Reflections on film from a pseudo-intellectual perspective
(1970) Directed by René Cardona; Written by René Cardona and Jesús Murcielago Velázquez; Starring: Santo, Armando Silvestre, Julio Aldama, Mary Montiel, Gregorio Casal, Ivonne Govea and Carlos Agostí; Available on Blu-ray and DVD Rating: *** “Being locked up in there was like being buried alive. It’s hardly a life at all. We want to die in the open air. That’s all.” – José (Gregorio Casal)…
Brewster McCloud (1971) But Cort stars in the title role, as an odd, reclusive young man who lives in the basement of the Houston Astrodome, and dreams of flying like a bird. Sally Kellerman is Brewster’s guardian angel Louise, with wings tattooed on her back. Shelley Duvall (in her first film role) plays Suzanne, an eccentric young woman who befriends Brewster. The film boasts several bizarre…
(1988) Directed by David Cronenberg; Written by David Cronenberg and Norman Snider; Based on the novel, Twins , by Bari Wood and Jack Geasland; Starring: Jeremy Irons, Geneviève Bujold, Heidi von Palleske, Barbara Gordon and Stephen Lack; Available on Blu-ray and DVD Rating: **** “When was the last time a gynaecologist was in a movie, even as a figure of fun? There’s something taboo there,…
Horror Hospital (1973) Michael Gough stars as the unscrupulous Dr. Christian Storm, who runs a sanitorium for young adults. The sanitorium is only a ruse, however, to provide a steady supply of unwilling test subjects for his experimental brain surgery (as a deterrent for potential escapees, the doctor’s limousine is equipped with a blade for quick and easy decapitations). The operation results in…
(1959) Directed by Terence Fisher; Written by Jimmy Sangster; Based on the play The Man in Half Moon Street by Barré Lyndon; Starring: Anton Diffring, Hazel Court, Christopher Lee, Arnold Marlé, and Delphi Lawrence; Available on Blu-ray and DVD Rating: *** ½ “I must insist in saying that there are no South American versions, nor are there any Japanese versions or any other versions. This is what…
True Stories (1986) Writer/director David Byrne is our guide to the fictional town of Virgil, Texas, where they’re about to hold their sesquicentennial celebration. He introduces us to an assortment of Virgil’s eccentric residents, including: Kay and Earl Culver (Annie McEnroe and Spalding Gray), a husband and wife who haven’t spoken to each other in years, a pathological liar (Jo Harvey Allen),…
(1979) Directed by Alan Arkush; Written by Richard Whitley, Russ Dvonch, and Joseph McBride; Story by Alan Arkush and Joe Dante; Starring: P.J. Soles, Clint Howard, Vincent Van Patten, Mary Woronov, Paul Bartel, Dey Young, The Ramones, and Dick Miller; Available on Blu-ray and DVD Rating: *** ½ “…Roger [Corman], during preproduction, was the only one who thought it was still “Disco High,” because…
(1978) Directed by Eric Idle and Gary Weis; Written by Eric Idle; Starring: Eric Idle, Neil Innes, John Halsey, Ricky Fataar, Michael Palin, George Harrison, and Mick Jagger; Available on DVD Rating: **** ½ Side Note: The “cinematic” in Cinematic Catharsis implies that the films I discuss are predominately theatrical releases. With that in mind, I hope you’ll indulge me with this made-for-TV movie…
Iceman (1984) An arctic surveying team finds the discovery of the century, a perfectly preserved Neanderthal (John Lone) in an ice cave. Back at the base, a group of doctors somehow manage to revive the frozen caveman. Now the big question becomes what to do with him. Dr. Stanley Shephard (Timothy Hutton) seems to be the only member of the research team with an unwavering moral compass,…
(1981) Directed by Jean-Jacques Annaud; Written by Gérard Brach; Based on the novel by J.H. Rosny Sr.; Starring: Everett McGill, Rae Dawn Chong, Ron Perlman, Nicholas Kadi, and Naseer El-Kadi; Available on Blu-ray and DVD Rating: **** ½ “I thought I was making this crap caveman movie. I found out that this guy (Jean-Jacques Annaud) had won an Academy Award for ‘Black and White in Color,’ and he…
Shari and Lamb Chop (2023) Lisa D'Apolito’s documentary is an affectionate ode to the career of pioneering children’s television host and ventriloquist Shari Lewis from her early days through her twilight years. Encouraged at a young age by her magician father and musician mother, Lewis developed her own act, eventually leading to a live television show, featuring Lamb Chop and her other puppet…
(1989) Directed by Peter Jackson; Written by: Fran Walsh, Stephen Sinclair, Danny Mulheron, and Peter Jackson; Starring: Danny Mulheron, Donna Akersten, Stuart Devenie Mark Hadlow and Ross Jolly. Available on DVD. Rating: *** ½ Note: Back in 2018, Peter Jackson announced that he was supervising the 4K transfers of his early works, including Meet the Feebles . Sadly, we have yet to enjoy the fruits…
