Deranged (1974)

Countdown to Halloween: October 13, 2011
Source: Netflix Instant Play

This wasn’t all that great. The narration was kind of stupid, and the story has been done way better since 1974, so this didn’t phase me much. Sure, the guy was completely nuts, and creepy to boot, but not in a scary way, if that makes any sense. He was just kind of icky. And I think it’s totally weird how nobody suspected him. Did nobody notice that graves had been dug up? Were there only half a dozen people in the town that nobody noticed anything weird? Well, that was of course until Mary, but even so, Ezra would certainly have been a suspect.

I just think there were way too many plot holes here. Too many plot holes, and not enough gore.

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Jaws (1975)

Date Watched: April 2, 2011
Source: Netflix Instant Play

Did I miss something?

This has been a classic movie for no less than a skillion years. Or at least, 36. But I don’t really get why.

Okay, there was a shark where he shouldn’t be. And they weren’t equipped to really deal with it. And the shark happened to be a little bit smart. And the mayor wouldn’t spend any money. And people died.

So what? Maybe it’s because I haven’t gone into a natural body of water that wasn’t artificially lined with some sort of tile or concrete in a sweet forever that I’ve kind of forgotten how terrifying it is. I mean, that IS why I won’t swim in a lake or ocean or whatever. Not necessarily sharks, but creatures in general. And actually, my fear of the ocean is way more about jellyfish than sharks.

But this just wasn’t scary. Shwam lists it as one of her all-time favorite horror movies. Personally, I would rather watch Shark Week.

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Dog Day Afternoon (1975)

Date Watched: January 3, 2011
Source: Netflix

Love it.

Poor, misguided Sonny means well. He’s a smart guy, but he’s got a heart that’s too big to pull off a bank robbery. He has a conscience, and despite his staunch opposition to the treatment of the public by authorities (ATTICA! ATTICA!), he still doesn’t want to hurt anybody. He just wants to make everyone happy and keep his promises. He wants his gay lover Leon to get his sex change operation. He wants his wife, Angela, and their two children to be protected from his other relationship. He wants his partner in the robbery, Sal, to stay alive and out of jail after it’s all over. He wants his mother to stay home and out of harm’s way.

So, Sonny tries to rob a bank in order to pay for the operation. But he’s too soft; basic human needs are too important to him. So the robbery goes wrong. Because of that, Angela finds out about him, his mother shows up in the midst of all this to beg him to stop, and Sal… well…

Even though this is a true story and really happened in Brooklyn back in the early 70s, I won’t give away the ending.

But what I will say is that all the actors are superb. His mother is your typical Brooklyn Italian mother, and his wife is your typical Brooklyn Italian wife. As for Pacino… there’s not much to say except that none of his other movie performances live up to his portrayal of Sonny. That’s not to say anything negative about all his other performances. That’s to say how amazing his work is in this film.

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Superfly (1972)

Date Watched: November 20, 2010
Source: Netflix Instant Play

Remember that episode of Family Guy when Peter wishes he had his own theme music? And then every time he went anywhere or did anything, he had appropriate theme music? Well, Peter only wishes he could have the funky theme music that Youngblood Priest had.

That’s right, I said Youngblood Priest.

Yes, that was the name of the main character in this movie.

But honestly, if you look at the cover art, you’ll understand exactly why the name is so outlandish. And then it won’t be outlandish anymore. It’ll make perfect sense.

And then you’ll wish you had lapels that mean.

Anyway, Curtis Mayfield’s music is really what makes this movie absolutely great. Obviously, it’s lame scripting and lame acting, but the music — OH, the music. It’s so… so… FUNKY. That’s it. It’s funky. I watched this movie on Friday and I’ve been singing “Pusherman” to myself all weekend. Which gets kind of interesting since I’ve nearly caught myself singing the line “I’m yo nigga in the alley, I’m your pusherman” in public. Let’s think for a second, in my rather “urban” neighborhood, what would happen if the blonde-haired, blue-eyed girl said “nigga” out loud in public. Or better yet, the boyfriend with the shaved head and boots, who’s also been singing it to himself, if he were to say it out loud in public. Go ahead. Chew on that for a minute.

But damn. This movie is… FUNKY. Do they make any other adjectives?

Happenin’?

Far Out?

Fab?

Ace?

Bitchin’?

Blazin’?

