Guilty Pleasures

 These are the films that I've watched time and time again, despite either not being particularly great, panned by the critics, or just generally films that a 26 year old heterosexual male shouldn't admit to watching.

10. Last Action Hero (1993, J. McTiernan) 
 I debated greatly as to whether to include this on my list, as it already has quite a cult following to be considered a "guilty pleasure". However, it was pretty widely panned by the critics on it's initial release, but still managed to gain a respectable return on it's budget. The film's problem is that it has absolutely no subtlety to it's satire at all, so much so that people take it at face value they don't bother to read between the lines. The film is a cinephile's dream with so many references to other action genre films, as well as cinematic classics such as Olivier's Hamlet and even Ingmar Bergman's The Seventh Seal. With Olivier's ex-Wife Joan Plowright playing the teacher who introduces the main character's class to the film, in which he promptly imagines as Arnie's latest blockbuster. The cast is also impressive, boasting such luminaries as Anthony Quinn, Charles Dance, F. Murray Abraham and even Sir Ian McKellen, along with cameos from Sharon Stone and Robert Patrick, the film seems to relish and indulge it's target audience. Again it falls into the trap of giving it's audience to much credit, but for those who have discovered John McTiernan's aim of the film, they have been rewarded an amusing and charming action adventure that they can revisit time and again. One last point I'd like to make is that like the film, Arnold Schwarzenneger is severely underestimated for his film choices. I don't think it's any coincidence that he did The Terminator, Predator, Total Recall, Last Action Hero and True Lies.  The films I haven't mentioned are the ones where he's made his name, established himself as an action star and those have more often than not been box office hits. An underestimated man, whose state governership only serves to enhance this opinion.

9. Billy Madisson (1995, T. Davis)
 Liking an Adam Sandler film, that isn't Happy Gilmore, has got to come under the category of "guilty pleasure". Like most oher Sandler film's he's at his obnoxious and abrasive best, but despite this the film has some absolute comedy gold. Totally irreverant and over-the-top, it's pure juvenile silliness, 'just like other Sandler films' you might say, well no, not really. It benefits greatly from the fact it's Adam Sandler's first main role, and so the comedy isn't totally reliant on him throughout to deliver the lines. Centred around Sandler's character having to go back through grades 1-12 in order to earn his high-school diploma in order to take over his father's company. Along the way he meets a teacher, played by the stunning Brigette Wilson (her second film after... Last Action Hero of course), he falls for her, but like us finds him obnoxious. She somewhat unconvincingly lightens up to him, but it matters not, as the film is all about the gags. It still suffers from slight moments of cringe from Sandler, but overall it's a riot, with interesting support from established character actors.

8. Batman: The Movie (1966, L. Martinson) 
 Again, I'm not sure this should be included on this list, I'm pretty sure everyone involved with the TV series and movie knew what they were doing. I think it was made as a kid's show, but the comedy must have been put in for adults to enjoy too, as well as the insatiable Julie Newmar. Sadly Newmar wasn't involved in the movie version of the show, but Lee Meriwether proved an adequate replacement as Catwoman. The movie centres around the big four villains (Catwoman, The Riddler, The Penguin and The Joker) de-hydrating members of the UN Council into molecules, it's up to the dynamic duo to track down and recapture the molecules and rehydrate the members. Of course the plot is ludicrous, like much of the "action", but this is what makes the Adam West Batman the stuff of legend. 'Shark Repellent Batspray', 'self sacrificing manatees' and "Some days you just can't get rid of a bomb." are just a brief snippet of some of the gold that this film offers. The series is equally as fun, some people take this version too seriously, they shouldn't as it doesn't treat itself with an integrity. It is for the most part pure slapstick, though it does in some way capture the spirit of the original DC comics.

7. The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe (1979, B. Melendez)
 This low budget animated version of the C.S. Lewis classic, is my favourite adaptation. Although the animation is slow and simple, I think the film as a whole summises the whole story wonderfully for children. I grew up watching this, and now own the DVD, which I still occassionally watch. It was directed by the father of the Charlie Brown TV show, but suprisingly the animation does have a more British feel to it, than American. It also has a lot of noticeable names amongst it's voice artists such as Leo McKern, Arthur Lowe, Leslie Phillips and Sheila Hancock as The White Witch. It's interesting to note, that the American release feature American voice over actors in it's version, including Victor Spinetti. The thing I love about this film is it's score, for such a low budget animation, it's is one of the best scores I've heard from any animated movies. Most impressive of which is the music accompanying the chase of the White Stag at the end, it really suits the epic story it's accompanying. Whilst overall, this film leaves a lot of room for better adaptations to be made, no one as of yet, has made a film that I feel is as charming, or encapsulates the heart of the tale, quite like this underrated and somewhat forgotten piece.

