JOHN CARPENTER Goes to Mars

EYES OF LAURA MARS and GHOSTS OF MARS

Review by Tiger the Terrible😼

Throughout his career, John Carpenter had a fairly cantankerous relationship with Hollywood. With the possible exception of The Thing, most would agree his best films were those he made independently, with considerably more creative freedom. So while these two Blu-ray releases from Mill Creek Entertainment aren't the greatest things to bare his name, they make interesting bookends to Carpenter’s tumultuous tenure within the studio system.

EYES OF LAURA MARS

Starring Faye Dunaway, Tommy Lee Jones, Brad Dourif, Rene Auberjonois, Raul Julia, Darlanne Fluegel. Directed by Irvin Kershner. (1978/104 min).

On Blu-ray from MILL CREEK ENTERTAINMENT

On Blu-ray for the first time, Eyes of Laura Mars is almost like opening up a time capsule.

Released just-prior to his landmark Halloween, Carpenter didn’t actually direct this one, but wrote an early draft of the screenplay, later reworked by David Zelag Goodman. While it provided Carpenter his first real credit in a major studio picture, it’s obvious he had little creative input beyond the initial draft.

Faye Dunaway plays the titular character, a famous fashion photographer whose work consists of controversial images containing kinky violence. Then someone starts killing those close to her, and each time, Laura is able to witness these murders - as they’re occurring - through the killer’s eyes. Detective John Neville (Tommy Lee Jones) is on-hand to investigate the murders (and eventually hop in the sack with Laura).

Road Rage in the '70s.

Despite its supernatural premise, Eyes of Laura Mars is not-so-much a horror movie as it is an exercise in disco-era excess, with far less attention paid to its story elements than the wardrobe, soundtrack and Laura’s silly S&M-tinged photo shoots. The identity of the killer will come as a complete surprise, mainly because the film is stuffed with red herrings without providing a single real clue. Carpenter's name may be among the credits, but nothing else he'd become famous for.

Still, Dunaway is good in one of her last substantial roles during her reign as a leading lady, while its kitschy aesthetics serve as an amusing glimpse into the past.

EXTRA KIBBLES

AUDIO COMMENTARY – By Director Irvin Kershner.

GHOSTS OF MARS

Starring Ice Cube, Natasha Henstridge, Jason Statham, Clea DuVall, Pam Grier, Joanna Cassidy, Richard Cetrone. (2001/98 min).

On Blu-ray from MILL CREEK ENTERTAINMENT

On the other end of the spectrum, Ghosts of Mars is the last Carpenter film backed by a major studio (and he’s directed only one more since). It was a box office flop when released and regarded by many fans as one of his worst films. Even today, it doesn’t enjoy the cult status of his other work.

While it isn’t great, Ghost of Mars is not his worst (I’d say Village of the Damned and Memoirs of an Invisible Man tie for that dubious distinction). In fact, now that the Martian dust has settled and initial expectations have long-since been dashed, perhaps a bit of reassessment is in order.

As a longtime Carpenter fan, I, too, was massively disappointed at first, especially after hearing it began life as another Snake Plissken sequel. But watching again after all these years, knowing what to expect, Ghosts of Mars isn’t without its virtues. First of all, the film has an absolutely killer soundtrack. Featuring Carpenter and a variety of hard rock heavyweights (including Steve Vai and members of Anthrax), the abrasive, industrial-tinged score perfectly suits the action. Speaking of which, the film may not be has atmospheric as Carpenter’s best work, but at least this movie moves, with plenty of close-quarters combat and bloody violence.

Ice Cube welcomes the new neighbors.

While the performances are merely adequate, Ice Cube is entertaining as Desolation Williams, even though we suspect he isn’t really trying all that hard. And I have to say there are a few gags - depicting the utter stupidity of Williams’ gang – that are as funny as anything Carpenter ever created for his other films.

As a writer-director, it does feel like Carpenter is simply going through the motions at this point in his career. Ghost of Mars remains one of his lesser films, but I kind-of enjoyed it the second time around.

EXTRA KIBBLES

FEATURETTES - “Scoring Ghosts of Mars”; “Video Diary: Red Desert Nights”; “Special Effects Deconstructions”

AUDIO COMMENTARY – By Carpenter and Natasha Henstridge.

