THE DANMAN CAN

Orson Welles '  The Lady From Shanghai   (1947) is one bizarre  noir —part love triangle, part murder mystery, part courtroom drama, and always a bit confusing.  Rita Hayworth , devastatingly beautiful, gives quite a good performance here, in a drastically different role from her sultry star turn in the previous year's  Gilda  ( review ). The overdubbing lends a very surreal quality to the film and the atonal/disjointed filmmaking (a Welles trademark throughout his career—whether intentional or through studio meddling) makes it a sometimes frustrating but unique experience. Welles' brogue is also distracting and often unconvincing. My biggest gripe about  TLFS  though is a film/television trope that drives me crazy—where characters say the name of other characters (usually directly to them)  incessantly  (seriously, you could play a drinking game for the number of times Hayworth says "Michael" to Welles alone).  It's clear...

Brandon Cronenberg  continues to make interesting and engaging films, and so far he's 3 for 3. I'm not sure this is as transgressive as I thought it would be and, as "weird" as it is, it might be his most accessible film yet (and it's slightly surprising to see that this is playing in basically every theater in my area). I believe that owes to the fact that it is way funnier than I expected. Mia Goth is obnoxious in her role and, thus, perfectly suited to it. I think I'm still processing my thoughts on it, yet I don't know that there is anything deeper to glean than what appears on the surface. I suppose I'll find out on a rewatch, as that will definitely be in order (and I’m curious to see how the NC-17 cut plays). The payoff is a bit lacking but I still really enjoyed  Infinity Pool   (2023). Recommended for fans of Cronenberg's  Possessor   (2020) ( review ), Kubrick 's   A   Clockwork Orange  (1971) and  Eyes Wide Shut (1999),...

Wolfen  (1981) is a slow burn psychological horror thriller from director  Michael Wadleigh  (who directed 1970's  Woodstock ), his only narrative feature. There are a number of elements that make Wolfen stand out from the pack (sorry) in a year littered (sorry, again) with werewolf films (though Wolfen  isn't really  that), which included  Joe Dante 's   The Howling  ( review ) in March, Wadleigh’s  Wolfen  in July,  John Landis '  An American Werewolf In London   ( review ) in August, and finally  Larry Cohen 's  Full Moon High  ( review ) in October. Those elements include a n interesting and strong cast (lead  Albert Finney  in particular lends the film much of its gravitas), a moody and mysterious horn-heavy score by  James Horner  (ha), strong cinematography, and innovative use of Steadicam and a Louma crane to create the subjective "heat vision" perspective of the wolves ...

Night Of The Demons (1988) definitely feels like a riff on the  Evil Dead  and  Nightmare On Elm Street   franchises . I t was released a year after  Evil Dead II   ( review ) and a few months after  A Nightmare On Elm Street 4: The Dream Master  ( review ). NOTD  is not as good as either of those films—it's slow to get going, it meanders, and its characterization is thin. But there is some fun to be had and it has a scrappy quality that I can't help but admire. The makeup effects are decent, this track  by director Kevin Tenney 's brother Dennis  (who scored the film) is a ripper, and  Linnea Quigley ...need I say more?

Unmistakably a product of the '80s, Voyage Of The Rock Aliens (1984) doesn’t make a lick of sense, but it provides plenty of mindless fun. Combining sci-fi, new wave, rockabilly, dance numbers, and a weird cast, VOTRA doesn’t quite click—owing to its undercooked “kitchen sink” approach—but it has an undeniably goofy charm.  Recommended for fans of Phantom Of The Paradise (1974),  The Rock Horror Picture Show   (1975), and  Earth Girls Are Easy   (1988) ( review ).

Much like the other film in my double feature tonight (both from stories by  Steven Spielberg ), I didn't grow up with Richard Donner 's  The Goonies  (1985). Just like  Tobe Hooper 's  Poltergeist  (1982) ( review ), I only saw The Goonies  for the first time in my twenties (whereupon I thought it was merely " good enough "). I'm sure that if I had seen the film in the '80s, it would mean a whole lot more to me. I've seen it three times now, I believe, and I just can't get too into it. It's weird, because I'm from the generation that loves this film but I didn't see it at the right age. As it is, there's some laughs and fun to be had but The  Goonies is honestly a pretty haphazard, noisy film. I get that it was aimed at a young audience (and, man , does it feel like it was geared toward those with a short attention span) but it's such a sloppy film (and goofy as hell). While there are a few touching moments, I mostly find the c...

