July 2013

From http://leclownlyrique.files.wordpress.com/2012/10/maria-casares-inorphc3a9e-directed-by-jean-cocteau-1950.jpg

Best Film of the Month
1. Orphee aka. Orpheus (Jean Cocteau, 1950/France) – 10/10 [Rewatch]
2. Le quattro volte (Michelangelo Frammartino, 2010/Germany-Italy-Switzerland) – 10/10 [Rewatch]
3. The Idiots (Lars von Trier, 1998/Denmark-France-Italy-Netherlands-Spain-Sweden) – 10/10 [Rewatch]
4. Xala (Ousmane Sembene, 1975/Senegal) – 10/10 [Rewatch]
5. You, the Living (Roy Andersson, 2007/Denmark-France-Germany-Japan-Norway-Sweden) – 10/10 [Rewatch]
6. Rabbit (Run Wrake, 2005/UK) – 10/10 [Rewatch]
7. Sweet Sweetback’s Baadasssss Song (Melvin Van Peebles, 1971/USA) – 9/10 [Rewatch]
8. Ashes and Diamonds (Andrzej Wajda, 1958/Poland) – 9/10 [Rewatch]
9. Gamer (Mark Neveldine and Brian Taylor, 2009/USA) – 8/10 [Rewatch]
10. Souls In The Moonlight II and III (Tomu Uchida, 1958-59/Japan)

Biggest Surprise of the Month 
1. Magic Mike (Steven Soderbergh, 2012/USA) – 8/10
2. The Dependent aka. El dependiente (Leonardo Favio, 1969/Argentina) – 7/10
3. A Field in England (Ben Wheatley, 2013/UK) – 8/10
4. Five for Hell (Gianfranco Parolini, 1969/Italy) – 7/10
5. Business Is Business (Paul Verhoeven, 1971/Netherlands) – 7/10

Discovery of the Month
1. Souls In The Moonlight II and III (Tomu Uchida, 1958-59/Japan)
2. Paul Verhoeven's Early Dutch Films
3. Thunderbolt and Lightfoot (Michael Cimino, 1974/USA) – 8/10
4. Merci Pour le Chocolat (Claude Chabrol, 2000/France-Switzerland) – 8/10
5. The Dependent aka. El dependiente (Leonardo Favio, 1969/Argentina) – 7/10
6. Voice Over (Christopher Monger, 1983/UK) – 7/10
7. Reflections of Evil (Damon Packard, 2002/USA) – 6/10 [118 minute cut with copyright censorship]
8. White Dust (Jeff Keen, 1972/UK) & Mad Love (Jeff Keen, 1978/UK) – 7/10

Biggest Change of Opinion
1. Lizard in a Woman’s Skin (Lucio Fulci, 1971/France-Italy-Spain) – 8/10 [Rewatch]
2. Meshes of the Afternoon (Maya Deren, 1943/USA) – 8/10 [Rewatch]
3. Sweet Sweetback’s Baadasssss Song (Melvin Van Peebles, 1971/USA) – 9/10 [Rewatch]
4. Total Recall (Paul Verhoeven, 1990/USA) – 7/10 [Rewatch]
5. Ashes and Diamonds (Andrzej Wajda, 1958/Poland) – 9/10 [Rewatch]

Most Divisive Film of the Month
1. Goodbye Uncle Tom aka. Addio zio Tom (Gualtiero Jacopetti and Franco Prosperi, 1971/Italy) – 6/10
2. Pacific Rim (Guillermo del Toro, 2013/USA) – 7/10
3. Life of Pi (Ang Lee, 2012/Taiwan-USA) – 5/10
4. Separation (Jack Bond, 1968/UK) – 6/10
5. The World’s End (Edgar Wright, 2013/UK) – 7/10
6. The Halliday Brand (Joseph H. Lewis, 1957/USA) – 6/10
7. The Crooked Way (Robert Florey, 1949/USA) – 5/10
8. As It Is In Heaven aka. Så som i himmelen (Kay Pollak, 2004/Denmark-Sweden) – 6/10

Another Mondo film in Goodbye Uncle Tom, probably the most explosive of them I've seen. It has a lot to praise, but it's the film in the sub-genre that does cross the line numerous times for comfort. Pacific Rim was fun, but I am still having grips with how the sole female protagonist was treated in its ending and that it's just an over expensive b-movie. A immensely entertaining b-movie I wish was made more, but could be done better in a perfect world, especially when the anime it was influenced by can make this sort of material emotional and cerebral too. It'll be interesting how it compares to the Asylum mockbuster Atlantic Rim (2013), and yes, I'm a hypocrite considering I've slammed that company on this blog quite a few times. The World's End will probably drop down in score, with some great aspects but far from spectacular, and Life of Pi should have been a ninety minute animated film. As It Is In Heaven is an average drama from Sweden, but what puts it on the list is that, frustratingly, there are some really interesting aspects that an English language drama would not dare go near, especially with the characters of the vicar and his wife, that are stuck in such a predictable narrative.

