The Zone's 2007 Movie Journal

[WinslowLeach]

NOTE: I had to post this separate from my journal entry because it was too long.

I Spit on Your Grave: Millennium Edition (1978) - Director: Meir Zarchi - Reviewed by Winslow Leach

"This woman has just chopped, crippled and burnt five men beyond recognition, but no jury in America would ever convict her!"

INTRODUCTION: I Spit on Your Grave is an infamous film. Ever since I was a young kid I heard my friends talk about the film and how terrible it was. When I saw it myself in the 80s, I was as stunned as everyone else but the cut I had originally saw of the film was edited with most of the graphically violent scenes deleted. Years passed and I hadnt seen the film again since. When I got this new DVD from Elite Entertainment, I was very pleased to know that the film had been completely remastered and was uncut. Well folks, after watching this version of the film I consider I Spit on Your Grave aka Day Of The Woman to be one of the best cult films ever made. Its right up there with The Texas Chainsaw Massacre (1974), Coffy (1973) and other gems of the 70s Grindhouse era. The film not only packs a solid punch of Exploitation, it is very well directed and acted. The film has almost no music in it, theres only 5 main characters, it takes place entirely in a quiet country setting, and its about a brutal rape and the revenge a woman takes on the scum that ruined her life. On the back cover of the DVD there is a quote asking: is it really "just another Exploitation film to be dismissed?" or is it "truly a masterpiece of cinema?". I consider this film a masterpiece. Back when the film was released in 1979, critic Roger Ebert and his then partner Gene Siskel felt this film was utter trash and that it should be thrown away so noone could see it ever again. As a reader of Ebert's reviews myself, I'm shocked that someone as open minded as Roger would try to ruin a films reputation like that and not just let people judge it for themselves. Ironically many female critics felt exactly the opposite of Roger Ebert and Gene Siskel. They considered the film to be a well told, realistic morality tale. If Roger Ebert and Gene Siskel only knew the story behind what inspired Meir Zarchi to create this film, maybe they wouldve saw it differently.

THE REVIEW: Jennifer Hills (Camille Keaton of What Have You Done To Solange?) is leaving New York City for the country. Shes a writer and she needs some peace and quiet so she can work on her new novel. Jennifer is a beautiful, sophisticated woman. As she makes her way out of the city, we can see shes headed for Connecticut. When she arrives in the town shes staying in, she stops at a gas station to stretch her legs and fill the gas tank. The gas station attendant Johnny (Eron Tabor) is polite and tells her to enjoy her summer and she leaves. When Jennifer gets to the cottage, she immediuately relaxes and then decides to go for a swim. She takes her clothes off and hops in the lake that borders her cottage. Jennifer settles in and unpacks her suitcases and she calls the local grocery store for some things. Pretty soon, the delivery boy Matthew (Richard Pace) shows up with her bags of groceries and Jennifer and he converse and we can see that Matthew is slightly ALF. Matthew sweetly asks Jennifer if she has a boyfriend and then asks if he can be her boyfriend. That night Jennifer is in her bed trying to write her novel and she begins to hear noises outside. This part of the film is very creepy. Jennifer walks downstairs and looks around into the night to see where the noises are coming from, but she sees nothing.

Meanwhile, Johnny and his pals Stan (Anthony Nichols), Andy (Gunter Kleeman) and Matthew are on the lake fishing. While they fish they begin talking about Jennifer and how sexy she is. They also talk about how Matthew needs to get laid and that they are going to help him out by visiting Jennifer. The next day, Jennifer is laying in her hammock trying to write and we hear the buzzing of a motorboat coming closer. Its Stan and Andy. As they drive by Jennifer's house, they both stare at her and she looks at them back. The roaring of the motor annoys Jennifer and she quickly gets up and walks back to her cottage. Jennifer decides to go for a canoe ride and as she paddles across the lake, the sound of the motorboat comes back and we see its Stan and Andy again. This time they fly right near Jennifers canoe and they begin to taunt her by driving back and forth and whistling and hooting at her. Jennifer grabs an oar and tries to bat them away, but Stan grabs the canoes towline and pulls Jennifer in the water. Meir Zarchi shoots the action from below Stans legs in an almost phallic way, and we see that this the rape beginning to take place. They pull Jennifers canoe as she screams and they bring it to the shore. The boys grab and grope Jennifer as she gets out of the canoe, they are like wild animals, they chase her through the swamp into the forrest jumping and yelling all the way. Jennifer tries to throw a tree branch at them but its no use. When she gets to a clearing she runs into Johnny, we now know see hes the leader of the gang. He throws Jennifer to the ground and the others hold her legs open while he begins to undress. We see that Matthew is there as well, hiding in the brush and he calls him over to help to keep her down. Pretty soon Johnny is on top of Jennifer and he begins to rape her. The men look on like they are entertained and we can feel the extreme horror Jennifer is feeling. Aaron sweatily pumps and pushes himself on Jennifer over and over until hes spent. He rolls off her and they let Jennifer get up. Shes now bloody and muddy and she slowly walks zombie-like into the woods. When Jennifer gets to a clearing, we hear the sound of a harmonica playing (this scene actually reminded me of the theme of Harmonica in Once Upon a Time in The West. That eerie, ominous tone rings through your ears letting you know something bads going to happen). We see its Andy, sitting on a rock, playing a harmonica. Then we notice that the other men are there too. They arent finished with Jennifer yet. This sequence in the film is the most graphically brutal rape scene Ive ever seen. Andy proceeds to not just rape Jennifer, he really wails and pounds on her sexually like shes a piece of raw meat. He gets off on this over and over and Jennifer is just used up. She falls on the rock passed out from the brutal beating shes taken. The men all walk off saying nothing. Jennifer finally has the strength to get up and she makes it back to her cottage, shes REALLY beaten and bloody now. She crawls into the house and goes to reach for the phone, suddenly a boot comes into frame and kicks it away from her. This scene made me jump right out of my seat. It was VERY effective! The men all begin to grab Jennifer again and this time they bait Matthew into raping Jennifer. Matthew gets undressed and they all tell him to do it. As Matthew tries to have sex with Jennifer he begins to whine that he cant concentrate, that he cant do it. He gets off Jennifer and Stan takes a glass bottle anmd just shoves it into Jennifer. She screams and then Stan grinds his crotch on her face and backhands her a few times. Now I thought the first rape scenes were harsh, but this one just took the cake. If that wasnt enough, Andy picks up Jennifers manuscript and reads aloud from it, then tears it up and throws it on the ground. These men not only raped Jennifer 4 times, they ruined her work as well. These scenes only add to the extreme anger we have been feeling for Jennifer and how her rampage of revenge afterwards is completely justified. The scumbags leave, but then send Matthew into the house to finish Jennifer off. Matthew hesitatantly goes into kill her, but he just cant bring himself to do it, so he wipes some of Jennifers blood onto his knife to make it look like he did what he was told (On the commentary by Joe Bob Briggs he explains that this is the longest rape scene in cinema history. It times in at 25 minutes 19 seconds).