(1978) Directed by Richard Attenborough; Written by William Goldman; Based on the novel by William Goldman; Starring: Anthony Hopkins, Ann-Margret, Burgess Meredith and Ed Lauter; Available on Blu-ray and DVD. Rating: **** “Magic is misdirection, that’s all it is. And misdirection is getting people to look in the wrong place at the right times.” – Ben Greene (Burgess Meredith) “I wasn’t aware of…
(1977) Written and directed by Jeff Lieberman; Starring: Zalman King, Deborah Winters, Mark Goddard, Robert Walden, Wendy Flemming and Ray Young; Available on Blu-ray and DVD Rating: *** ½ “Millions of my generation had experimented with LSD during the late 60s into the 70s. Deep down they all must harbor a fear there could be some validity to the detrimental long-term effects of the mysterious…
Elizabeth Harvest (2018) Elizabeth (Abbey Lee), a young trophy wife, arrives home with her rich middle-aged husband, Henry (Ciarán Hinds), but it doesn’t take long for her to realize something isn’t quite right about the ultramodern household. He stresses that the house and its contents belong to her, but admonishes Elizabeth not to enter one basement room. When he leaves for an overnight business…
(1978) Directed by William Girdler; Written by: William Girdler, Jon Cedar and Thomas Pope; Based on the novel by Graham Masterton; Starring: Tony Curtis, Susan Strasberg, Michael Ansara, Stella Stevens, Jon Cedar, Ann Sothern, Burgess Meredith, Paul Mantee and Felix Silla; Available on Blu-ray and DVD Rating: ** ½ A huge thanks to Rebecca from Taking Up Room for hosting another spectacular…
(2000) Directed by Kinji Fukasaku; Written by Kenta Fukasaku; Based on the novel by Koushun Takami; Starring: Tatsuya Fujiwara, Aki Maeda, Taro Yamamoto, Chiaki Kuriyama, Takashi Tsukamoto, and Takeshi Kitano; Available on Blu-ray and DVD Rating: **** “I had a horrible experience escaping air bombing and helping to pick up dismembered limbs of people who were killed. I realized later that I was…
The Red Angel (1966) Set during the second Sino-Japanese War in 1939, The Red Angel follows Sakura (Ayako Wakao), a young Japanese army nurse stationed in China. The soldiers who end up in the military hospital are regarded as nothing but expendable components of the machinery of war, while nurses are told to look the other way and not become attached to the sick and dying. In spite of everything,…
(1968) Directed by Satsuo Yamamoto; Written by Yoshikata Yoda and Enchô San'yûtei; Starring: Kôjirô Hongô, Miyoko Akaza, Kô Nishimura, Mayumi Ogawa, Takashi Shimura, and Michiko Ôtsuka; Available on Blu-ray (included in Daiei Gothic, Volume 1) and DVD Rating: **** “I’m being asked to do something immoral, so my family will prosper. If I refuse, they will disown me. Your father was cast out by a…
Monterey Pop (1968) Before there was Woodstock, there was the Monterey Pop Festival, held over three days in June 1967. D.A. Pennebaker’s groundbreaking Monterey Pop features an impressive lineup of artists, including Jimi Hendrix, Janis Joplin, The Who, and many more, providing an unprecedented snapshot of the era. While many of the audience members appear to be under the influence of one…
(1919) Directed by Frank Hurley; Starring: Ernest Shackleton, Frank Worsley, J. Stenhouse, Leonard D.A. Hussey, James McIlroy; Available on Blu-ray and DVD Rating: **** “We have been compelled to abandon the ship, which is crushed beyond all hope of ever being righted, we are alive and well, and we have stores and equipment for the task that lies before us. The task is to reach land with all the…
The Bigamist (1953) Ida Lupino directs and co-stars in this unusual drama about a man with two wives. By all appearances, Harry Graham (Edmon O’Brien) has it all, with his loving wife Eve (Joan Fontaine), a good job, and a pending adoption to make their life complete, but as we soon learn, he’s been keeping a big secret from her. When an official (Edmund Gwenn) from the adoption agency suspects…
On this day (okay, technically the day after), when many folks in my country are stuffing their faces and celebrating manifest destiny, I felt it was only appropriate to reflect on something I’m truly thankful for – being nominated by Virginie Pronovost of The Wonderful World of Cinema for the Sunshine Blogger Award . Greater than the wheelbarrows full of money that I rake in from my site or the…
Well, folks, we’ve reached the end of the fifth Hammer-Amicus Blogathon. It’s hard to believe that our first Hammer-Amicus Blogathon was back in 2018, or that seven years later we’d still be hosting these events, but the call went out, and you answered. Thanks to everyone who stopped by our blogs to check out the posts, and especially to those who contributed to the blogathon. It’s a busy time for…
We’ve returned for Day 3 of the Hammer-Amicus Blogathon V, hosted by Yours Truly and Gill from Realweegiemidget reviews, with a trio of new posts (two of which are Hammer comedies!) for your reading enjoyment. If you’re running late, please let us know. We’ll be posting a Day 4 wrap-up tomorrow. Post a comment below, email me at barry_cinematic@yahoo.com, or reach me on BlueSky…