THE DANMAN CAN

Made as the final film of a three-picture deal for the  Golan  and  Globus -led  Cannon Group , Tobe Hooper 's The Texas Chainsaw Massacre 2  (1986) is an insane over the top  Grand Guignol  satire which—courtesy of L.M. Kit Carson 's ( Paris, Texas   (1984); review ) brilliant script (and endlessly quotable dialogue)—revels in the '80s excess that it lampoons. As soon as I saw it, in my twenties, I loved it as much as the  1974 original  ( review ) (and continue to) for the daring about-face it took from the tone of its predecessor. After making the gonzo  Lifeforce  ( review ) the previous year, Hooper was shooting  TCM2  while simultaneously editing Invaders From Mars , which was released less than two months prior. The madman director's stamp is all over this sequel, brought to life via incredibly immersive set pieces, phenomenal production design, Tom Savini  and crew's wonderfully grisly but darkly comedic makeup effects, and the manic energy of the indelible

For those of you who weren't able to attend tonight's festivities (IYKYK) or for those of you who want to watch it again, click below to view a labor of love video edit that I made.  NSFW (Nudity and gore abound)

With  Night Of The Living Dead   (1968),  George A. Romero  set the bar for the modern zombie film (or "ghouls," as they are referred to in this one). By all means a classic and incredibly influential, there are  certain aspects that haven’t aged all that well. A lot of the acting isn't particularly great and a bit over the top. Given the primarily single location and theatrical feel of the film, it works to a certain degree, but still detracts a bit from the viewing experience.  Remembering that the film is more than 50 years old is important and part of the charm of  NOTLD  is the success it has endured on a such a low budget, however it often feels more like it was made even 10 years earlier than it was.  The "score” of library music does feature some cool and creepy electronic sounds, efficiently used, but also has a lot of stock music that would be more at home in 40s noir films.   All that said,  NOTLD  is a historic debut and an important piece of cinema. Ther

Brian De Palma 's Blow Out (1981) is a masterfully plotted and executed paranoiac thriller, featuring sumptuous cinematography by  Vilmos Zsigmond  and a beautifully tragic score by  Pino Donaggio  (looking and sounding stunning on The Criterion Collection ’s 4K UHD ) that only gets better with each viewing.  If you'd like to listen to  Movie Matters Podcast   Episode 12—the Brian De Palma Special (my first guest spot on a podcast back in 2011!)—where my friends  Michael Mackenzie ,  Lee Howard , and I discussed Blow Out , along with  Sisters  (1972) ( review ) and  Body Double   (1984) in depth, you can do so here . Recommended for fans of  Blow-Up  (1966),  Klute  (1971) ( review ), and  The Conversation   (1974) ( review ). Brian De Palma Feature Films Ranked Top 20 Directors My Criterion Top 10 [Vol. 1]

For his quasi sequel/remake,  Evil Dead II  (1987),  Sam Raimi  upped the insanity, the slapstick comedy, the frenetic camerawork, and the gallons upon gallons of blood. The second  Evil Dead  film benefits from better production values, in particular the moody lighting, the crazy stop motion animation, and the much improved special effects and makeup courtesy of f/x wizard  Mark Shostrom , with assistance from the three men that would go on to form  KNB EFX Group  the following year. Though he has some has co-stars and some help along the way,  Evil Dead II  is largely a one-man  Bruce Campbell  show, where he inflicts self-harm like no other actor can and takes whatever Raimi is willing to throw at him (literally). It's here that we first glimpse Campbell (and Ash Williams as a character) become the cocky but goofy action hero—the Bruce that we all know and love—spouting one-liners and kicking Deadite ass. Though I prefer the Ash in  EDII  to the more smarmy one in  Army Of Dark

Frank Capra ’s Arsenic And Old Lace (1944) is a delightfully morbid screwball farce with shades of horror and noir and a wonderful cast. At its center is Cary Grant in a brilliant slapstick performance—full of dynamic range and marvelous facial expressions. Capra never lets up the madcap pace in this fun absurdist romp. Frank Capra Feature Films Ranked Classic Screwball Comedies Ranked

While it may come off as a touch simplistic and hokey by today’s standards (with easy to identify heroes and villains), and it could certainly be accused of being Oscar bait, there is no denying the underlying conceit of To Kill A Mockingbird (1962)—that of living a decent life, being a decent human being, and standing up for what you believe in (which Atticus Finch duly exemplifies on all counts). And I think it’s important to appreciate the film as a product of its time.  Though it comes close to being overwrought during the centerpiece of its second half—the still riveting courtroom sequence—and though I don’t typically go for “message movies,” I’ve always loved this melancholic coming-of-age classic (both Harper Lee ’s 1960 novel and Robert Mulligan ’s now 60 year old film). Among the many reasons to love it:  Gregory Peck  is brilliant and perfectly cast in his signature role, Russell Harlan ’s black and white cinematography is handsomely composed, and Elmer Bernstein ’s tender

Despite feeling a bit dated, relying heavily on jump scares, being a bit nonsensical, and regardless of the validity of its connection to the true-life story , I’ve always enjoyed The Amityville Horror (1979) and continue to find it an entertaining haunted house movie. The film wouldn’t be half as effective without Lalo Schifrin ’s bold and dreamy score or James Brolin ’s weary, crazy-eyed performance or half as fun without Rod Steiger ’s over the top hamminess.  Brolin and Margot Kidder have a great chemistry and TAH is a showcase for how good Kidder was in horror movies—1973’s  Sisters  ( review ) and 1974’s  Black Christmas  ( review ) being two other classics of the genre in which she excelled. It’s interesting that Stuart Rosenberg directed this—the only other film of his that I’ve seen is Cool Hand Luke (1967), which is obviously very different from TAH . On this viewing I found the stylistic choices of the film to have a lot in common with the late '70s and early '

Some films just stick with you. I'd seen The Limey (1999) at least twice before. But I hadn't watched it for a long time—since before 2005 (when I started a 'Films Watched' log). And yet as I rewatched it today—from the beautiful-looking new 4K UHD disc—I remembered it very distinctly, including many lines of dialogue.  Man, I love this superb little slow burn revenge flick. Director  Steven Soderbergh  and writer Lem Dobbs crafted a contemplative crime drama that references and has reverence for the late 60s (particularly late 60s cinema and music) but that also never feels bogged down by nostalgia. Soderbergh does that thing where he plays with time in the shots and the voice-over and it's never worked better than in this film.  Terence Stamp , when he's not amusingly spewing Cockney slang, spends a vast amount of the running time sitting around,  reflecting, and there's few other films where it comes off so effectively (and affectively). Edward Lachman

1991’s Hudson Hawk is essentially an R-rated live-action cartoon, replete with maniacal, over the top villains. HH came from the same screenwriter/director team ( Daniel Waters / Michael Lehmann ) as  Heathers  (1989) ( review ) but it’s nowhere near the classic that film turned out to be. It’s not particularly funny but this satirical surrealist caper sure is fun . The adult humor and occasional grisly violence doesn’t always blend well with the madcap energy but there is an undeniable attraction to a film this bizarre, and with a cast this weird and great. Michael Lehmann Feature Films Ranked