Jennifer begins to recooperate, she washes herself off and she breaks down completely. *We can feel the pain shes feeling, but we also have a sense that Jennifer is strong willed and she will overcome this. She tapes her manuscript back together torn piece by torn piece. We then see Jennifer sitting outside on the shore of the lake. She is dressed all in black and with her hair she looks just like Frigga in Thriller aka They Call Her One Eye sans eyepatch. I really loved that little touch, I dont know if it was done on purpose or not, but its just a cool little accent. Jennifers next plan is to get back at her rapist tormenters. Before she goes on her revenge spree, Andy and Stan drive by on their boat to check on her. As they pass by, Jennifer stares right at them with daggers in her eyes. In the next scene, all the guys are beating the hell out of Matthew for not doing what he said he did. They call Matthew names and throw his bike in the street and tell him to get lost and never come back.

Jennifer puts on a dark oufit, bandana and dark sunglasses (she looks like a cool hit-woman) and goes to the gas station where Johnny works. She sees he has a wife and two kids (played by Meir Zarchis own two kids). Jennifer goes to the local church and kneels down and asks for forgiveness for what shes about to do (look for Writer-Director Meir Zarchi as the organ player). Jennifer calls the local grocery store for a delivery. Matthew hears this and realizes he has to protect himself just in case. He grabs a knife off the supermarkets counter and hides it in his shirt, then gets on his bike and rides to Jennifers house. When he gets there, he takes out his knife, then suddenly Jennifer appears from behind a tree. Shes dressed in a white see through dress and she lets Matthew know she wants him by staring at him and running into the woods. Matthew takes out his knife and runs after her. When he sees Jennifer, he begins to whine and cry and tell her that she ruined his life and that he has no more friends left because of her. She slowly opens the front of her dress and tells Matthew to come closer. Matthew moves up to her and Jennifer sexily unzips his pants and then pulls him ontop of her. Matthew begins humping Jennifer wildly. Jennifer lets him get going, then she grabs something and puts it around Matthews neck in mid-coitus. She pulls the end of the rope and Matthew begins to choke and get up from her. Jennifer quickly yanks on the rope, towing Matthew up and towards the water, she pulls harder and harder as Matthew loses his balance and starts to choke. With one last pull, Jennifer ties Matthew up around the tree and he hangs there. Jennifer lets him die completely, then she pulls him down, letting him fall in the water. She takes his bike and throws it in the water too. Score #1 for Jennifer!!

Her next victim is Johnny the gas station attendant-scumbag. Jennifer drives right up to the pump and when Johnny comes to the car he doesnt even blink. Jennifer looks at him with the sexiest lust-filled eyes. She motions for him to get in the car and he hops in. Jennifer drives down a side road and then Johnny gets out and she pulls her gun out on him. Aaron knows hes in trouble but he says "I dont like women giving me orders!". Jennifer tells him to undress and he does. Then he tells her WHY he raped her. This guy is the biggest male chauvenist pig Ive ever seen in a movie! He truly believes because hes a man he is entitled to rape women when he wants. The reasons he gives for raping Jennifer are hilariously ALF. She begins to act like shes buying this and she even lets him take her gun! She invites him to her place and in the next scene, she is naked, doing her hair up all sexy while he takes a hot bath. Jennifer gets in the tub with him and begins to massage his neck and rub his chest. As he enjoys this with his eyes closed, we see Jennifer has a little surprise. She reaches down and grabs a knife and quietly brings it into the bath. As Johnny lays back enjoying her hands, she gets him aroused and we hear a slice noise. Johnny doesnt realize it, but hes been CASTRATED!! When the first splurt of blood shoots from the water, thats when he fully realizes somethings not right. Johnny begins to scream and freak out like a maniac as Jennifer slowly puts on her robe leaves the bathroom and locks the door behind her. She goes downstairs, puts on some classical music and sits down. With an evil look in her eye she rocks back n forth enjoying her handiwork. Jennifer takes his clothes and burns them in her fireplace and stores his body in the basement.

