ABCs at the Movies: The Doubles Round!

[southendmd]

I always thought the Gong Show was way ahead of its time.  So much better than "American Idol".


IMDb:  "...Some of the acts include a man portraying Jesus Christ on the cross singing the Dean Martin tune "Please Release Me, Let Me Go", The Unknown Comic's vulgar jokes, two siamese twins singing The Captain and Tennille's "Love Will Keep Us Together", Jaye P. Morgan flashing her breasts, a human flatulent machine, an upside down banjo player who is dropped onto the stage head-first, and a folk song about legalizing prostitution, just to name a few."

[youtube=425,350]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZhlLqvlM7KA[/youtube]

[oilgun]

==COMMENT==
I'm not a fan of Jodorowski but I can't resist playing this one.  I fell asleep at a midnight screening of it back when midnight screenings were popular.  All I remember is a bunch of frogs on a model of an aztec-ish pyramid...zzzzz...

IMDb Plot Outline: A Christlike figure wanders through bizarre, grotesque scenarios filled with religious and sacrilegious imagery. He meets a mystical guide who introduces him to seven wealthy and powerful individuals, each representing a planet in the solar system. These seven, along with the protagonist, the guide and the guide's assistant, divest themselves of their worldly goods and form a group of nine who will seek out the Holy Mountain, in order to displace the gods who live there and become immortal.

[MaineWriter]

from IMDb:

OK, so the title is a little misleading. There's hardly an "invasion", and these aren't really girls who have turned into bees. But don't bee a sourpuss; there's a lot to love in this gleefully low-budget drive-in funfest. Consider:

- the antagonist is a maniacally feminist doctor who has found a way to transform herself and other women so that they are able to you-know-what men to death.

- instead of actual costumes or makeup, the so-called "bee girls" are usually designated by their acquired affinity for large sunglasses that give them a bee-like visage.

- said transformed "bee girls" adopt an almost comical method of seduction, revealing that heterosexual men are very easily duped as long as there is a miniskirt and some go-go boots involved. (side note: the only person to evade the seductive tactics of the "bee girls", a gay man, forces his would-bee assassin to resort to the more patently boring technique of running him down with a car.)

- the filmmakers justify a gratuitous lesbian grope scene through a flimsy attempt to explain the science of the "bee girls", a process that involves a phone booth, a colony of bees, a whole lot of bread dough spread over a naked woman's body, and a large laser-beam aimed directly at the crotch of said woman. (side note: this begs the question, what would happen if this process would be duplicated with a man instead of a woman?)

Although I couldn't figure out if the filmmakers were satirizing the leering, sex-driven men or the lethal, man-hating "bee girls", I had to admire the goofy appeal of this film. Ultra-70s, Ultra-campy, Ultra-weird. Recommended late-night viewing.



A batch of Bee Girls ready to get to work...

[southendmd]

IMDb:  This is a strange film done in the style of Dogma 95, which means hand held cameras and other restrictions. It's not so much a story as it is a portrait of a family with a schizophrenic member, specifically Julien (as played by Ewen Bremner). We're shown his older sister who is pregnant (by whom, we're not sure, until maybe later), his dad (played by Werner Herzog) who swills Robutissin and is inflicts mental cruelty on his family members, and his brother Chris, who wants to be a wrestler, etc. We're also shown other disabled folks at various functions including bowling, parties, etc. All in all the effect is a rather surreal collection of snippets of the life in this strange little family and at times it's a bit mundane but at other times it's fairly disturbing, and at times VERY disturbing. This is not a film for the unadventurous and it's not far from the style of "Gummo" so if you've seen that you sort of know what to expect but then again, not really. 8 out of 10, it will stick with you.

[oilgun]

NY Times Review Summary:
In this mystery, a woman is telepathically linked to houseplants. That link comes in handy when a plant witnesses the murder of her sister. The film is most interesting for its photography. Many of the striking auras were created using Kirlian photography, which manifests the auras that seem to surround all living things. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide

IMDb Comment: Entirely original thriller is a tad slow moving, but never-the-less, somewhat conceptually revolutionary

A woman with an unearthly connection to plant life turns up dead...and it's up to her sister to learn how to communicate with the plants to unravel the mystery surrounding her death. Through research and experimentation, she begins to realize that her sister's plants are more than just simple vegetation, but key witnesses to her murder.

Good performances and a wonderfully offbeat story make this above average in the world of low-budget films. Probably not the easiest title to find, but worth the hunt.


