THE DANMAN CAN

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King Kong (1976) held up better than I expected. I remembered that I liked the film, which I believe I'd seen twice before, but I enjoyed it even more on this viewing. There is no denying that the 1933 original  is a better film due to its historical significance and then revolutionary special effects courtesy of Willis H. O'Brien . But I'll be honest,  Fay Wray 's incessant screaming does wear a bit thin after a while. In John Guillermin 's big budget remake for producer Dino De Laurentiis , forty-three years later, there is a greater sense of tragedy, eroticized violence, and a solid handling of topics like celebrity, plundering of natural resources, and colonialism. There's a good deal of humor as well, but most of it worked for me. All the while the film remains an exciting action adventure thriller.  The buildup to Kong's reveal has a wonderful sense of tension, backed effectively by John Barry 's mysterious and beautiful score.  Carlo Rambaldi 

John Carpenter 's Ghosts Of Mars  (2001) is essentially  Assault On Precinct 13  (1976) meets  Escape From New York   (1981) ( review ) with some bits of  Prince Of Darkness  (1987) ( review ) thrown in.  Ice Cube isn’t the best lead but he does a solid job. The action isn't always the best either but I rather enjoy the artifice of the production design, the way the film plays with time structure and flashbacks is engaging, and there are lots of interesting fades. The biggest fault of the film is that there is no emotional weight for any of the characters, save the two leads (i.e. everyone is fodder) and even then sparingly. Even a similar film like  Predator   (1987) ( review ) has better character development so that when people die, you at least care a little bit. GOF  is pretty silly at times, but it's mostly fun, and much more entertaining than its reputation suggests. You can find my  John Carpenter Films Ranked  list  here . You can find my  Top 20 Directors  list 

There had been plenty of gangster and undercover/informant cop films made prior to Donnie Brasco (1997), more than a few of which starred Al Pacino . Many of them are better than Donnie Brasco  as well. I've never seen any of director Mike Newell 's other films, nor do any them interest me in particular. But there is something about this film that places it firmly in the canon of top tier mob movies.  I hadn't watched DB in just shy of fourteen years and it holds up very well, thanks in large part to the performances. Much like  GoodFellas  (1990) (my review here ) there is a good deal of humor, quotable dialogue, and a few grisly scenes of violence throughout. Overall though, the mood is similar to another classic Pacino-starring 90s gangster picture,  Brian De Palma 's  Carlito's Way  (1993) (my review  here ), though it never quite reaches the same tragic, operatic heights of that film. One thing is for sure, Donnie Brasco  is no fugazi. Fuhgetaboutit.

All right, I'm gonna do this review the Scanner way; I'm gonna suck your brain dry… The last time I watched  Scanners  (1981), in 2014 when the Criterion Collection Blu-ray was released, I felt slightly underwhelmed. I had seen the film a couple of times prior to that and seemed to remember enjoying it more than I did on that viewing. I will note, I do rank a number of  David Cronenberg  films above it, but it still sits in the Top 10 of my rankings of his work, and I got a bit more mileage out of this viewing (with an audience, so that was fun).  There is a definite charm, iconography, and staying power about Scanners , despite some wooden, soap operatic acting from its lead  Stephen Lack  ("lacking," for sure), poor pacing, and no true surprises. Additionally, gorehound that I may be, I actually find the phone booth scene the most thrilling, ingenious, and ahead-of-its-time aspect of the whole film (though that isn't to say I don't love the infamous explod

John Carpenter insists that Escape From L.A. (1996) is a better film than  Escape From New York   (1981) ( review ). I don’t agree. The budget is bigger, the action is better, and the cast is great, but a lot of the film just rehashes its predecessor, more than a few things are datedly ‘90s, and some of the effects (particularly the CGI) aren’t too hot (though not as bad as I remembered). I will say that I kind of love the artifice of it all, EFLA is better than its reputation suggests, and the film is a lot of fun. John Carpenter Films Ranked Top 20 Directors