Meanwhile, the next day Johnnys wife is looking for him, her kids are with her and she asks Stan and Andy where he is, but they dont know. She curses them and tells them to go find him. Back at the lake, Andy throws an axe into their boat and they decide to go finish off Jennifer once and for all. Andy gets in the water and Stan is by himself in the boat. Suddenly, Jennifer swims up to Stan and hops on the boat, she acts like shes coming on to him, then just pushes him off into the water. Jennifer starts the motor as Stan is left screaming in the middle of the lake. Jennifer opens the motor up[ and begins to speed around the lake wildly just like they did at the beginning of the film. Jennifer is now in charge and shes not going to relent now. She sees Andy trying to help Stan get out of the water and she revs up the boat and takes off towards them. She looks down and sees the axe that was meant for her. As she speeds towards the men Jennifer picks the axe up in one hand ready to bash it into whoevers closest. She brings it down right into Andys back. Score # 2!! Then she stops the boat and Stan swims over to it and begs her to stop. As hes clutching for his life onto the boats engine, Jennifer looks at him and says" Suck THIS bitch" and starts up the motor and tears Stans manhood to shreds, blood fills the water and she has killed her last scumbag. Score #3!! Jennifer cranks up the motorboat, she stares defiantly forward and triumpantly speeds along the lake as the end credits roll. Now THATS how you end a revenge movie!!!

* Sidenote: I reviewed the Swedish hardcore revenge film Thriller: A Cruel Picture (1974) about a month or so ago and I was really not fully convinced by the acting in the film by Cristina Lindberg. With I Spit on Your Grave, I did feel convinced by the acting by Camille Keaton, by her showing the strong character and emotions Jennifer felt. Even though much like Frigga in Thriller, she hardly speaks for much of the film. It is just done in a better way by Director Meir Zarchi.

THE DVD

REGION: 1

STUDIO: Elite Entertainment. Visit them online at: www.elitedisc.com.

FILM SPECS: Presented in (1:85:1) THX Remastered Certified Anamorphic Widescreen. Enhanced for 16 X 9 TV Screens. Picture is beautifully restored, colors are bright although the film has a specific hue that dulls out the bright colors and brings them down to a muted look. This film looks like a summertime nightmare. Beautiful but Deadly.

EXTRAS: A very interesting and touching Audio Commentary by Writer/Director Meir Zarchi. Anyone who wants to know why and how this film was made has to listen to this. Its one of the best commentary tracks Ive heard on DVD. Second Bonus Commentary by Joe Bob Briggs: Joe Bob is a really entertaining and informative person to listen to. I've been a fan of his since Monstervision on TNT in the early 90s. He totally gets the film and explains in detail many things and ideas about the film that critics like Roger Ebert completely ignored. This is definitely one of the best commentary tracks on any DVD I own. Its a must hear! Joe Bob is both funny and completely honest about the films content. The Extras also include: Animated Motion Menus, Theatrical trailers (Pure Grindhouse style!), TV Spots, Still Photo Gallery, Reviews (Including Roger Ebert and Gene Siskels original reviews of the film), Foreign and Domestic Art.

AUDIO: Dolby Digital 5.1, DTS 5.1 Surround Sound, Original Mono soundtrack. Its THX Surround Sound. Theres nothing negative to say, its perfect! Turn off the lights, turn up the sound and freak out!

THE FINAL WORD: In my opinion, I Spit on Your Grave is THE best rape-revenge film ever made. I feel its much better than Thriller: A Cruel Picture, Ms .45 and Last House on The Left. Ive seen them all and this one is more creepy, more graphically brutal, more entertaining, more downright shocking and just better crafted. Meir Zarchi created a masterpiece of Exploitation cinema with this film and didnt relent on any of the violent sequences. This is a DEFINITIVE Exploitation film and it should be on every cult film lovers shelf.

[Seppuku]

Winslow, just for re-posting that review, I'll only vote for you once as Wanker of the Week (instead of signing on with all my other accounts and voting for you 15 times).

I kind of think of I Spit on Your Grave as method-watching...I'm not saying that I eviscerate my wang in my boat's engine every time I watch it, I mean that for those 25 minutes I almost forget I'm watching a film, and it feels like I'm having my soul torn out of my eyes. The only other film that made me feel like that is The Garbage Pail Kids Movie, but for different reasons.

Which is good in a way, movies can be more than just straight-up escapism, at least for me. People have gotta sometimes go through the whole pantheon of emotions, otherwise they'll end up coming across like one of Oprah's lobotomised goons.

I don't think it's a great movie by any means, but I don't judge it like that. It came from a weird, weird era, where the peace-love ethos of the 60's had amounted to a hill of beans, and people were trying to feel out how far they could cross the line. This came pretty close.

A "masterpiece" though? It won't be that until Dave "The Demon" Defalco has remade it.

[WinslowLeach]

Im calling it a masterpiece from the low budget Grindhouse era. Some will always see it as a piece of filth, but I just dont look at it with those eyes. It would be one thing if it glorified raping, but it definitely doesnt. People who think it does are the ones who have something they're thinking that Im not. Also calling a movie a piece of shit because its low budget or exploitive doesnt work for me. Alot of my most favorite films are exploitation films.

Theres more out there to see besides 300, X-Men and Harry Potter. And not all of it is peaches and cream, sweet baby food cinema. I understand if people dont want to watch that kind of stuff, but lets not get too prudish about this, its just a film.

[Seppuku]

Exploitation's one of my favourite types of movies too! I just spent this Saturday morning watching The Big Doll House... Now there's exploitation for ya! They went past the whole rape thing (that's so 1970), and figured they'd just put a bunch of chicks in cages. Can't decide who I loved more in that movie, Pam Grier or Sid Haig.

[WinslowLeach]

I have that one too! I really love it. Pam Grier kicks ass! Sid Haig is really funny in it. That scene where hes feeling Pam up...whoa baby!

I have no desire to watch rape scenes but if its in a movie Im not going to dismiss it as crap because of that fact. Thats just not what true movie lovers do.

Anyways, Ive been watching alot of Exploitation films lately as a primer for Grindhouse. I cant wait for April 6th!! 8)

[justcheckin]

YEH GRINDHOUSE... I wanna see the chick with the gun leg in action... I suppose you guys wouldn't tell her no.

