DSL's Movie/TV Reviews and Discussion

[Cody_Russell]

I remember Nosferatu (1922) being very creepy. Watched in in one of my German classes in college.

Vampire movies... not sure if there is a better vampire movie than "What We Do in the Shadows." Only saw it once, but had a blast watching it.
Obviously "Young Frankenstein" is the best Frakenstein related movie.

[froot loops]

The Big Lebowski cannot be quoted enough and if anybody is going to talk about the greatness of Road House use the correct title.

[froot loops]

I thought Burn After Reading was ok but nothing special.

[THE_WIZARD_]

The Big Lebowski cannot be quoted enough and if anybody is going to talk about the greatness of Road House use the correct title.

Yeah well like that's just your opinion man...

[Dr. Strangelove]

Decided to do another stroll through the 80's. Some cult films, some trash, maybe a good one by accident. I started off with this hot banger

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XANADU (1980)
d. Robert Greenwald
Staring: Olivia Newton-John, Gene Kelly, Michael Beck

Boy oh boy, where do I start?

The true star on set might have been cocaine?

A notorious bomb with critics and audiences alike, this is the movie that inspired the creation of the Golden Raspberry awards. But is it really that bad? I would argue no, not unless you can't stand ELO or Olivia Newton-John (who is cute as hell throughout). The real problem is there's almost no story to tell here. Struggling artist meets a muse and then Gene Kelly, who gave up on show business 30 years ago, and they open a dance club together which fulfills all their artistic aspirations. And THAT is one of the most baffling things about this production to me, that Gene Kelly is in it and on roller skates for a significant portion. How the hell did they manage that? And it ended up being his last "real" film to boot.

There's a ton of neon lights and in all honesty there's a ton of craftsmanship that went into building some of the sets. Especially the dance club set at the end which features multiple stages, rising platforms, and a roller disco. But because there's so little actual story, some of the musical numbers drag on and on, and it's not even very long by musical standards. Plus, Michael Beck is not good in this as our male lead. I assume he got the role because The Warriors was a surprise hit the year before. And nearly every other character besides Olivia and Gene aren't very good either. So I get why many weren't impressed. To me it ends up feeling like a bunch of music videos strung together with only the loosest of threads. Some of which suck; some that are entertaining in a turn-your-brain-off way.

Couple of trivia notes:

* Don Bluth produced an animated segment of the movie

* The exterior of the night club at the end was filmed at the old Pan-Pacific Auditorium in Los Angeles, a fantastic looking building built in the 30's that had (unfortunately) been left to rot by the mid-70's and burned down in 1989.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pan-Pacific_Auditorium

[Dr. Strangelove]

I remember Nosferatu (1922) being very creepy. Watched in in one of my German classes in college.

Vampire movies... not sure if there is a better vampire movie than "What We Do in the Shadows." Only saw it once, but had a blast watching it.
Obviously "Young Frankenstein" is the best Frakenstein related movie.

I still need to watch "What We Do..." but Count Orlok is still my favorite looking vampire of any movie.

[froot loops]

I remember when cable first came to our town, I think we splurged for Showtime and in one of the first months we had it Xanadu was on an endless loop.

[CGVT]

I still need to watch "What We Do..." but Count Orlok is still my favorite looking vampire of any movie.

I have not seen the movie, but The What We Do TV show is worth the watch

[Dr. Strangelove]

Not a household name but he lived forever and had an extensive career. He was in Orson Welles' original acting troupe!

RIP Norman Lloyd

https://variety.com/2021/film/people-news/norman-lloyd-dead-st-elsewhere-saboteur-1234970920/

[Dr. Strangelove]

Sean Connery's younger brother Neil has died. He didn't have much of a career, but I mentioned the hilariously cheesy Operation Kid Brother (1967) a year or two ago. A nice-looking print of it is still available on Prime for anyone curious or into fun James Bond ripoffs. Stars lots of actors from real Bond films as well.

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-9570917/Sean-Connerys-younger-brother-Neil-starred-spoof-James-Bond-film-died-82.html

[Dr. Strangelove]

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ENTER THE NINJA (1981)
d. Menahem Golan
Starring: Franco Nero, Sho Kosugi, Susan George, Christopher George, Alex Courtney

One of the handful of Cannon films Menahem Golan personally directed, Enter the Ninja began a franchise of totally unrelated films that nonetheless all starred Sho Kosugi.

Cole, a mercenary who fought in several African wars, completes ninja training in Japan. He goes to visit his old war buddy Frank in the Philippines, only to find out Frank has become a drunk and is being driven off his land by the local gangster, a man named Venarius. When Cole defends his friend using his mighty ninjutsu powers, Venarius decides to hire his own ninja, and wouldn't you know it's Cole's old rival from Japan?!?!

Franco Nero had no actual ninja training and is dubbed throughout the entire film in a voice that's nothing like his own. But he still manages to be charismatic throughout. As a movie, it's not that bad. Clearly not a "good" movie but made competently enough. As one of the very earliest American ninja movies it's worth watching. But it's my understanding that the two sequels (which I may watch soon) are both wackier and more memorable than this one is.

[Dr. Strangelove]

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TRON (1982)
d. Steven Lisberger
Starring: Jeff Bridges, Bruce Boxleitner, David Warner, Cindy Morgan, Barnard Hughes

I want to like Tron. I really do. But it's tough. This is honestly the first time I've ever watched it. Some of the effects still look really cool and advanced for the time. But then some computer animation bullshit slaps you in the face and becomes as enjoyable as watching someone play Tempest for an hour straight.

The Big Lebowski is mad that evil 80's tycoon stole his video game designs so he enlists the help of the Scarecrow and Mrs. Lacey Underall to break into the system and...expose him, I guess? Or maybe it's just to stop the evil AI that's now effectively running ENCOM, the Master Control Program. The Dude gets zapped into the virtual world through a magic laser where the MCP repeatedly tries to kill him. He must fight alongside other "programs" that take on human avatars, similar to the Matrix nearly 20 years later. In the end the good guys win and The Dude abides.

I dig the costumes and the neon lighting of everything in TRON-world but that animation just hasn't aged well (but it's an unreasonable expectation that it would). But animation aside, I started losing interest shortly after the cycle chase and the rest became a bit of a slog to me. It's difficult to explain and it may be a script problem above all else. Mild recommendation from me. Unless you can view it within the context of its time, it's visual effects only partly hold up and the story it's telling is mostly forgettable. At the same time it's easy to see how this became influential.

[iam416]

Charles Grodin has passed. Time for Strangelove to do an honorary Midnight Run review in tribute.

[Dr. Strangelove]

Hmmm, I don't have a 1988 movie picked yet...

[Hannibal]

They Live awaits.