Ghost Dog

GHOST DOG : THE WAY OF THE SAMURAI-1999-This very unusual drama stars Forrest Whitaker as a philosophical hit man involved with the disappearance of a mob bosses’ daughter. He uses pigeons to communicate with his “retainer” (John Tormey) and his only friends are a French ice cream vendor ( who doesn’t understand English ) and a little girl he discusses books with. He likes to steal cars too.

Henry Silva is the unsmiling mob boss who likes to watch cartoons (Felix The Cat is one of them). Cliff Gorman is his rap music loving second in command who has a memorable death. All the gangsters seem mean and ugly but are really old, comical, kind of inept and at the end of the line. Much like Ghost Dog himself. A landlord keeps hassling Gorman’s character for rent money!

Whitaker’s character (minus the samurai references) reminded me a little of his character in DIARY OF A HITMAN! Like much of writer/director Jim Jarmusch’s work it’s very un-commercial and quite hypnotic but the ending is a downer and as Ghost Dog says “The end is important in all things”.........

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Mann Noir

RAILROADED!-1947-is an interesting film noir directed by Anthony Mann. John Ireland stars as a gangster who frames an innocent man for robbery and murder. Hugh Beaumont (10 years before he became father of TV's Beaver Cleaver) plays the detective out to stop him. Sheila Ryan plays the innocent man's sister who tries to help out too. 

Jane Randolph (ABBOTT & COSTELLO MEET FRANKENSTEIN) gives a nice performance as Ireland's drunken moll. Mann gives the film some great classic touches but the climax is a little too dark and quick for me.

Mann went on to make many more movies but has always been a little underrated in my book.

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Rima

GREEN MANSIONS-1959-Unusual love story set in The Amazon Jungle with Audrey Hepburn as the orphaned Rima who lives an isolated life in a "cursed jungle" with her grandfather (Lee J. Cobb) who holds a horrible secret. Anthony Perkins portrays a kind of explorer who falls in love with her. A nearby native tribe believes she is a demon and want her destroyed.

Japanese actor Sessue Hayakawa portrays the chief and Henry Silva (from Brooklyn) is his son! Although the acting and direction are good Hepburn is slightly mis-cast. Just a tad too old to be playing a "jungle girl". But this was typical in movies before the sixties.

GM was directed by Hepburn's then husband actor Mel Ferrer (who would later produce WAIT UNTIL DARK). After they divorced he directed for TV and made appearances in many explotation movies including EATEN ALIVE BY CANNIBALS and CITY OF THE WALKING DEAD.

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Hong Kong Kickboxing

KICKBOXER'S TEARS-1992-This starts out as a typical drama with some kickboxing matches thrown in. When a boxer is killed in a match rigged by gangsters his sister (Moon Lee from KILLER ANGELS) seeks revenge and when she gets atarted...look out!

Her fight scenes are excellent. She eventually gets even with the killer and even destroys the wife of the mob boss in a match. The climax features her and her two friends having a wild brutal match with the head guy. Justice seems to triumph until the police arrive in an abrupt fade out final. This may be due to the fact that I saw a US dubbed version. Otherwise KICKBOXER'S TEARS delivers the goods!! 

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Sleepy Hollow

THE LEGEND OF SLEEPY HOLLOW-1999-Another imaginative, off center effort by Tim Burton. Unlike his two previous films (ED WOOD and MARS ATTACKS, which are both great) this one was a hit. It’s a bizarre reworking of the famous Washington Irving tale set in upstate NY.

In this update, Johnny Depp stars as Icabod Crane, a police medical examiner send to Sleepy Hollow by Judge Christopher Lee (in a great cameo) to investigate a series of gory beheadings. Christina Ricci provides the romantic interest. Suspicious townsfolk include Michael Gambon, Miranda Richardson, Jeffery Jones and Michael Gough. Christopher Walken (who kind of looks like an evil jack ‘o lantern anyway) plays the evil Hessian horseman responsible for some of the best beheadings ever seen on film. Also with Casper Van Dien (from STARSHIP TROOPERS) and Martin Landau (in a pre-credit cameo) as the first victim. 

The SFX and story are good but I had a little problem with Depp’s character who couldn’t seem to decide whether to be a hero (with nerves of steel who boldly performs autopsies) or a coward (who faints at the sight of blood!).

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Off Topic?

Happy 4th of July!!!

Quotes from Professor Backwards (1910-1976)-Courtesy of Wikipedia:

"I had a brand-new Mercury. I loaned it to my brother last week. I said, 'Treat it as if it was your own.' He sold it."

"I was walking in Manhattan the other day and a guy ran up to me and said, 'How do I get to the nearest hospital?' I told him, 'Just walk across Park Avenue with your eyes closed.'"

"I went up to the salesgirl. I said, 'I'd like to see something cheap in a man's suit.' She said, 'The mirror's on the left.'"

"What gets me is that estimated tax return. You have to guess how much you're gonna make. You have to fill it out, fix it up, sign it, send it in. I sent mine in last week. I didn't sign it. If I have to guess how much I'm gonna make, let them guess who sent it."

"You know what a stewardess is. That's a girl who asks you what you want, then straps you in the seat so you can't get it."  

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Weird Tragedy

ELECTRA MY LOVE-(1974)-This is a very unusual adaptation of the Greek tragedy ELECTRA and ORESTES, made in Hungary. 

It uses long uninterrupted camera shots and weird symbolic scenes (including dwarfs with cymbals and much nudity) that look like Alejandro Jodorowsky could have influenced them! (He made THE HOLY MOUNTAIN in ’73) Occasionally a modern day folksinger shows up and sings! It also features anachronistic props like a helicopter and guns! Did Alex Cox see this movie??

Very slow and arty but occasionally fascinating..

"If you want to tell people the truth, make them laugh, otherwise they'll kill you"....Oscar Wilde

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Hong Kong

REPLACEMENT SUSPECT-2002-Violent Hong Kong crime drama involving small time crooks who get entangled in the police’s pursuit of a wanted criminal. They wind up holding some customers in a bar hostage unaware that the wanted criminal is one of the hostages. Director Chi-Sin Mak directed several other films but has done more work as an editor (TWIN DRAGONS, LEGEND OF ZU, VAMPIRE HUNTERS).

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