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jayandsjosh
Reviews
The Screaming Skull (1958)
Look, this is the last time we're going to tell you.
"The Screaming Skull" IS NOT A BAD MOVIE!
"Mystery Science Theater 3000" is not the ultimate judge of a film's worth. Making fun of the film is one thing, but, if they thought this movie was actually bad, they don't know very much at all about film. I'm certain, if you were able to ask them, they'd tell you that, based solely on the level of "cinema" in the film, this is either the best movie they've ever shown or one of the best. (Hey, they mentioned Renoir's "Rules of the Game," so they clearly have some knowledge of real film, unlike you cretins.)
Here's the thing: You people have absolutely zero notion of the concepts of 1) "Suspension of Disbelief" and 2) "Filmmaking." If you could wrap your mind around either of these ideas, you'd be able to tell that this movie is, at the very least, effectively made. The cinematography was top-notch, I felt, and the direction was somewhere north of fair.
(And, by the way, "suspension of disbelief" does not mean simply "buying" everything the filmmakers show you, as many people have taken that phrase to mean. It means that you accept that what you are watching is a movie and thus has certain limitations, but, more importantly, that you try you forget that it's a movie and allow yourself to be affected by the music, atmosphere, etc. Basically, in direct opposition to the ultimately judgmental, condescending stance most people take to all movies in general and older horror films in particular.)
Phoenix (1998)
Bad Cable Action Cinema At Its Best!
Did you ever see one of those awful action thrillers or crime dramas (where, as Jon Stewart once pointed out, "all the action takes place in a strip club"), usually starring Mickey Rourke, Eric Roberts, Rutger Hauer, Michael Madsen, or some refugee from the Brat Pack, on late night cable? Well, "Phoenix" is the "Chinatown" of those movies. Which, in case you miss my meaning, means it's really quite good.
This is a supremely fun film if you like (or hate but have seen) any of these B action flicks. It should be used in film schools when teaching this overlooked genre ("Contemporary exploitation films," they'd probably call them.). This movie has a loan shark, a bookie, crooked cops, bagmen, a strip joint that figures prominently in the plot, a sultry siren in bed with everybody, a cleverly masked heist, a lucky fill-in-the-blank item, a burned out beauty with a sexy jailbait daughter, and a hero with a chance at redemption, if only he can keep from screwing everything up. This movie's got everything, and that's the point.
Ray Liotta stars (in, for my money, the best performance of his career) and, although one of the aforementioned crooked cops, has an incorruptible sense of honor. For example, he has accumulated a substantial gambling debt, but won't let anyone else pay it off or make it go away because he refuses to "welsh." It's a piece of advice given to him by his late gambler father, you'll probably not be surprised to learn.
The plot is, to pay off the sizable debt, Liotta and three of his fellow crooked cops mastermind a heist in a strip club where everything goes wrong while they wear funny animal masks. "But," as I often tell people, "it's not like it sounds."
If you're still not convinced, the fact that Anjelica Huston is a part of this film's great cast should tell you something. Also, watch out for the amazing Tom Noonan as a lisping bookie and a scene with Giovanni Ribisi where you can see the conclusion coming but is still satisfying even if you've already figured it out because of Liotta's intense performance.
3 out of 4 stars on the fun scale. (Probably less on the quality scale.)