Eyes of Laura Mars marks John Carpenter’s inauspicious introduction to Hollywood, while Ghost of Mars stands as his nadir, after he’s been chewed up and spit out by the system. In between, of course, are all the cult classics that bare his name. Neither of these two films are essential, but rather interesting from a historical perspective, especially for Carpenter completists. 

KITTY CONSENSUS:

NOT BAD. LIKE CAT CHOW.

(Applies to both films) 

Discover THE BIG CLOCK

Starring Ray Milland, Charles Laughton, Maureen O’Sullivan, George Macready, Rita Johnson, Elsa Lanchester, Henry (Harry) Morgan. Directed by John Farrow. (1948/96 min).

On Blu-ray from ARROW ACADEMY

Review by Mr. Paws😻

One of the great things about this gig is the opportunity to catch older films I somehow never got around to. Even better is coming upon those that are seldom mentioned among the acknowledged classics and are completely new to me. But best of all, in the ten years I’ve been doing this, I’ve grown to appreciate vintage film noir.

As noir goes, The Big Clock isn’t a perfect fit – there’s too much breezy humor present for that – but has enough of the same inherent aesthetic and narrative stamps to draw favorable comparisons to the best the genre has to offer. It also happens to be a hell of an entertaining film.

Ray Milland is George Stroud, who, as the editor-in-chief of Crimeways magazine, is an expert at using clues and evidence to track-down suspects who’ve eluded the police. The publication is run by ruthless, time-obsessed mogul Earl Janoth (a wonderfully-repellent Charles Laughton), who expects George to yet-again postpone an oft-delayed honeymoon with his wife, Georgette (Maureen O’Sullivan). When George refuses, he’s fired. Stopping at a bar before he meets his wife for their honeymoon, he meets Pauline (Rita Sullivan), Janoth’s former mistress who suggests a blackmail scheme as payback. Unfortunately, George loses track of time and Georgette leaves without him. Angry that she wouldn’t wait, George spends the rest of the night drinking with Pauline, acquiring a sundial from a local dive bar along the way.

Ray recounts his visit to Hooters.

He awakens at Pauline’s apartment the next morning and makes a hasty exit just before Janoth shows up to speak with her. They see each other in the hall, but George is partially concealed, so he gets away unidentified. During a heated argument in the apartment, Janoth kills Pauline with the sundial. Rather than go to the police, he turns to his assistant, Steve (George Macready), who suggests they re-enlist George and his staff to lead an investigation, hoping to frame Pauline’s ‘mysterious’ visitor. It’s a brilliant set-up for an intriguing plot in which George and his staff are investigating his own actions that night, interviewing witnesses and following leads which threaten to expose him. George has no choice but to play along, trying to cover his own tracks while attempting to find the real killer himself.

The Big Clock is everything a good thriller should be: intelligent, suspenseful and engaging right from the opening scene. Speaking of which, that amazing initial tracking shot – revealing George on-the-run in his own office building – immediately creates dark urgency, hooking the viewer before flashing-back to establish its characters and sequence of events leading to that point. But the film is more than brooding film noir. It’s often very funny, some of the best bits coming from Elsa Lanchester as a wonderfully eccentric artist. In fact, most of the characters are well-rounded and perfectly cast.

None of it is especially deep, but it’s sure a lot of fun. Though The Big Clock may not be film noir in the purest sense, it's an exciting, fast-paced film laced with great comedic touches. As usual, Arrow has put together a first-time Blu-ray package with enough substantial and enlightening supplementary material to make this overlooked gem more than worth discovering.

EXTRA KIBBLES

"TURNING BACK THE CLOCK” - A detailed analysis/appreciation by critic Adrian Wootton.

"A DIFFICULT ACTOR” - Actor, theater director and Charles Laughton biographer Simon Callow provides an enthusiastic analysis of the actor’s impressive career. Quite eye-opening, at times.

AUDIO COMMENTARY – By Adrian Martin

LUX RADIO THEATER: THE BIG CLOCK – An hour-long radio broadcast, also featuring Ray Milland.

TRAILER

IMAGE GALLERY – 109 Production stills, 22 images of posters and press material.

