Back to School Part II #16: The Karate Kid (dir by John G. Avildsen)

Posted on September 1, 2016 by Lisa Marie Bowman

Finally, I am getting a chance to continue my series of Back to School reviews!

Earlier today, we had a pretty big storm down here in Texas and it knocked out the electricity for three and a half hours! There I was, sitting in the dark and wondering if I would ever get a chance to review the 16th movie in this 56-film review series.

(Originally, I was planning on being done by this weekend but, as always seems to happen whenever I do a review series, I’m currently running behind so it’ll probably won’t be until the weekend after next that I post my final Back to School review.)

Fortunately, the Oncor truck eventually showed up in the alley. I, of course, ran out into the back yard and started to shout at them, “I need power! I have movies to review!” They must have heard me because, suddenly, the power came back on. And now, I can finally get around to sharing a few thoughts on the original, 1984 version of The Karate Kid!

Up until last night, believe it or not, I had never seen The Karate Kid before. Certainly, I knew about it. Much like Star Wars and Star Trek, The Karate Kid is one of those cultural landmarks that everyone knows about even if they haven’t actually sat down and watched the movie. Even before I watched the film, I knew about Mr. Miyagi. I knew about “wax on” and “wax off.” I knew about the crane. I even knew about “You’re alright, LaRusso!”

But I hadn’t actually seen the film and I have to admit that I was a little bit hesitant about doing so. Everything I had heard about The Karate Kid made it sound like a thoroughly predictable and excessively 80s sports film. I was expecting the film to be all about power ballads and training montages and uplifting dialogue and certainly, The Karate Kid had a lot of that.

But what took me by surprise is what a genuinely sweet movie The Karate Kid is. Yes, it’s predictable and it’s full of clichés but dammit, it all works. It still brought tears to my mismatched eyes.

The karate kid of the title is Daniel LaRusso (Ralph Macchio), who moves, with his mother, from New Jersey to California. Daniel’s a nice kid who has learned a little karate from reading books but he’s still no match for the bullies at his new high school. Daniel does get a girlfriend, Ali Mills (Elisabeth Shue, giving a performance that feels far more genuine than any of her more recent work), but even that leads to him getting in trouble. It turns out that Ali’s ex-boyfriend is Johnny (William Zabka), the top student at Cobra Kai. Oddly enough, Johnny’s teacher is also named John. John Kreese (Martin Kove) is a Vietnam veteran who decorates his dojo with pictures of himself looking threatening. Kreese, we soon discover, is a total psychopath. “NO MERCY!” he shouts at this students.

When Johnny and his fellow Cobra Kai students beat up Daniel on Halloween, Daniel’s life is saved by Mr. Miyagi (Pat Morita). Mr. Miyagi may appear to just be a simple maintenance man but he’s actually a total badass. He teaches Daniel not only the moves of karate (“Wax on…wax off…”) but the philosophy as well. He explains to Daniel that there are “No bad students. Just bad teacher.” In short, he is the exact opposite of Kreese.

Who is the better teacher? That’s a question that will be answered when Daniel faces off against the Cobra Kai bullies at the Under-18 All-Valley Karate Tournament. Can Daniel defeat Johnny, win Ali’s love, and earn the right to live free of harassment?

Well, it would be a pretty depressing movie if he didn’t…

Anyway, The Karate Kid turned out to be a really sweet and likable movie. I was never surprised by the movie’s plot but I still found myself being drawn into the story and hoping that everything would work out for Daniel and Ali. The character of Mr. Miyagi has been parodied in so many other films that I was a bit surprised to see just how good Pat Morita was in the role. Yes, Morita gets to say a lot of funny lines but he also gets a rather harrowing dramatic scene where talks about how his wife and child died while he was away, serving in the army.

It’s interesting to note that, at the end of the film, even Johnny got to show a glimmer of humanity, suggesting that even the worst jerk in the world can be redeemed by a good ass-kicking. That said, Kreese is pure evil from beginning to end and Johnny’s friend, Dutch (played by Chad McQueen), is about as scary a high school bully as I’ve ever seen. But at least Johnny is willing to admit the truth.

LaRusso?

He’s alright.

Back to the Beach: MUSCLE BEACH PARTY (AIP 1964)

Posted on September 1, 2016 by gary loggins

cracked rear viewer

The “Beach Party ” gang’s back and so’s the familiar formula in MUSCLE BEACH PARTY, second in the American-International series. It’s Easter vacation and Frankie Avalon is still horny, Annette Funicello’s still waiting for marriage, and a beautiful foreign woman is again coming between them. This time it’s Lucianna Paluzzi as Countess Julie, a rich heiress who wants to make Frankie a singing star and her personal property.

Eric Von Zipper and his Rats aren’t around this time, replaced by a bunch of bodybuilders led by trainer Jack Fanny (the inimitable Don Rickles). Julie first sets her sights on “Mr. Galaxy” Flex Martian, but dumps him when she spies Frankie. This leads to war between the surfers and the musclemen, with the inevitable slapstick melee. Flex is played by Rock Stevens, a real-life bodybuilder who muscled his way through a few Italian peplum films before reverting to his real name of Peter Lupus and…

View original post 338 more words

Film Review: The Sea of Trees (dir by Gus Van Sant)

Posted on September 1, 2016 by Lisa Marie Bowman

Nobody wants to admit it but there was a time when all of us self-styled award divas were convinced that Gus Van Sant’s latest film, The Sea of Trees, would be a huge Oscar contender.