For some reason I couldn't find any images from the film, this is just an example of kirlian imaging.

IMDb:  [...] This is not a film for the unadventurous and it's not far from the style of "Gummo" so if you've seen that you sort of know what to expect but then again, not really. 8 out of 10, it will stick with you.

I'm pretty adventurous I think, but I certainly wouldn't rate 8 out of 10.    Gummo was pretty bad but it was better than this one.  (maybe it was my unmet expectations that this movie was about the equinely endowed,  !)

[MaineWriter]

from IMDb:

This short film, coming a decade after Bowery's untimely death from AIDS-related meningitis at the age of 33, presents an honest and interesting portrait of a clearly complex figure under all the glitter, high energy, and mad costumes. A larger than life image took him from Australia to the London gay clubland, costume design, and performance art (including a long association with the superb Michael Clark Dance Company), eventually culminating in the series of astonishing and touching portraits painted of him by Lucien Freud in 1990.

This film attempts to give a balanced view of its subject through interviews with his family, friends, colleagues and widow Nicola (a lady with odd fashion sense!). I think it does the job pretty well, and the chance to see so many clips (including interviews, bits from Because We Must, and footage of Minty) and so many costumes more than justifies an entire film on this bizarre kid from Down Under.



Another one to get the furries excited...

[Fran]

AKA Dokfa nai meuman



From Rotten Tomatoes:

Part documentary, part experimental narrative, Apichatpong Weerasethakul's MYSTERIOUS OBJECT AT NOON may occupy a genre all its own. Inspired by the Surrealist storytelling technique known as Exquisite Corpse, Mr. Weerasethakul roamed the Thai countryside interviewing people to contribute a line or perhaps a chapter to his narrative. What results is a film unlike any other, simultaneously a documentary about the people of Thailand's many villages and their surreal narrative, built one line at a time, that begins with a story about Dogfahr, a caring teacher who teaches a disabled boy and ends, quite literally, miles from there.

[youtube=425,350]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dqv8RwbG4_Q[/youtube]
Time:  8:17

[oilgun]

IMD Comment: The Polish brothers are unique film artists, and they've really pushed the envelope here. A fantasy that has points in common with "Wings of Desire," "Northfork" tells the story of a '50s era small town in the middle of nowhere that is two days shy of being inundated and submerged thanks to the U.S. government's desire to make a reservoir on the place where the town stands. It's a wry parable about loss and remembrance, featuring angels, dreams, premonitions, and the most hilarious government reclamation functionaries since "Repo Man." The performances are all outstanding, especially Nolte and Woods. I've noticed in reading down some of the comments that there are people who were offended simply by the fact that the Polish twins use elliptical storytelling tactics, and I want to say, that's one of the things that makes this film so great: its willingness to embrace the mysterious as an aspect of everyday life. David Mullen's cinematography is stunning. Highly recommended; if you've suffered a meaningful personal loss, such as the death of a parent, I would even call this film necessary viewing.

[Ellemeno]

From IMDb:  A 16 year old Louisiana girl (Christina Ricci) moves in with her homosexual half-brother (Martin Donovan) and immediately starts coming on to his sexual partner (Ivan Sergei), finally forcing him into an affair in which she becomes pregnant. The whole affair blows into a scandal exposing her school teacher brother and the true parent of the child is called into question as it is revealed that there have been a series of lovers. Written by John Sacksteder {[email protected]}kins {[email protected]}


Note to All:  I just caught up on the last 40 pages of this thread!  Kudos to youse guys.  I missed some fun rounds.

[MaineWriter]

from IMDb:

Despite the dated quality of some elements, particularly the costumes this picture is, in my book, the best killer bug movie of all time. Through the use of an almost nature documentary style of photographing the ants, we really get a new perspective on the film's six-legged antagonists. There's something totally raw about the way these ants act and are shot alongside the inexorable, almost plodding pace of the piece that makes Phase IV seem amazingly, terrifyingly real.

The performances by the human actors are very much in the wooden, gee-whiz style of older sci-fi but here it works. The ants are a silent, almost invisible, killer. Their creeping terror, when cut against the classic characterization of the chisel-chinned hero and the bearded professor, illustrates that the best that humanity has to offer against the threat might not be enough.

Trivia tidbit: The was the only feature length movie directed by Saul Bass who is more known for his work as a graphic designer, designing the opening credits for many films, including The Seven Year Itch, Vertigo, North by Northwest, West Side Story, Alien and Casino.



==aside==Clarissa

Welcome back! If you have suggestions for special rounds, pass them along.