[WinslowLeach]

Im gonna be clapping ALOT for her!! hahaha! Get it? Clapping...from before?

[justcheckin]

Im gonna be clapping ALOT for her!! hahaha! Get it? Clapping...from before?

Mwhahahhahaha

[WinslowLeach]

(chortle)

[Pacino86845]

BLEH
The Woods

As a Bruce Campbell fan, I'm dismayed by this score... I've not seen The Woods yet, care to briefly review, or has this already been done somewhere?

94. Transamerica 5/5

I have nothing to comment regarding Transamerica, but rather HOW THE HELL DID YOU WATCH 94 MOVIES SO FAR THIS YEAR!!!???

[havocSchultz]

BLEH
The Woods

As a Bruce Campbell fan, I'm dismayed by this score... I've not seen The Woods yet, care to briefly review, or has this already been done somewhere?

She had brief comment about it here...

[so sorry]

I have nothing to comment regarding Transamerica, but rather HOW THE HELL DID YOU WATCH 94 MOVIES SO FAR THIS YEAR!!!???

no kidding!

I just updated my list, and I was all proud of myself that I managed to watch 5 movies this month

[Pacino86845]

BLEH
The Woods

As a Bruce Campbell fan, I'm dismayed by this score... I've not seen The Woods yet, care to briefly review, or has this already been done somewhere?

She had brief comment about it here...

Thanks man, and I see that you had a similar reaction... guess that's one I'll be skipping after all.

[magicmonkey]

I have nothing to comment regarding Transamerica, but rather HOW THE HELL DID YOU WATCH 94 MOVIES SO FAR THIS YEAR!!!???

no kidding!

I just updated my list, and I was all proud of myself that I managed to watch 5 movies this month

Hmmm, now make that 97

[havocSchultz]

BLEH
The Woods

As a Bruce Campbell fan, I'm dismayed by this score... I've not seen The Woods yet, care to briefly review, or has this already been done somewhere?

She had brief comment about it here...

Thanks man, and I see that you had a similar reaction... guess that's one I'll be skipping after all.

Yeah...I guess there was a reason it sat on the shelves for so long...
Campbell was wasted for the most part...and, apparentely when he finally gets to do something near the end - I had already fallen asleep/shut it off...

And now - to get back to working on my Bon Cop, Bad Cop review...along with possible Borat, The Departed, The Prestige comments to be up in a couple of days...

I also got The Trailer Park Boys Movie burning a hole in my DVD player right now - just waiting to be watched...very soon...

Oh...hahaha...I also watched a bad Canadian sci-fi film...Decoys 2...which does not even hold up to it's craptacular predecessor...
So I will hopefully have a few things to say in regards to these films in the next while...

Oh yeah, and I believe Fido opens up here (either this past weekend or in the next weekend...so I will hopefully be able to track it down and check it out...)

[Pacino86845]

And now - to get back to working on my Bon Cop, Bad Cop review...

I also got The Trailer Park Boys Movie burning a hole in my DVD player right now - just waiting to be watched...very soon...

Oh...hahaha...I also watched a bad Canadian sci-fi film...Decoys 2...which does not even hold up to it's craptacular predecessor...
So I will hopefully have a few things to say in regards to these films in the next while...

You should become our very own Canadian Film Canadian Reviewer from Canada, eh? Can't wait for the reviews... my brother's a big fan of Trailer Park Boys, but I think I've only ever seen one episode.

[havocSchultz]

And now - to get back to working on my Bon Cop, Bad Cop review...

I also got The Trailer Park Boys Movie burning a hole in my DVD player right now - just waiting to be watched...very soon...

Oh...hahaha...I also watched a bad Canadian sci-fi film...Decoys 2...which does not even hold up to it's craptacular predecessor...
So I will hopefully have a few things to say in regards to these films in the next while...

You should become our very own Canadian Film Canadian Reviewer from Canada, eh? Can't wait for the reviews... my brother's a big fan of Trailer Park Boys, but I think I've only ever seen one episode.

Hahahaha...except I only try and track down Canadian genre pictures...nobody wants to hear about the other crap anyways...

I'm not what would be considered a HUGE Trailer Park Boys fan...
I never try and make time to actually sit down and watch it...
But if I see that it's on when I'm flipping channels - I'll stop and watch and usually laugh my ass off at a few things...

And a guy I used to work with did a dead-on Bubbles impression...

And I still have to check out C.R.A.Z.Y yet too...even though it doesn't necessarily fit into my Canadian Genre Film portfolio...

But technically - I'm just watching these canadian films so as to see what kinda competition I have out there...

[Nachokoolaid]

Which of these would you rate higher? I saw them all for the first time over the weekend, and I was faced with a scoring dilemma.

Road to Perdition
Flags of Our Fathers
Tenacious D in the Pick of Destiny

[Keepcoolbutcare]

3/18/07 - TEARS OF THE BLACK TIGER - 8/10 - T - i dont know what the fuck to call it, but i fucking love it. i mean, it's a love story, but like the awesomest one of all times. Strikingly beautiful. and what a score! seriously, i've never seen anything like it.

what, no review?

[magicmonkey]

Lost Highway (4)

I, Robot (2)

Commando (4)

You are mad!! Mad I say. I, robot 2? , Commando 4??? equal to lost highway! Crazy man!

[godzillasushi]

81.Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace - (7/10) Overtime, this seems to be emerging as the favorite of the prequels, even among fanboys. Still has the best light saber battle ever.
82.Star Wars Episode III: The Revenge of the Sith - (7/10) Not a bad ending to the prequels, but this should have been Episode II, and III could be about Vader rounding up the straggling Jedi.

What in your opinion makes them equal? Just for conversations sake...

