sfstendebach Reviews

The Ox-Bow Incident (1942)

A surprising masterpiece.

[10/10 · 28 December 2010]

I picked up this movie at my local video store. It had Henry Fonda on the cover in a cowboy hat. That alone was enough for me to rent. Little did I know what was inside.

The Ox Bow Incident is one of the most intellectual and thought provoking westerns i have ever seen. This is not a fun little western, its a deep psychological drama about justice in the wild west.

Henry Fonda plays a wondering cowboy who enters a town setting out to find a murderer. There is nothing more i can say without spoiling it, but it is well worth watching.

Fonda is calm and cool throughout, in what could be his best role. I strongly recommend to anybody. A MUST SEE!!

Frankenstein Meets the Wolf Man (1943)

One of the better 40's universal horror films

[8/10 · 1 November 2010]

This is a great films. In many ways it is superior to the original wolf man. I consider this a sequel to Wolf Man and not Ghost of Frankenstein. It follows Larry Talbot as the main character with Frankenstein's Monster randomly thrown in.

This is Lon Chaney Jr at his best. I always think of him as a C Grade horror actor. He seems to pick up the parts that Bela and Boris didn't want. That said. he really steals the show with this one. He puts so much emotion into the cursed Larry Talbot.

Lugosi, on the other hand, delivers a terrible performance. Supposidley, many of his scenes with dialog were cut from the film before release. This could be why his performance seems nonsensical. This is by far not his best day.

I love this movie as it continues Larry's adventure. I Strongley recommend this one.

White Zombie (1932)

Lugosi at his best!

[9/10 · 31 October 2010]

This IS my favorite Bela Lugosi movie. I Personally think it is even better that Dracula.

Bela Stars as a mad witch doctor who creates an army of zombies. When a young couple comes to his village, a wealthy citizen pays Lugosi to make the girl fall in love with him. What Lugosi does is add her to his army. There is an awesome chase scene at the end.

Without a doubt Lugosi makes this film. It is the way he stares at the camera, or the way he moves his hands. It is very haunting. The only reason someone would not like this film is that the pace is a little slow. Fans of modern horror films may find it a tad boring, but it is truly one of my all time favorites.

Return to the 36th Chamber (1980)

Much inferior to the original

[6/10 · 24 October 2010]

I was disappointed my this movie. I wasn't expecting it to be better then the first one, but the comedic element definitely hindered it.

Gordon Liu once again stars, but his time he plays an actor impersonating his character from the first one. It is an interesting concept. Basically the plot is the same. The manchus are oppressing a dye factory and hire someone who looks like San Te to fool the manchus. Gordon gets his butt kicked so he goes to Shaolin to actually become a shaolin master. Once he learns kung fu he goes back and frees the dye workers.

Its not a bad film, but all the comedic parts got really annoying. I am a big Gordon Liu fan, but a consider this one of his weakest roles.

Heroes of the East (1978)

Great Gordon Liu film

[9/10 · 24 October 2010]

This movie is about a Chinese man who is arranged to marry a Japanese woman. And as we all know, all Asians are kung fu masters. So the two get in a disagreement over the two different kung fu styles. The Japanese woman brings a group of Japanese masters to fight against Gordon.

The real highlight of this film is the weapons. Every fight has a new weapon. A traditional Chinese Weapon vs a traditional Japanese one. It is really cool. Gordon Liu is in his prime for this film. Chia Liang Liu also has one of the best director cameos i have ever seen. This is just a fun and light hearted kung fu film.

Five Fingers of Death (1972)

Decent Kung fu film.

[7/10 · 24 October 2010]

This film is best for its historical importance. This is what is considered the first martial arts hit. The film is pretty dry once you get past its historical importance.

Lo Lieh stars as a martial arts students who is training for a tournament. His new teacher teaches him an unbeatable style called Iron Fist. Whenever he uses Iron Fist his hands glow red; the parts where this happen are always cool. With this style he wins the tournament and beats up some thugs.

The film uses trampolines heavily. The choreography is good, but like i said earlier it really falls short of some of the later masterpieces.

Five Deadly Venoms (1978)

I'm not a big fan

[5/10 · 24 October 2010]

I know that this film has a huge cult following. I am a huge SHAW BROTHERS fan, but this film did not satisfy me. The plot was too overly complicated and the kung fu was all flashy. The venoms are all great athletes and martial artist, but not in this film.

The story is that a young martial artists teacher tells him that there are five former pupils who each know a different but equally deadly style. The young mans quest is to find all five and make sure that none are using the kung fu for evil. Then the rest is a big mystery with plenty of action scenes I am a big fan of the semi-sequel Return of the Five Deadly Venoms. But thats a different Review.

