Still, may the gods help me, there is a lot to like about Candy. Does it open with unwarranted psychedelia? Yes! Does it make any sense? No! Is it an attempt by the establishment to infiltrate the counterculture and make a buck off of it? Oh, hell yeah it is; this thing is as bad as Skidoo in that regard, and if you love watching old guys trying to be hip as much as I do, you will love this film.
All posts in May 2016
Try and Get Me! (The Sound of Fury, 1950)
Jerry is less offering a job to Howard than he is seducing him, and in a very pragmatic, do-you-want-it-or-don’t-ya manner suggestive of a hook-up rather than a romance. It’s all metaphorical, of course, but everything about their interactions, from Jerry’s constant preening to Howard’s habit of talking with his mouth full, cranks the usual film noir homoeroticism up to 11.
Dolemite (1975)
Rudy Ray Moore’s blaxploitation classic Dolemite (1975) is one of the few truly terrible movies endearing and fun enough to be watchable.
The Perfume of the Lady in Black (1974)
It’s an odd, languid, beautiful, frustrating giallo that is really only held together by Farmer’s fantastic performance and the audience’s willingness to go along with the notable amount of nothing in so many of the scenes.
The Man and the Moment (1929)
The big surprise here is that, despite its many flaws, The Man and the Moment is still a lot of fun to watch. Maybe not entirely for the reasons it was meant to be fun — La Rocque channels Franklin Pangborn a lot and I find that charming and fascinating — but at this late date, who’s to quibble? Just being able to watch the film is a fantastic thing.
Dead Pigeon on Beethoven Street (Tote Taube in der Beethovenstraße, 1973)
Originally released as an episode of the long-running German television show “Tatort,” Samuel Fuller’s Dead Pigeon on Beethoven Street (1973) is a surreal parody of the crime caper, with plenty of sarcastic humor and references to beloved films noir to make it enjoyable.
Suspicion (1941) on Blu-ray from Warner Archive
If you’ve seen Alfred Hitchcock’s Suspicion (1941), and you probably have, you know that by the end we discover it was all just a big misunderstanding. Golly!
Adults Only! Trashy Lady (1985)
Steve Scott’s Trashy Lady (1985) features authentic vintage sets, period accurate costumes, and lots of hardcore gettin’ down.