I didn't grow up with Poltergeist  (1982). I only saw it for the first time in my twenties. I think if I had seen it in the '80s, I'd have more of an affinity for it. I find the film a bit long and clunky at times, and the characters a bit underdeveloped, but it's still very effective. Regarding the debate over who directed the film, I think the stamp of both Tobe Hooper and Steven Spielberg  are all over it and just leave it at that. A fun ride. Tobe Hooper Feature Films Ranked

Lamberta Bava 's Blastfighter (1984) is a ridiculous and fun First Blood  (1982)/ Deliverance   (1972) ( review ) hybrid that could only be a low budget Italian knockoff. The story by prolific schlock scribe Dardano Sacchetti , from a concept by Bava (directing under the very amusing alias John Old Jr.), pits Jake 'Tiger' Sharp—plus a special-ass gun—against hillbillies.  Michael Sopkiw is pretty good as Jake (or 'Tig,' as his buds call him) but if Bava had been able to nab Franco Nero for the role, the film would surely have benefitted. Speakings of roles, Billy Redden , who famously played Lonnie (the dueling banjo player) in Deliverance , shows up for about ten seconds. Redden has only ever starred in four films and one episode of a TV series (plus an appearance as himself in a documentary). Three of those four post- Deliverance roles (one of which is Tim Burton 's Big Fish  (2003)) have him billed as "Banjo Man."  Jake really only uses...

Emily The Criminal (2022) is very much  Uncut Gems   (2019) ( review )/ Nightcrawler (2014)/ Drive   (2011) ( review )-lite (right down to Nathan Halpern 's  Cliff Martinez  knockoff score)—it lacks the style, excitement, and humor of any of those films. Still, it's nice to see a female protagonist in a role like this ( Aubrey Plaza gives a solid performance), and John Patton Ford 's debut feature is competently made and entertaining throughout. Despite the working class relatability though, it feels like a film that will be forgotten soon after (unlike those aforementioned films which have left indelible impressions).

For his 1954 remake of  Magnificent Obsession   ( review )  Douglas Sirk  wisely removed the religious overtones of  John M. Stahl 's 1935  adaptation  of  Lloyd C. Douglas '  1929 novel . Outside of that, and some humor in the ‘35 version that doesn’t always land, Sirk's film isn't all that different, story-wise.  Irene Dunne is good and Robert Taylor is serviceable in Stahl's 1935 version, but Sirk,  Jane Wyman , and  Rock Hudson  (along with cinematographer  Russell Metty ) all give the same story more life in the heightened 1954 adaptation. Still, this is an enjoyable melodrama. 

Magnificent Obsession  (1954) was the movie that brought Rock Hudson fame. The Hollywood heartthrob's second pairing (of six) with director  Douglas Sirk was also his first with actress  Jane Wyman .  Obsession , based on the 1929 novel by Lloyd C. Douglas , was first adapted in 1935 in a film starring Irene Dunne . The 1935 version ( review ) was directed by John M. Stahl who, a year prior, made a film called Imitation Of Life (which Sirk would also remake, as his final film in 1959).  While I greatly enjoyed MO , I think that Sirk, Hudson, and Wyman made an even better melodrama the following year when they reteamed for  All That Heaven Allows   ( review ), which I found more affecting, more thought-provoking, and more beautifully shot (again by Russell Metty ). Douglas Sirk Feature Films Ranked

I like found footage films about as much as I like cannibal films. I think even less so. All the shaky cam strains my eyes and it’s not my style of filmmaking. REC   (2007) is perhaps one of the better examples of this technique and starts out pretty strong but like almost every film I've seen in the genre, quickly wears thin and leaves me cold before the credits roll.  Essentially a Spanish language Blair Witch Project  (1999) with "zombies," REC  largely consists of characters screaming each others' names and things like "What the hell is that?!" or "What the hell is going on?!" plus cheap jump scares for the entirety of its runtime. Thankfully it's under 90 minutes.  I get that films likes these can be tense and anxiety-inducing horror exercises but I just don't see the appeal beyond that. They seem a lot alike—gimmicky and they don't have any replay value for this viewer.

