What Films Have You Seen Recently?

[Frankie Teardrop]

TOUGH GUYS DON’T DANCE – From no less of a personage than Norman Mailer. He did some other movies back in the seventies, but they were like weird avant garde improv or something. This is an adaption of his book by the same name, and it’s pretty much part of that whole eighties re-wiring of noirish tropes, but to call it ‘neo-noir’ and leave it at that would be to skim the surface. TGDT is a very odd movie. Wings Hauser’s in it, which is usually enough to guarantee a strange ride in itself; beyond this salient fact, there’s a labyrinthine plot about heads in carrier bags buried deep in the woods and a tone that shifts between hysteria and deadpan. But the real strangeness is in the dialogue. Never have I been so transfixed by the way characters speak, and what they say and the way they say it seems to belong to its own separate, slightly ghostly plane that hovers above the film itself. It’s all just so stylised and stagey, but I found it really captivating. And there’s a certain atmosphere that cuts through it all. There’s a bit of nakedness and a bit of deadness, but this a more a film about lonely beaches and time running out. And I’m not “tickling your stick” about that one, not even if you’re Wings Hauser.

ANGEL – One of those eighties movie serial killers is stalking the hustler haven of downtown LA in ‘Angel’, a tonally bizarre film which is about what I’ve just described, but is actually more about a teenage hooker trying to find her long lost daddy. You get to see a lot of neon drenched shots of city streets at night, and I’m always a sucker for that kind of thing, particularly if it’s from the eighties / nineties, with that filmy graininess about it. It feels gritty and real, but it’s a total hallucination, a look, an aesthetic. ‘Angel’ pushes the unreality boat out even further by inserting into all that what is basically a feelgood plotline. Angel’s life on the streets has a Cinderella harshness about it, but she’s surrounded by a gang of supportive fellow sex workers. The cops give the hookers a hard time, but then the lead investigator becomes Angel’s father figure. There are no awful pimps, just a kindly Widow Twanky-ish den mother. It could be a pantomime. I’m not knocking it, I’m just saying that the film’s weirdly saccharine unreality is what makes ‘Angel’ special, especially in combination with this whole sleazy business of prostitute murder. Speaking of which, you don’t get any kind of window into that whatsoever – the evil dude is basically just that, a killer without backstory or motive… “it hurts…!” is about the only thing we hear him say, an impressive waste of the talents of the great John Diehl. All in all, if you’re looking for an insight into the realms of real-life exploitation and the societal abuse and neglect that ends with a life on the streets… look somewhere else. But you may already have figured that out. If you want to watch a bizarre fantasy that’s about as real as a plastic christmas tree, step right up.

[Demdike@Cult Labs]

Originally Posted by Frankie Teardrop

ANGEL – One of those eighties movie serial killers is stalking the hustler haven of downtown LA in ‘Angel’, a tonally bizarre film which is about what I’ve just described, but is actually more about a teenage hooker trying to find her long lost daddy. You get to see a lot of neon drenched shots of city streets at night, and I’m always a sucker for that kind of thing, particularly if it’s from the eighties / nineties, with that filmy graininess about it. It feels gritty and real, but it’s a total hallucination, a look, an aesthetic. ‘Angel’ pushes the unreality boat out even further by inserting into all that what is basically a feelgood plotline. Angel’s life on the streets has a Cinderella harshness about it, but she’s surrounded by a gang of supportive fellow sex workers. The cops give the hookers a hard time, but then the lead investigator becomes Angel’s father figure. There are no awful pimps, just a kindly Widow Twanky-ish den mother. It could be a pantomime. I’m not knocking it, I’m just saying that the film’s weirdly saccharine unreality is what makes ‘Angel’ special, especially in combination with this whole sleazy business of prostitute murder. Speaking of which, you don’t get any kind of window into that whatsoever – the evil dude is basically just that, a killer without backstory or motive… “it hurts…!” is about the only thing we hear him say, an impressive waste of the talents of the great John Diehl. All in all, if you’re looking for an insight into the realms of real-life exploitation and the societal abuse and neglect that ends with a life on the streets… look somewhere else. But you may already have figured that out. If you want to watch a bizarre fantasy that’s about as real as a plastic christmas tree, step right up.

