DavidAndBeecher Reviews

Love Story (1970)

shame on them

[22 March 2003]

You can't fault this film for being dated--- like all blockbuster hits, it's a product of it's time. Neither of the leads can act well, but for a brainless romantic tearjerker, they're certainly attractive enough. And the score is indeed beautiful.

But this film's assertion that dying of cancer at a young age is "romantic" has got to be one of the most offensive, disgusting stunts ever pulled in a major Hollywood movie. Anyone who has survived cancer or lost a loved one to cancer knows how ugly and painful this horrible disease is. There is nothing romantic about it.

The filmakers should be ashamed of themselves, and DVDs of this trash should be boycotted.

Vegas in Space (1991)

YUCK!!!!!!!!!

[6 March 2003]

You know that a film is not meant to be taken seriously when the cast list includes names like Doris Fish, Miss X and Jennifer Blowdryer. This no budget opus, shot in somebody's apartment with a hand held camera, is clearly meant to be a goof. A gay/camp/drag homage to Ed Wood, and to ALL bad grade Z sci-fi films, it was clearly made by people who think they're really clever. They are not.

The film tries so hard to be campy and bad that it succeeds beyond it's wildest dreams. Every single double entendre falls flat, as do all the other jokes, which seemed childish and forced. What makes Ed Wood films so charming now was Wood's total sincerity in his work, and the fact that he had NO IDEA that he was making bad films.

Vegas In Space was made by trendy hipsters who think their inside jokes and deliberately cheap production values are the last word in chic, downtown humor. That they are so impressed with their own fabulousness is painfully obvious and annoying.

The Power of Conscience: The Danish Resistance and the Rescue of the Jews (1994)

beautifully done

[10/10 · 20 January 2003]

Alexandra Isles, who as Alexandra Moltke played Victoria Winters on the cult classic "Dark Shadows", shows herself to be a brilliant documentary filmaker. This film is about the Danish resistance during the Holocaust. The Danish people, including Isles' own father, were actively involved in hiding Jews from the Nazis, as well as in underground railroads to get Jews out of the country. This film documents the courage of the Danish people during those horrible years, and includes interviews with both Jewish & Danish survivors, plus archival footage. The Power of Conscience is an important historical record in the lives and histories of two peoples. Isles should be proud.

Lugosi: Hollywood's Dracula (1997)

beautiful, lovely tribute to a great star

[10/10 · 16 September 2002]

Though it's pretty obvious that Gary Don Rhodes is VERY biased towards his subject, viewing "Lugosi: Hollywood's Dracula" is still the best experience I've ever had watching a movie star bio. Lugosi was a magnificent actor in his day. In his native Hungary he was a highly respected Shakesperian actor. In the States, a combination of extreme typecasting, poor business judgement, less than perfect English & personal problems caused his career to stagnate & nosedive in his later life.

But he was still a great actor, with a riveting, intoxicating screen presence. Gary Don Rhodes gives him the respect & recognition he so richly deserves. Interviews with co-stars & relatives of Lugosi give great insight into who he was both as a man and an actor. Stills & clips from early stage & screen roles show the magnitude and magnificence of his range. "Lugosi: Hollywood's Dracula" is a lovely tribute that fans of the actor must see. It is a long overdue valentine to a great star who should have been respected by Hollywood when he was alive. Great job, Mr. Rhodes.

The Return of the Vampire (1943)

Lugosi still had it, but the script......?

[29 August 2002]

This beautifully shot B&W 1940s vampire film is loaded with the kind of old fashioned, spooky atmosphere that fans of classic Gothic horror will love. The fogbound sets are deliciously creepy, the graveyard & crypt sets nothing short of fabulous! The spooky music adds a lot as well. Bela Lugosi, about 60 here and well into the undeserved waning days of his career, is damn good. Tall, imposing, and as strong a screen prescence as ever, he raises questions as to why the often heartless and stupid film industry did not make better use of his talents. He shows here that he could certainly still carry a film and command the screen. But the script needed work. Matt Willis as the talking werewolf is laughable. When he's seen entering the graveyard carrying what looks like a package of Chinese laundry, I howled! I just couldn't see him running shopping errands in his werewolf garb! And no explanation is offered as to why the vampire's slave turns into a werewolf, a state he retains regardless of whether or not the moon is full. He's a wolf even in broad daylight. Still, this is a fun, somewhat creepy film, and Lugosi is always worthy of your time.

Famous Again (1998)

not bad indie no budgeter, could be better

[5/10 · 15 August 2002]

Obviously shot on an Ed Wood budget, but with better acting and far more depth than any Wood film, Famous Again is a sweet, clever story that needs to be better paced. Some of the scenes simply run on too long.Scenes featuring two actors in one room just sitting around talking go on and on and on...... A good editor was badly needed. Icon Quentin Crisp does a cute cameo. Former porn queen Georgina Spelvin shows once again that she has real acting talent, while horror movie cult figure Stephen Geoffreys gives a wonderfully intense, comic performance. With better editing and a few stars(think Jack Lemmon and David Schwimmer as Dad & son) this sweet little story could have been quite good.

