Author: temporalparadox

The Russians are Coming, The Russians are Coming!

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The Russians are Coming, the Russians are Coming! Mirisch Corporation 1966.
The Russians are Coming, the Russians are Coming! Mirisch Corporation 1966.

Before watching the movie:

I’m pretty sure my father recommended this to me some time ago, but it wasn’t in a comment on the blog and if it was an email, I don’t have it anymore. In going through old comments I realized I’d been remiss in adding suggestions to the list, but I’ve updated it now. As a reminder, any reader can suggest movies to me for review. You don’t even have to be related to me! The regular format of this blog limits it to films I haven’t seen before, but if I get enough suggestions that I have seen, I may be able to put together a Reader-Request Rewatch month.

This appears to be Cold War satire/farce concerning a Soviet boat in distress in American waters and the attempt by an unfortunate officer to try to solicit help in a small town without starting World War III. It puts me in mind of 1941, only I think that was a real invasion. For pretty much no good reason, it’s also got me thinking of The Ship with the Flat Tire and Jaws.

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Seven Chances

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Seven Chances. Buster Keaton Productions/Metro-Goldwyn Pictures 1925.
Seven Chances. Buster Keaton Productions/Metro-Goldwyn Pictures 1925.

Before watching the movie:

Buster Keaton is possibly the most enduring silent film personality, next to Charlie Chaplin. Few have made and starred in so many silent films that still get counted as great entertainment now.

This one is probably one of them. Unlike The General and Sherlock Jr, I think I’ve only encountered this as a heavily represented modern release of Keaton’s body of work. So it’s well known on the silent film shelf, but I don’t know of any buzz outside it.

The basic story appears to be an heir who must get married to receive his fortune getting mobbed by gold-digging suitors. Which would provide plenty of fodder for slapstick, and I’m not sure if there will be time for much else, though it’s apparently based upon a play. I wonder what the result will be in the translation from a dialogue-driven medium to a purely visual one.

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Supergirl

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Supergirl. Artistry Limited 1989.
Supergirl. Cantharus Productions 1984.

Before watching the movie:

Similar to how the Batman franchise spun off Catwoman, after three Christopher Reeve movies, the Superman franchise spun off Supergirl. However, while Catwoman was basically made because the next proper Batman movie was in development hell, my understanding is that Supergirl was a pure spinoff attempt riding on the success of Superman. While Catwoman is generally considered awful, it was followed by the acclaimed Dark Knight Trilogy, and I get the sense Supergirl is considered okay but forgettable, and it was followed by Superman IV.

I know exactly what to expect from the plot because this is the introductory movie of a superhero, which has been required to be the rote origin story for around 40 years, if not longer. As for a villain to slot in, I’m not sure what to expect, since I don’t know of Supergirl having any villains that are “hers”. I’m really not that familiar with her at all besides the basics of her relationship with Superman, so maybe I won’t have lore bogging down my enjoyment.

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First Blood

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First Blood. Elcajo Productions 1982.
First Blood. Elcajo Productions 1982.

Before watching the movie:

The problem with Sylvester Stallone’s franchises is that they were really never meant to be franchises. But then I say that having never seen any of the Rocky or Rambo sequels. However, I get the sense that the Rocky movies did better at retaining its emotional center than Rambo.

As I understand this, the original Rambo film is a fairly faithful telling of a story contemplating what happens to Vietnam veterans with difficulty adjusting to civilian life (in this case, get triggered and start shooting people), while the later movies recast the character as a warrior put in contexts that need a warrior for the sake of letting him shoot more people. So I expect this one to be thoughtful on a level somewhat beyond a typical gritty action movie.

Stallone gets typed as an action star, but it’s clear from Rocky that he can portray human vulnerability, and I hope to see that on display here in the pacing scenes.

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Ceci n’est pas un post

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I had a post planned for today, but things stopped happening many, many hours after I expected them to, so it will have to be postponed until next week.