I dont think Vader getting the last Jedi would have had the same emotional impact as Amadala dying and Vader/Anakin being manipulated to no end. It would have been cool, but part of what made the end of the new trilogy so special is that feeling of tragedy. Anakin and Amadala seriously loved each other a whole lot. So the way it turned out was a bummer. Not the scenes, just the fact that they couldnt really be on the same level as one another. I know I get tingles thinking about what happened.

Not that Jedi destruction wouldnt have been incredible. But I dont think thats good closure.

[so sorry]

Lost Highway (4)

I, Robot (2)

Commando (4)

You are mad!! Mad I say. I, robot 2? , Commando 4??? equal to lost highway! Crazy man!

You're a funny man, MagicMonkey, I like you. That's why I'm going to kill you last.

[Brocktune]

3/18/07 - TEARS OF THE BLACK TIGER - 8/10 - T - i dont know what the fuck to call it, but i fucking love it. i mean, it's a love story, but like the awesomest one of all times. Strikingly beautiful. and what a score! seriously, i've never seen anything like it.

what, no review?

i was thinking about it.

maybe today.

[pomeroy]

81.Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace - (7/10) Overtime, this seems to be emerging as the favorite of the prequels, even among fanboys. Still has the best light saber battle ever.
82.Star Wars Episode III: The Revenge of the Sith - (7/10) Not a bad ending to the prequels, but this should have been Episode II, and III could be about Vader rounding up the straggling Jedi.

What in your opinion makes them equal? Just for conversations sake...

I dont think Vader getting the last Jedi would have had the same emotional impact as Amadala dying and Vader/Anakin being manipulated to no end. It would have been cool, but part of what made the end of the new trilogy so special is that feeling of tragedy. Anakin and Amadala seriously loved each other a whole lot. So the way it turned out was a bummer. Not the scenes, just the fact that they couldnt really be on the same level as one another. I know I get tingles thinking about what happened.

Not that Jedi destruction wouldnt have been incredible. But I dont think thats good closure.

God, Episode 1 is so lame.

[Nachokoolaid]

81.Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace - (7/10) Overtime, this seems to be emerging as the favorite of the prequels, even among fanboys. Still has the best light saber battle ever.
82.Star Wars Episode III: The Revenge of the Sith - (7/10) Not a bad ending to the prequels, but this should have been Episode II, and III could be about Vader rounding up the straggling Jedi.

What in your opinion makes them equal? Just for conversations sake...

I dont think Vader getting the last Jedi would have had the same emotional impact as Amadala dying and Vader/Anakin being manipulated to no end. It would have been cool, but part of what made the end of the new trilogy so special is that feeling of tragedy. Anakin and Amadala seriously loved each other a whole lot. So the way it turned out was a bummer. Not the scenes, just the fact that they couldnt really be on the same level as one another. I know I get tingles thinking about what happened.

Not that Jedi destruction wouldnt have been incredible. But I dont think thats good closure.

I usually rank films on if they achieve what they set out to do. So technically, that's why a film like kiss kiss, bang bang scored higher for me that Dr. Strangelove. I'm not saying that I think KKBB is a better film. That's certainly not the case. However, based on entertainment, KKBB entertained the hell out of me because it knew what it was and hit the right spots. However, I didn't see Dr. Strangelove until very recently, (obviously long after the Cold War had ended), so to ME, it seemed like much of the satire (while still amazingly on point) missed the mark a bit because it's not as culturally relevant as I imagine it once was.

All that to say, I'm not saying these two SW films are equal. None of my scores are meant as a basis for comparison. Menace scored well because I like Neeson and the Maul character. I think it has the best lightsaber duel in the entire saga. However, it loses marks because of some stilted acting from a few characters (Jake Lloyd in particular). Sith scored a little higher originally, because I like the plot more, but it lacks some things I guess I wanted to see in a final SW film (this deals with expectations a bit). Also, Hayden C doesn't do much better than Lloyd somtimes, when his acting is much more crucial to the film. I also didn't buy some of the motivations/believability of a couple scenes. Sith gets an 8 sometimes, depending on my mood. And that happens with me too. When I score a film, it's not set in stone. They change upon each viewing.

[Brocktune]

Santa Sangre 7/10

were you in santa monica last night?!

i so almost went and saw it too.

but i opted to stick with tunnelvision instead. it was funny, but i cant help shake the feeling that i may have backed the wrong horse.

Meh

January - Jesus Camp

just curious, was it because you found the subject material distasteful, or did you feel like the film was done poorly?

and i understand the precarious nature of discussing a film like this in the zone proper, so i will understand if you wish to keep your response as succinct as possible.

[Seppuku]

I know the month's not over, but it doesn't look like there's a hell of a lot of movies out this week that I feel like seeing, so I'll do the best/worst of the month thing now (again I won't count DVDs just to be fair):

Best: Catch a Fire.

I saw this simply because it had the name Phillip Noyce behind it, who did one of my favourite films of the '00s so far, Rabbit-Proof Fence. While this has nowhere near the amount of heart that that film has, it covers the Apartheid from the perspective of a black South African terrorist, which immediately gains points with me, because if ever there was a terrorist movement of the last century I could get behind, that'd be it. It seems to me like Catch a Fire plays like Noyce's resume- like a cross between the more reflective stuff like RPF and The Quiet American, and the more standard action fare like Patriot Games and that dodgy Val Kilmer remake, The Saint.

