Elvis On Tour, Julie and Julia + The Pit

Elvis On Tour. This is going to date me or make me seem really old but too late, here goes: the first concert I ever saw was Elvis Presley at the Mabee Center in Tulsa during his 1976 tour. I was seven years old. My mom, who is a massive Elvis fan, thought my first concert experience should be Elvis. That was very nice of her as whenever the topic of "first concerts" comes up in conversation, I pull out that big gun and it's hard to top. Memories of that show: Elvis coming out with his orchestral theme song, a huge band on stage, getting in trouble for banging the person in front of me with the poster I bought at the merch table and seeing Elvis in varied sequin-studded jumpsuits.

Maybe because of this show, I've always loved Elvis' 1970s music. Huge in scope, wildly all over the map in style, bombastic and over the top--people mock it but I really like it. Moody Blue (which my mom has on blue vinyl and I wore out on our home hi-fi)? An amazing record! So, for one night only a few weeks ago, a few hundred theatres across the U.S. showed Elvis On Tour, a concert documentary on the fifteen night 1972 tour. I saw it in a packed house with who else? That's right, my mom.

Elvis On Tour is a wonderful blend of concert footage of songs from the era and some behind the scene action. It's a nice mix between music and Elvis hanging out in the limo or about to head on stage, nervously pacing off-stage. The impromptu gospel singing is always a treat to witness. Elvis truly loved his gospel. The documentary uses the "multiscreen" to set it apart--often using the visuals of multiple cameras on screen to give a complete experience of what the tour felt like. It's busy on the screen but makes it hard not to find something to watch/listen to as the film unfolds. Even if you think you don't like Elvis but are a music fan, Elvis On Tour might make you rethink your position.

Julie and Julia. This Nora Ephron comedy from 2009 is underwhelming in almost every way. Superficial and trite from beginning to end, I wasn't drawn in, I didn't think it was humorous, I didn't like any of the characters and even the food didn't do much for me. Amy Adams, who I'm generally fond of, is completely annoying as a whiny, self-absorbed blogger who attempts to cook every recipe in Child's landmark cookbook Mastering the Art of French Cooking over the course of a single year.

The story bounces back and forth between Child as she discovers her love of cooking French food in Paris and Adams' Julie as she discovers the power of the blog to escape from her disturbing day job as a counselor for victims of 9/11. Between the two, I'd choose to have just stuck with Child's story. Unfortunately, we get as much of Julie and this story is irritating as all get out. Ephron likes to deal in the world of fluff and her lighter than air tone just seems cloying to me most of the time. Julie and Julia is another example of that from her.

The Pit. Slumber Party 2: Join Us happened a few weeks ago but one of the highlights was the screening of this little seen 1981 Canadian gem The Pit. Of the hundred people in the theatre when it screened, not many had seen it and there were lots of guffaws, laughter and disbelief at what was happening in this oddball film. The Pit comes off as a kinked up, twisted, adult after school special circa late 1970s as there is a weird message buried in the midst of the story.

Jamie (awesomely played by a never to be seen again child actor named Sammy Snyders) has a hard time fitting in with adults and kids his age. He's happy to spend time with himself, his turtle, chatting it up with Teddy (his stuffed teddy bear) and trying to feed the unknown creatures he's discovered in a pit in the woods. They have glowing red eyes and Jamie tries all kinds of food for them--from candy to a darker source for meals.

The Pit is a fun film when you watch it with a few people but let me say that during the middle of the night, when no one knows what is coming at them--it is an explosive crowd-pleaser. The theatre was eating The Pit up from the pervy bits to the funny bits to the terrific ending. It's hard to find films no one has seen to screen as a secret film during Slumber Party but The Pit, like Hausu in 2009, is going to be hard to top when Slumber Party 3: Payback comes in July 2011.

UTW review of The Kids Are All Right + Restrepo

Go here if you want to get reviews of The Kids Are All Right and Restropo that appeared in a recent Urban Tulsa. Kids... is a family dramedy about what happens when two adopted teenagers are introduced to the man their lesbian moms used for artificial insemination. It throws the family off their tracks of normalcy to say the least. It's good.