6. Calamity Jane (1953, D. Butler)
 "Oh..... The Deadwood stage is rolling on over the plain"... yep an MGM musical now, starring Doris Day and Howard Keel. Based on the wild west legend of  'Wild' Bill Hickcock (Keel) and tomboy 'Calamity' Jane (Day), it centres around "Calam" having to bring in some female talent from "Chicagy", after being dared by her childhood friend 'Wild' Bill. Once brought back, it is soon discovered (unknown to "Calam" that the show girl is an imposter called Katie. The town folk soon forgive Calamity, and she and Katie, strike a friendship. Calamity starts to become more like a lady and attempts to woo Lieutenant Gilmartin, with 'Wild' Bill after Katie.
 Ok so you already know where this one is going, but still it's a nice film that's synonymous with MGM musical's of the 50's. The numbers are great, and Doris Day is great as "Calam", for me though it's Keel's baritone voice and brilliant chemistry with "Calam" that makes the movie worth watching again and again. Most people will identify the character with the recent hit series "Deadwood", but whereas that is gritty and "real", this is twee and fun.

5. Muriel's Wedding (1994, P.J. Hogan)
 A chick flick now, Muriel's Wedding was very much a film of the 90's, during a time when the Oceanic film industry was starting to garner greater international attention (Priscilla Queen of the Desert, Strictly Ballroom and Braindead). Interesting to note all these films apart from Braindead featured the late Bill Hunter, who plays the family patriach in this. As an aspiring politician, dodgier than a Jeffrey Archer and Jonathan Aitken testimony, he resents his family who are a bunch of underacheivers. Muriel (Toni Collete) his daughter goes on a journey of her own, having been ditched by her peers for been uncouth, she manipulates her slow-witted mother into giving her a blanque-cheque, in which she uses to try and follow her peers on holiday. Again she is rejected, but soon meets an old school-friend Rhonda (Rachel Griffiths), who takes a shine to Muriel and the two soon become firm friends. Muriel forever dreams of her own wedding and listens endlessly to ABBA for solace, but after meeting Rhonda, she resolves to improve her life and get what she wants.
 Toni Collete is brilliant in the title role, and as she has proved since she has a real knack for immersing herself into a character, sacrificing weight, make up and even her hair for subsequent roles. Her character's development is well charted throughout the film, it never comes off as contrived, which is a real acheivment. Equally Rachel Griffiths compliments Collete's performance beautifully and their spontaneous friendship feels genuine. It's a very endearing movie, and very matter of fact, one of the few chick flicks that has something different and original about it. Also, the ABBA themed score, makes this a far superior ABBA-centric movie to the over-bloated Mamma Mia.

4. Logan's Run (1976, M. Anderson)
 This film was made just a year before Star Wars, but comparing the two you would say there were at least twenty. Set in a dystopian future where life is terminated at the age of 30, in an amphitheatre like structure called 'Carousel'. Of course you could always run, however the runners will track you down and kill you unceremoniously. Cue Michael York who plays one of these trackers (a 'Sandman'), who's assigned by the city's computer to infiltrate the runner's 'Sanctuary' by becoming a runner himself. He uses the lushes and sultry Jenny Aguter to acheive this goal, whilst being hunted by his fellow Sandmen.
 It really is quite camp, espescially by today's standards, but it is quite an interesting film,  even if I do think George Lucas better acheived the concept in his first feature project THX 1138 five years earlier. The reason I like it so much, is probably more nostalgic rather than anything else, I'm pretty sure Jenny Aguter is the first woman I saw naked. Aside from that fact, which I dwell on almost daily, the adventure is quite entertaining as they move from this exciting "modern" city, into the city's dark underworld and into the ruins of modern America. Again like all guilty pleasures, it's fun and easy watching and a great Sunday afternoon flick.

