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Imaginary (2024)
Tween gateway horror flick
My middle schooler watched this at a sleepover, which pretty much typifies this film's target audience. It's a gateway horror film, introducing the kids to scary movies, but starting them out with something not too scary. A mother returns to her childhood home when her daughter begins talking to an imaginary friend who tells her to do increasingly sinister and dangerous things. Is the girl losing her mind, or is something supernatural going on? IMAGINARY doesn't let that mystery last long and quickly lets the audience know something supernatural is happening when the mom's old babysitter, the great Betty Buckley (CARRIE, EIGHT IS ENOUGH), provides hints about what's going on. Had the film left things more ambiguous as to what's happening, that would have been a more interesting and unsettling of film, such as Jennifer Kent's far superior film, THE BABADOOK. However, as I said before, this film is clearly targeted at the same tween audience who ate up M3GAN, which was just as slickly made as this film and equally as forgettable. IMAGINARY isn't a bad film, and it achieves what it sets out to accomplish, but it could have been a much more interesting and scary of film had it targeted a more adult audience.
Poser (2021)
Gen-Z SINGLE WHITE FEMALE
An introverted 20somthing wannabe musician, Sylvie Mix, starts a podcast interviewing local bands and becomes obsessed with one singer in particular. With shades of SINGLE WHITE FEMALE, this Gen-Z stalker tale adds themes around social media and isolation in an online world. Mix is fantastic as the podcaster wannabe who essentially falls in love with the super cool singer Bobbi Kitten (played by singer Bobbi Kitten). Co-directed by Noah Dixon and Ori Segev, and written by Dixon, the film is equal parts visually arresting and fascinating character study. The pacing lags at times, but the characters are utterly fascinating, and I credit the film with leaving me not knowing how it was going to end, though it did not go full FATAL ATTRACTION, which is what I was expecting, and it's probably better for it.
The Strange Woman (1946)
Should have been a noir instead of a costumer
If this film had been a contemporary film noir instead of a period costume film, it would have been Hedy Lamarr's greatest film. She plays period femme fatale, but how great would it have been to see her seducing men in a slinky Rita Hayworth GILDA cocktail dress? Lamarr is so gorgeous she could lead the best of men to their doom, which she does repeatedly in this film.
1-8-17
The Strange Woman (1946) ***1/2
Hedy Lamarr plays a femme fatal of the first order in this costume drama that plays out more like a film noir plot. The film starts with Lamarr's character as a child pushing a boy into the river, who she knows can't swim, and only saves him after an adult sees the boy drowning. Cut to an adult Lamarr, who is equally manipulative and callous, set out to marry the richest man in town. But wait, after marrying him, she sets her sights on his son. (SPOILER ALERT) But wait, after seducing the son and convincing him to murder his father, she then seduces another businessman, George Sanders, in order to get more money. Lamarr is a fantastic femme fatale, and I would LOVE to have seen her in a contemporary noir like "Out of the Past" instead of a costume drama. If this film had been set in an LA Noir setting, I think this film would have been a classic. Directed by Edgar G. Ulmer, who spent most of his career making memorable B-pictures, he got an A-list cast this time around and brought a lot of style to the film. Overall, this is a pretty solid little thriller that's elevated by Ulmer's direction and the gorgeously seductive Lamarr but is sadly saddled with the trappings of a costume drama instead of a seductive contemporary (or at least 1940s) noir setting.
Lady of the Tropics (1939)
The closest Hedy Lamarr got to a great film
I'm upping my review from last time by half a star. I think this is my favorite Hedy Lamarr film. It's still not quite up to classic film status, but this one actually lets Lamarr show some acting chops and is rather heartbreaking. It's not a masterpiece, but this is a must-see for Lamarr fans.
Lady of the Tropics (1939) ***1/2
It's a pretty slow-moving film, but I think this is my favorite Hedy Lamarr picture. For such a captivating actress, who was actually quite popular and successful in her day, it's disappointing that she never appeared in one great film. Robert Taylor is a playboy in French Indochina who falls for the lovely mixed-race beauty Lamarr. Most of the film involves the couple trying to get a passport so Lamarr can leave the country. There are interesting story points involving discrimination towards Lamar's character by both the rich white foreigners and the Indochina natives. I'll also give the film credit for keeping me in suspense as to whether it would end happily or in tragedy, which it could easily have ended in either. The film was written by the great Ben Hecht (Notorious, His Girl Friday, Spellbound, Scarface), but the slow pace and a rather melodramatic third act drag down what could have been Lamarr's one great film. However, it's a definite must-see for Lamarr fans.