Also good is the war documentary Restrepo. It follows a troop during a 15 month deployment in a very dangerous region of Afghanistan as they attempt to set-up and hold an operation post. Told from the viewpoint of a selection of the men, it is a raw, intimate portrait of what being a modern soldier looks like.

Synth Britannia - Part 2/9

Here's part two to really suck you in, ha.

Synth Britannia - Part 1/9

Here's part one of Synth Britannia--the nine part documentary on electronic music in England during the 1970s and 1980s. Awesome!

Synth Britannia

I love movies but I'm also a huge music fan. I was buying albums, hiding in my room listening to them loudly for hours on end and seeing concerts while in elementary school. For me, the decade from 1975-1984 had it all--classic, prog, disco, punk, post-punk, electronic, kraut, hip-hop, etc, etc. This era was unbelievably vibrant, creative and groundbreaking to the point that these groups are mimicked relentlessly by younger bands today. Of all those styles from that period, I loved synth-pop music the most.

When I first became aware of all-synthesizer bands in 1983 I was never the same regarding music. To hear songs made with nothing but machines was so mind-blowingly futuristic that it was like nothing I'd ever imagined. I just couldn't believe what I was hearing and seeing. Men standing behind a bank of synthesizers? Yes! Guitars were in the background; the machine was the focus. Electronic music was completely revolutionary to me. Synthesizer were the "real" punk rock--how truly original were all those bands using the same old instruments, the same old chords, the same old everything that had been used by bands for decades? Synthesizers were modern and the men who crafted songs from their knobs, keys and circuitry were the ultimate modernists. Virtually all my favorite bands from that time in my life were English.

When I stumbled across BBC Four's 2009 documentary Synth Britannia recently I was floored by its quality. Not available in America, I watched it in eight ten minute segments on You Tube (there is a part nine but it's been removed from You Tube; it can be found elsewhere online if you search for it). The synth-pop genre has been roundly mocked by the English music press since the bands first came onto the scene. The attacks on these bands were often vicious and without mercy. It's always gotten more honest appraisal in the rest of Europe and America. So to see a documentary from the UK that is not only respectful but glowing in its appreciation of this music was pretty surprising to me. Shocking actually, if you are familiar with how the fickle press has treated the bands from the late '70s and early '80s.

Starting in the mid 1970s, Synth Britannia includes most of the big bands from the period: Kraftwerk, Depeche Mode, Daniel Miller of Mute Records, The Human League, New Order, Cabaret Voltaire, Gary Numan, Orchestral Manoeuvres In the Dark, John Foxx, Soft Cell, Yazoo and many others. There's great interviews from members from these groups and tons of wonderful footage from concerts or videos. You really get a feel of why these people were attracted to making electronic music--whether inspired by a hopeless urban environment, science fiction or the magical notion of what the "future" is. If you like music and want to get a detailed version of a genre of music not covered much in mainstream press, check out Synth Britannia online. All hail the synthesizer!

UTW review of Cyrus

Go here if you want to read my Urban Tulsa review of Cyrus, a dark comedy from Jay and Mark Duplass that stars John C. Reilly, Marisa Tomei and Jonah Hill. It's a little darker in tone than most summer comedies and has lots of cringe-funny moments. I like that phrase: cringe-funny.

The Bad News Bears, Sex y Lucia + Micmacs

The Bad News Bears. No matter how many times I re-watch the 1976 comedy The Bad News Bears, it never fails to strike me as one of the all-time great movies. That's right, I said it. The film is absolutely note for note perfect and is funny, dark, scrappy underdogs battling on the field (literally) and full of so many wonderful little moments that add up to a timeless "baseball" film. One of my favorite things about it is the let it all loose '70s vibe it has--racial epitaphs, a drunken coach cursing out players and supplying beer to kids--and was scrubbed clean for "modern" audiences with a woeful and insulting remake a few years ago. I'm still in a rage over that one. This is really an adult oriented film even though I saw it when I was seven and loved it even then. Search for it in the archives and you'll find a list of my favorite baseball movies--this ranks as number one.

