Kanopy Recs

[dookeyXXX]

I was scanning the Newly Added Movies list on Kanopy, and saw, wait really???, DANGEROUS MEN. Wow, if you like bad movies you're in for a treat. Here's my review, recycled from years ago:


I had the pleasure of watching DANGEROUS MEN last night. It's sort of THE ROOM meets I SPIT ON YOUR GRAVE, though with more action than the former, and more entertaining (and less stomach-turning) than the latter. DANGEROUS MEN joins THE ROOM, TROLL 2, and BIRDEMIC in the canon of earnest, ineptly executed passion project films by inexperienced and clueless foreign-turned-American auteurs.

The director (and editor, musician, casting guy, etc etc), John Rad (like the other above-mentioned films other than BIRDEMIC, he used a pseudonym), a former propaganda videographer for the Shah of Iran (and now deceased), spent a couple of decades filming and editing this amazing piece of dreck.

I'll now lay out the plot for you (this isn't what I would call a SPOILER, because no one should come to DANGEROUS MEN for its storytelling): Loving couple is introduced; they're newly engaged, and they go to the beach to be extra special romantic. A couple of biker gang types decide to do some rape, but boyfriend kills one of them, remaining biker kills him, and then she kills other biker. Hitchhiking away from the scene, another guy tries to rape her, but she's too badass for him as well. She then decides to go missing and be a ruthless killer of assorted scumball men. Meanwhile, her brother, a cop, wants to find her and pursue the evil biker gang who it seems had something to do with her disappearance. Brother, in tracking them down, comes upon another attempted rape, and uses captured rapist to lead them to the ultimate bad biker guy for the film's final showdown.

Even though the original rapists are long since dead, and dearest sis has become an infamous serial killer.

In the final scene (right after an amazing chase sequence which manages to repeat about 90 seconds of itself, bad dialog included, oops), ultimate bad guy biker, while being chased by cop, (you know what, this one may qualify as a SPOILER, because it's really that stupid, so maybe skip to the next paragraph or whatever), takes a time-out to try to rape somebody.

So yeah, anyway, it's a pretty great terrible movie. Not as essential as THE ROOM (what is?), but so-bad-it's-good fans won't be disappointed.

I still haven’t gotten up the nerve/courage/motivation/excitement to see The Room.
I kinda wanna see it with a large audience rather than in the quiet and comfort of my home, as the former is usually the best way to experience bad movies (I am also a bit leery of all the hype Tje Room has accumulated over the years and fear it might not live up to it…

[bobz]

You haven't seen THE ROOM? You're tearing me apart, Dookey!

I am also a bit leery of all the hype Tje Room has accumulated over the years and fear it might not live up to it…

Indeed, it might not. The Room is more a slow-burn WTF than a dynamically bad movie; its genre, after all, is Soap Opera. It's a classic, though.

[dookeyXXX]

You haven't seen THE ROOM? You're tearing me apart, Dookey!



Indeed, it might not. The Room is more a slow-burn WTF than a dynamically bad movie; its genre, after all, is Soap Opera. It's a classic, though.

[dookeyXXX]

THE WANDERERS
Wow.
Not sure why it’s taken me so long to see this classic.
It’s a fantastic film mashing up a wide variety of genres (coming-of-age, inner city melodrama, high school comedy, and more) in a variety of visual styles; while it’s pretty standard looking, there are these weird moments of almost nightmarish surrealism throughout.
The cast is stellar, and it’s kind of sad and confusing that most of them are either dead or retired or just kind of disappeared altogether.
Highly recommended!

RIYL
The Outsiders, The Warriors, Streets of Fire, Animal House

[dookeyXXX]

THE NAVIGATOR: A MEDIEVAL ODYSSEY
While It’s been quite some time since I’ve watched this film, I remember it being really cool and kinda blowing my mind.
I am pretty sure I saw it in the theater back in the late 1980s/early 1990s either with my folks at a long gone arthouse in Berkeley (The Rialto on Gilman Street) or at another now defunct arthouse when I was in college in San Luis Obispo (The Rainbow).
Wherever and whenever it was that I saw it, it blew my mind and left a lasting impression on me, not to mention further forming my taste in movies.
Not sure how it holds up today, but my memory of it is that it was really cool.
For some reason I always lump it in with Luc Besson’s early classics Le Dernier Combat and Subway, as well as Stephen Norrington’s The Last Minute, and Alan Parker’s Birdy and The Wall (David Lowery’s The Green Knight feels like it’s a descendant, too) in that it has this kind of strange neo-surrealism to it.
At any rate, I feel that it’s definitely worth a watch.