The Heavenly Body (1944)
Hedy Lamar and Wiliam Powell elevate mediocre material
TCM did a day of Hedy Lamar film, an actress I've always been fascinated by. She was the biggest star of her day and considered the most beautiful woman in the world at the time, but what makes her super interesting is that she was also an amateur scientist and invented the technology on which wifi and cellular service are based. As an actress, she was good, but sadly, she never appeared in a single film that would be considered a classic, so she's now largely forgotten outside of film buffs. In this bland screwball comedy, Lamar plays the neglected wife of astronomer William Powell and becomes convinced, based on an gypsy's fortune, that her dream man is about to come into her life. It's the two leads who make this film worth watching, but it's pretty weak compared to their best work. Anyhow, below is my brief review from the last time I watched it. FUN FACT! Vincente Minnelli did uncredited work on the film, directing for three weeks.
The Heavenly Body (1944) **1/2
Rather bland screwball comedy is made more watchable than it deserves by the brilliant William Powell and to a lesser degree, Hedy Lamarr. It's not a bad film, but pretty average outside of its stars.
The Further Adventures of Tennessee Buck (1988)
Bottom of the barrel Jonesploitation
Superbad INDIANA JONE/ROMANCING THE STONE knockoff with David Keith (not to be confused with Keith David from THEY LIVE and THE THING) as adventurer Buck Malone, drunkenly taking a wealthy married couple on a safari when he begins to suspect there is more to their plans than just bagging a white tiger. Kathy Shower plays the wife, who's one of those actresses who I saw on VHS box covers of trashy erotic movies (such as EROTIC BOUNDARIES, LOVE STREET, MARRIED PEOPLE, or SINGLE SEX II: FOR BETTER OR WORSE) all the time in my video store clerk days, but I never actually saw any of them (except for COMMANDO SQUAD and one called DOUBLE EXPOSURE where she played Mudwrestler #1). But back to this film, it is just awful, and if you're Jonesing for some Jonesploitation, stick with ROMANCING THE STONE or THE MUMMY for budget knockoffs, or if you want some good budget knockoffs, watch KING SOLOMON'S MINES or THE PERILS OF GWENDOLINE IN THE LAND OF THE YIK YAK.
Sleepaway Camp II: Unhappy Campers (1988)
Trashy 80s slasher fun
SPOILER ALERT if you haven't seen the first film. The gender-swap slasher Angela returns as a camp counselor and is now played by Bruce Springsteen's little sister. The first film had a fantastic zinger reveal at the end, long before THE CRYING GAME, where the killer, Angela, turned out to be the boy from the flashback earlier in the film. This sequel can't repeat that same surprise ending, so the filmmakers wisely acknowledge the truth about "Angela" from the start and, this time, lean much more into comedy. The main plot line is that Angela is enforcing her Puritanical expectations on all the other counselors, so anyone smoking dope or having sex is going to get violently killed. The slasher film kills are creative and mostly done for laughs. The promiscuous Ally has the grosses kill involving an outhouse, and I loved it! The actress who played Ally, Valeria Harman, gives the standout performance of the film, but when I looked her up, she only ever did this film, an episode of CHEERS episode, and a small part in some erotic thriller I'd never heard of, so that was kind of disappointing. The film's light tone is really its strength. Also, all of the gratuitous nudity (and I mean gratuitous with a capital G!) certainly helped hold my interest as well. The film also has a funny nod to other teen films of this era by naming all the campers after 80s Brat Pack actors (Molly, Ally, Rob, Demi, Lea, Brooke, Charlie, Emilio, etc.). Overall, SLEEPAWAY CAMP II has no pretensions that it's a serious horror film and delivers solid kills and comedy.
