I Know What You Did Last Summer, but even recent horror films like the Saw series (at least the first one - the only one I "saw") 30 Days of Night and exploitation films like Grindhouse have lacked some tittaykapow! Zombie brings back those extended glimpses of nudity that were like the prize in a cereal box, waiting to fall into your hands when you least expect it.

Same to same,

Capt.

The Eyes Have It

This week I have begun watching the third season of the HBO western drama Deadwood. Like the previous two seasons, this show continues to be immensely entertaining thanks to the compelling characters, gorgeous cinematography and excellent scripting (often sprinkled with prolific and creative swearing); last night however, I was treated to a scene that as you know is near and dear to me...yet another eye gouging.

An addition to the cast this year was former USC football star and veteran stuntman Allan Graf (looking quite dapper above). He plays Captain Turner, the bodyguard to George Hearst, and quickly becomes and adversary to Dan Dority. If you have not seen the show and have no idea what I am talking about, please do yourself a favor and start renting it today.

Without going into too much detail, since I don't want to spoil it for those of you who actually would like to follow the show, let's just say that this particular Cap'n finds himself in a brutal fight which leads to permanent tunnel vision for one of those involved. While not the best looking of eye effects that I have come across, the actor does a great job selling the discomfort of this climatic blinding. If you are interested in watching it, please click here.

I also happened to catch an extended promotional trailer for the '70s film The Gore Gore Girls directed by the Godfather of Gore, H.G. Lewis which had one of the more drawn out eye scenes I know of. I don't know if that is floating around, but the promotional clip is tasteless enough that I'll let you readers hunt it down for yourselves.

I also have been lent a film by a friend who appreciates my ocular obsession. The film titled Dead Meat was floated my way with the promise of two eyeball scenes...so I guess there is more to come. Until then...

Same to same,

Capt. Hendry

Still Good After All These Years

As a follow up to a previous entry, I have now watched enough episodes of the Dungeons & Dragons cartoon from the early 1980's to give a fair assessment of how well it holds up. Let me just say that I still love it. The first episode had me a little nervous, I didn't really like the pacing or the some of the animation choices, but this must have just been a bad episode.

The majority of the series is a pleasure, with decent animation (that sometimes does something really neat), a myriad of scary creatures, and a hell of a lot more Star Wars references than I remember. There are episodes that make mention to wookies and Obi-Wan Kenobi, and some of the plot points were directly stolen from the sci-fi trilogy that had just wrapped up the year before, but this only adds to the enjoyment. My favorite by far is the moment where Dugeonmaster (see above) sadly alludes to the fact that it was his own failings as a teacher that led to Venger's turning to evil. They don't even have to elaborate on this idea...they know that it is enough of a nudge, nudge, wink, wink to their audience.

Really, the only fear that was realized is that the unicorn (Uni) has not grown more appealing with age. Her incessant bleating still grates a bit on my nerves and she often is more hindrance than help...'cept in that episode with the dragon that shoots fire and ice alternatively. Thank the maker she was there with that wreath of dragon's bane.

Same to same,

Capt. Hendry

Duff-man Saves Television

I really hate (not dislike...hate) reality shows. Perhaps I should embrace them as the greatest exploitive medium to date, but in reality I just find them hard to watch. Ace of Cakes is the exception to this rule. This show is about as real as reality can be on television. There are no challenges or games, there are no eliminations, there are no sob stories, nor are there great makeovers, and most importantly you never watch this show to see people fail. Nay, Ace of Cakes is simply about brilliant, everday people being themselves. The basic story is simple...busy, extremely creative staff of "Charm City Cakes" makes cakes that blow your mind. That is it...you watch to see this group suceed, and you revel in the fact that you get a half hour to hang with this most excellent group from Baltimore.

