MAGICIAN AND THE GENIUS OF ORSON WELLES

2015 (May 6th to be precise) is the the 100 year anniversary of Orson Welles's birth.

I recently watched MAGICIAN a very fast moving wide ranging documentary about Welles and his career (good overview with lots of great interviews, I liked it). I've always thought Welles was a genius and I especially liked some of the comments on his film making style by other directors. In particular, a point made by Martin Scorcese that Welles was the first director he saw that shot scenes like you were stumbling into something already in progress as opposed to a set piece staged for a particular moment....Something European filmmakers copied a lot.

Also liked attention paid to two lesser known Welles films that I really enjoy CHIMES AT MIDNIGHT (Welles favorite film of his own movies) and his adaptation of Franz Kafka's THE TRIAL.

Great stories about how Welles found himself shooting independent movies in foreign settings on shoestring budgets and then running out of money....A scene from his version of OTHELLO was shot in a steam bath because they had no money for wardrobe and the owner let them shoot for free. Most intriguing is that Welles started but didn't complete numerous projects. Some of these films have surfaced, some have not.

The greatest find of all would be the original cut of THE MAGNIFICENT AMBERSONS, Welles second film, which was butchered by the studios. The version commonly seen is still pretty good but unedited print I imagine would be another Welles masterpiece.

Society often favors commerce over artistic genius. Just think what else Welles could produced in film had he had the resources.

WHO SHOULD BE THE VILLAIN(S) IN THE NEXT SPIDER MAN REBOOT?

Saw some online discussion among fans today as to which villain(s) Spider Man should face in the new Spider Man film which will be shot after CAPTAIN AMERICA CIVIL WAR next year. The predominant favorite seemed to be Venom as a lot of people feel the character was not done justice in the third Tobey Maguire film. Now I like Venom but his backstory is complicated even if rewritten and will require time to present. Carnage is better but you need to have Venom to have Carnage.  

My vote is for two villains - Kraven the Hunter and Mysterio.

Kraven is a real chest thumping alpha male with a Russian accent - The role is a great opportunity for an actor and will translate to the big screen well. 

Mysterio I want to see because I think modern special effects would do a great job with his tricks and illusions.  

Let's hope it's NOT Green Goblin or Dr Octopus yet again (they are both overused) - that would suck although Hobgoblin is nifty but has the same problem as Carnage - We need the Green Goblin to be set up first..

DICK VAN PATTEN AND PATRICK MACNEE - THE CHARACTER ACTOR AS PRECIOUS COMMODITY

Dick Van Patten and Patrick Macnee who both passed away this week were primarily famous for TV series - Van Patten for Eight Is Enough and Macnee for The Avengers (one of my favorite shows).

And while both of these series were enjoyable especially The Avengers, both men also appeared in numerous films in character/supporting roles.

Van Patten's best supporting work was in SOYLENT GREEN (where he helps Edward G Robinson die) and WESTWORLD (as the park visitor with a sheriff fantasy) . He was also in Disney comedies such as THE STRONGEST MAN IN THE WORLD and Mel Brooks films such as HIGH ANXIETY and SPACEBALLS.

Macnee's best film acting role is most likely the werewolf psychiatrist in THE HOWLING. He was also Bob Cratchit in the quintessential version of  SCROOGE and a doomed fellow agent of 007 in A VIEW TO A KILL.  His music producer in THIS IS SPINAL TAP was also popular.

Both men handled humor very well. Van Patten played more deliberately goofy roles while Macnee generally had the reserve and dignity of the stereotypical gentlemen English part he was associated with.

Where they differed - Much harder for Macnee to throw off his strong affectations than Van Patten who not was so set in a role in the public's imagination.

But they were both great character actors. Able to assume supporting roles while being instantly memorable and recognizable to the public. In this day of cookie cutter beauty queens and hunks, performers like these two are a precious commodity.

