guitarphil Reviews

Ecstasy in Berlin, 1926 (2004)

Beautiful and sexy homage to Wiemar Berlin

[8/10 · 26 February 2008]

Maria Beatty presents us once again with her take on the decadence of the Weimar era. A mistress and her slave perform a number of S&M flavoured performances. All of these are exquisitely choreographed with gracefully seductive movement and sometimes erotically vicious acts.

Foot fetishism, bondage and Beatty's trademark pearls all make an appearance. The actresses are beautiful and the costume is certainly convincing with regards to the atmosphere of pre-war Berlin.

Mostly in Black and White to focus on that 30s erotica vibe with touches of colour to add interesting psychological levels. Homage is paid to Anais Nin and Leopold von Sacher-Masoch and there are some interesting ideas in how to present erotica in general. As is often the case with erotica/pornography directed by women the performances have a relaxed feel that refuses to be rushed. This in itself can be psychologically arousing.

A lush and beautiful experience marred only slightly by some depressingly bad music in places (stick with Zorn, some of the stuff here sounds awful and cheap).

This left me with the feeling that I had experienced one of the legendary cabaret sex shows of the time. Viva Chris Isherwood.

Viy (1967)

No Hellraiser...but it is a delight to watch.

[9/10 · 26 February 2008]

I loved this film. It looks beautiful from start to finish with a great sense of care taken with colour and lighting.

It's not really a horrifying horror film but it does get quite tense and there's a real sense of drama about it; especially in the build up of each consecutive night. The daughter of the landowner is great as the possessed tool of the devil and some of the visual ideas at play look fantastic even now.

The protagonist is funny and engaging making for a watchable performance. Elements are camp but if you like a more artistic approach favouring style over realism then this is a little gem of a movie.

Also of note for those wary of foreign/subtitled films, the pace is snappy and I was surprised when it finished as it didn't feel like I had been watching it for that long.

This isn't Hellraiser but it is a wonderful experience that should delight any fan of stylised cinema.

Fly Me the French Way (1974)

Not even for Rollin completest.

[1/10 · 21 February 2008]

Jean Rollin takes a departure here from his usual vampire/lesbian trope and tries to make (I think) a comic book adventure porno. So you need three things here...wacky (or at least larger than life) characters, a plot filled with some excitement and regular segments of squeaky bed action.

The sex is abundant although rarely titillating in the sense that most viewers of this type of film would want. It's also deeply problematic in more than one place. A guy gets into bed with a woman he thinks is someone else, she tells him to back off at least twice, but his persistence leads to a full on shag...we also have a prisoner later who consents to sex because the guy says he's a friend...oh, alright then...I mean come on.

There's a scene of some surrealist interest when the priestess/female villain is shooting mannequins outside the mansion but visually that's it, seriously, there is nothing else.

Also worthy of note for just how horrendous a piece of crap this is are the half-arsed credits that make no sense and look awful.

The word pretentious gets banded around too much by people who don't know what the word actually means. This is pretentious. It pretends to be something that it quite painfully isn't. So what is it? Well its shagging most of the time and this is rarely done well, those that are making noise fling themselves around as though the script required them to have a seizure, those that aren't look bored.

Do not bother with this film, it's not so bad it's good, it's just plain awful. If you want some screen nooky then just buy a porno and if you're looking for some decent Jean Rollin try anything else apart form this...

Musique au poing (1982)

re: an eye opening account of music and politics of Nigeria

[10/10 · 6 June 2006]

This is a great documentary that serves as a brilliant introduction not only to the amazingly funky rhythm's of Fela's contribution to music i.e. Afro-Beat, but also to the ragged state of African Politics.

Fela was a brilliant musician but in addition to this he offered a vision of a new Nigeria that was free of totalitarian control and promoted an African identity free from western influence.

The doc. itself is well put together and features some exciting performances live from Fela's club which is worth the admission price alone.

Check it out.

