THE DANMAN CAN

Review

Review

Art imitates life is what they say, no?  Much like the story’s Mrs. de Winter can never hope to replace the late Rebecca, this 2020 version can never hope to take the place of Alfred Hitchcock ’s 1940 film (my review here ). Most of Ben Wheatley ’s adaptation feels like a work-for-hire TV movie (albeit with a better budget and more cinematic production design) which any number of filmmakers could have churned out. There are scant few moments where it actually feels like something that Wheatley would make and I’m really puzzled why he was considered a good fit for the material. Everyone needs a paycheck, I guess?  Make no mistake, Rebecca is impeccably shot, the costumes are beautiful, and the film is consistently handsome to look at but if you’ve seen the original, there are no surprises here. The colors in this film are a sight to behold but I prefer the mystery and atmosphere of the black & white original. Lily James does a commendable job in the lead part, channelin...

Cults ' 2020 album, Host (their fourth), is 12 tracks of dreamy, introspective synth-laden pop, recommended for fans of Metric , Enon and Danger Mouse  style production.

The Curse Of The Cat People (1944), the sequel to 1942's Cat People  (my review here ), doesn't actually have a single cat in it. It really doesn't have a whole lot to do with its predecessor, which mostly works in its favor to set it apart from the first film. RKO studios wanted to cash in on the success of CP , and insisted on the Curse  title, even though producer  Val Lewton  wanted to change it to Amy And Her Friend  (which despite befitting the subject matter better is not a good title). TCOTCP  marked two directorial debuts— Gunther von Fritsch  (who had only previously directed shorts), who, when he fell behind schedule, was replaced by  Robert Wise  (who had edited Orson Welles '  The Magnificent Ambersons (my review here ) the year previous), assigned by the studio to take over. Wise went on to have a prolific and versatile career as a director, creating many classic films and his work here is great right from the get-go...

I last watched Jacques Tourneur 's Cat People (1942) just shy of four years ago when the Criterion Collection Blu-ray was released. Rewatching the film now I've come to appreciate it even more.  Val Lewton 's first feature as producer is nothing short of impressive. Lewton had a prolific but unfortunately short run as producer over nine years (1942–1951), releasing fourteen mostly great pictures, mostly in the horror/thriller genre.  Lewton would work with Tourneur two more times in 1943 for I Walked With A Zombie and The Leopard Man . Both were good movies, but neither could top the success and legacy of Cat People . All of the Lewton/Tourneur collaborations are very short features and even though CP  is the longest of the three, at a mere 73 minutes, there is no denying the efficiency and economy of this wonderful work. A big reason that the film is so excellent, of course, is  Simone Simon 's singular performance as Irena Dubrovna, a Serbian immigran...

"Greetings, Starfighter! You have been recruited by TheDanmanCan to read his review of the 1984 film The Last Starfighter . Get ready. Prepare for blast-off!" For his sophomore film as director, Nick Castle —most famously known as playing The Shape in John Carpenter 's Halloween (1978) ( review ), as well as its 2018 sequel ( review )—dove into a space opera about a teenager, Alex Rogan ( Lance Guest ), who is recruited to fight in an intergalactic war, based on his arcade game skills. Guest does a great job of conveying all the right emotions for character—awe, skepticism, frustration, and charm. While there is no denying that TLS  was influenced by and is similar to Star Wars , the film stands apart by pulling its hero from a trailer park on Earth rather than a galaxy far, far away. Alex still has aspirations the same way that Luke Skywalker does but there is a more "down-home" quality to this story. Another major differentiator is the extensive use of CGI ...

I've steadily grown to appreciate Harry Kümel 's Daughters Of Darkness (aka  Les lèvres rouges ) (1971) more with each viewing. This was the third time I've seen the film and maybe it had something to do with it looking absolutely incredible via Blue Underground 's new limited edition 4K UHD , but something just clicked and I realized that I flat-out love it. I'll admit I haven't seen that many sapphic vampire films but this is the best one that I have seen. Delphine Seyrig  as the Countess Elizabeth Báthory  is pure seduction. And while Danielle Ouimet and Andrea Rau 's acting chops may not be up to par with Seyrig's, they're both well cast. All three are strikingly beautiful in their eye-popping costumes. Eduard van der Enden 's lush cinematography captures everything with style. DOD is clearly a film in love with its images, with cinema itself. Sound is important too.  François de Roubaix 's score is an all-timer, creating a soundscape t...

Perhaps it's because America already feels like a satire this year, more so than I can ever recall in my lifetime. Possibly it's because the first film was such a novelty and so incredibly   funny at the time that a sequel had a slim chance of topping it. Maybe it's because at times it just feels like more of the same from the character. Whatever it is,  Borat Subsequent Moviefilm   (2020) does not have the same impact as its 2006 predecessor. That isn't to say that it's not a very funny, biting, shocking, and even quite poignant movie(film). It just feels particularly timely, so I wonder how it will age. All I can hope is that future generations will look back at a (movie)film like this and laugh because of how much better the world is and because they could never believe that the USA could be this ridiculous.

Back To The Future Part III  (1990) was a blast right from its release. Filmed simultaneously with Back To The Future Part II (1989) (my review here ) and released six months later, it's amazing how different the two films are. I still give them the same star rating, but, much like the Indiana Jones franchise , the third film is my second favorite of the series (my review of the first film here ).  BTTF III is simply a ton of fun, has the best action sequences of the three, and the most exciting finale of the BTTF  series . It's also the most romantic without being overly sappy ( Christopher Lloyd and Mary Steenburgen really shine in that regard). For fans of the genre, the film plays with Western tropes (including some nice homages to classics) in a very pleasing way without being too serious or too goofy about it. Michael J. Fox is, as always, the perfect lynchpin to the series. Additionally, when at first glance, he may just appear to be playing variatio...