I haven’t put up any movie reviews recently. Here is a link to a review I did for the weekly for the Burger Record’s Caravan of Stars. Burger is amassing an awesome catalogue of cassette releases. Amy took the picture. I think it is one of her best.

Burger Records Caravan of Stars

I got to review a really great rock show for the Tucson Weekly last week. A local band called Mr. Free and the Satellite Freakout opened for an Israeli band called The Monotonix. Two great bands. Here is a link to the review:

Monotonix

I also picked up the latest Monotonix album. The band employs heavy riffs, but in a sort of celebration that is a compliment to their live shows. The vocals remind me a bit of Karp. When I heard there was a band that tore up the place like they do, I thought it might be something of a novelty. But there is a real sincerity to what is going on at their shows, and it comes through on the album.

I have recently had the opportunity to contribute some live reviews to the Tucson Weekly. Here is a link to a review I wrote about a recent performance by Dead Meadow who came through town about a week ago.

Dead Meadow

Here are some links to some recent film reviews. With school being out, I have been to the movies a lot this past couple of weeks. The Nightmare on Elm Street remake is at the $3 theater. I keep thinking of going just to see what Jackie Earl Haley does with the role of Freddy Krueger. Maybe I need more to do with my time.

Frankenstein’s Daughter (1958)

House (1977)

Survival of the Dead (2010)

Off the Marquee: June 18, 2010

I got to speak to director Michael Stephenson about his documentary Best Worst Movie before his appearance at The Loft in Tucson on June 25th 2010.

Michael Stephenson

Return of the Tiger (1979)

Kung Fu: The Punch of Death (1973)

The Screening Room in Tucson is hosting a Kung Fu double feature Saturday. Although I am not familiar with the two movies playing, both were featured at Quentin Tarantino’s Grindhouse Film Festival. I generally trust his taste in these matters. There is something magical about Kung Fu movies on the big screen. The only way to better your experience is to see them on Saturday morning television when you are nine years old. So unless you have a time machine, this is a grand opportunity to soak in the 70s karate film experience. 

Martial Arts Double Feature

Saturday, June 19^th 7:00pm

The Screening Room

127 E. Congress St. Tucson, AZ 

I made an archive in the space bar for the reviews of Mondo Monday films I have been writing for The Loft’s blog spot. Check out the Loft’s blog spot for current reviews of the low-budget films they play ever Monday at 8:00. There are some unconventional gems there.

Here is a link to a review I wrote of a recent film from Argentina.  It is playing at The Loft this week.

The Secret in Their Eyes (2009)

Virgins from Hell (1987)

This movie opens on a curious premise. The leader of a female motorcycle gang infiltrates a casino by seducing the owner. She gets him alone; naturally, he is expecting something. She fights him off, kicks his ass, and then the rest of the gang drives a jeep through the front door and robs the place. Why didn’t they just drive a jeep through the door in the first place? Such is logic not to be questioned in the Indonesian women-in-prison epic Virgins from Hell.  If logic were applied, you might ask if the leader of an international drug ring would really wear such a wide variety of cummerbunds. I have not been exposed to very much Indonesian culture; perhaps their drug lords do look like they have raided Prince’s Goodwill donation pile. As curious as his choice in wardrobe is the fact that he changes clothes often throughout the film. I tried hard to determine if this was just a continuity problem, but it really seems to be on purpose.

Eventually, the drug lord captures the gang and holds them hostage in a dungeon underneath a laboratory where he is developing an ecstasy-type drug that makes women want to have sex. There is nothing subtle about the plot. I am not a huge fan of the women-in-prison genre, but this one is interesting for its naiveté. Most of the scenes seem improvised, until the action sequences, which are meticulously staged and still relatively incompetent. The exploitation aspects of the film are hard to take seriously which removes some of the power from the prison situations. For me, it works. Loaded with low budget spectacle, Virgins from Hell comes across as a sort of primary color version of Rambo II.

The Pit (1981)

The beginning echoes a hint of Stephen King’s high school horror story Carrie (1976). Jamie (Sammy Snyders) is a creepy little kid. However on the surface, Jamie’s problems don’t seem too far outside of the realm of natural curiosity. In spite of this, people seem to hate him on sight. His schoolmates. The librarian. Even elderly ladies in wheelchairs ridicule him. His father wants to write him off as a “nutcase.” What is it that repulses people so about Jamie? The answer becomes pretty apparent when becomes hot for his babysitter Sandy (Jeannie Elias). Jamie is also taking orders from a strange looking teddy bear.

Jamie’s parents take a cue from this especially difficult time in his life and decide to go on vacation without him. Sandy claims to be something of an expert babysitter having experience with troubled children. She exemplifies her expertise by parading around in towels and nightgowns. Jamie steals from her and stares at her chest while he asks how old her boyfriend is. The two form a real love/hate relationship.

With all this going on, you might forget the movie is called The Pit. It turns out that the kid has a pit. He feeds it. It eats things. It’s full of monsters. While the film’s tone is somewhat dire up to this point, this horror film takes on a Dennis the Menace quality as bodies start disappearing around town. I don’t wanna give too much away regarding the pit and its actual contents, but the movie is good clean fun in the vein of the 80s heavy metal inspired classic The Gate (1987) and wholly worth seeing because someone actually says, “come on in, the water’s great.”

The Octagon (1980)

Although Japanese mythology can only vaguely pinpoint the origins of the ninja, Scott James can look at a roomful of corpses and determine that the cause of death “has to be ninjas.” Does it have to be ninjas? Couldn’t it be disgruntled employees? The Manson family? Ninjas are as good a guess as aliens, I suppose. Chuck Norris plays Scott James. James is, well, a guy like Chuck Norris. The film never fully explains James’ stake in the scenario except that he is an ex-soldier, ex-professional fighter, and he trained as a ninja. As the story progresses,  he acquiesces to call someone for “an assignment.” Who does he work for? It doesn’t matter. Scott James walks around kicking ass. Women swoon. Evil schemes fail. His entering a room is enough to stop a square dance.

The movie is mostly a series of fights with an occasional break thrown in to attempt a plot. Eventually, we are treated to the martial arts expo that we are all waiting for. James and all his cronies converge on his old training camp run by his arch nemesis Seikura (Tadashi Yamashita). There, ninjas get a chance to show off their ninja training; training that covers important topics such as “how to hang around under leaves until an intruder happens by” and “how to stop in the middle of a fight you are winning and swing your weapons around skillfully until you get kicked in the head.” And throwing stars. Yes, there are throwing stars.

The Octagon contains early appearances by “Oz” and Ghostbusters star Ernie Hudson and “man, that guy has been in everything” character actor Tracy Walter. The movie was written well before the Internet, before people had ready access to casual information. All that people knew about ninjas in 1980 was that they are awesome. That’s really all you need to know to enjoy The Octagon.