Night of Dark Shadows (1971)

what could have been

[6 July 2002]

"Night of Dark Shadows" was the second film based on the Dark Shadows TV series. It was produced right after the show was cancelled. It is a sad example of what happens when the damn studios interfere with a project that they are not directly involved in and do not fully understand. Well acted, beautifully shot at the grand, Gothic Lyndhurst estate in Tarrytown NY, "Night of Dark Shadows" is actually very spooky. The problem is that the story makes no sense. None at all. A few days before MGM was set to release the film, they forced director Dan Curtis to trim 30 minutes from the running time, saying they would not release the film at all unless he complied within 48 hours. What was Dan to do? The hastily cut footage destroyed all sense and continuity from what is a beautifully shot piece of work. Now that the cut footage has been pulled from the vaults, one can only hope that we'll one day have a chance to see the director's cut of what may turn out to be a great ghost story. One can only hope.

The Savage Bees (1976 TV Movie)

forget "the swarm"

[10/10 · 8 June 2002]

This is a tense thriller that shows, in no uncertain terms how real and deadly the Killer Bee threat really is. This film shows, with scientific plausibility, the City of New Orleans coming under the increasing threat of a large killer swarm approaching town on the eve of Mardi Gras. Unlike Irwin Allen's The Swarm, whose main objective was to show one celebrity guest star after another being stung to death, this film is more like a cross between a tense sci fi thriller and a Hitchcock film. Obviously a TV film cannot posses the cinematic genius of a Hitchcock film, yet this little gem comes close. The team of scientists, (aided by the local sherriff) that are trying to thwart the disaster deal with a slow subtle(at first), steadily climbing stream of attacks. The threat grows as the attacks continue, and for awhile it looks like the bees will win out. The death scenes are the most realistic ever shown in a killer bee film, one senses what it might actually be like to meet this horrible fate. Also a first, this film gives the actual history of how the bees came to invade South & Central America, and deals with the scientific realities of how to stop this menace. Now that there have been killer bee deaths in the United States, this film rings even more true than when it first was telecast in 1976.

Sextette (1977)

sad ending to a glorious career

[6 June 2002]

This film cannot be viewed as camp, simply because 85 year old Mae West thought she was still a hottie, thought she was giving her audience what they wanted. The truth is, her original audience had died off, and her new audience viewed her as a drag queen, but her own words during this period show that she had no awareness of this. There is nothing "campy" about watching a delusional 85 year old, who obviously has trouble walking at this point, pass herself off as a sex bomb. It's sad, period. Mae West, once the most daring woman in showbiz (she was what Madonna now pretends to be, with a sense of humor Madonna just doesn't have), nearly destroys her legend with this tragedy. Everyone involved should have known better, and to go back and watch the brilliant "She Done Him Wrong"(1932) and "I'm No Angel"(1933) make "Sextette" seem even sadder. Rest in peace, Mae.

The Dancers (1983)

unsung talent

[30 May 2002]

This is one of a number of films that proves that Georgina Spelvin was one hell of an actress who was too good for porn. She should have been a mainstream character actress. What a shame Hollywood never took notice of her.

Through the Looking Glass (1976)

too good for porn

[10/10 · 30 May 2002]

The so called Golden Age of porn is loaded with badly written, badly acted duds that do not live up to the maker's artistic pretensions. This one film is a notable exception. A brilliant, spooky ghost story that deals with extreme emotional/sexual repression, the film should never have been shot as a hardcore. The sex scenes take up about 30% of screen time, and, for once, actually get in the way of a great story. Some of the acting is a bit spotty. The film is cast with both porn and mainstream actors, and a number of the porn stars just can't act. Also, the film's climactic Hell sequence is much too graphic(did we really need to see a woman bathing in urine and feces? I think not) But overall, "Through the Looking Glass" is a damn good movie. The Looking Glass scenes are creepy! Whatever happened to director Jonas Middleton? Shoulda been a contender!!!

The Minx (1969)

should be retitled "The Snooze"

[29 May 2002]

boring, pointless film was marketed as "erotic" in it's day. In order for it to be erotic the actors have to be able to convey sexual excitement, and not one of them can. They can barely handle dialogue. The only reason to see this film is to see Dark Shadows cast member Robert Rodan bare his tush. Once that thrilling moment passes, the film is utterly worthless, so poorly made it's not even campy.

The Deadly Bees (1966)

Hives of laughter

[5/10 · 15 May 2002]

The first horror movie I paid money to see in a theatre when I was ten years old. It scared me then. It makes me laugh now. Bad script, bad acting, cheesy special effects. But....one bright spot: Catherine Finn as the ill fated Mrs. Hargrove seems to be the one cast member who could really act. This little known performer, who popped up in a number of British horror films of this period, always in small roles, seemed to be an actress more deserving of what she got. The film's funniest item is Katy Wild's Doris parading around in those high heels.