Reviews

Despite what it erroneously says on IMDb, Emmanuelle Arsan did NOT write the story, nor is the script based on her work. I had to buy an import DVD of this depressing turkey to find that out. I like Erika Blanc, but she did not get to play Emmanuelle as written by Arsan. This is about a depressed young woman sleeping with a variety of characters (male & female) while on a road to self-destruction. The message is actually very anti-sex, and morally condemning... unlike any of Arsan's work. Hope this clarifies, and I advise anyone who disagrees with me to watch the DVD and stare at the credits carefully! I did, and was crestfallen when I realized there was no connection.

Futago is a morbid little gem I discovered during a recent foray into NYC's Chinatown.. and I couldn't have been more pleasantly surprised. Lushly photographed, brooding and haunting... this is a Chinese ghost story with a Japanese twist. It's slow, moody, and is prone to suddenly going right over the top... only a few gaps in plot stopped me from giving the 10 rating. And not one ghost girl with matted long black hair covering her face!

I really enjoyed the characters and actors, especially the tormented cop and the hunky (often shirtless) gang member who is at the core of the film's mystery. Hisako Shirata is fine as the haunting twin sister from Japan.

Not sure how a fine film like this escaped some kind of release here in the US.

See this one.

Alien Warrior (or King of The Streets) is one of those 80s gems you stumble across by mistake, then watch awestruck, marveling at how wonderfully silly and over the top it gets.

A rather hunky alien arrives on earth (LA to be exact) and stumbles into a world of drug dealers, gangs, and corrupt cops. He falls in love with the flaxen haired, beautiful teacher who only wants to help inner-city kids read more. He also manages to anger a coke-snorting drug kingpin who vows to destroy him.

I fell in love with this film at first viewing... sure it's hokey, silly and low-budget. But you can tell the filmmakers had their heart in the right place, and damn if the thing doesn't work! I only pray it'll be on DVD soon.

It's got a hot soundtrack, break-dancing, violence, nudity.... all with a positive, wholesome message! See it.

Basic Instinct 2 is a film people were prepared to slam from the moment filming commenced... rarely had a project raised such ire among critics, many of whom didn't even wait to see the movie before getting out their claws! I guess something about an older woman playing a sexy killer bothers American movie-goers, if you're over 30 and a woman you are past your expiration date, it seems. Sharon Stone seemed to incur most of the wrath - how dare she try to be a sexual icon at her age? Who does she think she is? Obviously she is desperate for money!

It didn't matter that none of this was true, the film going public largely stayed away from BI2, and it was a sad thing, since it was a fun, sexy murder-mystery with lots of twists and turns. Beautifully shot, it even adds a touch of class with it's glamorous London setting and bona-fide actors like Charlotte Rampling and David Thewlis.

If I've any complaint, it's that the film was too reserved, not going far enough in terms of sexual situations, and bizarrely blurring over the lesbian plot line. The opening car-crash masturbation scene is brilliant, and should have set the tone for what followed, but instead the film is a rather prim affair, considering the first film.

Speaking of which, since when did the first Basic Instinct become a cinema classic? If you remember, the critics also slashed the neo-noir to bits with their pens, and indeed, it WAS a tawdry campy affair... BI2 is a step up in terms of acting and storyline, if only the director had taken the violence and sex up a notch as well

Emmanuelle 5 is Polish surrealist Walerian Borowczyk's penultimate theatrical feature, a film who's merits are hotly debated among cult and art film lovers. Some see the movie as nothing more than a commercial sell-out, others as an interesting addition to his body of work. It's also the last quality entry of the official Emmanuelle franchise. Adding to the confusion is the fact that there are at least three versions: the theatrical European version, the heavily edited US version (including new scenes produced by Roger Corman!), and a European home video version including extra hard-core scenes that feature none of the principal cast.

This time round Emmanuelle is portrayed by Monique Gabrielle, who is, in a jarring change, a bleach blonde American actress. Never mind that the character is supposed to be French, it kind of works, mainly because Ms. Gabrielle has the sense to play the role with just the right nod and wink. And while no actress came close to Sylvia Kristel's beauty, charm and class, Monique makes the role her own. Since the film dispenses with any previous character back story, here she portrays Emmanuelle as a single, free-spirited woman who makes erotic art- films and runs a dance studio out of her beloved loft in Paris.

The movie opens with a "Lifestyles of the Rich and Famous" style montage of Cannes, with a documentary-like narration giving us an overview of the famous film festival held there every year. It seems Emmanuelle is premiering her latest film, Love Express, in Cannes... causing a scandal in the process. In fact, we first see her in this film within a film, in a beautifully shot sequence on a set of craggy rocks overlooking the roaring ocean. At a press conference later, she must defend her film to close-minded reporters who accuse her of creating pornography. It's all obviously a reference to Borowczyk's own experiences at the very same festival. After the Q&A, Emmanuelle's producer, a smarmy French type, introduces her to Prince Rajid, a wealthy sheik who own's the fictional Arab country of Benglagistan. He's apparently obsessed with Emmanuelle and wants to premiere the film in his homeland.

Outside, an adoring throng of male fans awaits Emmanuelle, all desperate for a touch of the famed beauty. Things quickly escalate and soon the mob is stripping her of every last article of clothing, sending her jumping onto a stranger's departing boat for safety. Her unwitting saviour is Charles D. Foster, a nerdy, but handsome young millionaire who disapproves of Emmanuelle's erotic films. Sparks fly, and before you know it, love is in the air. Is a happy ending in the works? Perhaps, but not before a journey back onto the Love Express and Prince Rajid kidnaps Emmanuelle, putting her in his harem.

The version most people know is the English language American edit (which in addition to the new Corman scenes also utilizes Borowczyk's outtakes), perhaps the reason Emmanuelle 5 is dismissed by some. The new scenes, while amusing, just don't gel with the traditional European style that people expect from Emmanuelle films. While the original release of Emmanuelle 5 certainly doesn't lack a sense of humor, Corman's New Horizon version goes over the top with campy 80s comedy, seeming more like a companion to Bachelor Party (also starring Ms. Gabrielle) and other films of that ilk. It's also clumsily edited - the transition between film quality is jarring. What they attempt is admirable (give the story more cohesion, tighten the pacing), but apparently they didn't even bother doing a final film print edit, it was all put together on 3/4 video with a series of bad fade-ins and bleeds. Apparently they opted for a quick home video release and couldn't be bothered to finish it off right. This version is also only available in a terrible full-screen DVD transfer.

If you can track down a copy of Borowczyk's original theatrical edit of Emmanuelle 5, do so. It's a smart, interesting film well worth owning, and has a lot more going for it than Monique Gabrielle's bare breasts.