Indie

Under discussion:

Kill Bill Vol. 1  (2003)

I don't know if I've payed much attention to Daryl Hannah since she did Roxanne w/ Steve Martin.  She was riding high on the 'Splash' wave back in the day, but has since been seen in a lot of ...well check out a movie called Hide and Seek once, you'll see.  I had clearly crossed Daryl off the list.... until  Kill Bill.

-disclaimer_I have to say that sometimes I am too easily amused, and also sometimes by not much of anything._  That being said, I am comfortable saying that the single most funny/smart thing I have EVER seen in film has got to be Daryl Hannah as Elle Driver walking down that long hall in the hospital, making her way to one miss Beatrix Kiddo. 

Here is a hitman (or woman) disguised so perfectly in her little white skirt, white stockings and even a smart little white hat.  The accessory that tips it completely over the edge- the little white Red Cross eyepatch.  It is what every nurse with one eye is wearing this season.  The sheer ridiculous audacity of it didn't even hit me right away; bear with me.

Did she have on a nurse's badge for authenticity or a dapper little clipboard to complete her disguise?  Oh, no she had on her Red Cross eyepatch.   That means she's a nurse; no one stop and question her.  She has on a Red Cross eye patch; she must have gone to medschool.  It has just got to be the funniest thing...

Under discussion:

Charade  (1963)

Deceived  (1991)

Outrageous Fortune  (1987)

Deceived is a dreary thriller in the day when washed out thrillers were a Hollywood standard- The 90's are all about the thriller.   The movie never became popular.   People argue that audiences did not want to see the gloriously mis-cast Hawn in something serious; it could be said that her character was too trusting too naive.  Frankly I think she did a good job at suspending disbelief (acting dumb) until the plot demands, and no matter what anyone says, Hawn back in the day was exceedingly watchable.   Leave it to Hollywood to let a variable like the lead actress take the blame for the entire picture tanking.

What I find odd though now, looking back on the movie Deceived is my unrelenting sense of deja vu which had me thinking that I may have seen this movie's plot in play before.  That's when it hit me.  Deceived is basically a variation (and consequently un-funny version) of Outrageous Fortune.  A loved one dies, pretending to be someone he is not, is involved in something that is less than above-board involving something that could make him a lot of money.   The loose ends must be tied up, like pesky spouses that become aware of their husband's extracurricular activities. 

After making a heretofor unseen connection, it took exactly five seconds to realize that both of these movies may just be shake-down versions of Charade with the mildly comic engenue of the day, Audrey Hepburn.  

Everyone knows that a problem exists in Hollywood of finding truely unique scripts; which is becoming more and more obvious everyday.  But were these coincidences a product of unoriginality or more a function of the statement the studios behind these vehicles were trying to make?  In other words, was Deceived a announcement of movie star ascension? Were they, in fact, saying Goldie Hawn IS this later generation's Audrey Hepburn?  The finer points of that discussion could be argued for quite some time, but the question remains in my mind as comparisons between the two films were likely to have been drawn during pre-production.

The movie Decieved is still at least a decent watch, as long as you do not anticipate any kind of real thrills.   Even a re-hashed movie starring such likeable characters like John Heard and the afformentioned actress, Hawn, takes on a kind of life after the film.  The climax is engaging, though plots like the deceiving spouse may seem common these days in many people's lives onscreen and off. 

Under discussion:

Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer  (1964)

Rudolph and his friends the dentist elf and the numismatist extra-ordinaire Yukon Cornelius are tops around the holidays, and forget Ugly Betty there's not a better acceptance story out there.     Popularized by the classic christmas song, or maybe vice-versa (its a regular chicken or the egg situation), I can't imagine christmas without hearing Burl Ives warbling Silver and Gold from the soundtrack.  Just hearing that song makes me want to find out how to make egg-nog (and I hate that crap).

Who has not seen this movie?  It is quite possibly the best made-for-tv movie of all time, yes better than Boy in the Plastic Bubble and waaaay better than any tv movie you are going to find on Lifetime.  Joan Van Ark has yet to do a christmas movie that I want to watch again and again.   It is a christmas classic without compare.  I dare you to find another movie with a nomadic elf that plucks teeth from a gigantic snow-beast.  Why can't everyday be like Christmas?   

Under discussion:

Begotten  (1991)

This film to me marks the death of creativity, and makes a mockery out of its audience.  Please excuse the spoilers but the imagery of this movie can only be related by a few content examples from the film.  This soul-sucking homage to super-8 nonsense starts with mastabatory rape to a chorus of crickets and screaming, and after many minutes more of sights like log-raping, crotch smashing and crusifixtion, I was pleased to see that no one even bothered to explain what was happening and disheartened that no one took the blame for its conception.  Even the back of the box description (which is the only narrative you'll recieve when watching this film) is filled with enough nebulous dialouge to make the journey unrelatable and mean absolutely nothing, lacking the balls to even define the myth it was deficating on. 

I would suggest that you never watch this film.  And if you still want to, I suggest waiting until there is audio commentary from the creators to back up some of the disgusting choices.  Maybe the message is not about  brutality and more that we as a human race have come to stand for and thereby mean absolutely nothing. 

Strange note:  If you decide to pick up this movie anyway; mute the movie and play the Schindler's List Soundtrack.  Its kind of a Wizard of Oz/ Dark Side of the Moon relationship; plus that way you won't hear crickets and screaming for over an hour.     