Guy Hamilton Feature Films Ranked James Bond Feature Films Ranked

I first saw  Dawn Of The Dead   (1978) on VHS in the 1990s. I watched the film—along with  George A. Romero 's other two films in the original " Dead " trilogy,  Night Of The Living Dead   (1968) (my review  here ) and  Day Of The Dead   (1985)—quite a lot in my teenage years. I mentioned in my  previous review  (when I watched the Extended ('Cannes) Cut in 2020) that the next time I revisited  DOTD  that planned to watch the  Argento  Cut (aka  Zombi ). The Argento edit shortens the length (to 120 minutes), tightens the action, removes some of the humor, and adds more music by  Goblin , which serves almost exclusively as the soundtrack for the film. My main draw to  Zombi  is that additional Goblin music, though the cues used don't always feel appropriate to the scene (particular the closing shot). Some of the dialogue is different as well but the removal of a few iconic scenes is sorely missed. Romero was on record as having stated that the Theatrical Cut (at 12

The last time that I watched  Deep Red  ( Profondo Rosso ) (1975), in 2019, I watched the "Original Version" (127 mins, sometimes called the Director's Cut). I've mentioned in previous reviews that I prefer the "Export Version" (105 mins, sometimes called the Theatrical Cut). I've also previously mentioned that I find the Original Version overlong. For this viewer that version drags a bit. Previously I've stated that I didn't feel that the scenes that were dropped from the Export Version add any true substance to the film.  Upon closer inspection, that's not 100% true. Really though, it's primarily a few excised or shortened scenes between  David Hemming  and Daria Nicolodi  that I wish were present in the Export Version. I still think it's annoying that many of the additional scenes in the Original Version are only available in Italian—it's very jarring when the film bounces back and forth between English and Italian, particularl

Looper   (2012),  Rian Johnson 's best film (so far), takes elements of  Blade Runner  (1982) (my review  here ),  The Terminator   (1984), and  Twelve Monkeys  (1995) (my review  here ) to create its own violent science-fiction action drama. It was one of my  Top Films Of 2012   (interesting to see how some of those films have aged and what esteem I hold them in now), and it remains one of the better serious sci-fi pictures of the last ten years (I can't believe this one will already be a decade old later this year).  The choice to focus on emotional investment in the characters over head-spinning, paradoxical logic worked in the film's favor. In the three times that I've now seen  Looper , I've never felt the need to concern myself with mental gymnastics to expose flaws in the narrative. I do have some nitpicks—most noticeably the somewhat uncanny valley created by the filmmaker's attempts at making  Joseph Gordon-Levit t look more like  Bruce Willis —but over

King Knight (2021) is a cute, funny, and entertaining little low budget indie. It lacks the bite of  Richard Bates Jr. 's more visceral efforts like  Excision  (2012) (my review  here ),  Trash Fire   (2016) (my review here ), and  Tone-Deaf  (2019) (my review here )—its closest equivalent being his 2014 film  Suburban Gothic   (my review  here ). But it contains plenty of the director's trademarks, features a great cast, and has its heart in the right place. A breezy good time.  You can find my  Richard Bates Jr. Feature Films Ranked  list  here .

With 2005's  Edmond ,  Stuart Gordon , who rarely branched away from his bread and butter—horror and sci-fi, often specifically by  H.P. Lovecraft —decided to work with  David Mamet , adapting his controversial 1982  stage play  of same name. Not for the easily offended,  Edmond  tackles subjects like crime, racism, misogyny, and homophobia head-on. It's frequently an uncomfortable experience, sometimes brutal, sometimes funny, and occasionally philosophical. The results can vary in quality but  Edmond  is a good, gritty film bolstered by a very strong lead performance by  William H. Macy  in the titular role.  Recommended for fans of  Taxi Driver  (1976) (my review  here ),  Falling Down  (1993) (my review  here ), and  American Psycho   (2000) (my review  here ). You can find my  Stuart Gordon Feature Films Ranked  list  here .

1970's The Vampire Lovers contains the requisite boobs and blood that the Hammer studio became known for at the time but it also features rich cinematography and a great gothic atmosphere. TVL  is the first film in The Karnstein Trilogy , based on the 1872 novel Carmilla   (the other two films being 1971's Lust For A Vampire  and Twins Of Evil ). There isn't necessarily anything story-wise that sets the film apart from others of its ilk, but there sure are some beautiful women in it, and you could do a lot worse than sapphic vampires, as far as I'm concerned.

Lucifer On The Sofa  (2022) is Spoon  at their most polished but it's Spoon, so of course it delivers. Lucifer  is a tight blend of straightforward rockers and somber soothers. With one of the most consistently great outputs of any artist I can name, it's easy to see why Spoon's popularity has only grown over the years (longtime fan since 2001 here), and why so many people continue to love them. Nearly thirty years—and 10 albums deep—into their career, they remain one of my Top 10 Bands.

