Lisa e il Diavolo (Lisa and the Devil)

A frustrating film.  So many intriguing ideas, buried in a movie that just plods along.  Too random to be enjoyable as a mainstream horror/mystery, yet not random enough to be enjoyed as a surrealist fantasy.  It seems to be fumbling for plot threads and doesn’t ever hook the viewer… the last half hour almost has enough interesting shit going on, but then culminates in an ending that’s simultaneously clever and disappointing.  The color is nice and vivid, and there’s a few good tricks, but otherwise I thought the cinematography didn’t stand up to Bava’s other work.  Telly Savalas is a mix of amusing and annoying, while Alessio Orano (Maximillian) is just annoying.  The rest of the cast is okay, except I’ve never been a big fan of Alida Valli.  Somewhere in here is a good movie (although not, reportedly, in the re-edit known as The House of Exorcism) but I was fighting boredom most of the time.  Rating: 5

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Operazione paura (Kill, Baby, Kill)

This is a step up.  Another gothic horror with a plot that’s rather silly and hackneyed, but Bava maintains a creepy atmosphere throughout.  Once again, there’s some marvelous images (although some of the camerawork is a little rough) and although I thought it could have used more shadow, Bava makes excellent use of colored lighting.  The “endless room” bit at the climax was clever, and there’s a lot of fun stuff like that.  I suspect this movie was a strong influence on The Shining, more especially in the ghostly appearance of a genteelly dressed little girl (who often announces her presence with a rubber ball) and also some of the musical cues were quite similar.  If this had a more compelling storyline, it might top Black Sunday… as it is, they’re about even.  Rating: 8

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La ragazza che sapeva troppo (The Girl Who Knew Too Much)

Continuing my exploration of Bava, now getting into the films that are supposed to be the best.  Gotta say I haven’t been hugely impressed with anything since Black Sunday, but on the other hand, I haven’t been terribly disappointed either.  As one might guess from the title, this is a Hitchcockian mystery, done with a fair bit of humor… and by some accounts, the first (or one of the first) giallo films.  John Saxon is always fun to watch, and there are some wonderful moments in the photography.  It holds together pretty well, but I didn’t connect all that much with it as either as a comedy or a thriller.  The voice-over provides one or two funny bits, but is otherwise unnecessary, and the climax isn’t that satisfying.  Overall however, it’s a film that holds your attention and has a few rewarding aspects.  Rating: 7

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Angel Face

To be honest, I wasn’t too thrilled with this at first.  It was a solid but lackluster noir, and in a lot of ways not very noir at all.  Mitchum’s performance was definitely the highlight, everything else about it was just slightly above average.  But holy shit, the ending.  You think it’s going to lead up to a rather dull, possibly even disappointing, conclusion and then WHAM.  The last minute of this movie is pure genius, and just enough to elevate it above the mediocre 7 score I would have given it otherwise.  Rating: 8

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Sailor Beware

I was starting to reconsider this Jerry spree, but this one turned out to be pretty good (except another mild bit of racist humor).  The Dean/Jerry balance is how I like it, with Dean getting a few songs and Jerry allowed to run amok the rest of the time.  He even gets a girl in this one.  Again, it isn’t brilliant or subtle comedy, and there’s really nothing unique or original about it, but for Lewis fans it gets the job done.  Rating: 7

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That’s My Boy

For the first time, Jerry gets the spotlight… but his character is so shy and restrained that he doesn’t get to do what he does best, which is being completely spastic.  The movie is unoriginal, predictable and really kind of boring.  It’s a slightly updated version of Buster Keaton’s College, but still squarely in a pre-Revenge of the Nerds world, where the only way a geek can excel is by becoming a jock.  Dino is quite the unlikeable tool in it as well.  And at age 33, he’s the least convincing college freshman ever.  I’ll give it some points for a few funny Jerry moments, but there aren’t nearly enough of them.  Rating: 4

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Border Café (a.k.a. Café Transit)

An Iranian widow inherits a truck stop café near the Turkish border and is determined to run it herself.  Her obstinate brother-in-law, who runs a competing (and far less successful) restaurant, is equally determined to shut her down, to protect his family “honor”.  Director Kambuzia Partovi stacks the deck a bit.  Reyhan is an idealized heroine, fiercely independent and something of a cross-cultural wunderkind, bringing together Iranians, Turks, Greeks and Russians… while Nasser is villainous, bullying and close-minded.  A little more complexity might have helped a little, but really, there’s no way not to be on Reyhan’s side as Nasser represents an outmoded, sexist, oppressive way of thinking.  The film is done in a simple style with little flair but is loaded with great little story moments and an excellent cast.  Rating: 8

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My Friend Irma Goes West

More of the same, in this sequel that feels hastily slapped together.  Jerry gets a little more to do here, but is still very much on the sidelines.  Some of the (mildly) racist humor rubbed me the wrong way.  Rating: 6

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My Friend Irma

Well, I said I wanted to watch a bunch of Jerry Lewis, so I’m starting at the beginning.  This is the debut of Martin & Lewis, attached to a movie based on a popular radio show about a New York social climber and her ditzy pal Irma.  It’s a cookie-cutter comedy with a bunch of stock characters and stock scenarios… nothing to get excited about, but enjoyable enough if you just go with the flow.  Whenever Jerry opens his mouth, it’s funny.  Unfortunately he’s pretty much a minor character, it’s more a showcase for Dino’s crooning.  Rating: 6

IMDb

Kanal (rewatch)

For years I’ve wanted this movie in my collection, but it was only available (except as a cheapo import which I feared would be low-quality) as part of Criterion’s Wajda box set.  With a big Criterion sale at Barnes & Noble, I decided to grab the whole set and eBay the other two movies.  But now I’ve decided to just sell the whole set.  Not that this isn’t a great movie… it certainly is.  It’s just not the kind of thing I’m ever going to feel like popping in for a new viewing.  I don’t know why exactly.  I don’t have an aversion to depressing movies or anything.  I guess I just got everything I needed from it the first time.  I no longer feel like the composer character is out of place.  Rather, I feel like everyone going crazy (to lesser degrees than the composer, but still) feels a little bit phony.  Nonetheless, a harrowing and incredibly well-photographed film.  Rating: 9

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