Movies »Time Bandits

directed by Terry Gilliam (1981)

Time Bandits was a huge favorite of mine as a kid. A child’s wild adventure through the time of Napoleon, Robin Hood, Agamemnon, the Titanic, all while being pursued by both The Supreme Being and Ultimate Darkness, there’s little not to love for an imaginative youngster. Roger Ebert wrote, “the only live-action movie I’ve seen that literally looks like pages out of Heavy Metal magazine, with kings and swordsmen and wide-eyed little boys and fearsome beasts” which is pretty accurate. Gilliam is definitely hit or miss lately, but this, right in the middle of his most creatively satisfying period is one of, if not his very best.

Visually, there are images that are unforgettable as well as great performances by a studly Sean Connery, David Rappaport and personal lifelong obsession (and this week’s hunk) David Warner. If you missed this the first time around, or have a kid that isn’t too squeamish (the ending is surprisingly pitch black) be sure to give this gem a try.

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Posted on April 4, 2010

Movies »The Hunger

directed by Tony Scott (1983)

It stars David Bowie, Catherine Denuve, Susan Sarandon and includes a cameo by a young Willem Dafoe (playing a street punk) and Ann Magnuson. It features the music of Lou Reed, Bach and an unforgettable performance by Bauhaus of Bela Legosi’s Dead. I mean, there’s “cool”, and then there’s Tony Scott’s erotic vampire mood piece The Hunger.

I first saw this movie a number of years ago and remembered a couple of its visually arresting scenes, including that Peter Murphy performance and the rapid aging sequence with its expert special effects makeup; but I’d forgotten how deeply stylized and truly arty it is. Does the artistry sometimes border on indulgent and slow the whole thing down a little bit? Sure, but it makes you miss the audacity behind this kind of moody, visually artful filmmaking that doesn’t seem so common anymore (even though at the time Roger Ebert dismissed it “a movie that has been so ruthlessly overproduced that it’s all flash and style and no story.”) Scott’s take on vampirism has as much in common with today’s glitter skinned wimpy romance as Roxy Music does with The Jonahs Brothers; Marlene Deitrich with Miley Cyrus.

The film was based on a novel by Whitley Strieber (of Communion fame) but major changes were made to the ending to satisfy the perceived need of audiences everywhere to see thousand-year-old vampire Denueve suffer for her misdeeds. A remake is planned at Warner Brothers, but I have very little confidence anything as cool as the original will roll off the assembly line… though Scott, who is deeply involved, has this to say: “I’m not going to tell you how we’re doing it, but I’m controlling it and it’s gone to the next level. It’s not a reinvention or reinterpretation, it starts in New York and it ends up in Sao Paulo, so it’s a very different movie, but it springboards off the original. We’re writing it right now and we’ve got a great writer, Erin Wilson.”

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Posted on March 28, 2010

Songs »Cat People (Putting Out Fire)

David Bowie (1981)

Quentin Tarantino recently plucked this gothy Bowie gem from Paul Scrader’s remake of  Cat People, putting it back on the cinematic map by powering the big eyeliner application scene with its eerie slow build and dramatic tempo shift. Despite its rather anachronistic inclusion in Inglourious Basterds (which boasts an otherwise era-appropriate score), it’s definitely the only thing salvageable from the 1981 dud.

I’m a fan of the original Cat People, so it was with high hopes that we began Schrader’s interpretation the other night; hopes that were quickly dashed. Even a singularly creepy (even for him) Malcolm McDowell, a dopey young Ed Begley Jr, a bra-less Natasha Kinski and an atmospheric Egyptian sex ritual sequence couldn’t save this drag.

Even though Bowie lends his unique vocal stylings, it’s producer Giorgio Moroder that gets the credit for the song’s unique spooky synth mood, as the music was written before Bowie’s involvement.

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Posted on March 28, 2010

Books »Water Music

by T.C. Boyle (1982)

T.C. Boyle is one of my favorite contemporary writers and from the hippie clash of Drop City, to the speculative ruin of the planet in Friend of the Earth, I have recommended many of his works here. Water Music is his first novel and while he may not have quite acquired the brilliant character development you’ll find in his later books, there’s lots to have fun with in the adventures of Mungo Park – trudging through the dark heart of undiscovered (by Westerners that is) Africa and Ned Rise – trudging through the foul hardships of London in the late 18th century.

While Boyle freely admits to playing with the historical facts, Mungo Park was a real life explorer who chronicled his discoveries in a book called Travels in the Interior of Africa. Rogue and con man Rise on the other hand is purely a figment of Boyle’s imagination.

Adventure seems to be the theme of the week, and Water Music is a doozy with cutthroats, gallows, crocodiles, angry Moor warriors, frightening diseases, grave robbing and more. Best paired with something along the lines of this week’s movie pick or one of Herzog’s adventures like Aguirre The Wrath of God.


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Posted on March 21, 2010

Movies »Alice

directed by Jan Svankmajer (1988)

With all the excitement surrounding Tim Burton’s new take on the Lewis Carroll classic, I was itching for a journey to the other side of the looking glass myself since I may not manage to get to a 3-D IMAX in the very near future. Netflix on demand was there for me with Jan Svankmajer‘s 1980’s stop motion dream/nightmare, Alice. His vision is distinct, stunning and not just a little bit frightening. All about the visuals and the technique, the movie is predominantly eerily silent which can make it slower viewing – so don’t watch it when you’re tired (especially if you want to enjoy a night of peaceful dreams).