It’s bad my friends. Reeeeeeal bad. (‘Cause you know, “bad” means “good”.)

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The Warriors (1979)

Date Watched: October 26, 2010
Source: Netflix Instant Play

This was great. There were so many cheesetastically excellent things about this movie. First off, there is no way you’ll ever convince me that gangs in the late 70s dressed that way. Especially the baseball players. Who the hell is going to take you seriously when you’re wearing a baseball uniform and a brightly painted face? Thugs on rollerskates? Really? Second, the acting was so ridiculous. The Lizzy gang especially, I think. And, it’s so hard to believe people actually spoke that way at one point. There was so much jive talk my head was spinning.

What I will say, aside from the cheese, is that the fight scenes were definitely very well done. The chase scenes weren’t bad either. I just really enjoyed pretty much everything about this movie for one reason or another.

Can you dig?

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#1: The Exorcist (1973)

There is absolutely not one bad thing you can say about this movie. It’s scary as hell, no matter how old the movie gets. The score is incredible; “Tubular Bells” is probably one of the greatest, most chilling compositions in existence. Linda Blair is absolutely incredible as Regan. The imagery is haunting. The gore is gratuitous but warranted. Everything about this movie is just an amazing example about true, scary, timeless horror.

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21 Hours at Munich (1976)

Date Watched: October 16, 2010
Source: Netflix Instant Play

I didn’t even know this happened… but hey, I was born in 1983 after all.

This movie was so good it made me want to look up different sources about what really happened, and look into other films made about the events of that day.

I guess that’s about all you can say. The actors were great, of course, especially Franco Nero as the lead terrorist. But ultimately, if you can say that a film encouraged you to learn more, that’s the best it can do, no?

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The Godfather: Part II (1974)

Date Watched: September 4, 2010
Source: Netflix Instant Play

This is pretty much on par with the first film. I loved watching Michael as a full-fledged Don. He is ruthless, yet fair. He is vicious, yet cool as a cucumber. He is honest, yet incredibly deceitful. Scary, but calming. It’s truly amazing.

I am well aware that it took me almost a week to write a pretty fail review, but again, this is a classic. What else do I have to add? Just my sheer adoration will suffice.

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The Godfather (1972)

Date Watched: September 4, 2010
Source: Netflix Instant Play

I can’t actually sit here and “review” this, so… list!

• I actually had no idea how little Marlon Brando is in this film.
• The horse’s head scene was even better than I thought it would be.  I felt like taking a shower afterward.
• How awesome was the fight scene between Sonny and his sister’s husband?  I can’t decide which I like better… that one, or the scene in Goodfellas when Henry beats Karen’s neighbor with the pistol.  Both of them were pretty darned funny.
• Guess who never wants to go through a toll booth ever again?  Yeah.  That’d be me
• Al Pacino was scrumptious in this movie.
• Appollonia was gorgeous.  I loved her wedding dress.  And I was SO.  PISSED.  when she… well, when that thing happened to her.  (Just in case there might be some other human out there who hasn’t seen this movie yet).
• The scene in the very beginning with the old guy singing in Italian at Vito’s daughter’s wedding was hysterical.
• I felt really bad for poor Luca Brasi.  He was such a dope, and the whimpering during… well, that thing… made me sad.  Poor guy.
• How freaking amazing was Michael’s transformation from meek war hero, distanced from the family business, to being the Don?  Incredible.  Pacino truly is the master.

There’s so much more I could say, but I think I might have been the last person in civilization who hadn’t seen The Godfather, so I’m not saying anything you all don’t already know.  But DAMN what a terrific 3 hours.

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Suspiria (1977)

Date Watched: August 22, 2010
Source: Netflix Instant Play

This was so hard for me. I wanted to love this movie. I really did.

First, the settings were awesome. Okay, the lighting in the school was completely unrealistic, but it was visually pretty cool. Problem is, if you don’t buy into something as simple as the lighting being crazy LCD-trip colors, it’s hard to take enough stock in the whole thing for the movie to be scary. The school itself was gorgeous, and even though it was gaudy as all get-out, I loved the velvet walls.

Anyway, the music was fantabulistic. Totally creepy and awesome. It was the biggest redeemer for this film. The problem here, for me, is that there were significantly creepy parts, but not enough of them and there were huge, blah chunks in between. The last few minutes was great though.

I really wanted to love this movie. I loved the music though, so for me, that was worth the watch.

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