Mostly, that action stuff pulled me out of the movie, but there are a few exceptions- like when the family are sitting around the kitchen singing along to Bob Marley songs, and suddenly they hear sirens and their neighbour screaming as he is pulled out of his house by white, SA police. Our hero, Patrick, goes to see what the big hubbub is and is immediately thrown into another police car, having been suspected of trying to blow up an oil refinery plant. After undergoing humiliation at the hands of Tim Robbins' anti-terrorist agent, it takes his wife being tortured for him to finally decide to become what they are accusing him of- a revolutionary. Tim Robbins plays it slightly hammy, for sure, but I guess his South African accent is at least more convincing than Di Caprio's, so he's got that in his favour. I won't go into the rest, but I will say stick around for the credits, because it features footage of the real-life Patrick Chamusso, on whom this movie was based, playing football with the actor who played him, Derek Luke....from erm Biker Boyz (sorry Pat, but Derek kicked your arse at footie). It kinda got me thinking that this whole subject would have been much better served by a documentary, as it's the more conventional, Point Break: Johannesburg style parts that worked the least. Ah well, the movie worked in showing that when your government is no longer your government, and when you're being denigrated in your own country because of the colour of your skin, sometimes terrorism is justified.

I was having a conversation with the wife of a white South African soldier the other day, and she kept on going on and on about how much racism he was given; what she just didn't understand was that a few dirty looks are one thing, but living in a shanty town because you're black is something else entirely. So, I'm guessing the themes this movie briefly explores are still as prevalent as ever.


Worst: Outlaw. I don't even want to get into this it irritated me so much. Skip this cretinous, tabloid-level, anti-immigrant bullshit, and go play State of Emergency or GTA instead...they both have a hell of a lot more to say than Nick "Football Factory" Love. Why Sean Bean (the reason why I went to see this) and Bob Hoskins signed on for this far-right movie equivalent of a chav, I'll never know. Perhaps the working screenplay read, "Death Wish 8"?

[Keepcoolbutcare]

re"]Meh

January - Jesus Camp

just curious, was it because you found the subject material distasteful, or did you feel like the film was done poorly?

didn't tell me anything I didn't already know, it wasn't very evenhanded, I hated the talk show host and the device of using him throughout the film. I know it wouldn't have fit the obvious device of the film, but why not show us adults who have not only survived the insidious indoctrination, but have rebelled against it. Not a one of these children have yet to reach puberty, let's see how they react to these "teachings" when faced with raging hormones, spiritual ennui, peer pressure and the twin virtues of drugs and alcohol.

Frankly, I was bored.

Least when I wasn't laughing.

but you know what really gets me about it the whole thing?

you can just as easily, and with far more social substance, make a doc on how parents indoctrinate their children into the Church of Capitalism. Show the commercials, commercials that are awfully similar in both style and content to the programming that is aired at children. Show families taking their SUV's or mini-vans to the mall, show how kids respond to the onslaught of advertising that's geared specifically for them, see how they know brand names before they even can spell their own.

now that, THAT would be an interesting, thought provoking doc, instead of a film clearly designed for a specific audience, laugh track/pitiful condescension already in place.

[Pacino86845]

Santa Sangre 7/10

were you in santa monica last night?!

i so almost went and saw it too.

but i opted to stick with tunnelvision instead. it was funny, but i cant help shake the feeling that i may have backed the wrong horse.

I was on Santa Sofa.

[pomeroy]

re"]Meh

January - Jesus Camp

just curious, was it because you found the subject material distasteful, or did you feel like the film was done poorly?

didn't tell me anything I didn't already know, it wasn't very evenhanded, I hated the talk show host and the device of using him throughout the film. I know it wouldn't have fit the obvious device of the film, but why not show us adults who have not only survived the insidious indoctrination, but have rebelled against it. Not a one of these children have yet to reach puberty, let's see how they react to these "teachings" when faced with raging hormones, spiritual ennui, peer pressure and the twin virtues of drugs and alcohol.

Frankly, I was bored.

Least when I wasn't laughing.

but you know what really gets me about it the whole thing?

you can just as easily, and with far more social substance, make a doc on how parents indoctrinate their children into the Church of Capitalism. Show the commercials, commercials that are awfully similar in both style and content to the programming that is aired at children. Show families taking their SUV's or mini-vans to the mall, show how kids respond to the onslaught of advertising that's geared specifically for them, see how they know brand names before they even can spell their own.

now that, THAT would be an interesting, thought provoking doc, instead of a film clearly designed for a specific audience, laugh track/pitiful condescension already in place.

Really, though, I didn't expect it to be more evenhanded. I don't know how it could have been. You didn't have one of the filmmakers talking about how ridiculous/horrid these people were (I'll grant you that the talk show host sort of did, but I felt he brought in some of the evenhandedness you were looking for by showing that not all [or even most] Christians are like those portrayed at the camp)...they just showed it to you. And those people were PROUD of what they were doing.

I also agree with you about the capitalism doc. Spurlock touched on it in Supersize Me, but an entire documentary dedicated to it would be something to see, for sure.

[Pacino86845]

I'm curious to see comparisons to Lake of Fire... thematically there should be similarities, and both that and Jesus Camp are supposed to be docos, right? Then to round things off finish up with Mori-penned Pro Life!!

[LeFlambeur]

re"]Meh

January - Jesus Camp

just curious, was it because you found the subject material distasteful, or did you feel like the film was done poorly?

didn't tell me anything I didn't already know, it wasn't very evenhanded, I hated the talk show host and the device of using him throughout the film. I know it wouldn't have fit the obvious device of the film, but why not show us adults who have not only survived the insidious indoctrination, but have rebelled against it. Not a one of these children have yet to reach puberty, let's see how they react to these "teachings" when faced with raging hormones, spiritual ennui, peer pressure and the twin virtues of drugs and alcohol.

Frankly, I was bored.

Least when I wasn't laughing.

but you know what really gets me about it the whole thing?

you can just as easily, and with far more social substance, make a doc on how parents indoctrinate their children into the Church of Capitalism. Show the commercials, commercials that are awfully similar in both style and content to the programming that is aired at children. Show families taking their SUV's or mini-vans to the mall, show how kids respond to the onslaught of advertising that's geared specifically for them, see how they know brand names before they even can spell their own.

now that, THAT would be an interesting, thought provoking doc, instead of a film clearly designed for a specific audience, laugh track/pitiful condescension already in place.