The 36th Chamber of Shaolin (1978)

One of the greatest movies of all time.

[10/10 · 24 October 2010]

This is my favorite kung fu film, and after reading other peoples reviews, it is everybody's!! Gordon Liu stars as San Te. Gordon Liu is most famous state side for hid dual roles in Kill Bill 1 and 2.

The film starts off in a village. The village is oppressed by the manchus, so San te, a student, joins a revolution The Manchus destroy the city and San Te wanders to Shaolin temple. There he learns kung fu and goes back to his home town to help fight the manchus.

I love San Te's character change. He goes from a scholar to a martial artist into a savior for his people. The middle 40 or so minutes is one big training montage. Its awesome. Very few movies make you feel as good as this movie does. It makes you feel happy in the same way Rocky does- that if you set your mind to something you can accomplish anything. A great, great film.

Crippled Avengers (1978)

By far the best Venoms movie

[9/10 · 24 October 2010]

Despite the title, this is not a sequel to The Five Deadly Venoms. it has the same actors and director, but the stories are not related. In my opinion this film is much superior to the original.

It is about an evil politician who cruelly disfigures four men. Once disfigured the four go to learn kung fu. After an amazing training montage, the four go back to get revenge. It is a really fun and campy film.

Besides the venoms it also stars Chen Kuan Tai; Chen Kuan Tai is most famous for his role in Killer Constable, another outstanding film. He has great on screen chemistry with the venoms. This is just a fun and violent film.

The One-Armed Swordsman (1967)

A beautifully shot kung fu epic

[9/10 · 24 October 2010]

The One Armed Swordsman is one of the most important kung fu movies ever made. For one thing, it made Cheng Cheh and Jimmy Wang famous. It was also a really early example of the genre.

What i noticed about this film is the focus was less on choreography and more on character development and cinematography. Because of this i think that it is more accessible to the average movie fan.

The story is basic. A martial arts student gets his arm cut off, masters a new style,gets a girl and defends his old master. it is standard but truly shows and develops the main character. This is in my top five kung fu films of all time. A MUST see.

Gamera vs. Guiron (1969)

One of my favorite Gamera movies.

[3/10 · 24 October 2010]

Gamera 3: Awakening of Iris is by far the best Gamera movie. I also loved the original, but the most memorable Gamera movie has to be this one. It is the ultimate bad movie. Two kids board a space ship that flys them to another planet. Once there they see Guiron fight a Gyaos painted silver. We learn that Guiron is a watchdog that defends the aliens from Gyaos. The aliens are Asian girls that (this is so original) eat human BRAINS!!! Basically Guiron gets on the lose and GAMERA comes to save them. This is where the movie goes crazy. Did i mention that Guiron is a knife that shoots Shurikens out of his head?? It's awesome. So Gamers fights it, does some gymnastics, then brings the kids home. The kids are really annoying, but arnt the humans in kaiju movies always? It would actually be a decent kaiju without them, but the end fight is definitely worth it. I HIGHLY recommend to kaiju and bad movie fans.

Brazil (1985)

My favorite film of all time.

[10/10 · 24 October 2010]

Gilliam more than out did himself with this 1984-like masterpiece. Sam Lowry is a middle management bureaucrat with nothing to live for other than to dream. He walks through his life just waiting to sleep and dream about saving a beautiful girl. But as it turns out, that beautiful girl is real, and she may or may not be a terrorist.

And that right there is what makes this movie great. There are many ways to interpret it. After watching the film I said to my friend that she was innocent, while he protested that she was a terrorist. Between all this you have Gilliams absurd humor. From stupid military officers, to smart plummers and a hilarious scene with the cubicle next door.

This is a beyond brilliant film that transcends to a legendary level, for me at least. A lot of people found this film too long and boring. I highly recommend, but some may not be in as love with it as I am.

Django (1966)

One of the most entertaining films i have ever seen.

[9/10 · 24 October 2010]

This is by no means an art film. It is no the beautiful masterpieces of the dollars trilogy. This is an extremely thin spaghetti western, but it hits in all the right places. It also has possibley the best opening scenes in movie history. Django pulling a coffin with the infamous theme rolling behind him- it is awesome. The plot of the story goes something like this. Django saves a prostitute from the KKK. When the KKK go after Django, he kills them all. Then he betrays the Mexicans. Mexicans cripple Django, then there is a shoot out. Throughout this there is a subplot about Django with the prostitute and background about his past. Overall, I LOVE THIS MOVIE. Its a great Sunday afternoon movie. Don't think, don't analyze, just enjoy. This could be my favorite nonLeone spaghetti western.