Like clockwork, it's day 16 of February and it's been three months since the last  DB Mix , so here are two fresh mixes for you! Read on to be enraptured by  DB Mix Series 13 – 8-Tracks ! For those unfamiliar with these music challenges—my cousin Bryan and I alternately choose a concept, we each choose the allotted number of songs (from our MP3 collections), make a playlist, share with each other, then I mix the playlists, design the album art, and share with everyone! You can check out the previous  DB Mixes  here . The concept this time was chosen by Bryan—"track 8" songs. The rules set by him were as follows:  - Songs that are the eighth track on their respective album - Only studio LPs allowed (no live albums, EPs, compilations, soundtracks, etc.) - 26 tracks (one band/artist for each letter of the alphabet) To recap our main rule—we never tell each other which songs we are going to pick, so the other's mix is always a surprise. We happen to have a lot of the

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Bigbug  (2022) is  Jean-Pierre Jeunet  at his quirkiest worst. This dystopian sex farce is like  Amélie  (2001) ( review )—minus the humor and charm—filtered through The Fifth Element (1997) (a film I have no love for). It’s like Terry Gilliam via Pixar (a studio I don’t care for). The characters are all pretty obnoxious so you don’t really care about their welfare and there is never truly a sense of danger in the satire. I’m not entirely sure who this film is for; it just feels like a bunch of random crap thrown up on screen. Bigbug is never boring, it’s certainly weird, and the production design is colorful and incredibly detailed but it’s all just a bit…too much. You can find my  Jean-Pierre Jeunet Feature Films Ranked  list  here .

I was aware of (and had been meaning to watch) Hiruko The Goblin  (1991) since not long after I first discovered  Shinya Tsukamoto 's previous film, the seminal Tetsuo: The Iron Man (1989)—one of the first truly transformative, cult pieces of cinema I'd ever seen (and one that holds up to this day)—via VHS tape in 1993. I'm glad I finally got around to seeing Hiruko  and in the best quality possible via Mondo Macabro 's recently released Blu-ray  (Mondo also previously released Tsukamoto's great 1999 film  Gemini   ( review ) on Blu-ray here in the States). It's odd to think of calling a film as strange as  Hiruko  "conventional," but compared to Tetsuo  that description applies, to some degree. It's even odder to hear Tsukamoto, in an interview on the MM disc, say that he actually gravitates more towards this style of film, but because Tetsuo was so popular (sparking an excellent 1992 sequel, Body Hammer  and a not so good 2009 sequel, The Bulle

Steven Soderbergh 's  Kimi   (2022) is a fun, lean, modern-tech paranoid thriller with a good central performance by  Zoë Kravitz , cool sound design, and a great score by  Cliff Martinez .  Kimi  makes a nice companion piece to Soderbergh's earlier  Side Effects  (2013) ( review ) and  Unsane  (2018) ( review ). Recommended for fans of  Rear Window   (1954),  The Conversation  (1974) ( review ),  Marathon Man  (1976) ( review ), and  Panic Room  (2002) (which shares this film's writer,  David Koepp ). Steven Soderbergh  Feature Films Ranked Top 20 Directors

Dellamorte Dellamore   (aka  Cemetery Man ) (1994) is a film I've seen a few times and which I loved in my twenties and thirties. It used to be my favorite of  Michel Soavi 's films, but it didn't hold up quite as well on this latest viewing, dropping below both  Stage Fright   (1987) and  The Sect   (1991) ( review ) in my rankings. There is no denying that  DD  is visually impressive and very  out there . "Kitchen sink" movies can (and often do) work for me and this one does, for the most part, but overall I was left wanting this go around. I appreciate the use of practical effects but a lot of them looked worse than I remembered (not the angel of death skeleton dude though; that still rips). There's clearly an influence/kinship to  Sam Raimi 's  Evil Dead  trilogy (my reviews  here ,  here , and  here ) and  Peter Jackson 's  Dead Alive   (1992) (my review  here ), all films that I love.  But  DD  comes off as dime-store philosophy with a few icky p

Some films transcend hyperbole.  Some Like It Hot  (1959) is brilliant, hilarious, flawlessly paced, endlessly rewatchable, one of my Top 10 Comedies, one of my  Top 100 Films , and in a word: perfect.  Billy Wilder  truly was a genius and  Marilyn Monroe ,  Tony Curtis  and  Jack Lemmon  were incredibly inspired casting (really, can you imagine anyone else in these roles?). You can find my  Billy Wilder Films Ranked  list  here . You can find my  Top 20 Directors  list  here .

