By  Will, on May 18, 2013, 5:20 am  Starring Samuel Fuller, Jim Jarmusch
Directed by Mika Kaurismäki
Expectations: Moderately high.
Tigrero: A Film That Was Never Made is a gift to Sam Fuller fans, and not of much interest to those that aren’t. It chronicles the 1993 journey of Sam Fuller and Jim Jarmusch to the jungles of Brazil to find the Karajá people who Sam Fuller met and filmed in the mid-1950s. He was sent there by Darryl F. Zanuck to scout for a film called Tigrero, which was to star John Wayne, but ultimately the picture was scrapped due to the insurance costs being too high. Fuller, frustrated with the bullshit involved with getting the picture off the ground with the studio, threw himself into his work on the screenplay for Run of the Arrow.
If I was more focused with these Sam Fuller reviews, maybe I’d have done this in order after House of Bamboo, which was when Fuller initially went to Brazil. Oh well, them’s the breaks! The work on the unfilmed movie Tigrero accounts for the lack of a Fuller film in 1956, but he made up for it big time with three releases in 1957! Some of the footage he filmed for Tigrero ultimately found its way into Shock Corridor as the dream sequences, but other than that it would seem that the experience was a waste of his time.
Continue reading Tigrero: A Film That Was Never Made (1994) →
By Will, on May 17, 2013, 5:20 am  Vengeance of a Snow Girl [冰天俠女] (1971)
AKA A Daughter’s Vengeance
Starring Li Ching, Yueh Hua, Ku Feng, Tien Feng, Lisa Chiao Chiao, Paul Chang Chung, Wong Chung-Shun, Lee Kwan, Nau Nau, Lo Wei, Hsu Yu
Directed by Lo Wei
Expectations: Pretty low, but hopeful.
As I slowly approach 1972 and the real rise of the unarmed martial arts film, many of the films in 1971 have been significant in their own right. Vengeance of a Snow Girl is the final Lo Wei film for the Shaw Brothers, and it was released just two days before Golden Harvest released the film that could easily be called the most important film of Lo Wei’s career, The Big Boss. Yup, the film that gave the filmgoing world Bruce Lee, still one of the most popular figures in martial arts history. He’s like the Jimi Hendrix of the martial arts film world. He only finished a few works before his untimely death, but they continue to resonate. But Vengeance of a Snow Girl doesn’t star Bruce Lee, and, as far as I can tell, it didn’t set the world on fire like The Big Boss did. I’m sure the release date was timed specifically to undercut the performance of Golden Harvest’s The Big Boss, but clearly that plan (if it was a plan) backfired. I don’t think anything could keep people from loving Bruce Lee.
Vengeance of a Snow Girl tells the tale of Shen Ping Hong (Li Ching), an orphan on the warpath to kill the four men who murdered her parents in cold blood, and were in part responsible for the crippling of her legs. Yeah, that’s right, Li Ching plays a girl who can’t walk, but is on a mission of vengeance. Her kung fu is strong enough to allow her to fly and float around, and it also allows her to stay standing while she trades blows with her enemies. But before you get too excited about the entertainment prospects that this premise sets up, all four of her targets are all gathered together already, so instead of a rollicking quest around the countryside looking for these devious bastards, everybody just does a lot of talking about the girl that’s going to kill them.
Continue reading Vengeance of a Snow Girl (1971) →
By Will, on May 16, 2013, 5:20 am  Starring Tio Hardiman, Ameena Matthews, Toya Batey, Cobe Williams, Gary Slutkin, Earl Sawyer, Bud Oliver, Kenneth Oliver, Caprysha Anderson
Directed by Steve James
Expectations: High.
It’s hard to know quite what to say about The Interrupters because the power of the work being done by the people documented in the film is so important, dangerous and intense that anything I could come up with could never encapsulate it or even come close to being worthy of it. These people are true, unsung American heroes, fighting the wars waged on the streets with non-violence. They were all kids on the wrong path earlier in life, and their experiences shaped them into the people that they are today. They may have stolen, or sold drugs, or even murdered someone, but now they’re doing everything in their power to curb the rampant youth violence plaguing the streets of Chicago.
The Interrupters is about the relentless gun violence in Chicago, and a group called CeaseFire who employs “violence interrupters,” people who attack the problem on a one-on-one basis. They attempt to break through to people by connecting on a personal level, hoping to save lives and make their city a better place in the process. This is obviously hard work; Chicago is a city of 2.7 million people, and it would be easy for anyone to become overwhelmed by the feeling of helplessness in the face of such rampant crime. But these interrupters continue their work, undeterred, making a difference on the ground level. It takes a special person to stand up against such a seemingly insurmountable force and dare to push back against it, and the CeaseFire group should serve as a model to the entire country.
Continue reading The Interrupters (2011) →
By  Stephen, on May 15, 2013, 5:20 am  Adieu Galaxy Express 999 [さよなら銀河鉄道９９９ －アンドロメダ終着駅－ Sayonara Ginga Tetsudo 999: Andromeda Shuchakueki] (1981)
AKA Goodbye Galaxy Railway 999: Andromeda Terminal (more of a literal translation, really)
Starring Masako Ikeda, Masako Nozawa, Kaneta Kimotsuki, Makio Inoue, Reiko Tajima, Kei Tomiyama, Youko Asagami, Toru Emori, Ryoko Kinomiya, Hidekatsu Shibata
Directed by Rintaro
As the title implies, this is the conclusion of the Galaxy Express series. But wait, didn’t I tell you all in last week’s review that this was the second film in a trilogy? Well, yes, but it’s a rather impromptu trilogy since the third film, Galaxy Express 999: Eternal Fantasy, didn’t come out until the late ’90s, so Adieu was intended to be the conclusion. Actually, the original Galaxy Express 999 wasn’t intended to have a sequel either, so all three films in the trilogy were the end of the series. And none of them actually stayed that way. (Ok, ok, so Eternal Fantasy was followed by a TV series spin-off rather than a true sequel. So sue me.)
