I’ve recently discovered the artwork of Astor Alexander and I absolutely love it. A freelance illustrator from San Diego, Alexander’s work mixed pop culture with pulp history. Sadly, none of the books below actually exist but Alexander’s covers make me wish that they did! Check out more of Alexander’s work here!
by Raymond Johnson
“Hello students.
School has begun.
The summer is over.
I am in command.”
According to my old high school’s calendar, it is the first day of school. If your teacher happens to look like the jilted husband/boyfriend from Chilly Scenes of Winter (1979), then…
Chilly Scenes of Winter (1979, dir. Joan Micklin Silver)
be careful because the guy might be able to lift cars.
Chilly Scenes of Winter (1979, dir. Joan Micklin Silver)
After We’re Not Gonna Take It worked out so well with actor Mark Metcalf, we got a repeat of his amazing performance. Also, with this and 1987’s Here We Go Again, director Marty Callner has directed at least two music videos that have become legends, not because of the band or the song, but because of someone else in the video.
I Wanna Rock is the riveting tale of Mark Metcalf trying to destroy fun by being funny himself while getting flung around a school through the power of rock. It’s also about choosing what you want to do in life, and not what somebody else tells you to do. The music video is not as good as We’re Not Gonna Take It largely because the song isn’t is as good. The music video is still fun though, and showcases Mark Metcalf’s talents as a comedian.
If you haven’t seen this music video, then it is essential. I’ll explain the story of how Metcalf wound up in these music videos when I get around to We’re Not Gonna Take It.
Enjoy!
If you go over to Netflix right now, you can watch a film called 13 Cameras. 13 Cameras had a brief VOD and theatrical run earlier this year and, in 2015, it got some attention on the festival circuit where it played under the title Slumlord. It’s a film about a creepy landlord who rents out a house that is full of surveillance equipment and, what else can I say other than…AGCK!
I mean, this is a seriously creepy little movie and it’s even creepier if you actually have a landlord. I’ll admit that I’ve been checking the house for hidden cameras ever since I watched 13 Cameras.
Now, admittedly, 13 Cameras moves at a very deliberate pace. This film may be slightly less than 90 minutes long but it still requires a bit of patience. When the movie started and I first met Ryan (PJ McCabe) and his pregnant wife, Claire (Brianne Moncrief), I have to admit that I had my doubts about 13 Cameras. Both Ryan and Claire were such unlikable characters that I wasn’t sure that I wanted to spend any more time watching them. Claire came across as being the epitome of the self-centered friend who you always dread getting a phone call from while Ryan … well, Ryan was just a huge jerk. Because he was having a hard time adjusting to his wife’s pregnancy, he was cheating on her with his assistant, Hannah (Sarah Baldwin).
“Do you still love her?” Hannah asks him at one point.
“I don’t know,” Ryan shrugs.
Bleh!
(Interestingly enough, Hannah is probably the most sympathetic character in the film, despite the fact that she’s having an affair with a married man. I don’t know if that was intentional or if it’s just a result of Sarah Baldwin being a more likable performer than either McCabe or Moncrief.)
But no matter! In the end, the film really isn’t about Ryan, Claire, or Hannah. The film is about their landlord, Gerald. Gerald is totally frightening and he ends up doing some pretty bad things. (In fact, some of the things that he does are so awful that it’s actually probably for the best that Claire and Ryan aren’t particularly likable.) Gerald is played by an actor named Neville Archambault and, after I saw 13 Cameras, I immediately jumped over to his imdb page and I was both surprised and somewhat relieved to see pictures of him looking like a perfectly normal and pleasant human being. Because, in the role of Gerald, Archambault gives perhaps the creepiest psycho performance since William Tokarsky played The Killer in Too Many Cooks.