Duff, the head chef, exudes the best kind of responsible immaturity: he tells the kind of jokes that you tell with your best friends when you are 30 or you are 13. Geoff, the chief sous chef, has a comedic billiance that stems from the mystery of whether he is purposely trying to make you laugh or just being himself. Mary Alice Fallon Yesky, the receptionist and overall organizers for this crew...I cannot say enough about her, this woman has found her calling. Her humor and charm alone make the show worth watching.

The first time I watched this show I wanted to see impressive cakes shaped like King Kong, the Taj Mahal, a Seussian-style wedding cake or... a beaver. While the cakes are amazing to look at, most of the time I am not really paying attention to what they are doing anymore; by now I have seen them laying fondant, or beading with frosting, or using dowels to support the ungainly weight of some pieces. Nope, I am watching because they are letting me sit in on their conversations and just be one of the gang.

Same to Same,

P. H.

Fantasia: Weekend Three

This weekend brought to a close what has been a great month of Fantasia. My most abitious year yet, I attended eight different screening and this coming Friday will be the first this month that I have not spent in Montreal.

The first film I watched this weekend was a Korean martial arts film called The City of Violence. It was a crime drama about a group of high school friends who find themselves becoming divided by the law and the death of their friend. This film had the best trailer I watched in preparation for Fantasia; in fact, the trailer had such an andrenaline saturation, that I couldn't imagine not trying to see it. As a 90 minute film, it naturally had to take a breath once in a while to establish plot points, and I feel like the first fight showed up later than I anticipated, but overall a great time.

What I liked the most about this film was how real the martial arts performances were. The was no significant CGI f/x that I can remember, and the wire work (that creates the kind of super kung fu that you see in Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon) was used with restraint. The choreography was superb as well, with many scenes shot in a manner that allowed the audince to view contact between fighters. There is also something about the style of Korean martial arts that involves a lot of spin kicks and quick feints, and it films in a manner that is breathtaking and beautiful. Again, check the trailer and you'll see what I mean.

The only real problem with this film was that during the middle of the most climatic battle the screen froze and the theater was evacuated by Concordia University for about an hour with no explanation (not even after we were allowed back in). Milling around outside, in the cool Montreal air, with hundreds of other Fantasia festival attendees really emphasized the enjoyable sense of community that I love about this festival. It also gave me a chance to listen in on Richard Gale, the director of the short I saw later that evening.

That short, Criticized, has apparantly won the title of "scariest movie" at the DC independent film festival, which no matter how you slice it means that in some circles this is considered the scariest film of the year. Almost this entire short about a kidnapped critic takes place in the claustraphobic setting of a shower stall, and there is an eyeball scene! Still, what makes this film scary is the way it makes the everyday man suddenly feel very vulnerable.

The feature that followed was the midnight showing...nay, now one AM showing...of the remade The Wizard of Gore. Let me just start by saying I loved this film. A great melding of film noir and gore driven horror, this film uses rakish angles and bizarre sets to create a surrealistic thriller. While the gore is pretty fantastic, there is also a pleasant sense of restraint, which allows the mysterious plot to drive the film rather than the effects. The acting by Crispin Glover (George McFly of Back to the Future) as the charismatic magician in superb, and he is supported by a great cast, including Brad Dourif (Lord of the Rings, Deadwood). And if you were looking for one more reason to watch this film, most of the victims are the scantily (if at all) clad Suicide Girls. Not only is this film a great ride, but in the midst of a rash of PG-13 horror releases, I felt like I was finally watching a more mainstream horror film for adults: smart, sexy and scary.

The experience watching The Wizard of Gore was a great finish for my time at Fantasia this year. Even though it started late, and I was deliriously exhausted the next day, the energy of a late night premiere showing and the great Q&A with director Jeremy Kasten and producer Dan Griffiths made it all worthwhile. Now it will be another eleven months until Fantasia starts up again, wich will hopefully be enough time to catch the other one hundred or so films I wasn't able to see.

Same to same,

Capt. Patrick Hendry