Really, though, I didn't expect it to be more evenhanded. I don't know how it could have been. You didn't have one of the filmmakers talking about how ridiculous/horrid these people were (I'll grant you that the talk show host sort of did, but I felt he brought in some of the evenhandedness you were looking for by showing that not all [or even most] Christians are like those portrayed at the camp)...they just showed it to you. And those people were PROUD of what they were doing.

I also agree with you about the capitalism doc. Spurlock touched on it in Supersize Me, but an entire documentary dedicated to it would be something to see, for sure.

The entire film felt like that awkward moment on the Office where Michael does something insane and you are sort of laughing but mostly cringing. I barely got through it. I thought the doc was technically competent, and it could have done without the psuedo-political commentary. A more personal approach would have been helpful. I'd have loved to have seen what Werner Herzog would have done with these people. I agree with keepcoolbutcare in that the documentary should have showed older kids and adults who have been through this indoctrination. This almost could almsot have been a perverse reworking of the Up series. Ditto on the call for an examination of "Church of Captialism." The doc The Corporation did touch on this briefly though.

[Nachokoolaid]

As per monthly ritual, my picks for the best and worst I saw during March.

This is probably the month that I saw the most "new" flicks in a while, and it was a tough choice between 300, Dr. Strangelove, The Prestige, Road to Perdition, FLags of Our Fathers, and some previously seen greats like Batman Begins, Kiss Kiss Bang Bang, and Die Hard, but I'm giving this month's award to....

BEST:

300 - How could I not pick a film that was a pure rush of adrenaline with the best film action scenes in a decade? Simply beautiful.

Worst:

Even though it was a favorite of mine when I was a little kid, the worst this month was CADDYSHACK 2. A dancing groundhog/gopher only stays cute for so long.

[pomeroy]

Dude...300 over Strangelove?

*sigh*

[Nachokoolaid]

Dude...300 over Strangelove?

*sigh*

Once upon a time, (earlier in this thread in fact) I wrote this:

I usually rank films on if they achieve what they set out to do. So technically, that's why a film like kiss kiss, bang bang scored higher for me that Dr. Strangelove. I'm not saying that I think KKBB is a better film. That's certainly not the case. However, based on entertainment, KKBB entertained the hell out of me because it knew what it was and hit the right spots. However, I didn't see Dr. Strangelove until very recently, (obviously long after the Cold War had ended), so to ME, it seemed like much of the satire (while still amazingly on point) missed the mark a bit because it's not as culturally relevant as I imagine it once was.

All that to say, I'm not saying these two SW films are equal. None of my scores are meant as a basis for comparison. Menace scored well because I like Neeson and the Maul character. I think it has the best lightsaber duel in the entire saga. However, it loses marks because of some stilted acting from a few characters (Jake Lloyd in particular). Sith scored a little higher originally, because I like the plot more, but it lacks some things I guess I wanted to see in a final SW film (this deals with expectations a bit). Also, Hayden C doesn't do much better than Lloyd somtimes, when his acting is much more crucial to the film. I also didn't buy some of the motivations/believability of a couple scenes. Sith gets an 8 sometimes, depending on my mood. And that happens with me too. When I score a film, it's not set in stone. They change upon each viewing.

I think that certainly applies here.

[Al Shut]

Picking the best and worst of a month doesn't make that much sense when you've only seen three movies but whatever.

Best is a tie between Smokin' Aces and Neues vom Wixxer, both enjoyable and fun movies, the first in an action kind of way the latter as a comedy.

Worst was Ghost Rider, a few nice moments but overall not really good.


@PAcino: Are we going to hear more about 300, the majority seems to disagree.

[Pacino86845]

Picking the best and worst of a month doesn't make that much sense when you've only seen three movies but whatever.

Best is a tie between Smokin' Aces and Neues vom Wixxer, both enjoyable and fun movies, the first in an action kind of way the latter as a comedy.

Worst was Ghost Rider, a few nice moments but overall not really good.


@PAcino: Are we going to hear more about 300, the majority seems to disagree.

I think Fried Gold nailed my thoughts more or less exactly in the 300 review thread... but I'll add something more a little later, in that case. I was hoping I could just sneak that one by without anyone taking notice, LOL. For those who didn't notice, I gave 300 a 4/10.

[RaulMonkey]

Picking the best and worst of a month doesn't make that much sense when you've only seen three movies but whatever.

Best is a tie between Smokin' Aces and Neues vom Wixxer, both enjoyable and fun movies, the first in an action kind of way the latter as a comedy.

Worst was Ghost Rider, a few nice moments but overall not really good.


@PAcino: Are we going to hear more about 300, the majority seems to disagree.

Does the word "Wixxer" have anything to do with masturbation? There was a guy with the handle "vvixar" in a chatroom I used to visit, and he changed his name because he found out it was (at least close to) the German for "masturbation."

[Al Shut]

Wichser is German for wanker. I don't don't really know if spelling it with an x is technically correct or if it changes something in the meaning but I'm pretty sure that two x is just for the movie.

[RaulMonkey]

Picking the best and worst of a month doesn't make that much sense when you've only seen three movies but whatever.

Best is a tie between Smokin' Aces and Neues vom Wixxer, both enjoyable and fun movies, the first in an action kind of way the latter as a comedy.

Does the word "Wixxer" have anything to do with masturbation? There was a guy with the handle "vvixar" in a chatroom I used to visit, and he changed his name because he found out it was (at least close to) the German for "masturbation."

Wichser is German for wanker. I don't don't really know if spelling it with an x is technically correct or if it changes something in the meaning but I'm pretty sure that two x is just for the movie.

Aha! Wanker! So it was totally true then! Thanks, Al.

