Crank It to the Mad Max
You’ve got to give credit to guerrilla film making. Usually encompassing a newish director and actors, a limited budget, rebellious on-location shoots, and a certain disregard for rules and regulations (mostly due to a lack of money), some of cinemas most unique and creative pictures have come from this cheap form of movie making. Think Rocky, The Evil Dead, El Mariachi, Clerks, and today’s motion picture, Mad Max (1979). Made for 400 thousand Australian dollars, it went on to make more than 100 million US worldwide – at that point holding the Guinness Book of World Records for most profitable film (only losing it in 1999 to The Blair Witch Project). Putting writer/director George Miller and star Mel Gibson (in his first leading role) on the map, it also thrust Australian New Wave cinema into global consciousness, while bringing forth a surge in dystopic movies that dealt with similar ideas and themes. In fact, it was such a success, it also spawned three sequels – Mad Max 2 aka The Road Warrior (1981), Mad Max Beyond Thunderdome (1985), and the Gibson-less Mad Max: Fury Road (2015). . . this most recent effort considered an instant classic (and one of the best reviewed films of the year).
Even the Best Laid Plans…
To dance with the devil. . . perhaps not the cheeriest of thoughts. But, what if the person the devil is dancing with is another devil? Of course, I’m speaking on a metaphorical level, and this is basically what happens in the mysterious 2018 thriller Piercing, written and directed by Nicolas Pence. To be brutally honest, if you do not like films where there is really no single person to root for, then this will probably not be for you. Opening with a playful combination of music and credits, as I listened, it sounded to me like something you would hear in a 1970s giallo (and, lo and behold, the soundtrack features Goblin’s Tenebrae score), which plays over a fabricated city skyline, cold and lacking life. Like something heard in a music box with a dark twist, it warns of a sinister love story (and I use the word love loosely).
Sci-Fi to the Core
A double feature that will only run you twenty-four minutes, writer/director Adam Stern (a visual effects guru, whose production house Artifex Studios has worked on everything from Mission to Mars and The Core, to television series, including Continuum and Wayward Pines) has developed two intriguing short sci-fi films that deal, in different ways, with discovering the unknown (and how very dangerous that can be). Feeling a little bit like entering the Twilight Zone, 2015's The Adept follows scientist couple Ben (Adam Greyson Reid) and Maddy (Jennifer Spence) as they ruminate on their most recent theoretical physics project. Before going to do the dishes, Ben wants to show Maddy his newest card trick. . . not overly interested, she continues to discuss their work. As they spitfire ideas off of each other, the multitasking Ben mysteriously makes the cards disappear – where to? – not even he is sure.
Star Pick with George Chuvalo
Arguably the greatest Canadian pugilist of all-time, George Chuvalo, standing six feet tall, weighing in at 240 pounds, and with a reach of seventy-one inches, was also graced with an iron jaw. Part of ninety-three professional bouts, Chuvalo never once fell to the canvas – and when you look at the foes he fought, that is one impressive statistic. With a record of 72-19-2, he was a five time Canadian champ, and two time World Heavyweight contender (the first against Ernie Terrell in 1965). Perhaps his two greatest fights were against Muhammad Ali (in 1966 and 1972) – though some may point to the 1965 Fight of the Year versus Floyd Patterson. Given only seventeen days to prepare for their first match, people (along with Ali) didn’t give Chuvalo much of a chance. . . yet, 12 rounds in, the man was still standing (for the first time ever in Ali’s career), the pair going the full 15. Yet, after the fight, Ali claimed, “he is the toughest fighter I ever fought” – Chuvalo earning the man’s respect. And, there is no doubt in Chuvalo’s mind about the fight, for he has long said, “when it was all over, Ali was the guy who went to the hospital because he was pissing blood. . . Me? I went dancing with my wife”.
What Could Have Been: Modesty Blaise
In 1962, one film changed everything. No, not a big budget spectacle, or an Academy Award winner (for those of you interested, the Best Picture was West Side Story), but rather a low budget action B movie, which somehow helped spawn one of the most successful (and longest running) film franchises of all-time. . . you guessed it, Dr. No. Soon, From Russia with Love (1963) and Goldfinger (1964) were released – proving that Dr. No was no anomaly. . . rather, this was an all out craze. And, with millions of cinemagoers flocking to see them, other studios soon sought to capitalize on this unique combination of an action spy picture with cheeky comedy by developing their own Bond knock-offs.
Supergood
If, for whatever reason, you are looking for some advice on kissing, then Good Boys, directed by Gene Stupnitsky, is probably not where you should be starting your search. Written by Stupnitsky and Lee Eisenberg, and produced by Seth Rogen, it is like Superbad for tweens. . . instead of a triumvirate of friends looking for alcohol to impress as they head to a party (hoping to finally get laid), this story finds three buddies on a quest to learn how to kiss before going to their first kissing party – they must also try to track down a new drone after destroying one. This is Good Boys narrative in a nutshell.