Films That Matter
The Takeoff of a Renewed Genre
If you’re looking for one of the most wildly intense nights of chaos set on film, then Airport (1970), co-written and directed by George Seaton (Miracle on 34th Street) is in the running for that honour. Often deemed a disaster movie with plenty of drama, moments of action, tinges of comedy (see above), as well as some obvious thrills, it’s a mixed bag of sorts, as it’s got an impressively massive cast, clever use of split screen to keep the narrative moving along (it might remind some of the popular 2000s tv show 24), and throw a wild number of ideas at the screen to create one frantic evening effect, yet its languid pacing holds some of these elements back from being a more memorable disaster thriller. In fact, star Burt Lancaster even called it “a piece of junk”.
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Upstairs Downstairs
ParasiteNovember 24, 2019One of the more unique films I’ve seen in a longtime, 2019's Parasite, co-written and directed by Bong Joon Ho (Snowpiercer), is a twisty movie best experienced without knowing too much – meaning that this will be as close to a spoiler free review as possible. Like many of his movies, Parasite (which he wrote along with Han Jin Won) deals with class divisions – the divide between rich and poor. In Snowpiercer, he adapted a novel that imagines a post-apocalyptic world where everyone left living resides in a specific compartment of a train depending on his or her wealth, yet this picture is grounded in a certain reality.
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Twinkle Twinkle Little Stars
Night Has a Thousand EyesNovember 17, 2019Twisting the twinkling night sky into a harbinger of doom, 1948's Night Has a Thousand Eyes is a classic film noir that delves into the inexplicable realm of parapsychology. Based upon a novel of the same name written by iconic crime scribe Cornell Woolrich (and adapted by Barré Lyndon and Jonathan Latimer), John Farrow (Where Danger Lives; Around the World in 80 Days) directs this intriguing story. Opening in dramatic fashion, we witness a last second rescue of a young woman attempting suicide late one night at a bustling industrial railway depot (a stunning visual sequence).
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Saving Face
Dark PassageNovember 12, 2019The third of four films made by the husband and wife dream team of Humphrey Bogart and Lauren Bacall, 1947's Dark Passage, written and directed by Delmer Daves (Destination Tokyo), is perhaps one of the most unique film noirs of the classical era. Not revealing star Humphrey Bogart’s face until sixty-two minutes into the movie, studio head Jack L. Warner (Warner Bros), upon learning this, was absolutely furious. . . but, the film was already so far into production that nothing could be done.
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Circles in the Dark
WhirlpoolVampyresOctober 12, 2019Ushered away by the undercurrent of some uncharted territorial waterway, the mostly unknown films of José Ramón Larraz are a warped ride like no other. Not well known enough to be placed on any chart or map, likewise, they are near inexplicable. . . stuck within the cracks of multiple genres, but not beholden to, or perhaps, even accepted by any one of them. A Spanish filmmaker, the early portion of his career is comprised of his English work – five features shot in the rural British countryside, with the two that bookmark this period being looked at here today, 1970's Whirlpool (a film that was long thought to be lost) and 1974's Vampyres. Comprising many of the same themes, the first thing that stands out within the man’s oeuvre is its atmosphere. . . striking doom and gloom – you almost feel like The Rolling Stones’ tune is echoing their mystery – “I had a dream last night, That I was piloting a plane, And all the passengers were drunk and insane, I crash landed in a Louisiana swamp, Shot up a horde of zombies. . . What’s it all about? Guess it just reflects my mood, Sitting in the dirt, Feeling kind of hurt. When all I feel is doom and gloom, And all is darkness in my room. . .”. Whether you are watching the boggy fall forests that surround a picturesque country home in Whirlpool, or the Hammer-esque, dilapidated mansion, with its side doors guarded by two ominous gryphons in Vampyres, there is something unsettling in every minute detail of the way the auteur builds his narratives.
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Even the Best Laid Plans…
PiercingSeptember 15, 2019To 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).
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What Could Have Been: 2019’s Domino
August 9, 2019A new feature that will appear from time to time, ‘What Could Have Been’ will look at movies that had a chance of being something special, but, due to script, production, budgetary, or any other type of issue, it does not reach its full potential. . . first up, Brian De Palma’s 2019 Danish (though English language) crime thriller Domino. When it comes to Brian De Palma, you tend to fall into two camps. . . defender or trasher. I have long been a huge fan, so when you hear that he is finally filming a new movie some seven years after his last picture, it is cause for excitement. Though, soon after, rumblings were heard. . .problems with the producers, the budget, the script. . . making everyone, even ardent De Palma fanatics, a tad apprehensive.