Sex y Lucia. When this film by Julio Medem came out in 2001 I was really into his films after loving Lovers of the Arctic Circle and Vacas. I loved Sex y Lucia too but re-watching it a decade later it hasn't held up as well as I'd hoped. It's got all the things I recall--attractive Spaniards taking off their clothes a lot (Paz Vega among others), a non-linear story about all of Medem's favorite topics such as fate, romance and sex. This time around the story was just too disjointed and didn't really hook me in emotionally. It's just a lot of beautiful people in beautiful locations either lusting or longing for one another. Still enjoyable but not as great as I wanted it to be from my memories.

Micmacs. Jean Pierre Jeunet could never make another film and he's already delivered one of the most charming movies ever made in Amelie. But, lucky for us, he keeps on giving us enchanting and quirky films and Micmacs is his latest. Immediately recognizable as a Jeunet movie--his films just have a certain look and flair regarding production design that is unmissable--Micmacs is an overdose on whimsy as it tells the story of a lovable guy who survives a random shooting that has him take a bullet in the "brain box." He joins up with a group of eccentric misfits (this is a Jeunet film after all) and the group attempt to teach the weapon industry who made the bullet (and lots of other nastier guns/bombs) a lesson that might change their ethics. I'm not sold on Jeunet trying to have a film with a message--a heavy handed one a little too blunt for my liking--but that's what he's done here. The villains are cartoonish (it's Jeunet!), the direction is over the top and the film is okay but not one of Jeunet's best. Worth seeing for his creative zeal though as Jeunet's style is very unique in the world of current cinema.

July movies

It was a busy month. 33 movies, including the five horror films in a single all-night binge aka Slumber Party 2: Join Us. I was watching movies all month long though. Lots of highlights but one was watching Deliverance with SJ who had no idea what was coming her way (squeal!). Some of the others are coming up in the short capsule reviews I've been doing.

Knight and Day---2010---usa   **1/2
The Power and the Powerless--2009---usa   **1/2
Joan Rivers: A Piece of Work---2010---usa   ***
Holly---2006---usa   ***
The Conformist---1970---italy   ***1/2
Despicable Me---2010---usa   ***
The Informant!---2009---usa   ***
You, The Living---2007---sweden   ****
Stonewall Uprising---2010---usa   ***
Deliverance---1972---usa   *****!
The Bad News Bears---1976---usa   *****!
Predators---2010---usa   **1/2
Inception---2010---usa   ***1/2
Out of the Past---1947---usa   ****
Sex y Lucia---2000---spain   ***1/2
You Don't Mess With the Zohan---2008---usa   ***
The Evil Dead---1982---usa   ****
My Brother's Wife---2005---mexico   **
The Evil Dead---1982---usa   ****
The Pit---1981---canada   ****
The Brood---1979---canada    ****
The Manitou---1979---usa   ***
Alligator---1980---usa   ***1/2
The American Friend---1978---germany   ***1/2
Micmacs---2010---france   ***
Logan's Run---1976---usa   ****
Man With a Million---1953---usa   **1/2
Synth Britannia---2009---england   ****1/2
Restrepo---2010---usa   ***1/2
The Kids Are All Right---2010---usa   ****
Elvis On Tour---1972---usa   ****
Is Anybody There?---2008---england   **1/2
The Brooklyn Heist---2009---usa   **1/2

UTW review of Inception

Go here if you want to read my review of Inception in Urban Tulsa. It's a huge hit so you've probably seen it already. Follow the link and see if you agree or disagree with me.

RIP James Gammon

In the LA Times article in the previous post, Sam Shepard's 2000 play The Late Henry Moss and Gammon's role in it is discussed. This clip is from rehearsals with Gammon sharing an intense scene with Woody Harrelson. The Late Henry Moss had a couple of other heavy-duty actors in Sean Penn and Nick Nolte but my guess is that Gammon more than held his own by the looks of this scene. Near the end of the clip Gammon tells a funny story about an early acting experience when he was in the 7th grade.