3. Waterworld (1995, K. Reynolds)
 Of course no 'guilty pleasures' list is complete with out an entry from Kevin Costner. 'Prince of Thieves', 'Tin Cup' and 'The Bodyguard' were all a bit too entertaining and quite good, to be considered "guilty". 'The Postman' on the otherhand, a bit too self-indulgent and boring to be considered a "pleasure". Waterworld manages to find the balance. It was of course the most expensive film, at that time, ever made, the fact that Costner and director Kevin Reynolds had a huge fight over the film, only adds to it's legend. Other alleged problems came after Costner was given a $4,500-a-night luxury villa, whilst the rest of the crew had to make do with comparable squalor, thus causing further on-set tensions.
 Regardless, the film is filled with a lot of cringetastic lines and action sequences, that the problems seemed to have stemmed long before production had begun. Dennis Hopper's cartoonish portrayel of the villain Deacon, only serves the cynics to lampoon the movie further. But you know what, it works for me. I think a lot of people attack this film because of Costner, but it's not awful, at the end of the day films are designed to be a form of escapism and a piece of entertainment and Waterworld certainly achieves this. Ok, it might not be the most gritty or even believable portrayel of a post-apocalyptic Earth, but it's kitsch. And I don't know too many $180m film's that are kitsch. It's another reason that I like it, it's extravagance, over sentimentality and sheer waste seems like a thing to marvel at rather than ridicule. It's one of those, that if people let themselves go, they'd enjoy this film. Dry land is not a myth, and neither is Waterworld.

2. Finian's Rainbow (1969, F. F. Coppola)
 Before Coppola made a series of great films in the 70's, including The Godfather Part 1 and 2, The Conversation and Apocalypse Now! he made this tacky Irish musical starring Petula Clark, Tommy Steele and Fred Astaire in his last musical role. Clark's mousy bland persona, Steele's over-the-top sense of showmanship and Astaire's awful Oi'rish accent are all the ingredients needed to make this film be a complete failure. Though it was in fact a commercial success, but naturally panned by critics. It isn't at all bad though if taken for what it is, which I think is a fun, gentile and simplistic look at Irish folk tales, mixed with a bit of song and dance. Steele is fun and charming as the leprauchaun Og, who wants to get his pot o' gold back before turning into a mortal. Whilst there are no signature tunes, they are pleasant enough to make this film worth watching on a slow Sunday.

1. I Spit On Your Grave (a.k.a. Day of the Woman) (1978, M. Zarchi)
 Now to my favourite exploitation piece. I've always loved horror movies, but despite the boundaries pushed by 70's classics such as The Exorcist and The Texas Chainsaw Massacre, I didn't discover exploitation pieces until university. I Spit On Your Grave was my first one, and despite never seeing the uncut version, it's always stuck with me. I know it's referred to as "Exploitation" but for me I don't find any of the film particularly gratuitous, especially compared to today's movie which are far more gratuitous, if maybe a little less explicit. In comparrison to Wes Craven's Last House on the Left, I feel the rape scene is far more purposeful. Last House on the Left comes across as pure snuff film, with little plot towards it. I find this far more captivating as a vengeance piece as we are solely centred on the one victim throughout the movie. Most feminists will strongly disagree, but I view this as one of the most undetected counter-culture feminist pieces of our time. It may suffer a bit from being undercooked in character development, but let's face it, this was very low budget. I haven't seen the remake, but I doubt it capitalised in trying to explore the more intelligent elements of this film. Below is just a trailer for the film, but my scene would be the bathtub one.
                                        

Films of the Month: February

 I kicked off the month with a watching of George Steven's predecessor to Giant with a viewing of A Place in the Sun (1951). I'd been very much looking forward to watching this, as I had forever heard good things about it, it also starred Montgomery Clift who I had been impressed with in A Judgement at Nuremberg and Red River, as well as a teenage Elizabeth Taylor, and the formidabble Shelly Winters. I was not to be disappointed, very much of the similar realist approach that Giant took, A Place in the Sun was bold, daring and ahead of it's time. Clift takes the role of a young drifter-types who turns up at his rich uncle's office looking for a job. He is assigned to a lowly role within the company, where he meets and falls in love with his simple colleauge Shelly Winters. But as Clift character impresses in his job, his uncle gives him a promotion and even invites to a lavish party he is holding. Feeling out of place he decides to shoot pool away from the other guests. Here he catches the eye of his uncle's colleaugue's daughter, played by the always luminous Elizabeth Taylor. He begins a relationship with her, when he then learns of Shelly Winters pregnancy. Just as he is on the brim of high society, he is brought back to Earth with a bang, and he tries to work out a way to get what he really wants.
                                            

