Racial recasting is rarely interesting but it could be used to make important statements. Black Panther is basically African Bruce Wayne and that highlights some issues with black hero worship in the West. Shouldn't racial recasting have some purpose bigger than meeting "diversity demographics"? How about ironic racial casting to actually disassemble racism? Could America swallow a black Donald Trump? Doubtful. Thats a movie idea right there.

Sean Astin on Django Unchained

I love this. Astin sensitively and intelligently explains the exploitative and faux-liberal appeal of Tarantino films. Many of his films are just vulgar and violent tomes of Tarantino's own complexes of sexism and racism with corny, insincere apologies tagged on that pander to the minorities he dislikes but wants to idolize him. Standard "polite bigot" behavior.

Sgt Kabukiman NYPD 1990 / The Evil Dead 1981 / Monty Python & The Holy Grail 1975

Kabukiman is Lloyd Kaufman & Michael Herz' comeback film after the drizzling Toxic Avenger 3 and is their last directing collaboration to date (with Herz becoming the primary producer). Kabukiman tweaks the Troma formula by satirizing/exploiting a big budget film (Batman) and toning down the sex & violence. Its more of a return to the screwball comedies Troma produced pre-Toxic Avenger. The film is low on laughs and the action is amateurish, but its heavy on social commentary and low budget charm.

Troma films have this unique quality of mixing slapstick violence and realistic violence, which is very surreal and creates a meaningful conflict in style. At the same time, you can't take the drama seriously or the comedy lightly (perfectly realized in the fist two Toxic Avenger films and the original Class of Nuke 'Em High). I actually think this element works better in SK than in Toxie 3. Whereas that film had a moody aura that was actually missing humor, SKN is humor with a dash of realism. It plays as a very modern film because of this gritty slapstick and artificial realism. Let's face it: Guardians of the Galaxy movies are Troma films minus the political activism, risky jokes or modest production. Kabukiman is not one of Troma's best but its one of their most sincere and least offensive.

The Evil Dead is not a masterpiece in my eyes, but its one of the most impressive debuts of a director to date. The technical know-how, genre-savvy and inventive low-budget creativity is almost unparalleled. The plot is a more conservative, lowbrow, exploitative remix of the Texas Chainsaw Massacre, The Exorcist, the early work of Wes Craven, an obscure film called Equinox and a few others (the nod to  Rosemary's Baby is almost groan-inducing). But the postmodern genre of "fan film" owes a lot to Evil Dead. Raimi takes what could've been absolutely absurd and kitsch and makes it absurdist and camp. The poor continuity, cheap FX and amateur performances work cohesively to create a Gonzo style. I've never found Evil Dead to be the emotionally intense or haunting commentary that truly great horror films are, but it has a claustrophobic mood and grim surrealism that perfectly bridges the 1970s to the 1980s. Its artistic entertainment, not entertaining art. Thats okay for such a small project and its still the best thing Raimi has ever done.

I grew up loving Holy Grail for its downbeat rhythm and strange, inexplicable laughs but only now do I recognize the intelligent design and commentary behind the carefully crafted surrealism. Holy Grail works as a series of deconstructionist sketches, each applying the group's shared Marxist philosophy to a different subject: monarchy, feminism, nationalism, militarism, homophobia, racism, generational transition, existentialism, nihilists etc. Cleverly the postmodernists tackle British modernism by starting at the source, the ridiculous legend of King Arthur and his insane, murderous, superstitious and literally criminal Knights of the Round Table. By today's standards, some of the humor might verge on insensitive, ex. the somewhat racist Black Knight skit is amended in Meaning of Life's Zulu skit. But overall its a witty, next-level and quite elementary guide to Western intellectualism.

Famously, Lorne Michaels and Chevy Chase met at a screening of Holy Grail and basically conceived SNL as the American "Flying Circus". Watching Holy Grail you find everything SNL lacked as a totally poser, hipster, neoliberal misreading of surrealist political satire. That show was more diverse, more populist and more upbeat, but not nearly as enlightened, dangerous or moralistic. I'm kind of tired of SNL being honored as such a groundbreaking institution of comedy when it never surpassed Python in the most important element: humor. 

rantin'

Ok, so some Russian hackers are indicted for attacking the Clinton campaign and a white supremacist teen shot up a school in Florida. Through the lens of filmmaking, I want to dissect these events and , maybe more importantly, the public's reaction to them. Also, I can work in the recent movie news about Black Panther being an unsurprising success. There is an intersectionality between these 3 things and its mired in chaotic, dishonest mainstream media politics.