Of course, making a sequel to a film that doesn’t need one is always tricky business. Not only do you have to unravel the ending that had already been neatly tied up, but you have to then face the twin complaints that the sequel is either too much or not enough like the original. While I enjoyed Adieu quite a bit, hecklers will complain about it from both sides of the field. Probably simultaneously.
Continue reading Stephen reviews: Adieu Galaxy Express 999 (1981) →
By Will, on May 14, 2013, 5:20 am  Magnificent Bodyguards [飛渡捲雲山] (1978)
AKA The Red Dragon, Master of Death
Starring Jackie Chan, James Tin Jun, Bruce Leung, Wang Ping, Lau Ming, Wong Gwan, Wong Kwan, Wong Chi-Ping, Lee Man-Tai, Chui Yuen, Luk Chuen, Fang Fang, Ko Keung, Wong Ching
Directed by Lo Wei
Expectations: Low.
Magnificent Bodyguards was the first Hong Kong film to be shot in 3D, and it never lets you forget that. It only takes 30 seconds for the first thing to be thrust directly at the camera, and this moment is but a drop of water in the tsunami of “things thrust directly at the camera” shots to follow. This might sound like a bad thing, and if you’re one to scoff at gimmicky 3D filmmaking then it definitely is, but I really enjoyed this aspect of the film. Kudos must be given to Jackie Chan for seamlessly working so many of these moves into his fight choreography for the film. I’m sure that was no small feat, and it really helps to spice up these fights.
“But,” you say, “a Jackie fight shouldn’t need spicing up with visual trickery!” And I would agree, but in Magnificent Bodyguards the fights, while good, are incredibly forgettable and without much passion. The actions are all performed well, and a lot of the choreography is well-done, but none of it feels especially exciting or interesting. I imagine this is the feeling non-martial arts fans have about every kung fu film. So while lots of individual moments within the choreography are good, the overall fights are largely uninteresting and pretty mediocre, except for those things coming at the camera, of course.
Continue reading Magnificent Bodyguards (1978) →
By Will, on May 13, 2013, 5:20 am  Starring Mike Birbiglia, Lauren Ambrose, James Rebhorn, Carol Kane, Cristin Milioti, Aya Cash, Marylouise Burke, Loudon Wainwright III, Marc Maron
Directed by Mike Birbiglia (with co-director Seth Barrish)
Expectations: Pretty high.
Sleepwalk With Me is the type of movie that would be easy to come down on either side of. If you’re not that interested in stand-up comedy, particularly the beginnings of a stand-up’s career, then a lot of Sleepwalk With Me won’t resonate as well as it could. The film is about more than this, but it’s steeped in the culture so those without an affinity for it might be bored. But this is exactly as it should be in this particular film, because its writer/director/star is Mike Birbiglia, a great comic who’s taken a very successful one-man show and fashioned it into a narrative film. I’d also say a healthy dose of love for Woody Allen is in order for those considering this film, as it has something of that feel, while still being its own thing too.
On top of the stand-up storyline, we also have Mike’s relationship with his long-time girlfriend Abby (Lauren Ambrose). They’re happy, but he’s not ready to take the relationship further, while she’s basically in a holding pattern waiting for him to get there. And, as the title suggests, Mike is a sleepwalker (and no, that doesn’t mean he turns into a cat) and it’s becoming more and more of an issue. Of course, he also doesn’t want to visit a doctor, which would acknowledge the problem and take that part of his life (the “you have medical problems because you’re getting older” part) to the next level. So to say that Mike has some issues to deal with is an understatement.
Continue reading Sleepwalk With Me (2012) →
By Will, on May 12, 2013, 5:20 am  Starring Christopher Reeve, Richard Pryor, Jackie Cooper, Marc McClure, Annette O’Toole, Annie Ross, Pamela Stephenson, Robert Vaughn, Margot Kidder, Gavan O’Herlihy
Directed by Richard Lester
Expectations: I’m so excited.
On the general scale:
On the “B-movie for Kids” scale:
Superman III is the Superman film that I saw more than any other as a kid. Due to this odd fact, during this re-watch I saw both all the flaws AND loved pretty much every moment. It’s kind of a good thing that Richard Donner didn’t finish Superman II, because if the world went from that slice of awesome to this full-on slapstick, camped-out take on the character, I imagine heads would have exploded in theaters across the world, just on sheer grounds of lunacy. Thankfully(?), director Richard Lester stepped in and added a bunch of slapstick to his scenes in the theatrical Superman II, creating something of a hybrid film between the two directors’ tones and paving the way for this 100% Lester joint.
Having previously fought off human and Kryptonian supervillains, Superman III naturally pits the character against another human supervillain. Oh, but don’t worry because this guy, Ross Webster (Robert Vaughn), is in no way, shape or form like Lex Luthor. Not. At. All. Luthor dealt in land to facilitate his desire to financially control the world; Webster deals in computers and controlling specific industries for financial control of the world. Luthor had a pair of henchpeople; Webster had a pair of henchpeople and Richard Pryor, but one of his henchpeople had a thing for Superman. Oh wait, Ms. Teschmacher had a thing for the Man of Steel also. I could continue listing these “clear differences” in the characters, but honestly, it’s so obvious that the characters are absolutely nothing like each other that it’s kinda of pointless.
Continue reading Superman III (1983) →
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