SUPPLEMENTARY BOOKLET – Featuring “The Inner Workings of The Big Clock,” as essay by film writer Christina Newland (do NOT read it before watching the movie), film & disc production credits.

REVERSIBLE COVER ART

KITTY CONSENSUS:

MEE-OW! LIKE BEING TURNED LOOSE IN A BIRD SANCTUARY

Rest in Peace, Kip Niven

Kip Niven (1945-2019)

BACHMAN Almost Takes Care of Business

Featuring Randy Bachman, Tal Bachman, Lorelei Bachman, Fred Turner, Neil Young, Gary Bachman, Alex Lifeson, Peter Frampton, Chris Jericho. Directed by John Barnard. (2018/78 min).

On Blu-ray from FILMRISE/MVD VISUAL

Review by Fluffy the Fearless😺

I generally don’t review many music-related videos unless, a) it’s a feature-length documentary, b) I actually like the artist’s music, or c) said-artist gives me the nostalgic warm fuzzies. In the case of Bachman, all three apply.

Randy Bachman was a founding member of The Guess Who and Bachman-Turner Overdrive, making him one of the few artists to reach #1 on the Billboard Charts with two bands from different eras. As for me, the latter’s third album, Not Fragile, was one of the first records I ever spent my hard-earned allowance money on, and I played it incessantly. So of course a documentary of the man’s life and career would be of great interest. Bachman turns out to be a mixed bag, though.

The film nicely encapsulates Randy Bachman’s entire life, from his Winnipeg upbringing to the present day, where he’s working on a George Harrison tribute album. Bachman himself is interviewed, as are family members, friends and colleagues (including Fred Turner, who co-founded BTO). For the most part, he comes across as a nice guy and is held in high regard by some of his contemporaries, including Neil Young, Peter Frampton and Rush’s Alex Lifeson. More importantly, we learn quite a bit about him personally that has never been widely documented, such a life of clean living and his conversion to Mormonism (traits generally atypical of rock stars).

Randy finally gets a joke Fred told him...in 1974.

As a career retrospective, however, it often falls short. Bachman’s time with The Guess Who and BTO are unarguably the high-points of his lengthy career, but we learn relatively little about his time in either band. In fact, his years with The Guess Who are summarized in about 15 minutes and some of the most enduring hits he wrote for the band aren’t even mentioned. Most of us know Bachman found even greater fame with Fred Turner and BTO a few years later, though the film doesn’t even acknowledge Randy’s two younger brothers in the band. Granted, the film is about Randy, but the viewer isn’t made aware he even had younger brothers. One can’t help but think these omissions might be intentional (lingering bad blood, perhaps?). Instead, much of the film focuses on his post-BTO career. While it’s nice that he seems to be in a good place, this chapter of his life isn’t nearly as compelling, unless, of course, one is curious about what he’s been up to since the hits dried up.

Bachman is a congenial tribute to an artist revered as a legend in his home country of Canada, with plenty of archival clips and testimonials from those who know him well. It’s fairly enjoyable, but those who grew up on The Guess Who or BTO might be disappointed in how little the film focuses on Bachman’s most interesting years.

EXTRA KIBBLES

ADDITIONAL FOOTAGE - “Neil Young on Winnipeg”; “Randy’s Crazy Horse” (Featuring two young members of Bachman’s current band); “Building a Reprise” (Studio footage during the recording of Bachman’s tribute to George Harrison); “On Chords”; “Songwriting: ‘When No One Knows’”

TRAILER

KITTY CONSENSUS:

NOT BAD. LIKE CAT CHOW.

THE POOP SCOOP: Monsters, Madness & the Moon

TAP THE GATOR TO CHECK OUT THE TRAILER.

CRAWL in Theaters July 19

At FREE KITTENS MOVIE GUIDE, our two favorite genres have always been disaster movies and horror where animals attack people. Paramount’s upcoming thriller, Crawl, is both! This one is our Avengers Endgame, so it’s safe to say we’ll be there opening night. Director Alexandra Aja has made some good horror films in the past (Mirrors, Piranha 3D, The Hills Have Eyes), so this has the potential to be a gruesomely good time.