 It's hard to talk about this film without giving to much away, but one of the trully great moments is when Shelly Winters' character goes to the doctor seeking an abortion. As the subject was such a taboo back then, it is heart rendering how Winters tries to convince the Doctor what she wants, without revealling she is out of wedlock. Many of George Stevens' friends state that when he went to Europe to film footage of concentration camp victims, he's style changed forever. The sheer gravitas of this realist piece, reflects these sentiments perfectly. It's an incredibly mature piece, that deals with issues of immaturity and loss of innocence from it's characters. Like Giant Stevens' manages to get the very best out of all three leads. Montgomery Clift particularly excels as he manages to generate alot of sympathy for his deeply flawed character. It's obvious to see why there are so many comparrisons between him and Brando, but wheras Brando was more of an extrovert in his roles, Clift was very much an introvert with more subtlety in his performances. It's amazing to think, had Clift not had such a physical and mental decline in 1954, he probably would have been as successful, maybe moreso than Brando, he was even first choice for On The Waterfront (1954). The final scene in this film serves as a kind of a homage in a way to Clift's own tragic life. As for Taylor and Winters, they help compliment Clift's role vastly, whilst some are quick to criticise Winters' character Alice, it is down to Winters' great interpretation of the character that gives us these very real opinions and feelings towards her character. Definetly a great film, I even thought it was slightly better than Giant, and I look forward to watching it again.

 Another classic film I finally got round to seeing was Fitz Lang's Metroplois, certainly one of those films that was high on my 'must-see' list. Set in a dystopian future, the film focus on the lives of two different classes of people, the higher class city planners, who live an affluent life above the city; and the lower class city workers, who live in the slums below the city. The son on the Metropolis' creator, falls in love with a prophet who fortells the coming of a 'mediator' who will resolve the city's differences. Along the way, his father and a mad scientist devise a plan to use a robot, disguised as the prophet, to quell a worker's plot against the city.
 Whilst the film was a technical landmark in cinema, I couldn't help but felt a tiny bit let down by the experience. The film was segmented into three parts (beginning, middle and end), but whilst I found the beginning and end to be entertaining and exciting, I really struggled to stay awake in the middle of the movie. At the start, I was really enjoying it, it was Orwellian before Orwell, and touched on the familiar theme of films set in in dystopian societies. It was also interesting to see that a lot of different interpretations on the types of allegory's that could be drawn from it. The strong emphasis on socialism as well as futurism are in-line with facist sentiments at that time, and it's easy to see why Joseph Goebbels became so fascinated with the film. Indeed the worker's burning of the robot-disguised as the prophet, after they learn that her actions have resulted in the supossed death of their children, felt quite similar to later acts of incrimination of the Jews for Germany's own economic and social problems by the Nazi's. On that basis again it was interesting.

 As a film though Metropolis was a bit to hit and miss, and though the end was quite dramatic, it felt like the ultimate message of the film, was a bit too naive and simplistic, to give it credence as a politically aware piece. As I say, the real merit of the film is Fitz Lang's incredible vision of futurism and the special effects used, as well as the vast scale of set pieces that resemble our own world somewhat. Also Lang's camera work, shots and camera effects also seem ahead of their time, but for me I think Lang's later masterpiece M (1931) was more engrossing and rewarding as a film.

 A more disappointing experience was definetly The Woman in Black, based on the Susan Hill novel. I wasn't expecting a "game changer" in the horror genre, but was expecting a bit more originality. The same old formulaic "let's make the audience jump" were there throughout, although there were a couple of interesting more subtle technique's utilised. My biggest problem with it though, was the feeling throughout that "I know exactly where this is heading", and sure enough, the blueprint of the movie was followed throughout. I'm not sure whether it was trying to be clever, as the ending was very obvious throughout the movie, it was hard to see whether the maker's themselves thought they might fool the audience. As for Daniel Ratcliffe, I'm still not convinced by him as an actor, he was ok in this, but I would hardly consider him in the next generation of great actors. Though I must admit, I think he's probably a nice guy in real life, but acting should be measured on ability not sentiments. As for the support, I thought it was bit mismatched, Ciaran Hinds performance felt to me particularly "phoned in", though critics seem to suggest otherwise. By no means was this a bad film, but I definetly wouldn't need to see it ever again. Distinctly Average.
                                    

