Movie Reviews: Wicked Woman

Wicked Woman

directed by Russell Rouse

This is a 1953 B-Movie that is somewhere between film noir and seedy crime drama. At seventy-seven minutes, Wicked Woman is a fast moving short film without deep character dives and long exposition. You will recognize the characters from other movies but more importantly from real life. Life is full of people for whom things didn't quite work out as planned. 

Sometimes even successful people learn that they are missing other important facets of life. So depending on how you view this, you may find the characters underdeveloped or as I did, reminders of people I've known or otherwise encountered through life.

The film has a realistic appreciation of the motivations of certain men and women and how both genders seek advantages. I was surprised at the film's sexual frankness and its occasional nods to the supposed unfairness of gender roles, here voiced by a wife who sees herself as a martyr, though she might be just as big of a jerk as everyone else.

Music Reviews: Debra Devi: Jamification Station Volume 1

Debra Devi
Jamification Station Volume 1

Decades ago I used to agree with some classical or jazz musical snobs (critics and musicians) that live performances without any overdubs were the "real" measure of talent because after all as everyone knew, overdubs were only used to show off unnecessarily or fix mistakes. If you really were about your business you would bring it live. 

This was of course bulls***!  

Any talented musician, composer, or performer will make you recognize his or her skill regardless of the tools or environment that he or she uses. However I do enjoy listening to live music. There's still something special to me about hearing musicians perform in real time with no net.

With the onset of the Covid Pandemic the singer and musician Debra Devi wasn't as able to perform live at concerts as she had previously. Undeterred, she and her band created a number of weekly livestream concerts, some of which Devi recently produced and released as the EP Jamification Station Volume 1. No overdubs, no retakes-what you hear is how it was.

Movie Reviews: The Satanic Rites Of Dracula

The Satanic Rites Of Dracula
directed by Alan Gibson

This movie is a sequel to the oft unintentionally hilarious Dracula AD 1972, which imagined a Dracula transported to the London of the eponymous year, surrounded by swinging mods and hippies. Dracula AD 1972 tried and horribly failed to update the Dracula story for a contemporary audience. On the other hand Hammer's standards by then had relaxed enough to include a truly tremendous amount of cleavage, which was probably the movie's only redeeming feature for those who appreciate such things. 

Probably the film's biggest problem, besides the bad acting, derivative soundtrack, and inadvertent humor was that Dracula was still restricted to Gothic settings inside the movie. So it felt as if Dracula AD 1972 were really two movies spliced together, and not in a good way.

The Satanic Rites of Dracula, though a sequel, imagines a very different England (and London) than the previous movie. Here, everything is gray, lifeless, and somber instead of bright and musical. The people doing stupid short sighted things are not callow youths looking for excitement but rather some of England's most important politicians and businessmen.

Movie Reviews: Dracula, Prince of Darkness

Dracula, Prince of Darkness
directed by Terence Fisher

This sixties Hammer film was a direct sequel to Hammer's initial Dracula film though there had been a Dracula film before this one that actually didn't have the titular character included. Although this film was made in 1966 it was still very much of a piece with Hammer's more sedate fifties gothic movies. There wasn't much cleavage (actually one of the lead actresses was famous for always refusing to show much flesh on camera) or any nudity. 

By the standards of today and even the standards of what Hammer would permit in just five years or so there wasn't even that much violence. Christopher Lee, who played the eponymous villain, was allegedly already starting to lose interest in the character and supposedly refused to say any of the dialogue written. The director and writer disputed Lee's assertion, saying that no dialogue had been written for Dracula anyway.

The special effects were minimal, being limited to fangs, contact lenses, and a vampire being brought back from Hell. Still, although by today's standards this film would be rated a mild PG at worst, it still managed to be scary through judicious use of lighting, anticipation, music, quiet, space and settings.

Movie Reviews: The Irishman

The Irishman
directed by Martin Scorsese

Although the director Martin Scorsese has directed and created a wide variety of films (twenty five fictional films and almost as many documentaries), he's probably best known for many entertaining and provoking movies depicting Mafia life. Arguably, Scorsese has created a Mafia themed film tetralogy with the movies Mean Streets, Goodfellas, Casino, and The Irishman. 

The Irishman came out a few years ago. For whatever reason I only recently watched it. It's not Scorsese's best film but it might be one of his most moral and thoughtful. It should be Scorsese's Mafia cycle denouement. Scorsese's other Mafia films are fire, with dangerous hotheads and sudden eruptions of lust or violence.

The Irishman is the polar opposite. It's ice. Most characters are understated, quiet, and unemotional. People make such oblique threats that the viewer may be unaware that someone's life or wellbeing is in grave danger. 

Movie Reviews: Detroit 9000

Detroit 9000

directed by Arthur Marks

This is an early seventies film noir that was masquerading as a blaxploitation film that was masquerading as a cop buddy film. It had a lot in common with Across 110th  Street. The film was unusual because not only was it set in Detroit, it also was shot in Detroit. 

Often filmmakers then and now use Cleveland or Toronto as stand-ins for Detroit. I hate that. So I enjoyed watching this movie and recognizing so many buildings and areas. Sacred Heart Seminary, which was just down the street from my childhood home, has an brief appearance.

Obviously many buildings from 1973 Detroit no longer exist in 2022 but there are some left. People don't realize it but Detroit had (and still has) many beautiful buildings and homes in a variety of architectural styles, including but not limited to Baroque, neo-Gothic, Romanesque, Art Deco, Victorian, and Art-Moderne. There's a glory, majesty, and beauty to these older buildings. 

Movie Reviews: Primal Fear

Primal Fear

directed by Gregory Hoblit

This is an entertaining older (1996) legal thriller/noir murder mystery that has a number of twists, some of which were immediately apparent, others of which were not. 

Watching it you might say that many of the seven deadly sins (Lust, Gluttony, Greed, Sloth, Wrath, Envy, and Pride) drove the characters and situations described. 

Primal Fear was also actor Edward Norton's debut. Norton held his own against more experienced actors. I thought Norton was probably a few years too old to be 100% believable in his role as an altar boy but there are different customs on this.