Strange Invaders (1983)
Fun 80s throwback to 1950s sci-fi
Back when commies and rock-n-roll were all we had to fear, newcomers Paul Le Mat and Nancy Allen, in an idyllic small town seemingly stuck in 1950, begin to suspect things are not as they seem when Le Mat tries to uncover the mystery of his missing wife. It's a fun throwback to 1950s science fiction films, such as INVASION OF THE BODY SNATCHER or INVADERS FROM MARS, and is an incredibly endearing film for fans of these sorts of old-school 50s and 60s sci-films. Below is my review from the last time I watched it, and I'm sure this won't be the last time I watch this film.
Strange Invaders (1983) ****
This is the second of an uncompleted "Strange Trilogy," the first of which was also entertaining and underrated "Strange Behavior." A complete throwback to films sci-fi films of the 1950s like "Invasion of the Body Snatchers," this film tells the story of an isolated town where newcomers Paul Le Mat and Nancy Allen find their behavior rather peculiar. From there, the film takes some fun and outrageous turns. Directed by Michael Laughlin and written by Bill Condon, who would later go on to write and direct much classier films like "Kinsey" and "Gods and Monsters". Louise Fletcher, Wallace Shawn, and June Lockhart also appear.
Savage Sisters (1974)
Alone they were pretty. Together they were pretty damn mean!
Filipino production for AIP about three lethal ladies who are imprisoned for stealing from the government to support the revolution. The film starts out as a standard women-in-prison flick, but when they escape, it becomes an outlaws-on-the-run storyline. From prolific director Eddie Romero, who specialized in filming low-budget genre films for schlocky American production companies, making everything from these sorts of women-in-prison films to horror to science fiction to even war films and westerns. He did it all. Although he has a cult following, his movies are merely competent and have little flair to them, as compared to fellow genre Filipino director Cirio H. Santiago (who made my favorite low-budget Mad Max knockoff, WHEELS OF FIRE), which is also the case with this film. SAVAGE SISTERS has a great title, a great poster, and for a movie of this sort, it was more entertaining than most, even if it was not all that original. Sid Haig (THE DEVIL'S REJECTS, SPIDER BABY) also appears as the rebel leader in the film.
The Immortalizer (1989)
Bad attempt at a Charles Band knockoff
I went into this movie thinking it was a Charles Band Full Moon Production, but I was surprised when I didn't see his name in the credits. I remember the VHS cover art looking exactly like the memorable Full Moon boxes during their Paramount distribution deal heyday, with vibrant colors and depicting something either violent or titillating on the cover. THE IMMORTALIZER wants to be a RE-ANIMATOR knockoff based on the box, following the story of a mad scientist who kidnaps beautiful young folks off the street (using his zombie musclemen, of course) so he can sell eternal youth to old folks who want their minds transfer these young nubile bodies. It's not a bad setup for a cheesy direct-to-video horror movie, but this one is total amateur hour. Most of the film is one of the young people running around, hiding, and trying to escape the evil scientist's house/clinic. Boring, not funny, not scary, and not even all that gory. There wasn't even any nudity, which is a shock given that one of the cast members was a Playboy Playmate. Stick with Charles Band cheapie horror flicks like SORORITY BABES IN THE SLIMEBALL BOWL-O-RAMA or ASSAULT OF THE KILLER BIMBOS, and don't bother with this one.
Schizoid (1980)
Klaus Kinski runs a therapy group
Bland slasher film outside of casting the always bizarre Klaus Kinski as a psychologist whos group therapy patients seem to be getting offed one by one by a faceless killer with scissors. Who could be the killer? The main character is an advice columnist who becomes increasingly alarmed after receiving a series of threatening letters. It's not a super interesting mystery, and the kills are not very original either, though there is a decent supporting cast that includes Craig Wasson (BODY DOUBLE), Christopher Lloyd (BACK TO THE FUTURE), Joe Regalbuto (MURPHY BROWN), and Donna Wilkes (ANGEL, JAWS 2). There's a strange incestuous subplot involving Kinski and his daughter Wilkes, which was thrown in as a red herring as to who the killer was, but that would have made a more interesting movie than what we ended up with. If you're in the mood for a lesser-known slasher, skip this one and instead watch a better one, like PIECES or HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO ME.