From the minute that Gerald shows up on-screen, he inspires unease. He’s a hunched over, heavy-set but muscular man who speaks only in grunts. He shuffles around, keeping his head down and perpetually breathing through his mouth. When he sits in his apartment and watches the footage from the 13 cameras that he’s set up around the house (including one located in the toilet — ewwwwwwwwwwww!), he sits there with his mouth open and literally never blinks. When she first meets him, Claire complains that Gerald smells like “spoiled mayonnaise” and looking at him, you can imagine the odor almost seeping out of the screen.
What makes Gerald especially frightening is that he’s a believable psycho. As I watched, I realized that I could easily imagine running into Gerald in real-life and then it dawned me that I actually have seen people like Gerald in real-life. Gerald is the guy who, when you have to talk to him, spends the entire conversation answering in monosyllables and staring at your breasts. Gerald is the disgusting, frightening psycho next door and the fact that you could easily imagine seeing Gerald walking down your own street is exactly what makes this film compelling. Neville Archambault deserves a lot of credit for bringing a nightmare to life.
As for the film itself, it requires patience but it pays off in the end. First-time director Victor Zarcoff does a good job, despite having to work with an obviously low-budget and only two locations. The film ends with a perfectly morbid little twist. While it’s not perfect, it’s definitely a promising debut.
Do I recommend watching 13 Cameras? I do. If for no other reason, see it for Neville Archambault’s wonderfully creepy performance!
By Paul Rader
We like people who are made up to look the same while they do the same thing next to each other. There really isn’t anything else to say here except that it took an age old formula a la Busby Berkeley, and fed it to us once again.
Robert Palmer didn’t like making music videos, so when Addicted To Love turned out to be amazing, he just said let’s do that again. Hence we got the same thing only with more girls. That’s not quite as good seeing as five girls that are easy to look up, find out their names, and discover they have reunions. However, I have looked through the comment section and there are several people who write that one of the girls is either their sister, girlfriend, wife, or somebody they know in general. Doesn’t surprise me.
As for the song, it’s Robert Palmer. He does good work. I have yet to come across a song of his that I don’t like, but I’m sure it will happen eventually. The music video is actually perfect for him specifically because while the girls behind him do their thing, it let’s Palmer stay simple. He’s there with his good looks, nice suit, and sings to us like he is onstage in a 30s-40s musical.
Director/Producer Terence Donovan also did Addicted To Love and a handful of other music videos while being a well-known fashion photographer.
I can’t find any other music video work done by choreographer Jeff Thacker, but he certainly continued to work afterwards. His main thing is being one of the producers on the TV Show So You Think You Can Dance.
Enjoy!
If you’ve seen Kubo and the Two Strings, you’ll understand why.
Though I won’t spoil the movie, I will say that, when this Regina Spektor cover of George Harrison’s classic song started to play, there was not a dry eye to be found in the Alamo Drafthouse.
If you haven’t already, be sure to see Kubo this weekend! Let’s make it the number one film in the country!
(WARNING: The movie I’m about to review is so bad, I can’t even find a proper poster for it. Beware… )
I was so excited when I found out TCM was airing THE PHYNX at 4:00am! I’d heard about how bad it for years now, and couldn’t wait to view it for myself today on my trusty DVR. I wasn’t disappointed, for THE PHYNX is a truly inept movie, so out of touch with its audience… and just what is its audience? We’ve got a Pre-Fab rock band, spy spoof shenanigans, wretched “comedy”, and cameos from movie stars twenty years past their prime. Just who was this movie made for, anyway?
The film defies description, but I’ll give it a whirl because, well because that’s what I do! We begin as a secret agent attempts to crash into Communist Albania in unsuccessful and unfunny ways, then segue into some psychedelic cartoons…
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How is it that, this weekend, so much hype is being given to War Dogs and Ben-Hur — two films that you knew weren’t going to be any good from the minute you first saw their trailers — while one of the best films of the year is running the risk of being overlooked?