[Mike Pow]

THE WANDERERS
Wow.
Not sure why it’s taken me so long to see this classic.
It’s a fantastic film mashing up a wide variety of genres (coming-of-age, inner city melodrama, high school comedy, and more) in a variety of visual styles; while it’s pretty standard looking, there are these weird moments of almost nightmarish surrealism throughout.
The cast is stellar, and it’s kind of sad and confusing that most of them are either dead or retired or just kind of disappeared altogether.
Highly recommended!

RIYL
The Outsiders, The Warriors, Streets of Fire, Animal House

On regular repeat in my house

The book is excellent too

[fomofo]

THE WANDERERS
Wow.
Not sure why it’s taken me so long to see this classic.
It’s a fantastic film mashing up a wide variety of genres (coming-of-age, inner city melodrama, high school comedy, and more) in a variety of visual styles; while it’s pretty standard looking, there are these weird moments of almost nightmarish surrealism throughout.
The cast is stellar, and it’s kind of sad and confusing that most of them are either dead or retired or just kind of disappeared altogether.
Highly recommended!

RIYL
The Outsiders, The Warriors, Streets of Fire, Animal House

Coincidentally the day you posted this I was looking for something in a film festival archive, and came across this in the 1979 guide...



BTW, Triangle of Sadness is now streaming on Kanopy. Watched it over the weekend. Great stuff, and of course brought to mind its forebear Swept Away. (The original, not the abysmal Madonna remake.)

[dookeyXXX]

Coincidentally the day you posted this I was looking for something in a film festival archive, and came across this in the 1979 guide...



BTW, Triangle of Sadness is now streaming on Kanopy. Watched it over the weekend. Great stuff, and of course brought to mind its forebear Swept Away. (The original, not the abysmal Madonna remake.)

I have been to that theater, way back before it was part of the Cinemark/Century chain (the original Banana Republic store used to be next door, too).

And, yes, TOS is worthy of a watch. One of my favorite films of 2022.

Have never seen the original Swept Away, but saw the Madonna version years ago on late night TV and didn’t think it was as bad as all the criticism said it was (of course my opinion may shift after watching the original).

[fomofo]

Have never seen the original Swept Away, but saw the Madonna version years ago on late night TV and didn’t think it was as bad as all the criticism said it was (of course my opinion may shift after watching the original).

The original Swept Away is on Kanopy too.

[dookeyXXX]

The original Swept Away is on Kanopy too.

Added to my queue.
Plus, I enjoyed director Lina Wertmuller’s Seven Beauties, so I am mildly familiar with her work…

[dookeyXXX]

Plugging this film twice (it’s also available on Prime) as it’s the best thing I’ve seen this week (and one of the best films I’ve watched this year, too).

THE CAPTAIN
This is a rather surprising turn from screenwriter/director Robert Schwentke, who is best known for helming glossy, big budget (and often mediocre) Hollywood B-Movies such as Red, Flightplan, Snake Eyes: G.I. Joe Origins, and The Divergent series.

The 2018 German film joins the ranks of Paths of Glory, All Quiet on the Western Front, and Come and See, in regards to its unflinching glimpse into the horrors of war.

Following a WWII German deserter it chronicles his character arc as he descends into Machiavellian madness, becoming the very thing he was apparently escaping from.

Filmed in stark black and white cinematography, it is bleak and harrowing, showcasing the malevolent debauchery of Nazi officers and its intoxicating allure to those caught up in its sinister aura.

[fomofo]

Friend recommended Jurassic Punk to me - it's on Kanopy, Hoopla, and also on the ROKU channel.

Steve Williams is a pioneer in computer animation. His digital dinosaurs of JURASSIC PARK transformed Hollywood in 1993, but an appetite for anarchy and disregard for authority may have cost him the recognition he deserved.

[dookeyXXX]

REDLINE
This high octane anime is like Speed Racer jacked up on way too much NOS. The art style is more frenetic and quasi avante garde than your standard anime and the story is a gonzo variation on Cannonball and Death Race 2000.

[oldnew_guy]

Everything Everywhere All at Once is on Kanopy.

[dookeyXXX]

In search of some decent scary movies for Shocktober?