The Monkey Hu$tle (1976)
Not as much Rudy Ray Moore as I was hoping
Rudy Ray Moore was splashed all over the poster art for this movie, so I was expecting another embarrassingly unintentionally hilarious film along the lines of DOLOMITE or DISCO GODFATHER, but this was actually a pretty good movie outside of Rudy, in his few scenes as a supporting character, try to act alongside legitimate actors like Yaphet Kotto. THE MONKEY HU$TLE reminded me of an urban AMERICAN GRAFFITI that was aspiring to be COOLIE HIGH. It's not quite that good, but it does a good job of making this neighborhood feel like a real place populated by a bunch of characters you'd like to spend time with. There's the neighborhood con man, the local cop, the mischievous group of teens, another group of younger kids, and the local player "Goldie," played badly in the most unintentionally hilarious manner by Rudy Ray Moore. Yaphet steals the movie anytime he's on-screen as the neighborhood con man. There's not a really strong narrative throughline. The closest thing to a plot is there's a new highway planned to go through their Chicago neighborhood, so various community members band together to stop it, culminating in a neighborhood block party. However, for the most part, we're simply following around a bunch of different characters doing their thing in a series of vignettes, kind of like DAZED AND CONFUSED, but nowhere as well as that film. Directed by Arthur Marks, who also directed BUCKTOWN, DETROIT 9000, and FRIDAY FOSTER, it's a competently crafted film and was always entertaining, even if the story meandered and lacked a strong narrative.
Bamboo Gods and Iron Men (1973)
A Filipino BLACK BELT JONES knockoff
"From Harlem to Hong Kong, they fear the name, the fame, the fury of Black Cal Jefferson, the Champ!" Cal Jefferson is on his honeymoon in the land of Bamboo Gods and Iron Men (i.e. Hong Kong) when they buy up a Buddha statue in a shop that a bunch of bad guys want, which leads to a bunch of boxing vs. Kung-fu fight scenes. BAMBOO GODS AND IRON MEN is a so-bad-it's-good kind of movie. The acting is embarrassing, the story is dumber than dumb, and worst of all, the fight scenes are soooooooo bad. Our hero even gains a mute helper buddy along the way after rescuing him, making the film even more stupid! This movie is strictly amateur hour, but like I said, it is so bad that I was able to enjoy it for its ineptitude. However, the movie did have a funky score that I legit enjoyed.
Kelly's Heroes (1970)
Classic goofy WWII comedy
Clint Eastwood leads a group of US Soldiers in the waning days of WWII, looking for some personal gain with a scheme to steal Nazi gold and hide it until the war is over. Directed by Brian G. Hutton (WHERE EAGLES DARE, HIGH ROAD TO CHINA), it's an exciting, funny, and surprisingly subversive war film. For a mainstream Hollywood picture with established stars to be doing what essentially is an anti-war film in the midst of The Vietnam War is pretty shocking. I'm surprised they got away with it. Sure, M*A*S*H came out this same year and was a studio picture, but that one was made by a bunch of counter-culture hippies. This one had the likes of Eastwood, Telly Savalas, Don Rickles, and Carroll O'Connor, who are not exactly the radical Hollywood left, although you do have Donald Sutherland playing an anachronistic stoner hippie tank commander named Oddball. The action is as good as anything from THE GUNS OF NAVARONE, and the film is as fun and breezy as MISTER ROBERTS. Still, I'd have liked the film to have been more overt in its anti-war sentiments, which star Clint Eastwood pushed on the studio to allow director Hutton to do in the editing room, but the studio did not let them go that far. Overall, this is a classic, if lightweight, WWII film, which I suspect was really a comment on the Vietnam War. Harry Dean Stanton, Gavin MacLeod, Karl-Otto Alberty, Perry Lopez, Len Lesser, and Stuart Margolin also appear in the film.
Behind Enemy Lines (1986)
Forgettable but entertaining Cannon Films action flick
Silly cash-grab by Cannon Films to milk their success with Chuck Norris' Vietnam action flick MISSING IN ACTION. Set in the waning days of the Vietnam War, David Carradine plays a Colonel tasked with rescuing a group of P. O. W.s being held at a secret camp. The rescue does not go as planned, and the team finds themselves prisoners, now needing to escape. The great Mako plays the evil commanding officer of the P. O. W. Camp, who goes head-to-head with Carradine. It's all very dumb and is hardly Colonel Nicholson and Saito from THE BRIDGE ON THE RIVER KWAI, but it's breezy and has pretty much non-stop action and explosions once it gets going. P. O. W. THE ESCAPE is not a serious film and nothing to go out of your way to see unless you're a fan of cheesy Cannon Films of this ilk (i.e. AMERICAN NINJA, THE DELTA FORCE, PLATOON LEDER, etc.).