VIEW THE TRAILER

THAT WAY MADNESS LIES on DVD

An important film about somebody we at FREE KITTENS once knew. What do you do when your brother descends into a black hole of mental instability - starting with falling for a Nigerian email scam but eventually winding up involuntary committed into the hospital made famous by 'One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest'? Award-winning filmmaker Sandra Luckow unflinchingly turns her camera on her own family as they attempt to navigate the broken mental health system in an effort to save their brother, whose iPhone video diary ultimately becomes an unfiltered look at the mind of a man with untreated schizophrenia as well as an indictment of how the system failed. Available for rent or purchase on AMAZON and iTunes.

MOON launches onto 4K July 16

Commemorate the 50TH anniversary of the moon landing and the 10TH anniversary of a modern sci-fi classic when Duncan Jones’ MOON debuts on 4K Ultra HD and in 4K with HDR via participating Digital platforms from Sony Pictures Home Entertainment.  Oscar-winner Sam Rockwell (Best Supporting Actor 2017, Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri) stars as an astronaut miner extracting precious Helium 3 from the moon, a resource that promises to reverse Earth’s energy crisis .  As he nears the end of his three-year contract, he makes an ominous discovery… MOON is remastered in 4K with HDR and newly remixed with Dolby Atmos audio – both approved by Writer/Director Duncan Jones. The release also includes the original 5.1 theatrical audio mix. The all-new bonus material for the 4K Ultra HD release of MOON includes a retrospective conversation between Writer/Director Jones and entertainment journalist Joe Utichi, never-before-seen deleted scenes and a gallery of unique and compelling fan art posters, reflecting the film’s passion-driven cult status.  Also included are archival special features including two commentaries, Q&As and much more!

Prrrfect Trailers: BEYOND THE DOOR (1974)

BEYOND THE DOOR

Released in the U.S. on July 31, 1975

Starring Juliet Mills, Richard Johnson, Gabriele Lavia, Nino Segurini, Elizabeth Turner

Directed by Ovidio G. Assonitis

Italy’s Beyond the Door was little more than a blatant rip-off of The Exorcist, so much so that Warner Brothers filed a copyright infringement lawsuit (which they won). However, this TV spot for the film’s U.S. release was enough to terrify me when I was 11 years old. I finally saw the film years later as an adult and found it to be unintentionally-hilarious junk. Still, the trailer remains fairly chilling. See if you agree.

THE GRAND DUEL: A Fistful of Lee Van Cleef

Starring Lee Van Cleef, Alberto Dentice, Horst Frank, Marc Mazza, Klaus Grunberg, Antonio Casale, Dominique Daril. Directed by Giancarlo Santi. (1972/94 min).

On Blu-ray from ARROW VIDEO

Review by Mr. Paws😸

Like any respectable western fan, I hold Sergio Leone’s “Dollars” Trilogy in the highest regard. After all, they created the spaghetti western template and remain the standard by which all others are still judged. And of course, they made Clint Eastwood an international star.

The late, great Lee Van Cleef was in two of those films, For a Few Dollars More and The Good, the Bad & the Ugly, and with all due respect to Mr. Eastwood, I thought the characters played by Van Cleef were the best parts of both of them. The intensity needle dropped just a notch whenever he wasn’t on the screen, and in my humble opinion, he’s not in either film nearly enough.

The coolest thing about 1972’s The Grand Duel (on-screen title: The Big Showdown) is Van Cleef is almost the whole show here, bringing an abundance of his beloved badassery. The popularity – not-to-mention quality – of spaghetti westerns may have been on-the-wane at the time, but Van Cleef was always enjoyable in them. What renders The Grand Duel a cut above most of them is Van Cleef’s character, Sheriff Clayton, an ambiguously-motivated anti-hero not unlike Colonel Mortimer in For a Few Dollars More.

For reasons slowly made clear as the story unfolds, Clayton repeatedly saves Philip Wermeer (Alberto Dentice) from a variety of bounty hunters. Philip is wanted for the murder of Saxon City’s patriarch, Ebenezer Saxon, but claims he’s innocent, which Clayton is already aware of. Ebenezer’s three sons supposedly want to see him hang, but Philip, whose own father may have been murdered at the behest of the Saxons, is looking for a little payback of his own. It’s soon clear that the Saxons are actually more interested in making a political power grab involving a nearby silver mine that Philip’s father owned.

