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CatSpringer
Reviews
Devil Girl from Mars (1954)
A space-faring dominatrix even a mother could love...maybe.
This was actually a stage play first. Can you imagine? And I'm sorry Joel & the 'bots never got a chance to pick this one apart. The potential for near-off-color jokes is amazing. Nyah smirks, struts, shows Mr. Spock what the eyebrow is really for, prepares a sperm bank for Mars, shows little Tommy "wonders of the universe you've never dreamed of," all while her giant refrigerator robot is in tow, disintegrating trees. If she had only made it to London, she'd have ruled the discotheques without all the fuss. I should hope there's no such thing as reincarnation, as I might not love this camp classic in the next life. Anakin Skywalker, you're a wuss.
Waking Life (2001)
Not cartoon. Dream.
Nope. It's not a "cartoon". You're not watching Bugs Bunny here, unless Bugs has traded in slapstick for existentialism and phenomenology. This is Linklater's attempt to capture a dreamstate, and the experimental animation does that capably. There's a lot of talk here, some of it mentally masturbatory, but what dreams necessarily make sense (or have to)? If thinking films make you itch, there's lighter Linklater out there, and thousands of cartoons. If you want to go into the deep end of the pool about people thinking about people, this is the disk to spin. And tell me...do light switches work in *your* dreams? (Also, it's nice to see Ethan Hawke and Julie Delpy together again between "Sunrise" and "Sunset".)
Hudson Hawk (1991)
Well, the film was a party for...someone.
There's a couple of cinema axioms here: 1) When a star gets big enough (Bruce Willis, "Die Hard," etc.) beware of their choice in vanity projects. 2) If the stars of a movie are having the time of their life making the thing, it's their party, not yours. It's obvious Willis, Danny Aiello, Sandra Bernhard, et al are having a real giggle attempting to make the first Post-Cold War Cold War Comedy Heist Caper, and the movie starts out smoothly enough, but things quickly spiral out of control. Too many failed gags, too many eccentric performances. But I'll give you this: "Hudson Hawk" is a one-of-a-kind flick. Thank goodness.
Howard the Duck (1986)
George Lucas: Way Out of Touch w/Reality
Saw the movie in '86 in San Francisco, $15 dollar premiere benefit performance for the Berkeley Film Archives. Champagne, pate, free t-shirt. Lucas was a no-show. Are you surprised? Let's just say that "Howard" was the most expensive piece o' crap attended by either myself or Howard "the Hughes" Lucas. And written by Katz & Huyck, who co-wrote "American Graffiti"! Sadness. At least I got a shirt out of the deal. Paging Jar Jar Binks! Lucas, my friends, is Way, Way Out of Touch with you & I.
Popeye (1980)
I Yam What I Yam, just don' ask me to do any singink, ugugugugug!
One thing right off the bat: This has the worst songs of *any* movie musical, period. Harry Nilsson, shame. On the other hand, what casting! Shelley Duvall is an inspiration, and provides the ultimate in definitive interpretations as Olive Oyl. But Robert Altman ("M*A*S*H", "Nashville") as director? More, Jules Feiffer ("Carnal Knowledge") as screenwriter? Aren't these guys known for their cynical, alienated take on humanity? Still and all, this is a sweet-natured adaptation with Altman's characteristic "let the lunatics run the asylum" directing style allowing top drawer character actors to run rampant over otherwise drab sets. The movie yam what it yam. It yam fun.
Cat Murkil and the Silks (1976)
I may be an extra in a bad movie, but it's *my* bad movie!
So okay, I'm biased; they filmed this at my high school (Santa Maria High School) in '75, and I was one of the $15-a-day extras that walked up and down the corridors carefully not looking at the camera. Still...there *are* others who have seen this movie?! If you saw this movie, please send me a note, I'd love to know why..........