21 October 2011

October 21st

Andy Warhol's Frankenstein (1974) trailer
Rock 'n' Roll Frankenstein (1999) trailer
Frankenstein (1910)




(1982) directed by Larry Cohen
I love Michael Moriarty.  He's a complete nut in real life and it tends to show through in his performances.  In Q, he's about at his very best.  Check out when he auditions to be a bar piano player.  That's Moriarty making up a goofy scat song on the spot.  He has similarly goofy verbal quirks in the film, often rambling semi-coherently about whatever he's supposed to be talking about.  I suspect the script only vaguely matches what he ended up saying onscreen.  He's just a ball of fun to watch in the film.

I dig how the end is a reversal of the end of King Kong.  Instead of the monster hanging off the building with airplanes shooting him, it's the monster that's flying and the people that are hanging.  I like stop-motion effects, so I thought that Q itself was really cool.  It gets to chomp people and toss them down into the city in ways Harryhausen monsters never were allowed to.  The reveal of the second Q egg at the end is predictable as anything, but, really, how else would a movie like this end?

A good ol', gritty New York City film with fun characters and a cool monster. (7/10)





Night of the Demon (1980) trailer
Father's Day (2011) trailer
The Simpsons: "Treehouse of Horror IX: Hell Toupée" (1998)




Dead Alive (1992) directed by Peter Jackson
What needs to be said about Dead Alive?  This is the apex of splatter-comedy; there is none higher.  Zombie baby.  Pus in custard.  "I kick ass for the lord!"  Random Nazi vet.  Zookeeper waving a permit in front of the natives' faces.  Mum flying through the store window onto Lionel.  Lionel flying into the church on top of his mother's body.  Lionel's rebirth out of monster Mum's womb.  The nurse's head constantly flipping back.  The woman who's face became a lamp.  The best use of a lawnmower in the history of cinema.  It's all a symphony of goo and slapstick shot with a megaton of energy.  (9/10)




Chalk is a difficult medium to work in and why do we not have regular white chalk in the house?

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