Pink Flamingos!

"Pink Flamingos" is one of my favorite movies of all time. That sentence right there probably tells you more about me than anything.

What can be said about it that hasn't already been said?

The plot involves Divine, aka Babs Johnson, who is in hiding. Babs lives with her mother and her son in a trailer in the middle of nowhere. This is just how Babs wants it---living in relative obscurity. You see, she wants to hold onto her title as the "Filthiest Person Alive" and will stop at nothing to do so.

Connie and Raymond Marble want to snatch the title away from Babs. They scheme to humiliate her and ruin the lives of herself and her family.

I cannot imagine how shocking this film was back in 1972 because it's shocking by today's standards. I mean SHOCKING. The famous dog poo scene aside, this films contains images and scenarios one would not even find in the most disturbing horror film. Or porn. (Two words: Singing Asshole. )

Like I said before it's one of my favorites. Probably because despite what we are seeing on-screen, the mood is light and the humor is twisted.

(I saw this film with a friend who was so disturbed by it he has never spoken of it since. Go figure.)

Watch it at your own risk! If you are as disturbed as I am, you will enjoy it :)

Can't Stop the Music - Review

I was prepared for this sucky movie but think I may have underestimated just how much it would suck. I know not to make this mistake again.

"Can't Stop the Music" is a Village People vehicle but despite this, the music in it is horrible. I enjoy the schlocky disco classics of yesteryear as much as the next person but aside from their two biggest hits ("Macho Man" and "Y.M.C.A.") the music in this film is dreadful. Which is too bad because it is the only thing that could have saved it.

But on the bright side--- we get to see Bruce Jenner act! And he's not bad! And Steve Guttenberg (pre-Police Academy) bounces across the scene like a Muppet on crack. Nothing subtle about his performance.

Worth watching if you have a couple hours to kill and you don't mind horrible films. Or at a party with friends, watching it MST3K style--- riffing on every scene.

Otherwise, don't waste your time.

Cold in July - Review

This was an excellent film. I have loved Michael C. Hall since Dexter so it is great to see him tackling a different role. Even though the vigilante mentality remains.

His character, Richard Dane, shoots an intruder late one night, killing the guy instantly. While the whole episode freaks him and his family out, the police state he did the right thing, no charges will be filed, and the intruder will be buried and gone. Case closed, right? Wrong.

It turns out that the intruder has a father who has just been released from prison Russel (Sam Shephard). Russel hunts down the man who killed his son, seeking vengeance. Night after night, we see the family cower in fear, waiting for the ex-con to get his revenge.

The police are little help here. It's up to one man to defend his family from this mad man.

To avoid spoilers, I won't say much more except that there is more going on than meets the eye.

Excellent film, well worth catching "Cold in July" at the local independent cinema outlet.

Phantom of the Paradise - Review

Oh, boy, this was a weird one. I was thrilled to hear that Brian De Palma had done a rock opera in the mid-70s and it was as weird an wonderful as I could have hoped. Let's get to it!

A young composer, Winslow Leach, is targeted by a satanic record producer, Swan, and has his music stolen from him. Swan wants to use his music to open his new concert hall, "The Paradise". Swan has his minions beat up Winslow and frame him for drug dealing and Winslow is sent to prison. While in prison, his teeth are extracted as part of some weird experiment (funded by you-know-who) and they are replaced by some metal ones, resulting in Winslow appearing as a Flavor Flav of the disco era.  Eventually, Winslow escapes prison but things only get worse from there.

He breaks into a record company and destroys the record press and records of the band he used to backup, the band who have been taken over by Swan and stole his music. He is caught and beaten, having his face mutilated and his voice box destroyed.

He sneaks into the Paradise, takes a mask and a black cape, becoming THE PHANTOM OF THE PARADISE.

This movie is simply weird no matter how you look at it. The soundtrack is great though. The score received an Oscar nomination even though the film itself was universally panned.