Viva (2007)
Feminist satire of the sexual revolution
With the film starting off with the narrator stating it's the year 1972 and we are introduced to our protagonist, writer/director/star Anna Biller, reading the book in the bathtub "Decorating with Crochet," we have the perfect campy 70s set up for this modern feminist take on the 70s sexual revolution. I'm obsessed with writer/director Anna Biller's film THE LOVE WITCH, which had a 1960s Technicolor aesthetic that blew me away, as well as cleverly turning sexist gender norms of the time on their head, so I finally got around to seeing her first film, VIVA. In this film, Biller herself plays an ordinary 1970s housewife who has something of an awakening during that era's sexual revolution. However, she pretty much experiences the worst aspects of the revolution (sexist swinging, orgies, nudist camps, prostitution, drugging, assault, etc.). The hippie nudist colony episode was probably my favorite, with its hilarious stupid hippie love song (it was very "Saturday Market" community stage). Thematically, Biller beat Gretta Gerwig's BARBIE by about 15 years when it comes to humorously challenging the patriarchy in a campy manner (though I suppose Aristohanies did it first with Lysistratain in ancient Greece). While VIVA has a light tone, it's a pretty dark story. One thing Biller does that Gerwig did not is mock the "male gaze," which she does to a tee. Biller said she based several of the scenes on Playboy cartoons, which is a brilliant way to capture the era's media objectification of women. Biller compared her character to Voltaire's Candidate, an innocent with an inappropriately positive outlook toward a very bad world. VIVA is purposefully presented, acted, and shot in an overly mannered fashion that will either click for audiences or not. It's going to either annoy or delight viewers, but I found the purposefully campy acting and dialogue hilarious, along with the cheesy wigs, sets, and outfits (which were actually pretty spot on). The soundtrack borrows heavily from Italian film soundtracks of the 60s and 70s and works fantastically well. I've been listening to a Spotify playlist for this movie for a while now. VIVA reminded me of John Waters' films. Waters's low-budget campy representations of the 1950s and 60s are very similar to Biller's low-budget campy representation of the early 70s. Waters and Biller's campy acting and dialogue are also quite similar. For a low-budget film, the photography is quite good. The colors pop in a bright, lively way, like it's an episode of THE MONKEES. Impressively, not only did Biller write, direct, and star in the film, but she's pretty much a one-woman show, also doing the music, production design, editing, costumes, animation, and producing the film. My only complaint is the lack of a strong narrative throughline, with Biller's character simply moving from one awful event to the next, and at two hours, it would have been a stronger film if it had been tightened up. Still, VIVA is a smart and hilarious critique of the patriarchy, even when the woke 70s men think they're being progressive.
Crocodile Dundee (1986)
Still charming fish-out-of-water rom-com
I'm continuing my comfort food movie marathon with the fish-out-of-water romantic comedy classic CROCODILE DUNDEE. I remember when I was 15 years old and started working at a video store, this was the big hit movie that just got released on VHS. They had something like 18 copies of the movie, which was crazy at the time because movies on VHS back then cost about $80 apiece, but Paramount had the brilliant idea for this movie and TOP GUN that if they sold them for $19.95 (almost $60 in today's dollars), they could sell more copies because people would buy it for their home video libraries. But I digress. In this film, Linda Kozlowski plays a big-city reporter who travels to the Australian outback for a story on Mick "Crocodile" Dundee. She's engaged, but they develop a bit of a crush, so when she invites Mick to NYC for a follow-up story, he gladly follows, leading to all sorts of fish-out-of-water comedy. Mick Dundee remains utterly charming, whether he's saying G'day to everyone he meets on the street of New York, to washing his socks in the bathtub, to sleeping on the floor of his hotel room, to when he gets fed up with Kozlowski's fiancee, and sucker punches him, or even when he innocently asks his black limo driver, Reginald VelJohnson (DIE HARD, FAMILY MATTERS), what tribe he's from, it's as charming as it is funny. The film also features a memorable score. The love theme in the movie is fantastic. I remember thinking the score was really good way back when it first came out, and I still love it. I also love the Big City theme music and have been listening to the soundtrack on Spotify since this rewatch. Still, the film's main appeal is Paul Hogan as Dundee and Kozlowski as the reporter charmed by the Australian country boy. One interesting thing I noticed when I was watching the movie on the Sundance Channel is the scene where Mick is nervous about taking off on an airplane for the first time, they censored Mick in voiceover saying, "Jesus Christ!" They left in a bunch of racial and transphobic humor in the movie, but I guess the Sundance Channel deemed this one a bridge too far. FUN FACT! Swedish film director Ingmar Bergman (THE SEVENTH SEAL, PERSONA, WILD STRAWBERRIES) owned a VHS copy of Crocodile Dundee and it can be found in his movie collection on Fårö.
