The Night Porter (1974, Liliana Cavani)

Tonight's movie:

Basket Case (1982, Frank Henenlotter)

As a kid I used to be quite frightened of the front cover of Basket Case and made the decision it was too scary to ever watch……

But then I grew up.....

……Young Duane Bradley arrives at a cheap hotel in New York with a wad of cash and a big wicker basket. He feeds the contents of the basket hamburgers while they communicate semi-telepathically. It quickly transpires that Duane and the basket contents are Siamese twins who are seeking revenge on the Doctors that separated them.

It’s the perfect horror movie if you want a good laugh. Henenlotter seems to take great enjoyment of making the movie gross but funny. He also somehow manages to make you feel a little sorry for the deformed critter, who was left in the trash to die after the twins were operated on.

Really though, it’s enough to just watch the film for the stop motion animation where the wee mutant goes ballistic in the hotel room.

The extras are also worth viewing as Henenlotter revisits a few of the movie locations 20 years on. Interesting to note that part of it was filmed in a building which is now the Hellfire Club.

I give it 4 1/2 comedy horror movie stars.

A Change of Seasons (1980, Richard Lang)

Karen Evans (Shirley MacLaine) has just discovered that her arrogant husband, university professor Adam (Anthony Hopkins) is having an affair with one of his students Linsey (Bo Derek).
After a moment or two of contemplation, Karen decides not to leave her husband but to instead to find a lover of her own. As it happens, a happy go lucky carpenter turns up at the house one morning and she invites him in.

Much to Adam's chagrin, Karen decides they all should spend the holidays in Karen and Adam's Vermont chalet to do some skiing and open relationship exploring. To add another dimension to the unusual mix is the arrival of the Evans' daughter Kasey with her very new and ultra conventional fiance.

You know when movie isn't overly successful when you google it and can only find a handful of images to choose from.
It apparently nearly destroyed Shirley MacLaine's career and from what I have read Anthony Hopkins couldn't stand Bo Derek as she refused to rehearse and abhorred MacLaine even more for being one of the most obnoxious actresses he had ever worked with. I don't know if I can give any credence to those claims as I only read it off other reviews of people like myself....but they pleased me as they made me chuckle.

I also don't know if I am just one for a B grade film, or that I now own this particular film (I bought it for $3)...but I didn't mind it. True, I was unsure if it was meant to be a comedy or a drama or a combination of the both or neither....but it was easy to watch.
It defintely drove home the idea that men shouldn't leave their wives for someone more than half their age- because although younger women have bouncy boobs (opening scene) they just end up squirting water in your face (opening scene and another scene); and if the man messes with the domestic balance they will be alone and sad while the wife will have a new lease on life with lots of new love interests.

But all said and done I liked the skiing scenes.

2 1/2 or 3 stars

The Conversation (1974, Francis Ford Coppola)

Written, directed and produced by Francis Ford Copolla, The Conversation tells the story of Harry Caul (Gene Hackman), a highly successful surveillance expert from San Francisco. As successful and revered as he is in his line of work, he is incredibly secretive and obsessed with his own privacy, to the detriment of his personal relationships.

The opening scene shows Caul and his team recording what appears to be a rather inocuous conversation between a man and a woman in San Francisco's Union Square.
Caul successfully combines the tapes to make a clear recording of the conversation however, its meaning is ambiguous. Harry becomes more intrigued by the conversation he taped and decides to investigate it further. The more he learns, the more the meaning of the conversation changes. His investigations also threatens his anonymity.
This film is one that stays with you well after you have seen it.
Gene Hackman's performance is perfectly pitched to show the restraint and lonely world of Harry Caul. I felt such empathy towards his character during the brief moment when opens himself up.

The music score by David Shire is definitely a part of why the The Conversation is successful - the main theme played on a solo piano is one of the most enchanting that I have heard and am suprised that I haven't heard it before.

I give it 4 1/2 stars

A Monpti Youtube clip (by film portal)

Monpti (1957, Helmut Kautner)

It gives me great pleasure to introduce a film by my favourite German director, Helmut Kautner.  Helmut Kautner was a true storyteller and humanist. 

I grew up in a German household and Kautner films were a regular feature and thus I feel a little nostalgic when I watch these films.  His films are engaging and centre on the every-man/woman and the comedies and tragedies that weave through all our lives.

The film I watched last night was Monpti.  A story about a young, poor, Hungarian art student (Horst Buchholz), living in Paris, who meets a beautiful girl, Anne Claire (Romy Schneider), in a park on a lovely summers day.

The young art student falls madly in love with her and spends his few coins in an effort to woo and win her heart.  But Anne Claire, though clearly interested, does not give in so easily.  Anne Claire tells him she is the daughter of a wealthy family, which makes the young arts student’s pursuit of her even more challenging.

Eventually they are in are tender relationship.  Anne Claire refers to the young man as ‘Monpti’ short for Mon Petite.   But this relationship soon becomes tumultuous when Monpti discovers that everything Anne Claire has ever told him about her, is nothing but fantasy and lies.

There is also a second story intertwined through this tale, which is about a rich couple that are in complete contrast to Anne Claire and Monpti.

Whenever I finish watching a Kautner film, I always want to share it with my close friends, but I can never seem to find a copy with English subtitles! I hope, one day, more old German films are restored and available with English subtitles. Some of these films are such gems they should be shared to a wider audience.

I love this film for many reasons: It is by my favourite German director; It is a tragedy but it has a lot of funny, touching moments between the characters and its a fun look at human idiosyncrasies; it stars my favourite German actress, Romy Schneider, and… it always makes me want to have a duckling for a pet!

Paul (2011, Greg Mottola)

Graeme Willy (Simon Pegg) and Clive Gollings (Nick Frost) are two comic-book-loving, alien-believing, anything-to-do-with-space obsessed British buddies, who go on a once in a life time trip to the US. After a successful visit to Comic-Con, they start their pilgrimage to all places connected with UFO's and UFO sightings. Along the way they bump in to an alien, Paul (Seth Rogan) and reluctantly agree to help him return to his mothership. They also happen to pick up a religious fanatic and love interest for Graeme, Ruth (Kristen Wiig), and hot on their trail are FBI agents and Ruth's incensed father.
A major fan of Simon Pegg and Nick Frost's previous work - tv series Spaced (1998-2001), Sean of the Dead (2004) and Hot Fuzz (2007); I was excited to watch the next installment.
I ruddy well enjoyed it. Apart from great writing and directing in these movies, why I love their work so much is the fact that Pegg and Frost are best mates in real life. Their friendship is evident on screen and adds a special dimension to their films. Paul is funny and well paced, with tender moments. It was fun spotting the sci-fi film references and I loved seeing a stunning Sigourney Weaver. The dvd extras are great - especially watching how how Paul was created out of Seth Rogan.


Four stars from me