You and me both. If you haven't seen it i recommend Last Night in Soho for neon drenched sixties London.

I really like Angel (And it's sequels). The fact it's a kind of ensemble of likable characters means it's a bit different to the norm of this genre.

[Frankie Teardrop]

I liked LNIS, though I wasn't quite as hot on it as you were. It was those grey spectres that kept cropping up... they fumbled it, somehow. But that's me being picky.

Might try the Angel sequels this afternoon, then.

[Demdike@Cult Labs]

Originally Posted by Frankie Teardrop

I liked LNIS, though I wasn't quite as hot on it as you were. It was those grey spectres that kept cropping up... they fumbled it, somehow. But that's me being picky.

Might try the Angel sequels this afternoon, then.

Don't expect the griminess from Avenging Angel. It's a camper and much more fun affair with shoot out's galore with the fun encapsulated in a riotous sequence as aging cowboy Rory Calhoun is bust out of a sanitarium.

What i like about the sequel is the supposed low life of Hollywood - the (And i quote)" hookers, dykes, drugstore cowboys, transvestites and street performers" - we get to know are wonderfully written people, a loving street family, whom i really cared about.

Haha. No pressure there then Frankie.

[Demdike@Cult Labs]

Zone Troopers (1985)

A cracking war, sci-fi epic from Charles Band starring Tim Thomerson, an actor who lights up any low budget production and turns it into a sparkling gem, as the grizzled sergeant of a platoon (Do four men constitute a platoon?) lost behind enemy lines in Italy 1942 who discover an alien space craft crashed in the woods, it's pilot captured by the SS.

Despite it's meager means Zone Troopers has some great battle sequences as Thomerson and co battle hordes of Nazis. There are some good FX and cool explosions as well. Parts of the film do move at a snails pace but this is to be expected, however the cast of soldiers are all pretty likable and the alien dude is kinda cute in a bug eyed ferret way.

What i did love was the soundtrack of authentic music from the period especially Glenn Miller's In the Mood which i could listen to all day. Although Richard Band's original soundtrack sounds too much like The Imperial March by John Williams each time the Nazis enter the fray.

I'd never seen Zone Troopers before prior to last night and thoroughly enjoyed it. The Blu-ray from 88 Films has lovely depth to it during the daylight outdoor scenes.

[Demoncrat]

Originally Posted by Frankie Teardrop

'Blood Beat' is amazing! 'Blood Beat' and 'Dangerous Men' in one sitting is playing with fire, but I think you already know that...!

They all know the score. I'm teetering with 3 or 4 at the moment, American Rampage was high on the list etc, but BB just took my breath away tbh.

[MrBarlow]

Maniac. 1980.

A psychotic unstable man goes on a killing spree around new York City.

Another abusive mother an son relationship that triggers the brain of a male to become a complete psycho killer, in this it's the form of Joe Spinell, who'd da thought Rocky's old enforcer boss would make a great unbalanced person

I will admit the pace of the film is a bit slow after the start but does get interesting after the main character build up which Spinell and director William Lustig done nicely. Think we all appreciated the death of Tom Savini's character Disco Boy was done brilliantly and one of the best parts to the film, the other was probably seeing Caroline Munro. Watching Frank and Anna together does give off the tense moment of will he or won't he killer her.

Maniac_%281980%29.jpg

[Demdike@Cult Labs]

What did you think of the remake, Mr.B?

I thought it was better than the original.

[MrBarlow]

Originally Posted by Demdike@Cult Labs

What did you think of the remake, Mr.B?

I thought it was better than the original.

Hands up, I was a bit hesitant about Elijah Wood playing a psycho but it was a lot better than I expected it to be, you gotta love the background score when he goes off on one.



Added the remake to the October list

[Demoncrat]

Death Journey (1976, Fred Williamson)

The Hammer and some schlub trek round the states in order to bring bad men to task.
Imagine an unfunny (well ....) Planes, Trains & Automobiles ... without the flying bit
Slightly low rent in presentation, there is much fun to be had, what with FW showing how much of a feminist he is on one hand, and just how violent a brother can get when room service fails to live up to expectations. Pacing wise, it just sort of happens in front of you. Under 80 minutes as well.