I skimmed through some bad Hollywood films I planned to review, but couldn't bring myself to watch fully: Queen of the Damned, Guardians of the Galaxy 2, Scott Pilgrim, Mr and Mrs Smith (which I watched & reviewed). I'm sickened by the false liberalism in these films. I'm deadened by giving time to their gross capitalist aberrations of reality to create a commercial dreamscape of comforting lies and smokescreen truth. This irresponsible mutation from public art to mass distributed propaganda has damned society. We have a generation who get their politics from bad TV & movies owned by news media companies that don't report the real news. The films put out by the so-called "Hollywood Left" have nothing to do with freedom, democratic choice, equality, multiculturalism or spiritual enlightenment. God forbid our art actually tell us to do more than consume and watch TV...

So I'm furious at how this recent shooting is being literally sold by the media as a bid for the same neoliberalism that hurt the Far Left. We are told to ignore weight of the reality of another deadly and violent outburst by a young citizen (always white, rightwing, male and white nationalist). The outburst of death, hate and evil is glossed over so we allign with news shows, argue on the same cattled social media sites and then vote for the same two deeply-connected and insidiously hypocritical parties of political careerists. Essentially the issue always turns to "how should the elite control the people better?" Maybe stop being the elite and share the wealth that we all have acquired in the name of duty & humanity.

I hate guns. I hate the gun-porn in movies. I hate gun-nuts in poor neighborhoods. And I most hate gun manufacturers and the NRA, two disgusting capitalist wings of the Aryan Brotherhood (since saying "white patriarchy" doesn't seem to annoy the right or mobilize the left). I'm all for taking money out of their hands to protect innocent people. Guns are a problem. I don't even think they should exist. But getting rid of the guns won't even phase the villains of society. These shootings are done by weakling soldiers in a bigger war. Their "alt-right" leaders are growing fascist regimes globally and have scary private power to prevent you from even becoming a threat. News propaganda, internet spying, brainwashing entertainment and bought and now CREATED politician puppets. The Republican party is run by scary thugs in secret societies who use business, religion and politics to poison the world and control its people to serve their pockets. And we have to stop relying on democrats, a party totally controlled by billionaire CIA agents from equally elitist, racist, sexist backgrounds. They work towards an almost identical end-goal: sitting on top of the pyramid while the world burns to ashes.

I accept that Trump is a foreign agent worse than Hitler ever was. He's not out to save white people. He's out to save wealthy libertine white dudes (as was Hitler, honestly). Hillary is a few shades less evil because liberals don't discriminate as they don't have the power to be discreet or have the popularity of white racism (anymore). Is he connected to the hacking? I dunno. It doesn't matter because he's done so many bad things and this avenue is not the best to catch him. What are some Russian hackers who are protected by Russia and probably KGB going to do? Trump's entire cabinet is full of slimy "soft criminals" and there have to be a zillion paper trails tying him to illegal action. The FBI & CIA seem determined to undermine him. Good. So maybe take focus off of Russia and look into Saudi Arabia, China, the Aryan Brotherhood, Fox News, even WWE. Every stinking enterprise that would give him a dollar and who he has repaid publicly. Its fucking madness that no news or public voices are following this REAL story. The population is lost in mindless, politically-stupid talks about Russia when we can't go to war with them. Cut off Putin's ties. Cut off Trump's allies.

And in the meantime, turn the page on liberalism. Black Panther is such a lame reflection of the last 8 years of propaganda. The concept of black capitalist nationalism is both absurd and toxic. It serves the neoliberal's side of the military-industrial complex's quest for capital and political power but not freedom and compensation for the working class. More Disney exploitation. The Marvel franchise has to DIE. Enough of these phony, braindead, overly emotional pleas for money to control our government. I mean, literally, Disney is one of the most dangerous and corrupt corporations in the world and have led the fight to cheat in business. They have helped elect every shitty president I've lived through with their conservative propaganda for children (and numerous child-brained adults). It seems particularly that rightwings and neoliberals just can't live without Disney, NFL, radio pop and all of the "American" institutions of excess and ignorance.

Where is the alternative? The independent voices? The Libertarian party in Europe was once a socialist federation that made the E.U. a luxury. But then they and American Libertarians turned to rightwing bullshit like sucking off corporations and selling out workers. They saw the injustice happening and decided to be on the greediest side of it. Because most Libertarians aren't Libertarian Socialist. They want the government to shrink so they can make as much money as possible. They believe capitalism is fair and will favor the workers. Has never happened. Americans live better than other nations just because we're on the winning side of capitalism. But we still trail capitalist AND socialist nations who aren't as rich. Why? Because money doesn't solve anything.

And money certainly doesn't make good movies. Its a resource. Thats all. Its a resource to get other resources, namely the commission of other people. The people are the real determiner of collective quality. Not selfish aims of the management or dumbass elitist egotism and bigoted self-interest. Its about the work. Doing good work for everyone and MAKING A LIVING doing it. Hollywood fat cats don't give much of a damn if the work is good. They ONLY care about their paychecks and residuals. Knobs.