Armed and Dangerous (1986)
Fantastic cast, mediocre comedy
I wanted a comfort food sort of comedy and saw this one was streaming. See my review below from the last time I watched it about nine years ago. It has its moments, but my main enjoyment from the film was the wonderful cast of character actors who populate the film. Below is my review from the last time I watched the film, but I did up my rating by half a star this time.
2-3-15
Armed and Dangerous (1986) **1/2
This was a film that I remember really liking back in the day. However, adult me did not find this film nearly as funny as I did during my repeat viewing on VHS. John Candy and Eugene Levy are rent-a-cops who uncover a heist scheme by their crooked union leaders, played by Brion James, Jonathan Banks, and Robert Loggia. The film also features a before-she-was-famous Meg Ryan and the rent-a-cop company owner, Kenneth McMillan's daughter. Despite a strong cast (including some stellar character actors like Don Stroud, Larry Hankin, Steve Railsback, Tiny Lister, James Tolkan, Judy Landers, and even Tito Puente!) and a script co-written by Harold Ramis (though he asked to have his name removed), the film is really just not all that funny and is definitely aimed at juvenile minds, which is probably why I liked it so much as a kid. I loved the people in the film, but the "comedy" left a lot to be desired.
Out Cold (1989)
Charmingly dark black comedy
With Teri Garr's recent passing, I decided to watch this one while scrolling through movies on the TV. I'd never seen it before, but this dark little comedy is fantastic! Garr is trapped in a loveless marriage with boorish Bruce McGill (ANIMAL HOUSE, MY COUSIN VINNY) and traps him in his butcher shop freezer, killing him. When the kindly business partner, John Lithgow, thinks he's the one who locked him in the freezer, the pair see about disposing of the body together in a manner so they won't get caught. It's a farcical door-slamming type of comedy, and it completely works, mostly thanks to Garr and Lithgow. There's also a funny performance by Randy Quaid as a bumbling P. I., and if you look fast, you can spot Larry Miller in one scene near the end. Interestingly, director Malcolm Mowbray earlier made another dryly hilarious butcher-themed comedy, A PRIVATE FUNCTION, with Michael Palin. Overall, this is a witty little black comedy for folks desiring a smaller, off-beat, and darkly funny comedy.
Blind Rage (1976)
"It's all going down right now at the International House of Pancakes!"
Men-on-a-Mission film, but with blind men being recruited and trained to pull off a daring bank heist. I was quite tickled that when introducing each of the men, we get a flashback to how they became blind. It's a strange hybrid of Filipino exploitation and blaxploitation that stars D'Urville Martin as one of the blind guys, who are joined by a couple of blind Asian martial artists and another dude. The training scenes are fun, and the heist itself is surprisingly good. It's what happens after the heist, where the film loses its way, but it's still pretty fun. Fred Williamson gets top billing, but he only has a cameo, reprising his Jesse Crowder role from DEATH JOURNEY and NO WAY BACK. Fred also gets to do the climactic fight in the film, set on the roof of the International House of Pancakes. I was interested in checking this film out because there was a Video Archives Podcast episode where Quentin Tarantino and Roger Avery raved about how great this movie was. I'll give them that it's unique and pretty fun, but it's not a grindhouse classic. It's more of a curiosity.
Roadhouse 66 (1984)
Young Willem Dafoe sings rockabilly!