[Pacino86845]

105. Notti erotiche dei morti viventi, Le 2/5

The Erotic Nights of the Living Dead?! HAHAHAHA, REVIEW!!! (Is that Portugese?)

[magicmonkey]

105. Notti erotiche dei morti viventi, Le 2/5

The Erotic Nights of the Living Dead?! HAHAHAHA, REVIEW!!! (Is that Portugese?)

HAHA!! Crazy movie! Its directed by Joe D'amato, I've seen another of his in the past called "Beyond Darkness" which I reviewed last year in the what have you been watching thread. Its essentially Italian Giallo/Exploitation fare. Beyond Darkness was fun, this was ridiculous.

I'm talking hardcore prono mixed with zombies!!! For the first 20mins I thought I'd discovered a cinematic exploitation gem bar none, one minute a guy's getting his neck chewed off by a zombie, then in another, a guy's explicitly getting his horn blown by two ladies in the shower- thats when my girlfriend ejected the DVD( she was on the phone to family at the time)... However, she chilled out and put it on today and we finished watching it. It's the full uncut version, and features amongst other things a bottle of champagne being uncork within the vagina. It gets pretty darn cheesy in places... as a horror, it's OK and packs an atmosphere with pretty good visuals, but, but with the added gratuitous xxx pron its Kerazy.

In fact whilst one character gets his pecker out, another shags away whilst still wearing his trousars. The producers obviously realised that they were making the film for different markets and could just cut out the pron and replace it with this tale of a bearded man with an odd love affair with his jeans. It's certainly a curiosity piece...

Oh yeah, and the soundtracks pretty funkay too.

[Pacino86845]

Wow, I'm totally looking out for it now! I'd thought it was Italian, but somehow the declinations of the words looked strange to me...

[Keepcoolbutcare]

and features amongst other things a bottle of champagne being uncork within the vagina.

awesome.

Did it rebound off the cervix and fly back out, taking out someone's eye?

Smarch Top Flicks...a tie! Yay for indecision!

two horror flicks that are both funny as fuck and pack admirable social messages atop their gore and scares...

THE HOST

THE HIDDEN

[magicmonkey]

and features amongst other things a bottle of champagne being uncork within the vagina.

awesome.

Did it rebound off the cervix and fly back out, taking out someone's eye?

That would have been awesome, way to take out a zombie. I think it was all smoke and mirrors, it acts an metaphor for something with all the foam spilling down and out, I think this scene may have been in the uncut (by the projectionist) version. I was waiting for the cork to fall out, but it never did... I call shannanigans!

As for my fave film from last month, it would have to be 1989's " Dr. Caligari", which totally took me by surprise for being pretty damn good fun and kinda arty too. Popeye got the highest score, and is one of the only real classics I saw. Worst movie was Roger Corman's Gas-s-s-s, it was fun and I liked the ending tho.

[Pacino86845]

Didn't see much in March, but the overall quality of the films I watched was very high. 3rd viewing of The New World, one of the best films EVAR! Never fails to absolutely devastate me with its poetic power, the final minutes of the film always bring me to the brink of tears.

Two notable discoveries were Caché and Trailer Park Boys. The first, an old-school (but modern) character drama, which begins as a French couple receives a videotape recording of their home. This sets off a personal quest of Daniel Auteuil's character Georges to confront his guilt, and reflects France's own guilt as a nation for its past atrocities... and digging further (prolly viewer-dependent), how this may be relevant to our world today. Not political though, director Haneke is an auteur first and foremost, he's not interested in beating things into his audience, nor in making things all neat and tidy.

Trailer Park Boys is a Canadian comedy, eh? It's based on a fairly successful tv show of the same name. Highly recommended for its quirky humor, and no knowledge of the tv show is needed to appreciate it (I'd only seen one or two episodes of the show, and I thought this movie was great).

Biggest disappointment though was 300... I wasn't expecting a masterpiece, but between Dawn of the Dead and 300 Zack Snyder is turning out to be a director that I'm really not interested in. He could be a successful special effects supervisor, but I'm still not convinced he belongs at a film's helm.

[havocSchultz]

Trailer Park Boys is a Canadian comedy, eh? It's based on a fairly successful tv show of the same name. Highly recommended for its quirky humor, and no knowledge of the tv show is needed to appreciate it (I'd only seen one or two episodes of the show, and I thought this movie was great).

Damn straight!
Bubbles is representing!!!

And J-Roc is the fucking man...

My list is UPDATED...

Reviews will be coming shortly for (hopefully) a few of them...at least...

[LeFlambeur]

The worst movie I saw in March was Stranger than Fiction. What a flat, shallow, unfunny, pretentious, piece of lesser Will Ferrel that was (but at least it wasn't as bad as the cringingly awful Melinda and Melinda). All I could help thinking while watching it was that Punch-Drunk Love, Adaptation, and Ikiru were good movies.

Picking a best of the month is difficult, there are plenty of front runners: The Spirit of the Beehive, The Devil's Backbone, Story of a Prostitute, Dressed to Kill, The Big Lebowski. At the end of it, the (slight) standout for me was Abbas Kiarostami's opaque spiritual parable Taste of Cherry. Some say it was banal, I thought its openess was engaging, inciting the viewer to ask questions, not only about life and death, but how we relate to cinema.

[Keepcoolbutcare]

The Spirit of the Beehive, The Devil's Backbone, Story of a Prostitute, Dressed to Kill, The Big Lebowski...Taste of Cherry.

damn good month.

nice range to boot.

[Brocktune]

At the end of it, the (slight) standout for me was Abbas Kiarostami's opaque spiritual parable Taste of Cherry.

great flick.

i remember having to wake my candy ass up super early to catch it when they ran it on ifc or sundance or some shit. quite engaging indeed. especially when i could manage to stop tripping out on what iran looks like.