The Most Underrated Film
1. Gamer (Mark Neveldine and Brian Taylor, 2009/USA) – 8/10 [Rewatch]
2. Total Recall (Paul Verhoeven, 1990/USA) – 7/10 [Rewatch]
3. The Fourth Man aka. The 4th Man (Paul Verhoeven, 1983/Netherlands) – 8/10
4. The ABCs of Death (2012/New Zealand-USA) – 6/10
5. Thunderbolt and Lightfoot (Michael Cimino, 1974/USA) – 8/10

Biggest Disappointment of the Month
1. Devdas (Bimal Roy, 1955/India) – 3/10
2. Dr. M (Claude Chabrol, 1990/France-Germany-Italy) – 4/10
3. The Ketchup Effect aka. Hip Hip Hora! (Teresa Fabik, 2004/Denmark-Finland-Sweden) – 5/10
4. The Crooked Way (Robert Florey, 1949/USA) – 5/10
5. The Great Gatsby (Jack Clayton, 1974//USA) – 4/10
6. Life of Pi (Ang Lee, 2012/Taiwan-USA)

The Long Awaited (Re)Viewing That Lived Up To Expectations
1. Sweet Sweetback’s Baadasssss Song (Melvin Van Peebles, 1971/USA) – 9/10 [Rewatch]
2. Meshes of the Afternoon (Maya Deren, 1943/USA) – 8/10 [Rewatch]
3. The Fourth Man aka. The 4th Man (Paul Verhoeven, 1983/Netherlands) – 8/10
4. Lizard in a Woman’s Skin (Lucio Fulci, 1971/France-Italy-Spain) – 8/10 [Rewatch]
5. Night of the Living Dead (George A. Romero, 1968/USA) – 7/10 [Rewatch]
6. Thunderbolt and Lightfoot (Michael Cimino, 1974/USA) – 8/10
7. Total Recall (Paul Verhoeven, 1990/USA) – 7/10 [Rewatch]

The Pleasure of the Month I'll [Sadly] Have To Defend
1. Intrepidos Punks (Francisco Guerrero, 1980’/Mexico) – 6/10 [Rewatch]
2. Reflections of Evil (Damon Packard, 2002/USA) – 6/10 [118 minute cut with copyright censorship]
3. The ABCs of Death (2012/New Zealand-USA) – 6/10
4. The Nail Gun Massacre (Bill Leslie and Terry Lofton, 1985/USA) – 5/10
5. Five for Hell (Gianfranco Parolini, 1969/Italy) – 7/10
6. The Lair of the White Worm (Ken Russell, 1988/UK) – 6/10
7. My Dear Killer (Tonino Valerii, 1972/Italy-Spain) – 6/10

The Intrepidos Punks review explains the reasons for its placement, while The Nail Gun Massacre is just a case of a indefensibly bad film that yet has virtues that make its existence worth at least one viewing. But try to explain this idea to someone who just hates it. The Lair of the White Worm skirts around being a parody, and being just cheap and silly, which will confound a lot. My Dear Killer is entertaining for being a seventies giallo rather than being a good one, and Five For Hell is the kind of Italian genre cinema I'll lap up, especially when it has some great technical aspects amongst its pulpiness. The ABCs of Death was going to divide everyone just in its nature, just between arguing which sorts were good or bad. I've yet to see a defence for Ti West's contribution though. Then there's Reflection of Evil. Most people will despise it, especially when unfortunately part of it was removed for copyright reasons when its director kindly uploaded it on his own YouTube page alongside his other work. But it's the kind of one-off, brave attempt at D-I-Y art making that I have to admire for actually having moments that stand out and not just making a cheap horror film. Instead its willing to make jokes about Steven Spielberg I'm surprised haven't gotten Damon Packard into trouble even if there's some admiration for his kind of Hollywood filmmaking there too. Theme park rides have never been as disturbing as in Reflection of Evil.

The Abstract Film of the Month
1. Orphee aka. Orpheus (Jean Cocteau, 1950/France) – 10/10 [Rewatch]
2. You, the Living (Roy Andersson, 2007/Denmark-France-Germany-Japan-Norway-Sweden) – 10/10 [Rewatch]
3. Sweet Sweetback’s Baadasssss Song (Melvin Van Peebles, 1971/USA) – 9/10 [Rewatch]
4. Meshes of the Afternoon (Maya Deren, 1943/USA) – 8/10 [Rewatch]
5. White Dust (Jeff Keen, 1972/UK) & Mad Love (Jeff Keen, 1978/UK) – 7/10
6. Reflections of Evil (Damon Packard, 2002/USA) – 6/10 [118 minute cut with copyright censorship]

Worst Film of the Month
1. Devdas (Bimal Roy, 1955/India) – 3/10
2. El Chupacabra (Paul Wynne and Brennon Jones, 2003/UK-USA) – 3/10
3. Dr. M (Claude Chabrol, 1990/France-Germany-Italy) – 4/10
4. Repeater (Christopher Monger, 1979/UK) – 4/10
5. Oasis of the Zombies (Jesus Franco, 1981/France) – 4/10

I'm going to get into trouble for putting an acclaimed Indian drama at the top of this list, especially when a schlock z-movie is below it. But I went into El Chupacabra realising it would be bad. I wished it was good, or even memorable, but it wasn't. I will confess that I ended up looking at the isolated environments in the film and imagining the existential crisis the characters could have within them. Michelangelo Antonioni it's not, but taking psychogeography to settings of bad genre films could lead to some fascinating conclusions. Devdas unfortunately really didn't grab me at all. I am very divisive with straight out drama. It can be truly great art, but I find that it lacks what that name should mean in most cases. Devdas was the only film this month I frankly fell complete detachment to, and as sad as it is to say this, I still have to say that trying to grab my heartstrings with the plot is not enough. Dr. M is the one blotch in Claude Chabrol's filmography from what I've seen, and Repeater descended from an interesting experimental work to procrastinating. Oasis of the Zombies sadly shows there's bad films in Jesus Franco's filmography again; it has moments to love, but that dragging middle part killed my sense of fun for it.

80 Works Watched In March
14 Rewatched Works
66 New Works Seen

From http://pilgrimakimbo.files.wordpress.com/2007/07/evian-3.jpg