Kanopy’s got a grip of ‘em:

BODIES BODIES BODIES
LAMB
IN THE EARTH
MEN
DIARY OF THE DEAD
HATCHING
HIGH TENSION
MOTHER!
THE VOID
THE SIGNAL
OPEN WATER
IT COMES AT NIGHT
THE EYES OF MY MOTHER
PHANTASM
PHASE IV
AUDITION
FROM BEYOND
HORNS
CUBE
THE VISITOR
THE CURSED
GOODNIGHT MOMMY
THE GIRL WITH ALL THE GIFTS
BYZANTIUM
X
THE LAST HOUSE ON THE LEFT
DRESSED TO KILL
GAIA
THE INNOCENTS
IN FABRIC
RELIC
THE LAST MATINEE
SUSPIRIA
LUZ
MIDSOMMAR
DEEP RED
BASKET CASE
SOCIETY
RE-ANIMATOR
DEAD RINGERS
KNIFE+HEART
AMULET
BERBERIAN SOUND STUDIO
GHOST STORIES
UNSANE
CENSOR

[Jeb McHardman]

Finally got around to re-upping my Kanopy subscription last week. I highly recommend Dissolution. It is an adaptation of Dostoevsky's Crime and Punishment set in Tel Aviv, and though the film came out in 2010, it is still topical.

[dookeyXXX]

The Films of Veit Helmer

I stumbled upon the cinematic work of this German auteur last year via his film The Bra, a quirky, off-kilter romantic deadpan comedy about a lonely train operator who finds a bra and then sets out on a quest to locate the woman it belongs to. The film is interesting because it takes place in Azerbaijan, features an international cast, and there is little to no dialogue.

I next checked out one of his earlier films, Tuvalu (2000), which was filmed in Bulgaria. Shot in alternating metallic blue, sepia, and black&white, it too features an international cast and little to no dialogue.

The other night I watched his 2008 comedy Absurdistan, which was also filmed in Azerbaijan and had a cast of actors culled from 14 different countries. While the most dialogue heavy of his films (I believe its audio is mainly in Russian with English subtitles), it’s still rather sparse on the speaking.

All three of these films are definitely influenced by Chaplin and Tati, not to mention the short-lived 1980s/early 90s American indie film resurgence (think the films of Hal Hartley and Tom DiCillo.

The thing I find the most interesting, however, is that Helmer uses international casts and to date hasn’t filmed in his native Germany, preferring Eastern Europe, Western Asia, and The Balkans instead.

At any rate, his films are totally worth checking out if you dig left-of-center comedies tinged with a slight weirdness.

[Mike Pow]

Interesting

Thanks

[dookeyXXX]

Interesting

Thanks

No worries!

[dookeyXXX]

THE CAT O’ NINE TAILS
Next to Suspiria, this is perhaps my favorite of Dario Argento’s films.
Ironically, it is supposedly Mr. Argento’s least favorite of his films.

[dookeyXXX]

TOMMY GUNS
This is a strange, violent, and engaging drama/thriller from Portugal.
It’s kinda non-linear, somewhat disorienting, and mashes up genres. It should leave you scratching your head trying to make sense of it all, but it is never dull.
RIYL
Monos; Bacarau; War Child

[dookeyXXX]

MURINA
This Croatian melodrama is tinged with an ever-so-slight undercurrent of psychological tension so you never know where things are going. The exotic seaside locale only adds to the proceedings.
RIYL
The Big Blue, Swimming Pool; Loaded; Dogtooth

[dookeyXXX]

THE TRANSFIGURATION
This is one seriously fugged-up vampire movie.
It is disconcerting, uncomfortable, and cringe inducing. But I couldn’t stop watching. It’s quiet and off-kilter, but slings out moments of intense horror when you least expect it.
RIYL
Martin; Vampire’s Kiss; Let The Right One In

[dookeyXXX]

This just popped up on the service.
IMHO, it’s one of the best films of 2023. At least in terms of new releases I have seen this year in the theaters.

[bobz]

This just popped up on the service.
IMHO, it’s one of the best films of 2023. At least in terms of new releases I have seen this year in the theaters.

Thanks for the rec! That was definitely something different, and I liked the character-background structure of the film. Watching that reminded me of how disappointing it is that the indie studio that bought the movie rights to The Monkey Wrench Gang just sat on it, for decades, still sitting on it now probably. I remember Woody Harrelson talking about how he wanted to play Hayduke; now, many years later, he'd be more like Doc Sarvis. Oh well.



Looking up-page (though a few months back)... Yes, you should watch (the original) Swept Away. It's a bit campy, and the political allegory is kind of beaten to death, but it's a real favorite of mine; I've watched it a few times, and I listen to the soundtrack album (originally bought on vinyl, long ago) occasionally.