 Towards the end of the month I finally got round to watching In Bruges, having heard so many great things about it I was expecting the hype to outweigh the content. Starring Colin Farrell, who it's fair to say I despise, I was ready to hate this effort, but it was such a funny, entertaining and charming film, that it was even impossible for me to find fault with Farrell. Indeed I'd even go as far to say as he worked well in this film, complimented by his "partner" Brendan Gleeson, who gives the kind of assured performance we've come to expect from this seasoned pro. Ralph Fiennes hams it up to great effect as their gangster boss and manages to deliver the majority of the movies funniest lines. Having enjoyed this movie immensely I started to worry that the ending would be an anti-climax as most recent films decide to be too clever and ultimately send their films to the realms of mediocrity with endings that don't make sense. Whilst In Bruges did become somewhat "poetic" in it's ending, it really worked and left me with a great sense of satisfaction when the credits rolled. It was film that really rebuilt my faith in "word of mouth" films, one of the best black comedies in recent years.

                                      

 The Fighter was another recent release that I finally got around to watching. Based on the real events of light welterweight boxer Micky Ward (Mark Wahlberg) and his older half-brother Dicky Eklund (Christian Bale), who trains Micky in spite of his personal drug problems. This synopsis suggests that this film was prone to melodrama and over-sentiment, but for me it never fell in to that trap. Even when their mother (Melissa Leo) cries at her son's drug abuse and he sings to her to cheer her up, it felt realitive and understandable and came across as genuinely heartfelt. Of course to pull off scenes like that you need the actors with the talent, and Bale and Leo deliver powerful performances throughout, so much so they both won Best Supporting Oscars. Whilst Wahlberg is somewhat inhibitted with his role as the focused fighter, his performance serves as the perfect platform for which his co-stars can deliver such impressive displays. Wahlberg's onscreen girlfriend played by Amy Adams, is the one who tries to push Wahlberg closer to his dreams at the expense of his family. Again another truly impressive performance, by a woman who is currently setting the bar for young actresses in Hollywood. She seems to have noticeably put on a bit of weight for the role, but her beauty still resonates appropriately for the role.

                                                      
 It's hard to talk about anything other than the acting in this film, as it is a great showcase for that, but credit has to be given to the fight scenes. They're hard hitting and give that sense of realism of 90's boxing, though admittedly they're not Raging Bull level. And whilst the film doesn't follow the true story coherently, the film's story is a very rewarding watch that you can forgive any inaccuracies (maily in the chronology of the events). I feel I need to say more about Bale's performance, as he has recently attracted attention for the wrong reasons. His turn as Dicky Eklund is nothing short of superb, a quick video is shown during the credits of the real Dicky, and the two are pretty indistinguishable. In regards to his rant on the Terminator salvation, I would say it would be naive to think that actors and directors are all very civil on sets of films. Whilst I can't condone his actions, I doubt he's the first or last to act in such a way, and he should be remembered for the amazing performances he delivers, more often than not. As for The Fighter, I thought it was as good as Rocky and better than Million Dollar Baby; Raging Bull however is still reigning champ.

 The final film I finally got round to watching this month was amongst the Marilyn Monroe collection, though Marilyn had a fairly minor role. Monkey Business starred Cary Grant as a scientist trying to discover a youth pill for the world. He accidently tries the effect of the real dose after he extinguishes a remedy made by one of the test monkey's into the water cooler. He begins to revert to young adulthood, whilst his wife (Ginger Rogers) regresses further into childhood. It's the kind of fast paced Hawks' comedy we've come to expect, as things become more and more complicated, but for me the humour seems a bit tired at times. The film isn't without it's charm, but it has too many moment's where the regressive states of Grant and Rogers are a bit annoying. Parts are also a bit too far fetched, even for a screwball. As for Marilyn her part is small, but she is in her era of peak beauty, and she looks luminous. She has some funny moments to, as the receptionist who she believes is being sexually harrased by Grant. Not one of the best Hawks' comedies I've seen, but it was quite fun at times in spite of it's absurdities.