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Is  American Psycho   (2000)   a darkly hilarious, highly quotable, controversial, horror cult classic? It is all of these things. But, much like  Fight Club  the year before,  if you don't understand that it's a satire then you're missing the point. No one should be rooting for supposed serial killer Patrick Bateman or his wholehearted embrace of capitalism and 80s consumerism as a mask to hide his inner emptiness. Whether Bateman's crimes are real or imagined (as the film's surreal conclusion suggests) is not the most important aspect to focus on. Rather, it's Bateman's complete disregard for human lives—his lack of empathy, his sociopathic tendencies, his obsession with the superficial. I have to agree with Roger Ebert's assessment of  Christian Bale 's portrayal as "heroic in the way he allows the character to leap joyfully into despicability; there is no instinct for self-preservation here, and that is one mark of a good actor." In sho

Much the same way that Daniel Day-Lewis ' Reynolds Woodcock resists Vicky Krieps ' Alma from disrupting his routine and particularity, it's taken me three times now watching  Paul Thomas Anderson 's  Phantom Thread   (2017) to admit that I do, in fact, love the film.  Each time I'd seen PT previously (my first review here , my second review here ), I'd greatly appreciated the craft but felt underwhelmed by the result. Something seemed to click on this viewing—this time through I got a very Ingmar Bergman vibe and I also appreciated the humor more. I am willing to give certain films and directors additional chances to win me over.  PT was one of my Top Films Of 2017 after all, and, looking back, while I would swap the order and star ratings of a few titles on that list, that was an absolutely incredible year for movies—I haven't rated so many so highly since.   PT is still my least favorite PTA film but considering he's one of my Top 20 Directors , tha

Much in the way that Rian Johnson attempted to subvert film noir with 2005's  Brick   (my review here ), The Brothers Bloom (2008), his swing at the con movie, only half works for me. His next film, Looper   remains my favorite of his so far. TBB is cute and quirky but the tone is muddled. Some of the time it feels like  The Sting  (1973) (a perfect film), most of the time it feels like a  Wes Anderson  facsimile—particularly his 1996 debut  Bottle Rocket  (a near perfect film)—right down to the music choices and the inclusion of Adrien Brody . There's hints of Hal Ashby sprinkled throughout as well. There's fun to be had in the jet set/old-fashioned romance elements of the picture, but it suffers from being overlong and underwhelming. Is TBB a good film? Yes. Is it a great one? Not quite. You can find my Rian Johnson Feature Films Ranked  list here .

At times confusing, hilarious, glacial, and enthralling, Ben Wheatley ’s A Field In England (2013), his fourth feature film, will prove frustrating for many viewers. Very much a mysterious, metaphysical, existential experience, it’s my favorite of his films and I enjoyed it just as much a second time. AFIE is beautifully photographed , scored , acted, and features an all-time kaleidoscopic psychedelia sequence in its final third.  Recommended for fans of Alejandro Jodorowsky , Ingmar Bergman , and Nicolas Winding Refn . You can find my  Ben Wheatley Feature Films Ranked  list  here .

Scream Blacula Scream   (1973) is neither a better nor worse film than its predecessor  Blacula   (1972) (my review  here ). There's no deep characterization nor much added to the lore of the titular antihero, outside of his being resurrected via voodoo (which plays a large role in the film). This was my second time watching SBS  and I didn't realize the first time quite how quiet and slow this film is (perhaps because I saw it with an audience this time). I must admit, I was hoping for a  Bride Of Frankenstein   (1935) style fate for  Pam Grier , but her presence is nonetheless one of the film's strongest aspects (though there was definitely a missed opportunity by virtue of the fact that  Bride Of Blacula was never made as a second sequel). Another highlight is  William Marshall 's proclamation of "The name…is BLACULA!" (I wonder if this influenced  John Carpenter  to write similar dialogue for  Kurt Russell  in  Escape From New York   (1981) (my review  her