Can you blame us?

Sure, you can! But, before you do, look at it from our point of view. Gus Van Sant is an acclaimed director who has split his time between Oscar-baity mainstream movies (Good Will Hunting, Milk) and deliberately obscure art films (Elephant). Two of Van Sant’s films have been nominated for best picture and he has twice been nominated for best director. The Sea of Trees stars two Oscar nominees (Naomi Watts and Ken Watanabe) and an Oscar winner (Matthew McConaughey). Much like the 2003 best picture nominee Lost in Translation, The Sea of Trees dealt with an American in Japan.

Yep, The Sea of Trees definitely looked like a contender but then it premiered at the Cannes Film Festival and everything went downhill. The audience laughed. The critics booed. The negative reaction to the film quickly became legendary. Suddenly, it looked like this former Oscar contender would be lucky to even get an American release. Both Lionsgate and Roadside Attractions acquired the U.S. distribution rights and both companies dropped the film.

As a result, I found myself growing fascinated with The Sea of Trees. How bad could it be, I wondered. The fact that I might never get a chance to actually see the movie only added to my interest.

Well, fortunately, A24 eventually acquired the distribution rights to The Sea of Trees and they have now given the film a limited release in the States. I saw it last night and…

Meh.

Seriously, after all the publicity and drama, I was expecting that The Sea of Trees would be a total and complete fiasco, one of those train wreck movies that you just can’t look away from. But, to be honest, The Sea of Trees is not an artistic fiasco in the style of Batman v Superman, nor is it unintentionally amusing like April Rain. Instead, it’s just a really boring film.

When I heard the plot of the film, I thought it would be an unofficial companion piece to Van Sant’s acclaimed Death Trilogy. In many ways, the plot sounded a lot like the plot of Gerry. Arthur Brennan (Matthew McConaughey) is a widowed professor who goes to Japan and visits Aokigahara Forest, the famous suicide forest at the foot of Mt. Fiji. Brennan is planning to end his life but he’s distracted by a Japanese man, Takumi Nakamura (Ken Watanabe), who claims to be lost in the forest. However, Nakamura has deep cuts on his wrists.

Brennan tries to help Nakamura find his way out of the forest but soon, the two of them discover themselves to be lost. Brennan spends a lot of time talking about life philosophy and I have to admit that I had a hard time following what he was saying because I was bored out of my mind. (It doesn’t help that McConaughey delivers his dialogue in the same style that he used for his infamous car commercials.) Nakamura doesn’t say much at all.

We also get several flashbacks to Brennan’s former life with his wife (played by Naomi Watts). The scenes all have a definite Nicholas Sparks feel to them. And yet, the flashbacks were the best part of the film because of the chemistry between McConaughey and Watts. The flashbacks are openly and unapologetically sentimental, without any of the pretension that mars the scenes between Brennan and Nakamura.

On a positive note, the film’s cinematography is often striking and the opening, with Brennan walking past random corpses while looking for the perfect place to end his life, is nicely done. Otherwise, almost the entire film is a misfire. Matthew McConaughey is one of those actors who is naturally so full of life that it’s hard to buy him as a suicidal academic and the film, which is already overlong at nearly two hours, drags. This is one of those films that has about a dozen false endings before the final credits finally roll. Meanwhile, as the action slowly plays out, the original score pounds you over the head. Important Important Important, the score demands even as the film fails to deliver.

And so, that’s The Sea of Trees.

It’s not exactly a fiasco but it is unforgivably forgettable.

You gotta keep livin’, man! L-I-V-I-N!

Scene That I Love: President Camacho’s Inspiring Speech From Idiocracy

Posted on September 1, 2016 by Dazzling Erin

This scene is from Idiocracy, which is becoming more and more like a documentary with each passing day.

Artist Profile: Frank Larson (1896 — 1964)

Posted on September 1, 2016 by Dazzling Erin

I just recently discovered the work of photographer Frank Larson and he is now one of my photographic heroes. The son of Swedish immigrants, Larson served in the army during World War I and lived most of his life in New York City. By day, he worked as an auditor for the Empire Trust Company in Manhattan. But at night and on the weekends, he would explore the city with his camera. His pictures, which he developed and printed in a darkroom in his basement, captured New York City in the 1950s. You can see a few of his pictures below but you should also visit The Photography of Frank Oscar Larson to see more of his wonderful work!

Music Video of the Day: I Want Candy by Bow Wow Wow (1982, dir. Steve Kahn)

Posted on September 1, 2016 by Valerie Troutman

For whatever reason, I happened to pick out two fun music videos in a row well in advance. I have up to the beginning of November already planned out.

This is a song like Walking On Sunshine by Katrina And The Waves that probably everyone has heard before. It’s a simple video filled with video effects and plenty of sexual innuendo filling the screen. The band even had some controversy over a picture of the lead singer given her age at the time it was taken. There is a rather suggestive photo of her floating in the water at the beginning and end of the video. Just like I Know What Boys Like by The Waitresses and Centerfold by J. Geils Band, I hope you just have fun listening to it as I am while writing this post.

Steve Kahn directed the music video. He did only a couple of other music videos, but there is still something noteworthy. I Want Candy was in between a video for Lou Reed’s Women and Bad Manner’s My Girl Lollipop (My Boy Lollipop). I haven’t heard them yet, but it is interesting that all three music videos were done in a row given the titles.

Enjoy!