eFilmCritic

Jack Sommersby · Posted: Wed Sep 07, 2011 7:16 pm Post subject:

Close -- it's Halloween 3: Season of the Witch.

And let's go with another screenshot since that other one has remained unguessed -- it was from Brian De Palma's Sisters.

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"Joe the Plumber -- you can quote me -- is a dumbass." -- Meghan McCain

Kand El · Posted: Sun Sep 11, 2011 1:39 pm Post subject:

"Don't Look Now" since '78 "Body Snatchers" is probably too obvious.

Oops.... its San Francisco. so... yeah not Europe. So its "Body Snatchers" after all. Ok, almost got me but I pulled out of the nosedive.

Also Jack I finally got to see "Prophecy" not one year ago during one of my kids' naps. I love your assessment though I'd probably knock it up a star or two as a serviceable "Nature Strikes Back" film that tries a little too hard in some areas while completely dropping the ball in others.

It reminds me of a sister-movie "Nightwing" for the useage of Native Americans as the doomsaying prophets (right up to the point of using one actor in both films for somewhat the same purpose). And of course, though I like that one as nostalgia-porn, it too is a weak slap to the face of horror.

That said, you zeroed in on my favorite shot of the film- the sleeping bag death which is so surreal, somewhat sad and simultaneously ludircous so as to make one's jaw hang slightly open if not drop that when people bring up this film I actually think of that death rather than the more oft-mentioned "excuse me Mr. Manbearpig, how many licks does it take to get to the center of a chubby white guy's neck?"

I also have to give Frankenheimer very high marks on the subtle way he tells us the fate of Talia Shire's mercury-mutated fetus. so for that scene as well as a few others that were very entertaining and the whole grainy '70's backdrop, I have to mark it off as an underrated classic.

thank you for that review- you should have posted a screenshot of this one for us to guess. Also, I left a comment at the bottom of the page of your review, on how I think this film should actually be handled. I'm dying to know what you think.
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I am L. Pete Morton.

Jack Sommersby · Posted: Sun Sep 11, 2011 4:20 pm Post subject:

I think Will Farrell's horrendous acting might be as formidable an opponent as the monster; and the always-welcome Rudd could outact Shire with a single belch.

As for "Nightwing", I really dug Martin Cruz Smith's novel but have been unable to find it for rental on DVD. I've read that Henry Mancini contributes a really great music score. Hopefully one day I'll come across it.

And, yep, it is indeed "Invasion of the Body Snatchers"!

_________________
"Joe the Plumber -- you can quote me -- is a dumbass." -- Meghan McCain

Kand El · Posted: Sun Sep 11, 2011 7:54 pm Post subject:

but see, you take that one fantasy moment from "Step Brothers" when Ferrell is a burly thick bearded lumberjack- throw a lab coat on him and that's the main character- its hilarious. I want to see that.

As for Mancini's score on Nightwing, well I've reviewed the film here and I laud the score for basically doing a great deal of heavy lifting for the film.

Here it is in all its glory- its a rare, gorgeous melody that paints all the corners in of the dark and the desert.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g0gYk48O5P4

Oh and the shot there? you got me. I'm gonna go with "Blow Out".
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I am L. Pete Morton.

Jack Sommersby · Posted: Mon Sep 12, 2011 9:45 am Post subject:

"Blow Out" it is! And your favorable review of "Nightwing" is one of the reasons I've tried seeking it for a while now. It's out on DVD, finally, so hopefully I'll come across a cheap used copy of it in the future.

_________________
"Joe the Plumber -- you can quote me -- is a dumbass." -- Meghan McCain

Kand El · Posted: Mon Sep 12, 2011 1:33 pm Post subject:

Ok, well that's "The Raft" segment from "Creepshow 2" which, and not many people give this a lot of credit, is one of the more faithful adaptations of a Stephen King story (ok, they give it a bit more of an active ending then the protagonist's passive decision in the novella but its basically the same thing- and the most horrific, shrinkage-inducing moment is left intact in the film for which it gets major props).

As for your reaction to "Nightwing", I'm going to reiterate what I said in my review Jack, which is that soft, gilded memories of enjoying the film as a kid with nothing to do on a Saturday afternoon whose inexperience with a proper horror film probably let the film have more effect than it would a hardened cineophile. I have a feeling that when you get your hands on it, you are going to do 2 things post-viewing:

1. Curse me for putting the idea into your head that you should see it in the first place.
2. Post your review of the film by basically taking your review of "Prophecy" and replacing every occurrence of the title "Prophecy" with the title "Nightwing" and then perhaps adding a stand alone sentence in praise Mancini's haunting soundtrack.

I will say in defense of "Nightwing" that the ensemble of actors has 50 times the charisma of the ensemble in "Prophecy" (Nick Mancuso, David Warner and Stephen Macht have enough presence and talent amongst them to give the sometimes glacial pace a good kick in the pants), which does help mattes considerably. And the film makes a very good decision to jettison the worldly white scientist and put the focus on a Native American sheriff balancing his place in the rational world with his religious upbringing- basically it puts the Armand Assante character in the lead role (Hmnn... I think both Native American characters are played by Italians).

I hope you can grab a copy of it soon so I can see if my prediction pans out. Funny thing is, about a year ago, HBO was playing the thing almost as much as they used to in the good ol' days. But yeah, I wouldn't hold your breath trying to find it on Netflix.
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I am L. Pete Morton.