If Svankmajer’s name is unfamiliar, perhaps you’re not up on the Eastern European legacy of experimental animation because in that world, his decaying surrealism is godlike. Alice is a wonderful introduction to the man who has inspired so many. I feel that Carroll would have been thrilled.

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Posted on March 14, 2010

Songs »Lost in the Shadows (The Lost Boys) and Cry Little Sister

Lou Gramm and Gerard McMann (1987)

Even though it seemed inevitable, I was truly saddened by the news of Corey Haim’s recent passing. My sister and I grew up with the guy as a major pop culture icon and I still count myself a major fan of his best work, The Lost Boys. While the entire soundtrack was hardly pure gold (Jim has a real hard time with Echo and the Bunnymen’s ‘People are Strange’ cover), two songs stand out and are still on my iPod to this day.

So, in memory of the goofy kid whose voice would break, whose sideways smile would elicit sighs from preteen girls the world over, and who lived his adult life, tragically, as a lost boy, let’s play some Lou Gramm (Say hello to the night [lost boys] lost in the shadows!”) and, while we’re at, spin Gerard McMann’s Cry Little Sister (though shall not fallllll).

Wow, even just thinking about these songs memories of the tumultuous emotions and achingly conflicted and full heart I had to contend with in sixth grade come flooding back; these were the days my friends and I wanted to be in the Vampire cult (we made up the belief that if you used a ouija board in the deepest room in the house –in my case the basement laundry room – you could summon the spirits to turn into a vampire) and took major dressing cues from Star. It’s funny, it all seems so long ago, but when triggered by these songs, that intense time is as close as ever.


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Posted on March 14, 2010

Movies »Night of the Creeps

directed by Fred Dekker (1986)

A bevy of unflattering taffeta and lace prom dresses, sculpted teenage boy hair, exploding heads, an axe murderer, aliens from outer space, a vengeful tough guy cop, frat pranks, cryogenics, flame throwers, grotesque slugs, zombie cats (and dogs), and even some brief nudity and a touching young man friendship… yep there’s a lot to love about The Night of the Creeps.

I put the movie at the top of my queue due to comparisons to The Night of the Comet, my personal favorite movie of the genre; that genre being tongue-in-cheek horror comedy that’s not afraid to offer genuine scares as well as laughs. The Stuff and Scream are also prime examples.

And while you may have heard of those last two films, even a movie nerd like myself was less aware of this funky little 80’s gem. Partially because it wasn’t released on DVD until October of last year (which was also the reason why it’s been on my queue with a very long wait for months), though bootleg VHS copies of the movie were passed around among fans and sold on eBay for years.

Of course, it is what it is and I don’t want to over-hype. It’s fun, it’s a great way to take your mind of anything for a couple hours, and it’s the best work of Fred Dekker who also helmed House, Robocop 3, and The Monster Squad (which didn’t hold up quite as well as I had hoped).


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Posted on March 7, 2010

Songs »Hazy Shade of Winter

by The Bangles (1987) and Simon & Garfunkel (1968)

As the last flurries of one of the biggest snow storms in city history go floating past my window, I feel compelled to listen to (and recommend) a winter-time song, possibly my favorite winter-time song: Hazy Shade of Winter, which, as a maniac fanatic of the Bangles, was first introduced to me when it appeared on the Less Than Zero soundtrack.

But more than that, this song holds a memory from my school days. I was the new-ish kid in school and the talent show was approaching. The most popular girls with the biggest bangs (Holly and Molly) needed one last person to round out the lip-syncing magic they were to unveil at the sixth grade class talent show. They cornered me in the bathroom and asked/insisted I play the part of Michael or as they called her “the ugly one”. Naturally I complied and someplace in the depths of my parents house, a VHS tape of the mediocre results just might still exist.

An older and wiser me discovered that the song was originally performed by Simon & Garfunkel with a softer touch.

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Posted on February 28, 2010

Songs »Princes of the Universe

by Queen (1986)

If you’re anything like me then you have more than a few X Files reruns filling up your DVR; and if you’re a lot like me then you get to relish, albeit ever so briefly, the final seconds of the Highlander theme song (“I am immortal/ I have inside me blood of kings!!”) as the sub-par television show comes to its rightful end and the the compressed credits, which have been running at triple speed below and to the right of a Caprica teaser, increase to their full size and the song’s volume increases… It’s a moment of sheer bliss for me (find joy in the little things, right?), that I try to take in at least a couple of time a week.

Unsurprisingly, the song’s awesomeness is due to the glittery talent of Queen who, back in the day, were the go-to act for science fiction epic songstressing (see the incredible Flash Gordon theme). The theme is actually entitled Princes of the Universe and has a video where Freddie Mercury does battle with Chris Lambert (see below) – although I wish it were Clancy Brown as The Kurgan sparring with FM… though how could so much greatness accurately be captured on-screen at one time?

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Posted on February 14, 2010

Songs »Angel of the Morning

by Juice Newton (1981)

Just call me angel of the morning angel!
Just touch my cheek before you leave me bay-bee!

I dare you to listen to these words and not feel the urge to stand up, with your long hair flowing, and emote dramatically à la Juice Newton. If you don’t feel this urge, I certainly hope you’ll never attend one of my karaoke parties, because you sound like the kind of person that could really bring the mood down.

Of course, the Newton rendition is a classic and strangely one that I remember hearing while in a rib restaurant as a kid… but upon researching the passionate ballad that made cheek-touching sexy, I’ve learned that it’s been sung by some of my favorite ladies including PP Arnold, Olivia Newton John, and Dusty Springfield.

By the way, it’s about being ready for some pre-marital balling.


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Posted on February 7, 2010