Nerd Judge Reinhold picks up cool dude hitchhiker Willem Dafoe, who helps him navigate some local toughs while traveling the lonely road of Route 66. It's pretty dumb, but young Reinhold and Dafoe are fun to watch, and so was watching a young Kate Vernon, who I mainly knew as a much older actress in the BATTLESTAR GALACTICA revival series. I also recognized the three character actors playing the local thugs, though I didn't know any of their names and had to look them up (Alan Autry, Kevyn Major Howard, and Peter Van Norden), but you'd totally recognize them. There isn't much of a story to speak of except for wooing cute girls and facing off with local thugs, which culminates in a big race to finally settle the feud. But the highlight of the film is when Dafoe picks up a guitar at the titular roadhouse and sings a rockabilly song. That alone made this film worth watching.
Bobbie Jo and the Outlaw (1976)
Weak hicksploitation Bonnie & Clyde knockoff
Corny bit of rednecksploitation about Lynda Carter (soon to be TV's WONDER WOMAN) running off with a local bad boy on a road trip, starting with hijinx and building to criminal activity by this wannabe Bonnie & Clyde. Directed by Mark L. Lester, who'd later go on to direct video store classics COMMANDO and CLASS OF 1984, it's a pretty meandering road film that never really seems to go anywhere. Lynda Carter is miscast and is way too classy for this junk, though she's probably the best part of the film. She reportedly had already filmed the pilot for WONDER WOMAN just before making this film, and once that show became a major hit, she regretted appearing in this film and disowned it. Jesse "I COME IN PEACE" Vint, Gerrit "USED CARS" Graham, James "MAJOR LEAGUE" Gammon, and future director Chuck "THE MASK" Russell also appear in the film.
Shaft: The Kidnapping (1973)
Shaft vs. Recknecks out in the country
Shaft helps a banker whose wife has been kidnapped. The hook for this episode is Shaft has to deliver the ransom money out in the sticks and finds himself running afoul of the racist local cops. Shaft as a fish out of water out in the country is pretty fun and made this episode the most interesting yet, even if it felt the least Shaft-like. What made this TV movie more in line with the theatrical films is the inclusion of racial elements, which, besides the racist cops, are kidnappers who, over the phone, pretend to be black, which (SPOILER ALERT!) Shaft figures out their game, busting them on not understanding his "jive" talk. This episode also has quite a few familiar character actors from TV shows from the 70s and 80s. This TV movie also started out reusing the climactic helicopter shootout from SHAFT'S BIG SCORE, which gave this episode some better production values, even if it was a bit of a cheat. Easily the best episode of the short-lived series so far.
Shaft: Cop Killer (1974)
Darren McGavin nearly steals this episode
Shaft helps a black police officer who's being framed for extortion clear his name when he uncovers a group of crooked officers running an auto theft ring. The best part of this episode is guest star Darren McGavin as a serious jerk police captain who takes over after Shaft's friend, series regular Lt. Rossi, is shot. He's a great antagonist and the only character in the series so far who seemed like they could legitimately stand up to Shaft, though there wasn't as much of McGavin as I'd have liked. This episode also leaned into race a bit more, with Shaft playing up his blackness, which was very welcome and more in line with the theatrical films. However, a car chase at the end with Shaft driving a forklift was pretty dumb. Another episode that's entertaining but nothing brilliant, so it's pretty much par for the course.
Lipstick (1976)
Exploitation masquerading as social commentary
Margaux Hemingway plays a high fashion model (which she was in real life) who's viciously raped by her kid sister's music teacher, Chris Sarandon (FIGHT NIGHT, PRINCESS BRIDE). Her real-life sister, Mariel Hemingway (MANHATTAN, PERSONAL BEST), plays her little sister and kind of steals the film out of what was supposed to be big sister Margaux's big feature film debut. You can tell that Mariel is a natural, which reportedly caused a rift between the sisters after all the accolades Mariel got for her performance. What makes this film hard to evaluate is deciding whether it's making important social commentary or if it's delivering simpleminded grindhouse DEATH WISH thrills. The courtroom drama portion of the film does feel like it might have been a worthy message film about the lasting effects of sexual assault and the deficiencies of the legal system, but following the trial, the film becomes no better than any other grindhouse rape/revenge drive-in flicks, although a glossy big budget Hollywood version of that sort of low-brow thriller. Still, the ending (SPOILER ALERT!) payoff scene is totally badass and does make the film worth watching for sure, even if it is the capper making it abundantly clear this is exploitation and not a serious film, even if the cast and filmmakers all claim otherwise.