James Gammon 1940-2010

James Gammon, one of my all-time favorite actors died a few weeks ago after battling cancer. Anyone who pays attention to character actors probably knows who this gravel-voiced everyman was. I wrote about him back in April 2007 if you want to check the archives. Or, do a "James Gammon" search and a link to that post should pop up.

Go here if you want to read something from the Los Angeles Times about Gammon and how he was Sam Shepard's favorite actor to use in his plays. I just wish Gammon could have gotten more roles, larger roles that would have equaled his talent. He truly deserved it.

UTW review of Despicable Me

Go here if you want to read my review of Despicable Me in Urban Tulsa a couple of weeks ago. Kind of behind on my Urban Tulsa reviews here. I'm not used to watching so many summer cartoons--I wrote about Toy Story 3 recently as well--but this is another fun, silly film that will probably please the kids more than the adults.

Amityville II: The Possession; Pryor, Oklahoma; 1982

In 1983 I did something terrifying that haunted me for months: I watched Amityville II: The Possession. I didn't just watch it during normal hours of the night or with a group of friends either. No, I stayed up past midnight to watched it in a house that was completely empty. And I was fourteen years old.

One of the benefits of growing up in rural Oklahoma was we only got a single channel from an old fashioned antenna attached to the house. In the early 1980s we bought a gigantic dish and placed it in the back yard. The dish not only had a remote control that allowed us to switch from transponder to transponder from inside (some dishes had a hand crank on it that required you to leave the house if you wanted to watch a channel not on that particular transponder) but it came with a state of the art descrambler (which was illegal!). This descrambler allowed us to get practically every channel floating back to earth from circling satellites. We got legitimate channels, wild feeds of sporting or news feeds and the east and west coast feeds of EVERY movie channel in America.

From the age of thirteen on I was a kid in heaven every single day and night and I took advantage of it. Because of the dish I had sudden access to a lot of stuff I probably shouldn't have been watching. With parents away at work a lot, it was free reign at my house for every R rated film out there. I gorged on every genre from horror to ribald comedies. If it was on our TV, I tried to watch it, no matter if it was good or horrible. On this particular night my parents and younger brother were spending the night some place else and I was going it alone in our house way out in the country. I'm not sure that it was a wise choice with a film about demonic possession in the middle of the night but at the time, it seemed like the perfect opportunity to watch a horror film I'd heard was worth seeing.

Amityville II: The Possession was devastating to me on three levels: I was fourteen years old, I watched it alone in an empty house in rural Oklahoma in the middle of the night and its story concerned a demonic possession. Growing up attending a Southern Baptist church every week, we were frequently told that possession by Satan was a real possibility if you lived a sinful existence. The devil was everywhere. Even a horror film might cause an unknown evil spirit to check in and punish me. This movie felt 100%  plausible to me and that made it more terrorizing. I haven't seen it since 1983 and it doesn't have a good reputation but it left an impression on me, hence this post.

One reason I wanted to watch the movie was that Diane Franklin was in the cast. I had recently watched Franklin in The Last American Virgin (another R rated film from 1982 I was too young to be watching!) and had developed a sizable crush on her. Somehow I'd heard that Franklin was doing more nudity in Amityville II and I was willing to risk my own battle with demonic spirits to glimpse Franklin undressed. I was not disappointed in that regard as there is an infamous incest scene that involves Franklin's character and her on-screen brother. Franklin later showed up in two great comedies by the way--Better Off Dead and Bill and Ted's Excellent Adventure.

I watched the movie. When it ended I was frozen to my bed, paralyzed by fear. Every shift or creak in the house, every noise of nature outside, every dark fantasy my imagination concocted screamed one thing: Satan was coming to possess me and cause me to slaughter my family when they got home the next day!

I slept very little the rest of the night. I'm happy to report that I was not possessed and I didn't kill my family. The film slowly lost its power over me. While it didn't feel like it in 1983, this was ultimately a favorite movie watching memory of my childhood--the night I took on Beelzebub and Amityville II: The Possession all alone and lived to tell about it.