Mystery of the Wax Museum (1933)

Pretty good, but i prefer the Vincent Price remake

[6/10 · 10 October 2010]

"The Mystery of the Wax Museum" was remade shot-for-shot 20 years latter as "House of Wax." Both films are great, and i recommend both, but when it comes down to it i give the edge to the remake. I say that because of Vincent Price. As usual he is creepy, charming and funny at the same time. His performance really boosted up the film. Like i said it is, for the most part, a shot-for-shot remake, so his performance is really the only main difference. The Story is fairly standard. A mans life work is destroyed, so he (because this makes sense) kills a bunch of people to remake his museum. I say go see it, but look for "House of Wax" first.

Scott Pilgrim vs. the World (2010)

A movie that represents a generation.

[9/10 · 15 August 2010]

There probabley isn't a movie ever made, or ever will be made, that can summarize my childhood better. Video games, indie rock...and being awkward.

It is about a boy who has to fight his new girlfriends 7 exboy(and girl)friends in order to date her. The story does not really matter. What does matter is the incredibley creative and incredibley random FX. The film could of had 20 mins cut out of random events, but that is why it is good.

There is also some great characters. The main character of Scott Pilgrim could have been developed more, but all the side characters steal the show. All of Scott's friends are realistic enough to identify with.

It is not an Oscar winner, or a relevant plot, but it is one of the most creative and nostalgic films i have ever seen. BUT BE WARNED-If you did not grow up with an NES or SNES, you wont get about half the jokes.

20 Million Miles to Earth (1957)

An interesting, yet forgettable story film

[6/10 · 21 July 2010]

20 Million Miles to Earth is a great 50's sci fi movie. Its only major flaw is how overkilled its story actually is. An alien comes to earth, grows huge, then attacks the city. Its a good little flick, but blends in with other movies of the era.

The stop-motion battle between the elephant and the alien is by far the highlight of the film. As usual Ray Harryhausen effects are breathtaking, and you find yourself giving sympathy to the alien. The alien is just now experiencing a new world and he is being hunted.

I recommend for genre fans (like me) but not the average movie goer 7/10

Candyman (1992)

A real surprise of a movie.

[8/10 · 20 July 2010]

Coming into a slasher movie called Candyman, i was definitely NOT optimistic about it. I was figuring more teenagers being killed by another masked man. Candyman goes WAY beyond this formula and enters into the realm of horror masterpieces. A criminally underrated film.

The film is about a college student's attempts to uncover the legend of a serial killer who has killed many people in her town. Throughout the film her life slowly unravels, in a very Hitchcockian way, as the mystery unfolds. Not to give anything away, but the movie spirals down to one of the greatest endings in horror movie history.

Themes of superstition, racism and sanity are constantly going being shown through the film. I repeat this is NOT a cut and paste slasher film. Actually it reminds me more of the supernatural films of the 70's (Rosemary's Baby, Carrie, The Excorcist) and Hitchcock films. A MUST SEE for movie fans. 8/10.

Blood Feast (1963)

The Ultimate So-Bad-Its-Good film

[9/10 · 20 July 2010]

I will try to breakdown each component: Plot: the plot is a restaurant owner uses people to perform an ancient feast (blood Feast). Basically it is an excuse to show teenage girls being killed and tortured.

Acting: the acting ranges from completely cartooney (Fuad Ramses) to extremely boring (everybody else). Just flat out horrible acting.

Score: A fourth grader playing the bassoon is better. It literally hurts yournears after a while.

Blood Effects: The redest, fakest and most hilarious looking blood ever put on screen. And there is a lot of it.

All there things add up just right for the magical experience known as Blood Feast. The film was released in 1963 and is directed by Herschell Gordon Lewis. It is considered the first explicitly graphic display of violence. It is flat out awesome and a real joy to watch. I also recommend the "sequals" 2000 Maniacs and Color Me Blood Red.

Plan 9 from Outer Space (1957)

It is NOT the worst movie of all time.

[5/10 · 20 July 2010]

That goes hands down to "Manos: The Hands Of Fate" or "Blood Feast". Plan 9 is one of the best movie experiences ever, though.

If anything, being Bela Lugosi's last movie (even if it is stock footage) should be enough to see it. All of the dialogue is an atrocious mess. Wrestler Tor Johnson also stars as the cop-turned-zombie. All of his speaking roles are completely unintelligable. Movie host Vampira is also in on the mess.

The night and day effects constantley switch, and the paper tombstones are constantley falling over. By far Ed Wood's "best" film. Followed second by the equally horrific "Glen of Glenda?"

Bad acting, effects, stupid dialogue, and plot holes abound. a must see for any movie fans.