I just got back from seeing Kubo and The Two Strings and I am insisting that, if you haven’t already, you go out and see it right now. If you’re busy today, I understand. See it on Sunday. You can even see it on Monday if you have to. But the important thing is that you see it soon. For the most part, 2016 in cinema has almost been as bad as 2016 in politics. The year has been dominated by big spectacles, the majority of which do not even attempt to create any sort of emotional connection with the audience. Don’t get me wrong — there have been some good films but not hardly enough. Fortunately, Kubo and the Two Strings is the type of film that, if people actually go and see it, can help to redeem an entire year.
In short, I want to wake up on Monday and I want to read that Kubo and The Two Strings won the weekend. Make it happen!
Kubo and The Two Strings is an animated film and yes, you need to see it in a theater and yes, you need to see it in 3D. It’s one of the most visually stunning films that I’ve seen this year and, even better, it’s a film that actually has a heart. When I watched Kubo and The Two Strings, I found myself both laughing and crying and feeling a renewed excitement about the potential of cinema.
Somewhat appropriately, this magical film is about magic, not just spell-casting magic but also the magic that we all have within our soul and locked away in our memories. Taking place in ancient Japan, it tells the story of Kubo (voiced by Art Parkinson), a one-eyed child who lives in a cave with his sickly mother. Most of the time, his mother is so out-of-it that she can only sit at the cave entrance and stare out at the distant ocean. But occasionally, she is lucid enough that she remembers her past and she tells stories about how Kubo’s father was a mighty warrior who battled monsters and went on heroic quests. She also remembers that Kubo’s grandfather is an evil demon, who is searching for his grandson and who hopes to take away his other eye.
Kubo supports his mother by going into a nearby village and, through the use of origami, magic, and music, telling stories to the townspeople. His mother always warns Kubo not to say out after sunset. Inevitably, however, Kubo does just that and soon, his demonic aunts appear in the village. (The aunts, who are voiced by Rooney Mara, are truly scary.) The village is destroyed and Kubo’s mother sacrifices her life to save him.
This, of course, all leads to Kubo going on a quest of his own. He has to find his father’s armor so that he can defeat his grandfather. Helping him in his quest is Monkey (Charlize Theron) and Beetle (Matthew McConaughey, providing comic relief to an occasionally grim film). But really, the quest is less about finding the armor and more about Kubo both growing up and coming to terms with the loss of his parents. Yes, Kubo and The Two Strings may be an animated film and it may be a fantasy and it may feature bits of comedy but it’s a film that inspires very real emotions. It’s a film that made me cry and it earned every single tear.
(Seriously, I dare you to watch the final five minutes of Kubo and The Two Strings without tearing up.)
Visually, this is an amazing film. The images are often beautiful, sometimes frightening, and occasionally awe-inspiring. Kubo’s aunts are pure nightmare fuel and his confrontation with his grandfather (voice by Ralph Fiennes) is magical in more ways than one. Even beyond that, Kubo and the Two Strings creates a world that feels as real as our own. It not only visualizes and celebrates film magic but also real-life magic as well.
Kubo and the Two Strings is a great and magical film and it’s one of the best of the year so far. If you haven’t seen it, go out and see it. If you’ve already seen it, go see it again. Don’t wait for it to come out on Blu-ray. Don’t say, “I’ll see it on cable.” Don’t wait for Netflix. See it on a big screen and see it now.
Seriously, don’t miss your chance to experience this movie the way it was meant to be experienced!
4 Shots From 4 Films is just what it says it is, 4 shots from 4 of our favorite films. As opposed to the reviews and recaps that we usually post, 4 Shots From 4 Films is all about letting the visuals do the talking. H.P. Lovecraft was born on this date in 1890. The “Weird Tales” author and creator of the Cthulhu Mythos wasn’t appreciated in his time, but his work enjoyed a revival beginning in the psychedelic 60’s that’s still going strong today. Here are 4 Shots From 4 Films inspired by the stories of H.P. Lovercraft:
Die Monster Die (1965)
The Dunwich Horror (1968)
Re-Animator (1985)
In the Mouth of Madness (1995)
Through the Shattered Lens 