"No, Lee...I should NOT be dancing."

The plot itself ebbs and flows, as does the viewer’s overall interest in it. The Grand Duel works best when it focuses on the action, with scenes which range from intense & violent to intentionally silly. The same could be said about some of the characters. Van Cleef is his usual steely-eyed self, delivering each line with intimidating authority and dominating every scene he’s in. The Saxon boys make formidable protagonists, with Klaus Grunberg a stand-out as the repulsively sadistic Adam. The same can’t be said for Barry Gibb lookalike Dentice, whose overwrought performance grows increasingly irritating.

The Grand Duel is directed by frequent Leone collaborator Giancarlo Santi. He may not have the master’s touch – or budget – but shows he’s learned a thing or two along the way. Though story itself ain’t much, the film is fast-moving, fun and occasionally quite funny, with Van Cleef’s charisma to keep it all together.

Like their recent release of Keoma, Arrow Video has put together a comprehensive Blu-ray for this one, with a great transfer and abundance of bonus features (outlined below), making this a good pick-up for spaghetti western lovers.

EXTRA KIBBLES

INTERVIEWS – Included are several all-new – and lengthy – individual interviews with director Giancarlo Santi, screenwriter Ernesto Gastaldi, actor Alberto Dentice (who plays Philip), producer Ettore Rosbach, Assistant Director Harald Buggenig. Alberto’s is the most interesting as he discusses his early ‘hippy’ days leading up to being cast. Santi, on the other hand, can’t seem to complete one anecdote before moving on to another.

“SAXON CITY SHOWDOWN” - An appreciation of The Grand Duel by Austin Fisher, who knows his stuff.

AUDIO COMMENTARY – By Stephen Prince

“MARC MAZZA: WHO WAS THE RIDER ON THE RAIN?” - Mike Malloy narrates an amusing video essay about bit-part character actor Marc Mazza, who plays one of the nasty Saxon brothers.

“GAME OVER” - A sci-fi short from 1984 starring Marc Mazza (what’s everyone’s fascination with this guy?). Strange but interesting.

ENGLISH AND ITALIAN VERSIONS

2 TRAILERS

IMAGE GALLERIES – Featuring a variety of promotional material.

SUPPLEMENTARY BOOKLET – Featuring a fine essay by author/historian Kevin Grant, a collection of contemporary reviews.

REVERSIBLE COVER ART

KITTY CONSENSUS:

PURR-R-R...LIKE A GOOD SCRATCH BEHIND THE EARS

The Good ‘n’ Bad of WHAT MEN WANT

Starring Taraji P. Henson, Tracy Morgan, Aldis Hodge, Wendi McLendon-Covey, Josh Brenner, Tamala Jones, Phoebe Robinson, Max Greenfield, Erykah Badu, Brian Bosworth, Auston Jon Moore, Shane Paul McGhie. Directed by Adam Shankman. (2019/117 min).

On Blu-ray from PARAMOUNT

Review by Stinky the Destroyer😺

Taraji P. Henson is an interesting actress. Whether her characters are assertive or reserved, strong or vulnerable, bitchy or congenial, she regularly delivers convincing performances. And whether she’s the star, supporting character or part of an ensemble, Henson tends to stand out (in a good way). She’s even rendered bad films at-least watchable. Well, maybe not Acrimony.

It’s nice to see Henson finally getting her due as an A-lister and What Men Want seems tailor-made for her, which is both a good and a bad thing.

It’s a good thing because this gender-switched remake of What Women Want allows her to demonstrate her considerable comedic talents as Ali Davis, an abrasive, headstrong sports agent whose sudden ability to hear all men’s thoughts turns her life upside-down. At first, she uses it to her advantage as she tries to sign a young NBA hopeful. But later, when it begins to complicate her life and relationships, Davis begins to engage in the usual self-reflection that comes with movies like this.

Yes...monsters do live under the bed.

It’s also a bad thing because the film itself coasts almost entirely on the performances of Henson and her co-stars. What Men Want is the working definition of formulaic. There isn’t a single character we haven’t seen before, nor one plot turn we don’t see coming from miles away, much like the original (though, as the trailers suggest, this one is far raunchier).

