ANGRY MAN MOVIE NIGHT

Wednesday, June 11, 2008

Russ Meyer "Double" Feature

Date: Wednesday, May 14, 7:00pm

Beverage of Choice: Brooklyn Brewery

Quite simply, Russ Meyer is the man. He created a phenomenon and brought a bosomy fetish into the limelight. I picked up a few European DVD releases of his films recently on Ebay, and selected 2 for a fantastic "double" feature: Supervixens, and Mondo Topless. Starting with Vixens - this movie had everything and more. Meyer sets up every scene and angle to showcase the mammorys, even forgoing traditional framing and using shots that cut off the stars at the neck and focus right in on the "chesticles." Vixens was a 70's Meyer film and it showcased the era quite nicely - full denim ensembles, rockin, sax wailin' go-go music, bawdy, raucous humor and tons of flesh. From the sublime, to the trashy to the surreal, the non-stop pace of Vixens was intoxicating. Action, violence, sex, cussin and boobs. Huge, monsters that defy all logic, gravity and nature. That's one of the best things about the "Meyer girls" - they are ALL REAL. I have to say, my expectations were low, and carnal at best, but I was more than surprised at the talent Meyer showcases as a filmmaker. There's some real film making going on here. A unique eye for framing, an uncanny instinct for editing and over-the-top but decent acting.

The second feature, Mondo Topless, was obviously created to capitalize on the "Mondo" film craze in the 60's. Culturally, this is a pretty important film, showcasing a time in the 60's when strip clubs didn't really exist yet - just a few swingin' topless clubs on the west coast and in NYC. At best, after about 20 minutes of boobies swinging, this became quite boring, but with a barely 1-hour run time, it works out fine. Both films gave me the sense that they were engineered for a very specific 42nd street-era audience who were short on attention and needed a gimmick and a fast paced to get em in the theater and keep them there. Short run times allowed the grindhouse theaters to easily do double and triple bills and turn over the audiences to maximize profits. See the great book Sleazoid Express for everything you might want to know about 42nd street. Man, I wish I was in my 20s and lived in 1970's New York!

Friday, May 16, 2008

Troll 2

Date: Wednesday, May 14, 7:00pm

Beverage of Choice: Sam Adams

"You can't piss on hospitality! I won't allow it!"

Believe the hype. Many folks have touted this film as the "best, worst film ever made." Having now seen this legendary movie, I have to whole-heartily agree. Is it the odd casting? Horrible script? Dreadful acting? Super cheap effects? Late-80s synth soundtrack? The fact that the film is called Troll 2, but is about goblins? Not sure. Don't know all the history behind the production, because I'm too lazy and not quite nerdy enough to do all the research, but it could be a European cinema approach to the release and naming of the film. Kind of like how Dawn of the Dead was called Zombi 2 in Europe to cash in on the popularity of Fulci's Zombi, and re-edited by Dario Argento. Maybe Troll 2 was a different film entirely, and the producers and/or distributors decided to re-name it Troll 2 to capitalize of the awesomeness of the original Troll (which I haven't seen by the, way - I don't think it affected my enjoyment of Troll 2 in the least.) Whatever the case may be, this movie has nothing to do with Trolls, but everything to do with drinking a few beers and laughing my ass off.

It's hard to describe, but check out the fan site: here. It may help in summing up the wonder that is Troll 2. The quote at the beginning of this post is a key to understanding the film's power. I don't want to give away too much - this is just something that demands to be seen. Don't watch the trailer before - it kind of ruins it.

Wednesday, April 23, 2008

Road House

Date: Tuesday, April 22, 6:30pm

Beverage of Choice: Miller High Life

The evening started out with a little slice of Tim and Eric Awesome Show, Great Job! I really can't say enough about this show. Season 1 just came out on DVD and this is some of the weirdest/best shit I have ever seen. To put it in perspective, if you liked Wonder Showzen, this will be right up your alley. This show is like a bad trip and a car accident at the same time - you can't stop watching! Special guests like John C. Reilly, David Cross, Bob Odenkirk, Zach Galifianakis, Weird Al and more. The best part, being a TV production nerd, is the attention paid to making this look intentionally bad like an 80's public access show. From the effects (great use of CGI! - really cheesy) to the music and casting, they really make it awkward and bad... in a good way. Only about .0000001% of the population will get this and find it funny, but give it a try.

On to the main feature - Road House!!! We chose to watch this feature with commentary track by director Kevin Smith and producer Scott Mosier, which is included on the "Deluxe Edition" DVD release. Let me start by saying that I love this movie - I've seen it several times, and it never gets old. Boobs, great music, brawls, Sam Elliot, cheesy 80's clothes, hair, monster trucks - it has everything great from that decade. I have to say the experience was greatly enhanced by the commentary track. Kevin and Scott were hilarious and I never stopped laughing. One of the running themes of the commentary was how gay the movie is, with lots of dudes with shirts off and longing stares. Also, they took the list from Chuck Norris Facts and substituted Dalton (Patrick Swayze's Character) for Chuck, and read several aloud, which was friggin' hilarious. Smith and Mosier also brought up the fact that this film is really based on a traditional western archetype, so when viewed with that in mind, it all really comes together. This experience is definitely better with beer, and more specifically Miller High Life, which I will note that Sam Elliot's character, Wade Garrett, was seen drinking in the movie. Go get a case and your angry friends and watch this movie!!!!!!!

Thursday, March 27, 2008

Planet Terror

Date: Wednesday, March 26, 6:30pm

Beverage of Choice: Miller High Life

I felt Planet Terror was the perfect film for the re-launch of Angry Man. Having seen Grindhouse in the theater and feeling like it was the best theater experience I had ever had, this was the right choice. It's kind of like director Robert Rodriguez had an exploitation checklist when conceiving this project: Extreme gore? Check. Lesbians? Check. Violence towards children? Check. Flesh eating ghouls? Check. Wailing saxophones? Check.

I hadn't had a chance to check out the DVD since picking it up, and I had forgotten how great the dialogue was in the film. This was really like getting great action, gore and sex with a great script to boot, instead of what you might find with this type of film. I applaud Rodriguez's choice to keep the whole missing reel concept in the film. I know he had intended this from the beginning, unlike Tarantino with Death Proof, who "shot a reel" and then put it back in for the DVD release. It just seemed like to right choice for Planet Terror, and really kept with the whole grindhouse atmosphere. I was just reading the book Sleazoid Express recently, which is the history of 42nd street cinema in New York, and I remember reading that projectionists used to clip out the sexy parts for their own personal collections, and a lot of the time you would go to the theater and those scenes would be missing. Also, down south on the Drive-In circuit, managers would "edit" the content of their own accord if they deemed it too offensive.

Basically, this just shows Rodriguez's commitment to authenticity and how he went all-in with this project. Between Death Proof and Planet Terror, Planet is definitely my favorite, partly because Rodriquez kept true to the original vision. I think Death Proof is great, but it really went out on it's own path.