Movie tickets #17

The Conformist, Holly + You, The Living

The Conformist. The Conformist is a terrific 1970 film from writer/director Bernardo Bertolucci that screams out European in every way. That's not a bad thing in my book. That usually means that its going to have a bunch of scenes and characters loosely attached to a plot that meanders along at its own pace. It means the film is extremely artistic with great attention to photography and production design. It means lots of atmosphere, style and philosophical pondering. Good things, right? Set during the 1930s when Fascist Italy was taking hold, The Conformist follows a secret policeman and his wavering duties/relationships in Rome and Paris. Even on DVD the film is gorgeous to look at, so I can only imagine it on 35mm film--major cities recently got a chance to see a restored film print but unfortunately I don't live in such a city. 1930s design, architecture and clothes also add to the film's visual charms. Watching The Conformist, you get the feeling that it was constructed via the editing room rather than on the page. Good stuff from the 1970s.

Holly. This is a depressing yet interesting little movie set in Cambodia among the brothels that litter the countries in Southeast Asia who traffic in the world of underage prostitution. Holly is an 12 year old Vietnamese girl who is about to join that world when an American ex-pat (Ron Livingston) with his own set of personal issues shows up and becomes friends with her. He wants to get Holly out of that horrific world but doesn't have the money or the knowledge how to do just that. Holly (2006),  directed by Guy Moshe and filmed on location in Cambodia using actual brothels in some scenes, has a quiet, simple power to it. The characters are all doomed, so the intensity of the story seems pretty genuine. To be a child, or woman, trapped in this awful world, is a hellish existence and Holly tackles the subject gamely. Virginie Ledoyan, Udo Kier and Chris Penn (in his last role) lend support.

You, The Living. Roy Andersson made one of my favorite films I watched in 2009 with Songs From the Second Floor but I'm just now getting to the only other movie of his available on DVD--You, The Living (2007). It's another statement of Andersson's unique style that includes absolutely no camera movement (the camera moves one time in the entire movie!), a deadpan and dry sense of humor,  beautiful and bleak production design, no plots with lonely urbanites who live quiet, pained lives while facing the mundane and the unpredictable. It's a strange visit when you get lost in the world of Andersson. I really liked You, The Living but it wasn't the absolute shock to the system that Songs From the Second Floor was. I was ready for his filmmaking viewpoint I guess. For more on Andersson, go back in the December 2009 archives as there are reviews and a youtube link to see some of his eccentric commercials.

UTW review of Joan Rivers: A Piece of Work

Go here if you want to read my review of the documentary Joan Rivers: A Piece of Work. The film follows the 75 year old comedian for a year and tackles various issues connected to her, ranging from plastic surgery to her early years as a female stand-up comic.

Splice, Strange Wilderness + Queen Beetle Conquers Tokyo

Splice. I had high hopes for Splice, a Canadian science fiction thriller about genetic mutations and the unexpected creatures a science lab can create. Disappointing. While the ideas involved in the story were promising, a beyond ridiculous script with hipster scientists (Adrien Brody/Sarah Polley), tossed off moral debates and too many absurd turns near the end for this to be much of a success. Fans of fellow Canadian David Cronenberg will probably like Splice though as this reeks of DC and he's not making these kinds of films at the moment.

Strange Wilderness. Blu-Ray will make you watch terrible movies just because the format is so enticing. That's my excuse for Strange Wilderness (2008), truly one of the worst films I've watched in years. Yes, in years. Strange Wilderness is so bad it makes me doubt my opinion of Steve Zahn as a comic actor. Produced by Adam Sandler's production company, there are a lot of his flunkies in prominent roles that they shouldn't get unless using the attachment of Sandler. The film's story is unfunny, infantile, despicable and highly annoying all at the same time! I don't hate mindless, lowbrow comedy if there is some humor on the screen--Strange Wilderness has absolutely no laughter in it and never comes close. Wretched in every conceivable way. Especially on Blu-Ray.

Queen Beetle Conquers Tokyo. This documentary from director Jessica Oreck has a terrific title and a wonderful poster working in its favor. In fact, this is my favorite poster I've seen all year with its simple, stark graphic that perfectly captures the subject matter: beetles + Tokyo. Isn't that a great poster? I like it so much I'm contemplating ordering the t-shirt version on the website.