The Bloody Judge 1969 / The Demons 1973 / Doriana Grey 1976 / Lorna the Exorcist 1974 / Sexy Sisters 1977 / Sinner - Diary of a Nyphomaniac 1973

I'm really in the last string of major Franco titles to review. These are particularly darker and more trying films from his more depressive and destitute days. I don't enjoy them as much, but they fit my current mood and reveal more of Franco's character and inner battles.

The Bloody Judge is some prime Franco. It could be the best work but maybe not the best film from his soaring commercial career in the late 1960s. Its just as disturbing yet alternately beautiful. Its smart and not at all exploitative. It feels sincere to its historical influences and you can measure it favorably to Hollywood of the period or this current age. Its plot-themes are very pressing: a psychotic conservative authoritarian and probable secret society member who is persecuting the impoverished population he presides over. Scary stuff. This and the other Franco roles are Christopher Lee at his most effective as an actor and a scary "horror movie" presence. Highly recommended!

The Demons follows the same vein but its made for a much sleazier producer with cheaper resources and questionable tastes. Robert de Nestle replaces Harry Allan Towers, which is not a totally skewed trade-off. Its so tawdry and lurid, you can't help but admire it. And a stoned Franco does a great job on damage control. I think this is probably the most tightly plotted and classically shot of de Nestle's time with Franco. It could be the most polished overall and its one of the most erotic and aren't Franco's film supposed to be erotic primarily? The film has some surreal, absurd, camp and kitsch treats as usual. Jess was really in a free-form mood with some impressive resources to bounce off of.

Doriana Grey fits the 70s definition of a porno. You can't quite interpret it the same as the traditional commercial narrative film or even the arthouse experiments or even the sleaziest softcore movies. But it can have the same value. Doriana Gray has the loosest of loose stories about twin Linda Romay's who are soul mates and need to make lesbian love... and maybe its all a dream. Its some heavy, artful, technically brilliant stuff to prop up a lot of graphic sex scenes. And it works. I wasn't thrilled by plot or character because thrills weren't the goal. I find the sex scenes alluring in concept and cathartic and beautifully staged. Pornographic cinema has always had its place and been an influential genre steeped in important cultural art. Franco channels something ancient in these erotic period pieces of the 1970s. I favor this to some more narrative but less erotic films.

Lorna the Exorcist came out earlier (another de Nestle film). Again, the plot is small and lifted essentially from merging Eugenie with other shit, Rumpelstiltskin perhaps (Faust is mentioned). This film sets the stage for following explicit sex films by Jesus Franco: hotels, long takes of scenery, extended love scenes and very obtuse but effective dialogue and minor action. Actually, Franco's Other Side of the Mirror led to this mini-genre in its X-rated cut. Lorna has a wonderfull psychedelic rock/electric jazz score and otherworldly photography and the performances are sharp. Its plot is more strange than anything that precedes it, but maybe more easy-to-follow than what follows it. This is not for everyone but Francophiles will rank it highly.

Sexy Sisters is one of many films where blonde actress Karine Gambier is masochistically tied up and abused mentally and physically by a brunette. I very much enjoy the film Franco made for producer Erwin Dietrich but apparently he stunted Franco's experimental camerawork. Their collaborations are always minimalist, polished and focused on erotica over statements or creativity. Thats fine. Sexy Sisters is one of the weaker of their films but it has decent dramatic plot, performances and great design on a dime.

Sinner is probably the biggest slam dunk out of this batch of reviews. It integrates an original story structure, haunting music, nightclub atmosphere, feminist romance and melodramatic tragedy. And it remains classy by rejecting the hardcore sex or sadism you might expect. This is more of a personal statement or responsible professional job. And it has that rare kind of Franco ending that is so open-ended that it drives you mad and forces you to meditate on the story's reality and its metaphors. I like when Franco's films are personal and still can easily convince the mainstream of his genius. I hope this film was a grindhouse smash because its one of the purest examples of drive-in aesthetics you can find. It might have been too sexy and unadulterated for most suburban drive-in's though.

Love Camp / Tropical Inferno / Women Without Innocence / Kiss Me Monster / Love Letters of a Portuguese Nun

All of the Jess Franco films I'm reviewing have a feminist edge and the first 3 are all produced by Erwin Dietrich, a Swiss who focused his productions on political subtext, extreme sexual content and moody, lavish locations. He's possibly my favorite producer Franco had in the 1970s as all of their collaborations have been strong so far.

1977's Love Camp tells the story of women abducted to be concubines for a communist rebel army. Most of the girls don't really care but our protagonist becomes torn in her heart between her bourgeois husband at home and the brutish but idealistic freedom fighter who rapes her. The film, if taken literally, will offend feminists but its merely an ironic satire of 1970s political movements, especially feminist and communist hypocrisy. Its brisk but heavy and entertaining.