It's worth watching (free for Amazon Prime members)  for the great music and the 1970s camp that I adore.

Black Christmas - A Review

Words cannot express just how much I love this film. It has everything I love in a good thriller - smart heroine, high stakes, and an ambiguous, head-scratching ending.

I guess when it was released it was a bomb but ensuing years have proven its worth and stature as a classic. As with most things of awesomeness, it took years to be appreciated but now has become a film to influence  and entertain others.

The now-cliche "sorority girls in distress" originated here. The group assembles to party and ring in the holidays with booze and silliness when prank phone calls start arriving at the house. The girls laugh them off at first and go on about their business.

One girl, Clare excuses herself from the party early to head upstairs to pack. She is alone on the second floor when she hears footsteps. She goes to investigate. Soon, her screams echoes through the upstairs. Unfortunately, the party downstairs is louder and no one answers her.

The killer has claimed his first victim.

Another cliches, "the call is coming from inside the house", saw it's start with this film as well but it is so well done you won't care. It just worked.

Excellent film, check it out. But don't watch it alone!!!

The Official "50 Shades" Trailer is Here

They released the official trailer for "50 Shades of Grey" this morning and it looks even worse than I imagined. I read the first book on the recommendation of a friend ( I used that term loosely) and managed to make it through 45 pages before I chucked it across the room. Lawdy. I'm still not sure why so many women lost their minds over that crap but taste is subjective.

I read erotica and porn on a semi-regular basis (don't judge) so my views are a little biased but the 50 Shades books were pretty vanilla if you ask me. Call it BDSM for the Walmart crowd, I guess.

If you like watching paint dry or if you simply want a good laugh here's the link for the trailer. Don't say I didn't warn you.

Capturing the Friedmans - Review

    So I first saw this one several years ago but a recent news article brought it back into my mind and I thought I would re-visit it and see if my opinions on it had changed. They did.

      In the late 80s and early 90s there were a rash of child molestation cases hitting the news. For many of them, accusations of Satanic ritual abuse (see the McMartin preschool case) followed. And for most of them, the abuse accusations came to light when the alleged victim(s) were put under hypnosis.

      Such was the case with the latter when it came to Arnold Friedman and his teenage son, Jesse. Children who took Arnold's computer classes in the basement of the family's home on Long Island were questioned extensively after some child pornography was discovered in Arnold's possession.

    The kids were subsequently put under hypnosis and alleged they were raped and molested by the two men over the course of several months. Father and son claimed their innocence. That is, until further questioning of Arnold revealed that he had indeed molested "a few" boys over the course of his lifetime. But not, he insisted, any of the children making the current claims.
 
     Under the circumstances, and to save his son from a life in prison, Arnold agreed to plead guilty to the crimes and was sentenced to prison. Jesse, who maintained his innocence, was found guilty anyway and sentenced to prison(he has since served his term and been released).

      The first time I watched this film I was horrified at how poorly the investigation was conducted and how with nothing more than the word of some scared children an entire family's lives could be ruined (not only were father and son affected but also the mother and the two elder sons). The archival footage filmed by the family themselves allows us to watch the family fall apart right before our eyes.

       Upon a second viewing, I felt these same feelings of horror but added to that a feeling of disgust. Arnold never shows any signs of remorse-- not for the children (neither those he molested nor those who accused him currently) and certainly not for his own family. The closest thing we ever see to a guilty conscience is when, after he is imprisoned, he commits suicide leaving the money from his life insurance to Jesse as the sole heir.

      And even after two screenings, I cannot determine whether or not Jesse is innocent. At one point in the legal proceedings he claims his father abused him and he only participated in the abuse due to his fear and guilt over the abuse. At another point, he claims to have only voiced the abuse story in order to make a more sympathetic case to the jury. So was he lying then? Or is he lying now?

      I recommend watching this riveting documentary with others and discussing the above. Ten years later, I am still scratching my head.

 Watch for free at SnagFilms : Capturing the Friedmans