Here are some things I’ve been working recently with that I can speak publicly about:

Produced as Intramural, won acclaim as Intramural, distributed and marketed by MGM/Orion as Balls Out. Releases next week.

Lord Montagu, a documentary about the first English Lord to open his estate to tourism. Releases next week.

Dealt, profiling one of the world’s best card magicians/honest cheats, who works his wonders completely blind. Scheduled for release next year.

Fast and Loose

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Fast and Loose. Group Film Productions 1954.
Fast and Loose. Group Film Productions 1954.

Before watching the movie: Automatically recommended to me based on titles like The Fuzzy Pink Nightgown and Monkey Business, this appears to be somewhere between manners comedy and code-compliant titillation farce. A happily married man and a happily married woman who used to date get separated from their spouses, have to share a room at an inn, and find themselves in increasingly compromising situations.

What caught my attention are the words “British” and “Farce”. And Stanley Holloway, although I’m not sure if I’ve actually seen him in anything, or if his name is just close to Sterling Holloway. None of the other people involved ring any bells, although apparently Kay Kendall was a Name at the time. I’m just not familiar enough with that era, most likely. Continue reading →

Event Horizon

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Event Horizon. Paramount Pictures 1997.
Event Horizon. Paramount Pictures 1997.

Before watching the movie:

I guess before just now I didn’t know anything but the title. So apparently a ship that was lost in a black hole has mysteriously come back, and the people who go investigate discover that it brought Something back with it. It seems to basically be a horror story with sci-fi trappings, so I wonder how much it’s indebted to Alien, when I was picturing something more like The Fifth Element or The Black Hole (three films I have yet to see as well). I suspect the main reason I have it connected to The Fifth Element in my head is because of similar looming heads posters and proximity of release dates, but also possibly they were stored close to each other in a friend’s collection. As a tense horror film, I don’t know how much to expect as far as visual and practical effects, and the only name I recognize among the top billing is Laurence Fishburne. So I don’t have much of any foundation for expectations here. Continue reading →

Only the Lonely

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Whose leg is that in behind Candy? It's completely wrong for Sheedy's position.
Only the Lonely. Hughes Entertainment 1991.

Before watching the movie:

From what I can tell from summaries, this movie covers several years of John Candy sneaking a relationship/engagement behind his mother’s back. The length of time that seems to be involved is throwing me off so I have no idea what to expect from the plot.

It’s not even readily apparent why his character has to hide his lover from his mother, but from some minor things on IMDB I glean that there’s a strong Irish-American element, so my guess is that O’Hara’s character is a very traditional Irish mother and Sheedy’s is not Irish enough or Catholic enough or something for her.

I expect good things from a movie written and directed by Chris Columbus and produced by John Hughes.They both have a strong track record on earnest portrayals of life and family.

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House Arrest

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House Arrest. Metro-Goldwyn-Meyer 1996.
House Arrest. Metro-Goldwyn-Meyer 1996.

Before watching the movie:

I’m not sure how I feel about the premise of this movie. Parents get trapped in a locked room by their children so they won’t get divorced. Kids turning the tables on adults, family funtime hijinks, that sort of thing. I believe that divorce should be a last resort after attempts at saving what was once a happy, healthy relationship have failed, but forcing people to find a way to stay together really depends on how it’s handled.

There are a lot of good actors I’m looking forward to seeing, even if they’re presenting material I disagree with.

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Mean Girls

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Mean Girls. Paramount Pictures 2004.
Mean Girls. Paramount Pictures 2004.

Before watching the movie:

I’m fairly certain there were girls’ clique stories before Mean Girls, and of course many more after and because of it. So my impression is that this is extremely generic. But that’s probably unfair. Especially because of the influence this has had on the ten years since. And there’s always room for the writing to rise above a generic story type. I know there are a handful of lines that have become memetic.

This is also likely the most in-depth look at the girls’ clique trope. I seem to recall an idea that this is nearly anthropological in its study of catty high school girls, but that may be an argument beyond the depth of this blog.

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