John Badham 's WarGames  (1983) plays much like a kid-friendly version of  Sidney Lumet 's  Fail Safe   (1964) ( review ). Which isn't to say it's dumbed down in any sense—it's just more fun and its protagonists are teenagers. The technology is primitive by today's standards but it's a great snapshot of the early 80s and I love analog visual effects.  Matthew Broderick and Ally Sheedy provide an effortlessly charismatic pair of leads. Dabney Coleman  takes a bit of a backseat here but made up for it the following year in a similar but more developed role in  Cloak & Dagger  (podcast where I discussed that film here ).  Barry Corbin  is a highlight—providing stoic comic relief.  Arthur B. Rubinstein 's playful score is quite diverse and I particularly enjoy its electronic aspects.  WarGames  made hacker culture cool via a prescient techno-thriller that carries a timeless message. The film treats its subject matter ser...

1972’s Silent Running is a heartfelt reflection about the fragile relationship between the natural and technological world, and the need for conservation. Visual effects master Douglas Trumbull ’s directorial debut (one of only two films he helmed) was also Michael Cimino ’s first screen credit as a writer. SR was a box office flop and its budgetary restrictions are sometimes evident but it boasts impressive miniature work and immersive production design nonetheless. An intimate and melancholic cult classic with an affective and impassioned performance by lead Bruce Dern , it carries a still-relevant message regarding climate change. Recommended for fans of   2001: A Space Odyssey   (1968) ( review ),  Close Encounters Of The Third Kind  (1977) ( review ), and  Blade Runner  (1982) ( review ). 

Happy 12th birthday today to my blog,  The Danman Can ! Each year on this date I post the  number of films I've watched per year since I've been keeping track (18 years of doing so today). Here they are: 2005  -  338 films 2006  -  368 films 2007  -  274 films 2008  -  269 films 2009  -  234 films 2010  -  189 films 2011  -   237 films 2012  - 254 films 2013  - 352 films 2014  - 350 films 2015  - 337 films 2016  - 270 films 2017  - 265 films 2018  - 207 films 2019  - 254 films 2020  - 284 films 2021 - 334 films 2022  - 401 films In 2022 I broke 400 films (my most watched) in a year for the first time since I've been keeping track (possibly for the first time ever)!! According to Letterboxd, I reviewed a whopping 155 (!) more films and watched 132 (!) more hours of film than in 2021. Note that the number of films I logged above (from my personal reco...

There's no mistaking that the 1962 film adaptation of Franz Kafka 's posthumous 1925 novel The Trial   is Orson Welles ' version of The Trial . It's Kafkaesque, to be sure, but it's Wellesian  Kafkaesque. I hadn't seen the film since I bought a cheap VHS copy of it in the mid 1990s, so seeing it in on 4K UHD was a revelation. I find the film a bit uneven and meandering at times, as is Welles' habit, but it's also an incredible technical achievement, with monumental production design, and some truly powerful scenes. A disorienting, surrealist bureaucratic nightmare that puts me in mind to revisit the classic book. Orson Welles Feature Films Ranked

While I find  Nicolas Winding Refn ’s  Drive  (2011) ( review ) to be a marginally better film than  Walter Hill ’s The Driver (1978), there is no denying how much of a debt the former owes to the latter (and how underseen the latter is compared to the former).  The Driver contains—without doubt—some of the best car chase sequences ever put to celluloid, amidst a cool, calm, and collected slow burner. A minimalist masterpiece. Recommended for fans of Bullitt (1968),  The French Connection   (1971),  Dirty Harry  (1971), and  Le  Samouraï   (1967) ( review ). Walter Hill Films Ranked