RIP   

THREE FILMS - CREEP, JURASSIC WORLD, INDIGENOUS

CREEP

This found footage tale by Director Patrick Brice about the mind games (and eventually more) played on a documentary filmmaker (Brice) by a sociopath (Mark Duplass) is relentlessly disturbing largely due to the creepy overacting of Duplass which totally fits the character and is part of who he is. The ending is a bit predictable but I was glued to the screen throughout. Some of the two leads interplay reminded me of the original SLEUTH.

JURASSIC WORLD

Too much CGI spoiled the soup. Perhaps the least interesting of the four Jurassic Park movies - Very little T Rex and the new genetically created dinosaur is not particularly interesting to look at compared to past Jurassic Park creatures. At least, there are Vincent D'Onofrio and BD Wong in supporting roles as villains to chew up the scenery. You could have replaced the lead actor and actress with mannequins that talk and it would not have made any difference. High point - The Mosasaur in his tank. He deserves his own movie stalking and eating bathers.

INDIGENOUS

Another found footage horror film that is a complete waste except for the pretty jungles of Panama which are the setting. The beast here is the chucapabra and it looks like the creature from THE DESCENT mixed with every tall thin movie extraterrestrial you've ever seen. Completely uninteresting in every way even the monster is derivative.   

THREE FILMS - DER SAMURAI, FUN SIZE HORROR: VOLUME ONE, UNFINISHED BUSINESS

DER SAMURAI

This was one of the strangest films I have ever seen. I say this because it retains a narrative that has real world rules but leaves a lot of the odd events to the audience's deductive abilities. Small town policeman in Germany, young and not respected by the town he lives in, ends up over the course of an evening in a weird cat and mouse game with a long haired man in makeup and a dress wielding a samurai sword which he kills townspeople with. Somehow this all ties in to the fact the policeman has been secretly feeding a wolf rather than killing it as he has been ordered to do as well as the policeman's implied closeted homosexuality. In the end, the action scenes are enjoyable and the end result is so weird as to be memorable. I am still contemplating this film after seeing it several days ago and that is a good thing....I think?

FUN SIZE HORROR: VOLUME ONE

Following in the wake of THE ABC'S OF DEATH is this collection of very short horror films by different directors (but with some of the same actors). The key word here is horror - These are much more straightforward macabre tales than ABC'S. I liked a good chunk of the stories. Standouts include the happy birthday one, the trust one, the Persephone one, the creepy kid in the next apartment one, The Mr Hendrix one, The collection one. It is hard to build story in such a small amount of time which is the main problem with the vignettes that didn't work. The best ones reminded me of shorter segments of the old NIGHT GALLERY tv show. Good twist endings are a plus.

UNFINISHED BUSINESS

Three things sell this otherwise average Vince Vaughn vehicle 1.) An absurd obscene hilarious gay bar bathroom scene 2.) Dave Franco as a mentally handicapped employee of Vaughn's 3.) A decent amount of female nudity. The great Tom Wilkinson also lets his hair down in a supporting role. This is actually a funny movie in places if predictable. The German setting for part of the film helps. The plot is secondary to the setups of the punchlines but at least they try their best with that - No joke is repeated or left too long.

CHRISTOPHER LEE - THE FINAL WORD

I wrote this a couple years ago and I think it is fitting also as a eulogy for Christopher Lee

http://rgdinmalaysia4film.blogspot.com/2013/05/why-christopher-lee-is-best-count.html

I would also add the life Lee lived would be fitting for its own film especially his World War II service, the period when he was in the Ministry of Ungentlemenly Warfare.

As far as Lee's films go, my favorite was THE DEVIL RIDES OUT.  This is a clever, thrilling horror movie with plenty of creepy scenes especially the night spent in the protection of the circle and who comes to call.

It was a rare heroic character in his filmography but showed all of Lee's strength as an actor - That which biology gave him, his height, his regal poise, his deep sonorous voice but also showed Lee's learned skills as an actor and that which was his greatest strength - his understanding of where he was in the scene and how he appeared in it.

Christopher Lee was front and center even when playing a minor role.  That was part nature but also part knowing his craft and knowing film.

RIP.