Too bad I didn't enjoy the film as much as I liked the poster. I had no idea the Japanese have such an obsession with insects but evidently they are crazy about every sort of bug, especially the beetle. I would have learned more about why various people are into this but Oreck delivers an overly arty, meandering, throw every image at the screen doc with no cohesive train of thought linking people, or culture, to insect. Too bad. Most of Queen Beetle Conquers Tokyo is various adults and kids looking at bugs, either in their house or outside, with a bunch of visuals that have seemingly no connection to beetles or other bugs.

Slumber Party 2: Join Us

In July of 2009 we held the first Slumber Party--an all night movie marathon that showed five horror films to a packed house at Circle Cinema. It's time for Slumber Party 2: Join Us on July 24! Tickets go on sale at noon July 9 (today). We'll have Evil Dead + four surprise films. If you want to read more on the event at Tulsa World, go here.

The Human Centipede + Dieter Laser

Over the weekend I was goaded into watching The Human Centipede at about one in the morning on a Saturday night. Normally, peer pressure never works on me but it was movie related and I was killing time at Circle Cinema until 2.30am, when the midnight screening of Close Encounters of the Third Kind ended. What else was I going to be doing at 2 in the morning except watch The Human Centipede?

Without watching it and based on a lot of buzz about how disgusting it is, I booked The Human Centipede a few weeks back to be the Circle's August midnight movie. I wasn't even planning on watching it because horror films with a sadistic streak or torture aren't usually my thing.

If you aren't familiar with The Human Centipede's plot, here it is in one paragraph. A German surgeon dreams of creating a "human centipede" with three compatible victims (he's done it before with three dogs). The complicated (and disgusting) surgery involves attaching people to one another via their mouth to the anus. I warned you, it's revolting--and I'm not even going into the really gross details. When attached, the trio have to crawl around on hand + knee as the surgeon gets his kicks and trains them like a pet.

The film did nauseate me--which meant it was a success?--but while watching it I may have discovered the best named actor working in movies in the world. The surgeon was played to the hilt by a German actor named Dieter Laser. Try that out again: Dieter Laser. Wow. I'm blown away by Mr. Laser's name! I kind of wish my name was Joshua Laser. Doesn't quite have the same ring to it.

Working in TV/film for over forty years, Dieter Laser (I have to keep writing it) should have been a star based on his name alone. What makes this such a great name is it translates to just about anything--band name, name of scientist, videogame from the 1980s, comic book villain, porn actor name, crime syndicate boss and actor. It just sounds good to say it: Dieter Laser.

The Human Centipede is memorable for its shock value but the true find is finding out about its lead actor, Dieter Laser, who has maybe the best name in the history of movies.

June movies

June probably had one of my favorites of the year (Toy Story 3), least favorite (Strange Wilderness), best titled (The Great Ecstasy of the Sculptor Steiner or Beetle Queen Conquers Tokyo), favorite doc (Rush: Beyond the Lighted Stage) and most nauseating (The Human Centipede). So, I guess you could say June was a diverse month of film viewing. The year is officially half over and my film total for six months is 112. On pace for 224.

Get Him to the Greek---2010---usa   ***
Gumshoe---1972---england   **1/2
Strange Wilderness---2008---usa   *
Splice---2010---canada   **1/2
Some Kind of Wonderful---1987---usa   ****
Rush: Beyond the Lighted Stage---2010---canada   ****
Last Chance Harvey---2009---usa   ***
Please Give---2010---usa   ***1/2
For the Love of Movies---2009---usa   **1/2
The Secrets in Their Eyes---2009---argentina   ****
Inglorious Basterds---2009---usa   ****
Paprika---2008---japan   **1/2
Beetle Queen Conquers Tokyo---2009---japan   **1/2
Toy Story 3---2010---usa   ****1/2
The Human Centipede (First Sequence)---2009---netherlands   **1/2
The Great Ecstasy of the Sculptor Steiner---1974---germany   ***