K-PAX (2001)

Thoughtful philosophies, if a little cliched at moments

[8/10 · 3 November 2002]

Kevin Spacey again picks a winner with K-PAX, an endearing movie that expresses profound revelations at human existence via the Prot character's naive, yet at the same time unquestionably wise, point of view.

It's enjoyable trying to work out 'if he is or he isn't' as the plot expands and the Robert Porter character gets fleshed out. However some may find the ending a little unsatisfying but in reality it couldn't have been any other way.

My few issues with the film revolve around the rather cartoony and over simplified portrayal of mental patients. I was surprised because the films plot shows a great deal of intelligence and I don't feel it would have lost anything by being more honest regarding how people with mental health problems behave.

That said, I realise this was a movie and not a documentary and the film itself is exquisitly shot and the story unwraps at a pleasing rate.

Bridges is great and Spacey delivers a languid and relaxed performance, more like a stand-up than an alien.

A good film that will get you talking with your friends.

How to Make a Monster (2001 TV Movie)

The best of this series so far...

[6/10 · 29 August 2002]

See a few of these creature features so far and the Earth Vs the spider one was good but dragged in the last twenty minutes.

The spider rocked with his gut firing web stlye, a truly inspiring idea. Whoever thought that one up must have been feeling pretty awesome for at least a week.

However this one is the best so far without a glimmer of a shadowy doubt. Very funny in a number of sections, especially hardcore, Tyler Mane was great in Joe Dirt but reaches some comedic heights in this one I am now officially a fan.

Rent it when theres nothing else it will make your day.

Sideshow (2000)

Suprisingly Enjoyable

[6/10 · 9 June 2002]

What appears to be an average B-Movie style develops into an enjoyable delve into Twilight Zone-esque Sci-Fi.

Well crafted ideas, apart from the 'human budgie'(!?), keeps it interesting although the camera action leaves you feeling your watching a TV movie rather than a cinema flick.

Slows down near the end but rejects a cliched finale.

Not bad.

Tie nu fu hu (1974)

Too much fighting

[3/10 · 9 May 2002]

Badly dubbed, this film contains nearly 99 per cent fighting and nothing else. The ridiculous speed of the punches and kicks begins to become tedious as does the fights that never seem to end, although the few lines in the film are genuinely funny,

Brilliance that unfortunately is not repeated any where in the fight scenes.

Don't bother, theres plenty more that are plenty better.

Almost Famous (2000)

A warming tale of youth and Rock'n'Roll

[8/10 · 8 January 2002]

Do not let the cover for this film put you off. I was bullied into watching this, and was very glad of it by the end. The backdrop is a pastiche of all those 'hammer of the gods' type bios of the great rock bands of the seventies and it does a bang up job of recreating life on the road. The petty squabbles, the drinking, the bitching, the drinking, the trying to get laid without your girlfriend finding out.

A rights of passage tale with a fifteen year old hanging around with a rock band who behave with less maturity than he does and a number of groupies his age who have the trials of stardom etched into their actions without the celebrity or fame.

Patrick Fugit is great as the intelligent but naive youngster who scores the big break of writing the cover article for Rolling Stone and the reliable Jason Lee is once again reliable as the ego-craving-often-snubbed lead singer.

Its a feel good movie that does the job. A comedy that gets the laughs.

Night of the Beast (1997)

A priest saves the world by listening to death metal

[9/10 · 8 January 2002]

As a film rented out by me and my friends on the off chance this was indeed a little gem.

A priest starts to do evil as a way to summon the devil with the help of a drug quafing heavy metal fan obsessed with death metal.

Madcap adventures ensue as they end up recruiting a vain TV Psychic to assist them and the old devil himself turns up at the end.

This is a cracking little movie that anyone who enjoyed the likes of delicatessen will lap up.

Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back (2001)

slapstick and one liners at their very best.

[7/10 · 14 December 2001]

Kevin Smith has developed into one of Americas most original and consistantly funny writer/directors and this farewell to his most dearly loved creations, Jay and Silent Bob, is just as finely crafted and beautifully executed as his more intelligent films such as Dogma.

My advice to you is to go and watch this film.