78's Tropical Inferno is another Women in Prison film, this being the most brutal. The plot is a reworking of 99 Women, Sadomania and other Franco WIP films, with innocents and political radicals being oppressed by a fascist couple (a lesbian & male surgeon, naturally). But Franco is unleashed in this newest rendition, sparing no detail of gory torture or sexual manipulation. This is one of the most serious Franco films I've seen. Zero humor and the performances are as human as the production level can allow.

From the same year comes Women Without Innocence. Its the strongest WIP film of the trio with a tight, unorthodox and detailed plot, plus a supremely impressive performance from Lina Romay (who is absent from the other films). She plays a mental patient being triggered to remember details of a murder she witnessed. There's lots of bizarre subplots and very gorgeous cinematography, even for Franco. Most surprising is the unrealistic Romantic ending that the film receives. With the other 2 films it creates a satisfying dialectic where Franco delivers 3 vastly different worldviews of the same basic narrative.

The more I watch his films, the more impressed I am with this idea of "syncopated cinema" (a term coined in Obsession: The Films of Jess Franco). He returns again and again to themes, plots, characters, even locations to play jazz with broken expectations and new, biographic detail. He's not just creating new work but commenting and critiquing his old work. Its deconstructionism, self-analysis and creating a totally personal grammar of cinema from taking as little outside influence as possible. Its so much more authentic emotionally than most so-called postmodernists like Tarantino or De Palma who crib from other actors but don't actually bring much to it but fanboy or film critic commentary. Thats how Franco started out as a maker of mainstream exploitation films, but he quickly outgrew that while proudly retaining or parodying his roots in cheap mimicry. He parodies the parody he once was.

Kiss Me Monster from 1969 is evidence of this. After directing a couple decent Bond-esque spy films, Franco returned to the more liberal, hipster, feminist films he started his career with. His 2nd film ever followed the Red Lips detective agency, two cute Spanish girls who are prototype Mary Sue's, but who are so flippant and self-aware that the film becomes cute satire. KMM resurrects these characters as more mature post-oo7 super spies with a mean sense of humor and enormous sexual identity. The plot is thin and convoluted so we can have early touches of minimalism, long takes, expressionist lighting, cartooned gags and nifty dialogue. A lot of it is lost in the bland English dub, unfortunately. Still this film is worth a watch and sets up much better films. The film doesn't shy away from exposing assassination, secret societies, corrupt government officials and institutional abuses of power by elites and bottom feeders.

8 years later, Jess releases Love Letters of a Portuguese Nun. Amazing how much less money he's allowed but how much more creative freedom and experience he attained. This is why you can't down this director for working on small projects so frequently. And while Nuns isn't a masterpiece, its high above the quality of most grindhouse of what was the golden age of B-movies. Barring some heavy nods to Ken Russell & Roman Polanski and the basic theme of his own films Justine and The Bloody Judge, Nuns is a beautiful, tasteful, non-exploitative and respectful study of victimhood. Franco takes serious meditation in showing the hypocrisy of the Catholic church and decosntructing the inherent Satanic qualities of Christianity, while condemning dark occultism and libertine sadism. This film too ends with a Romantic and implausible ending, but Franco intended to show his own spiritual beliefs in karma and justice prevailing.

Apparently, Love Letters is a remake of his film The Demons. Expect a review soon! As that is a Robert De Nestle production, I'm sure its heavier on Gothic design and horror tropes. Dietrich as a producer gives Nun a polish, a cold calculated design, a sincere parallelism with Nazism that gives the film undertones of high art. This wasn't just S&M porn for German audiences. This was anti-fascist propaganda and medicine to cure the hearts and minds of survivors of institutional terror. That brave assault on German white nationalism is why this period of Franco's oeuvre ring so loudly today. He was one of cinema's great moralists and, as a villain says in Faceless, a "deep sentimentalist" underneath his spooky, sex-loving mystique.

"Budget, plot, continuity, suspense, action and drama are nonexistent. Absurdity abounds, and only Franco’s staunchest admirers will think the “comedy” is deliberate."

Thats from a review of a Franco b-movie. Dude, I think only a small handful of films weren't comedic. He worked in absurdism, deadpan, dark satire, spoof and slapstick from the very start of his career. He just learned to direct dramatically thanks to Welles. I would argue this is true of a lot of "serious" arthouse or cult directors. They are humorists.

Franco's running joke is similar to "The Aristocrats". He shows horror, immorality, insanity, transgression and personal themes of evil with the punchline that its always a mirror to society's collective Id. This he learned from Marquis de Sade and other bleak satirists like Voltaire and horror writers like Poe. Odd how so many decipher the lyrical quality of his films for biographical merit but don't see the obvious social commentary, philosophy and political-religious protest. These are the preoccupations of lifelong artists, so its beyond all critics.