Jack Sommersby · Posted: Tue Sep 13, 2011 7:41 pm Post subject:

Don't worry, Marc, I won't hold you responsible. And it's hard to believe the same author who wrote "Nightwing" also wrote the Russian detective novel "Gorky Park".

_________________
"Joe the Plumber -- you can quote me -- is a dumbass." -- Meghan McCain

Kand El · Posted: Tue Sep 13, 2011 8:53 pm Post subject:

Jack I'm confused (not about the picture I have no idea who that is or what film its from)- on the "Nightwing" comments the very first comment (indeed, pre-dating my review by a few years), is yours:

3/24/04 Jack Sommersby Laughable and abysmally directed. Appallingly bad f/x.

So have you actually seen it and are no contemplating a re-watch?
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I am L. Pete Morton.

Jack Sommersby · Posted: Wed Sep 14, 2011 3:43 pm Post subject:

That was my impression from when I watched it when I was like 11; I'd like a re-watching of it.

Oh, as for the photo, I wanted to make it more challenging. The person is director David Cronenberg, and it's from a horror film.
_________________
"Joe the Plumber -- you can quote me -- is a dumbass." -- Meghan McCain

UDM · Posted: Thu Sep 15, 2011 3:38 am Post subject:

Nightbreed. Incidentally, I heard somewhere that there's a radically different director's cut buried way in the vaults.

UDM

Jack Sommersby · Posted: Thu Sep 15, 2011 8:03 am Post subject:

Right, you are! Hopefully, one day a director's cut will be made available on DVD, because I found the movie pretty clunky -- Barker has never been a particluarly assured director.

_________________
"Joe the Plumber -- you can quote me -- is a dumbass." -- Meghan McCain

Jack Sommersby · Posted: Tue Sep 20, 2011 4:03 pm Post subject:

From the horror movie "The Car". Not very good, but the widescreen framing is great. Next one:

_________________
"Joe the Plumber -- you can quote me -- is a dumbass." -- Meghan McCain

Jack Sommersby · Posted: Thu Sep 22, 2011 8:33 am Post subject:

Screw off, asshole.
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"Joe the Plumber -- you can quote me -- is a dumbass." -- Meghan McCain

Alex Paquin · Posted: Thu Sep 22, 2011 12:20 pm Post subject:

You mean to say the name of the film isn't "Seattle Escort"? Sounds like the kind of film you'd dig, if I may say so.

Unless you mean the title is "Screw Off, Asshole", which also sounds plausible.

MP Bartley · Posted: Sat Sep 24, 2011 8:15 am Post subject:

Looks a bit like Dustin Hoffman.

Marathon Man?

Or failing that, Straw Dogs.
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"We hate the French! We fight wars against the French! Did all those men die in vain on the fields of Agincourt? Was the man who burned Joan of Arc just wasting good matches?"

Jack Sommersby · Posted: Sat Sep 24, 2011 8:45 am Post subject:

Not Hoffman. He's a now-deceased former character actor who got a lot of work in the '70s and early '80s. This was his first starring role, and he also contributed to the screenplay.
_________________
"Joe the Plumber -- you can quote me -- is a dumbass." -- Meghan McCain

Jack Sommersby · Posted: Tue Sep 27, 2011 6:13 pm Post subject:

That's Joe Spinell in the awesome Maniac, which I love as much as Charles despises! Next one:

_________________
"Joe the Plumber -- you can quote me -- is a dumbass." -- Meghan McCain

MP Bartley · Posted: Thu Sep 29, 2011 8:34 am Post subject:

Is that Kinski?
_________________
"We hate the French! We fight wars against the French! Did all those men die in vain on the fields of Agincourt? Was the man who burned Joan of Arc just wasting good matches?"

Jack Sommersby · Posted: Fri Sep 30, 2011 9:20 am Post subject:

Uh, no. An American actor by the initials M.B. whose first substantial role this was in the early '80s. And another movie that came out in 1996 bears the same title.
_________________
"Joe the Plumber -- you can quote me -- is a dumbass." -- Meghan McCain

MP Bartley · Posted: Fri Sep 30, 2011 1:02 pm Post subject:

Nope, got me beaten.
_________________
"We hate the French! We fight wars against the French! Did all those men die in vain on the fields of Agincourt? Was the man who burned Joan of Arc just wasting good matches?"

Jack Sommersby · Posted: Fri Sep 30, 2011 3:55 pm Post subject:

C'mon, people, it's the great Michael Biehn!

(And, no, you can't use imdb.com for further help.)
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"Joe the Plumber -- you can quote me -- is a dumbass." -- Meghan McCain

incredible · Joined: 01 Oct 2011 Posts: 6

And how do you know i am going to use IMDB Smile

Jack Sommersby · Posted: Mon Oct 03, 2011 8:14 am Post subject:

OK, it's 1981's The Fan, with Biehn's pschotic admirer of Lauren Bacall's Broadway star takes things a bit too far. Not a particularly good movie, but it was pretty well-directed and superbly acted.

Next one, and pay special attention to the type of headwear this far-from-handsome guy is wearing:

_________________
"Joe the Plumber -- you can quote me -- is a dumbass." -- Meghan McCain

UDM · Posted: Wed Oct 05, 2011 12:59 am Post subject:

Pretty sure that's what's-his-fucked-up-face from Maniac Cop.

One of Bill Lustig's old porno movies (Violation of Claudia) actually screened at QT's theater in L.A. a couple years back. Not bad, as far as that sort of thing goes.

UDM