But that doesn’t mean the film doesn’t have some great moments, mostly thanks to the cast (Henson, in particular). After a woefully shaky opening act, the film improves considerably once Ali awakens from a blow to the head with her new ability, leading to some hilarious situations. None of it is particularly clever – or surprising – but the film is generally funny enough that one might forgive the deja vu that hangs over every scene.

Just like the original was a form-fitted vehicle to cash in on Mel Gibson’s charisma, What Men Want does likewise for Taraji P. Henson. As such, it delivers exactly as expected, though nothing more. We’ve seen it all before, but for the most part, the film is congenial, undemanding fun. However, you should probably put the kids to bed, first.

EXTRA KIBBLES

FEATURETTES - “The Dream Team”; “Flipping the Narrative”; “Poker Night” (focus on a key scene in the film); “Ali + Athletes” (there are a lot of cameos by real-life pro athletes); “What Do Men Want?” (an amusing set of responses by cast & crew).

"SISTER SPILLS THE TEA” - A fake infomercial featuring Erykah Badu

AUDIO COMMENTARY – By Director Adam Shankman

DELETED/EXTENDED SCENES

GAG REEL - Of course.

DVD & DIGITAL COPIES

KITTY CONSENSUS:

NO SURPRISES, BUT NOT BAD.

Rest in Peace, Peter Mayhew

Peter Mayhew (1944-2019)

What is LEVEL 16?

Starring Katie Douglas, Celina Martin, Sara Canning, Peter Outerbridge. Directed by Danishka Esterhazy. (2018/102 min).

On Blu-ray from DARK SKY FILMS

Review by Fluffy the Fearless😸

While Level 16 has the look and feel of a dystopian film, it doesn’t quite qualify as science-fiction. And despite being occasionally creepy, it isn’t really a horror film, either. But it does walk a narrative path frequently taken by both genres.

The Vestalis Academy is a boarding school where girls are raised and taught the virtues of cleanliness and purity, with the hopes of someday being placed with families once they graduate. However, anyone who questions authority, deviates from the school’s rigid daily routine (which includes taking their daily 'vitamins') or displays unclean behavior (such as anger) are severely disciplined. We never actually see any punishment, but it's apparently brutal enough to keep everyone fearful and submissive.

The story opens with Vivian and Sophia, two friends residing at Level 10 (Vestalis' "levels" correspond with the girls' ages). When Vivian tries to cover for a mistake made by Sophia, she’s dragged away. Fast-forward a few years and both are at Level 16, though no longer friends. Vivian (Katie Douglas) still hasn’t forgiven Sophia (Celina Martin) for betraying her, and asserts herself as the ‘top girl’ in the new dorm. Level 16 is the final stage before supposedly being placed with an adoptive family.

Level 16's Beer Pong champion.

Right from the get-go, the viewer is certain Vestalis Academy isn’t a school at all, but that doesn’t necessarily make it predictable. Ruthless headmistress Miss Brixil (Sara Canning) and outwardly-empathetic Dr. Miro (Peter Outerbridge) have a more ominous agenda which I won’t reveal here. Despite a deliberate pace, writer-director Danishka Esterhazy does a fine job keeping our attention with interesting character conflicts, effectively stark production design and some dread-inducing moments. Whether Esterhazy’s big revelation is shocking or underwhelming depends on how many movies you’ve seen, but as they say, sometimes the journey is more important than the destination. Part of the fun of this one is discovering the school’s real purpose right along with Vivian.

Anchored by decent performances by a mostly young-adult cast, Level 16 is atmospheric and enjoyable enough that it can be forgiven for essentially being an extended Twilight Zone episode (though ultimately more gruesome). Considering its limited budget, this is a creative spin on a familiar concept. Not quite sci-fi or horror, fans of those genres still might want to check it out.

EXTRA KIBBLES

MAKING OF FEATURETTE

INTERVIEWS – Lengthy interviews with each principle cast member, including a 30 minute discussion with Writer/Director Danishka Esterhazy.

TRAILER

KITTY CONSENSUS: 

NOT BAD. LIKE CAT CHOW.