Under discussion:

Dead Again  (1991)

Not to be confused with Hello Again (starring Shelly Long), Dead Again takes an in-depth and sometimes crazy/ hilarious point of view with the subjects of reincarnation, soul mates, and karma.   Emma Thompson and Kenneth Branagh (pre-divorce) star in this film, which can only be described as a suspense/ melodrama, if there were such a genre.   A modern-day investigation reveals the main characters' past lives and uncovers a murder that's almost a century old.  This alone sounds cool to me, and this is something like what you'll read on the back of the box if you ever have a chance.  But this movie is so much more. 

This movie has gut-wrenching twists that catch me every time I watch it, and even though it is somewhat of a guilty pleasure, I enjoy introducing this movie to everyone I know.  There are very few people to whom I would not recommend this movie.  If you can find it, I suggest you try it, and while you're at it buy me a copy. 

Under discussion:

Dead Like Me: Season 01  (2003)

Georgia, 18 dies in the first episode, hit and killed by a toilet seat jettisoned by a defunct space station.  She then finds out that she didn't die and in reality must join the reapers who collect souls and ferry them off to the great beyond sans the boat and the river Styx.  Sardonically the only thing she can relate about her death in  hind sight is that it was tragic that the only guy that got to touch her naked body was the coroner. 

Things get progressively worse for Georgia when she realizes that along with collecting souls she must still hold down an office job in order to live and that she must do this for an unspecified amount of time (maybe centuries).  Tragic, but at least she isn't dead.  She gets to be Undead, and is fitted with another identity.  Oh yeah she also has to meet her boss (played by Mandy Patinkin) and the other reapers everyday at a german waffle house for their assignments.             

Jasmine Guy plays one of the reapers that helps Georgia along the initial training period, and is remarkable as a  tough reaper/ meter maid.  There are a few other reapers that help the new girl gain some perspective on her afterlife, a shifty brit and a fiery southerner played by ex-noxema girl extraordinare Rebecca Gayheart.   They are all good, watchable and fantastically jaded.  The fun part is that I know I would be too, if I had to ferry souls to their own respective heavens/hells, but never got to see it myself. 

Georgia's old family plays a role also, as she gets an outside view of what her family is like now that she's gone.  Although going back home to sneak a few peaks is strictly forbidden, like any good teenager, she does it anyway.  Her mother, introduced as a starsign: Virgo is just like a bitchier version of your mother or grandmother, just hide and watch.  Another great addition is Georgia's little sister who is obsessed with toilet seats after her sister's untimely death, and merrily resists therapy.  Oddly enough, toilet seat trees are pretty.  You'll see.  

Buy this series right away.  It was underrated and brilliant like many things that works years after, it was not truely appreciated in its time.   Unluckily I didn't get to watch it on tv because I don't buy premium channels (Showtime), and I didn't experience it with everyone else.  So if you haven't seen it before, you can watch it now with me. 

Under discussion:

The Witches of Eastwick  (1987)

Witches of Eastwick is neither a treasure on film or in literary form.  Both are about New Englander female empowerment, which is played out literally with hushed spells and evil storms.  The book tends to focus on Alexandra more than the others, which may not be true about the film (Michele and Susan may have wanted more ample screen time).  It is a story about an aging witch and her coven, living in a small town discovering powers and new love in mid-life.  In the movie, this new love happens to be Jack Nicholson, who also happens to be Satan.  Yes, Satan, albeit a humerous one, summoned from the depths of Hell by a wayward spell to prey on these poor Ipswitch women so that they may bear him children.  End Scene.  Let's slap together a raunchy Three's Company and Rosemary's Baby. 

This is the movies greatest failing and highest inspiration, because though the novel, written by John Updike (living legend of American lit.) does not include Satan, the ending is decidedly not Hollywood. In the novel, Daryl Van Horne (merely a man, and an almost broke one) sets up his life in town with borrowed money and not dark powers.  He does have a decidedly pleasing effect on the coven, increasing their power and their libido.  This however, much like the movie, does have an impact on the small town in which they live. 

At the end of the movie jilted Daryl becomes a titanic-sized demon that literally raises the roof off of the mansion in an attempt to kill the tiny women inside.   At the end of the book, you find Daryl is just on the DL and has skipped town with a male heir to a large family fortune.  -Yes, for the record that would be quite different.  Although they both have their flaws, there is still something positively alchemical about them.  The book, though radiantly anti-climactic is more palpable, and feels a touch more real.  The movie has a boffo ending that I just don't buy.  I like the story, or at least the conflict and the meaty bits.  I wish there were a way to combine the two and come back with something better than both, because when it comes down to it, its all about exacution.  Maybe its time for one of those re-makes....     

Under discussion:

Marnie  (1964)

Marnie is insane.  She is hard to know, and harder to accept.  She's a repressed cleptomaniac and a totally ammoral smart-ass, and that's why I love her. 

The movie long considered to be one of Hitchcock's lesser works is by far one of his most watchable for repeat viewing.  It is a guilty pleasure to watch over and over as Sean Connery traps this con-artist and unabashedly stalks her on a trip through the rabbit hole.  As he gets closer to the woman he thinks he loves, he finds that he maybe the one who is trapped. 

There are a couple great Hitchcock suspense moments in the movie as well. - Pay close attention to the shoe in the bank heist scene.  Even after repeat viewing, it is riveting to watch.  I imagine that Alfred put a lot of himself into this movie, and that he had fun making the film.  He does a fine job twisting perceptions here. I find that even though Marnie is manic and vicious, I root for her every time.