Well its that time again for me to give you all 5 movies that hopefully will broaden your horizens abit more then they have been, or maybe allow you to discover a new favorite or whatever, anyway here we go...
i should warn you all, i'm feeling my roots this week, so this is gonna be complete Grindhouse all the way... now lets jump...
Lady Snowblood: A woman seeks the revenge that was her birthright in this action thriller from Japan. A gang of ruthless thieves break into the home of a rural couple, and after taking their valuables, they murder the husband and rape the wife once they've beaten her senseless. When the ravaged wife tracks down one of the thieves and attacks him, she is arrested by police; she was left pregnant by the rape, and gives birth to a daughter months later, dying shortly after delivery. The daughter, Yuki (Meiko Kaji), is raised by a priest who teaches her how to use a sword and trains her to show no mercy to the men who brutalized her family. When she turns 20, Yuki sets out to seek revenge, looking beautiful and tranquil on the outside but possessing a powerful taste for vengeance against those who wronged her and her mother. Lady Snowblood was written by Kazuo Koike, who also scripted several of the most memorable films in the Lone Wolf and Cub series. This is by far one of the greatest movie series of all time, this and its sequel are some of my favorites, as well as my second favorite set of films from the great and beautiful Meiko Kaji, which for me is ALWAYS a good choice.
Lady Snowblood 2; Love Song Of Vengeance: Kashima Yuki is now tired and on the run from authorities following her recent assassinations of 37 people. After becoming surrounded by the law, rather than fight, she submits to whatever fate awaits her. Being quickly tried and sentenced to death by hanging, she is suddenly rescued by the mysterious Kikui Seishiro, head of Secret Police. Once inside his remote and opulent headquarters, he propositions Kashima to once again take up her sword and secretly assassinate an "enemy of the State", the political anarchist Tokunaga Ransui. Rasui is in possession of a critical document which Kikui seems quite obsessed with, deeming it highly dangerous to the stability of the government. If Kashima can obtain and deliver the document to Kikui, he will grant her immunity from her charges. Kashima is soon able to infiltrate Ransui's home posing as a geisha, and sets about looking for the document. But the more she observes Ransui, the more she questions the path Kikui has put her on. When Ransui confides in Yuki, knowing full well who she is, asking her to deliver the document to his brother Shusuke, Kashima will be forced to decide her allegiance. This is the brilliant and beautiful finale to the series, i just love it ever so much, and find it a perfect way to end this violent but tragically beautiful series, so very powerful, and as i stated before the great Meiko Kaji is incredible.
Kids: Larry Clark's 1995 masterpiece, Kids, is about a group of teens in New York City. An unknowingly HIV positive kid, Telley, sets out to deflower two virgins in one day, while an ex-girlfriend discovers she has HIV and attempts to find Telley before he gets anyone else sick. The film takes place over the span of one day, in which the kids are shown living as they normally would live (with the exception of the girl who is trying to find Telley). They act like adults, but are incredibly immature. This movie is disturbing and controversial, yet enjoyable. The wonderful soundtrack was compiled by Lou Barlow. This is one of those movies that you get so shocked and so unsettled by that you just have to keep watching it till its end, its just so blunt and in your face with its message and style that you literally run the gambit of emotions and responses the entire way through this film, all the way to the very dark and very strange ending. The best part honestly is the open ended ending of the film, where you are left wondering whats happened, its just so darkly beautiful that if you haven't seen this film, even though at times its hard to stomach, you are honestly missing out on alot.
Gone In 60 Seconds: This is the 1974 carsploitation classic that features fast as hell and beautiful muscle cars in their prime, and hard as nails mustacheo'd 1970s types. This is by far one of the greatest of the era of car movies or carsploitation as its called in Grindhouse. here is the plot: Insurance investigator Maindrian Pace and his team lead double-lives as unstoppable car thieves. When a South American drug lord pays Pace to steal 48 cars for him, all but one, a 1973 Ford Mustang, are in the bag. As Pace prepares to rip-off the fastback, codenamed "Eleanor", in Long Beach, he is unaware that his boss has tipped off the police after a business dispute. Detectives are waiting and pursue Pace through five cities as he desperately tries to get away. Now ofcourse this film is more about the cars then it is about the actual story, but thats what you expect from this sort of film, people didn't go to see the plot, they went to see every beautiful big of automobile showing off up on screen, its like a big night in a big empty parking lot and all the local car guys are showing off their cars. Its just got the perfect feel of the whole musicle car culture and how it became, and still is a part of pop culture the world over. Just an awesome film.
Orca The Killer Whale: Ok first off, I'm sorry for the mp4 format, apparently no one on the internet loves this film the way that i do, which is pretty sad, but anyway that side, here is the plot; After Captain Nolan (Richard Harris) attends a seminar, hosted by biologist Rachel Bedford (Charlotte Rampling), he decides to capture a live killer whale and sell it for profit. Little does he know, the orca he captures is female and pregnant, giving birth while being hauled from the depths of the sea. The female orca’s mate is nearby and witnesses the death of his mate and offspring. This sends the male orca into a blind rage and Bedford comments on the whale’s need for revenge, comparing it to a human’s need to avenge a loss. Nolan sympathizes with the orca and vows not to go after it. The orca stalks Nolan and his crew, picking them off one by one. The orca will stop at nothing to destroy Nolan and his boat, causing the local fishing community to urge Nolan to fight the orca. Eventually, orca lures Captain Nolan out to sea, where he and Nolan face off in the icy north. Who will come out on top in this epic tale of revenge? Ok this right here is honestly one of my favorite grindhouse films EVER, its funny when it shouldn't be funny, its ofcourse a blatant rip on Jaws, but its also kind of a better movie then Jaws, its more camp fun, and it always leads to the debate between the two characters over who's the better killing machine, which is always fun. its not the greatest film of all time, but ofcourse with Grindhouse you don't expect that to be, you just want that nice hilarious by today's standards trash fun and dark and spooky and this film totally brings those and more in droves. If nothing else this one'll entertain you for the camp.. or watching Bo Derek when she was seen as the hottest woman alive get her leg bit off.. taking her from a 10, to an eight and a half... And yes, if you get the true meaning of that joke, you totally get a gold star..
Well thats it for this week, I hope you enjoyed our little dive into the deepend of Grindhouse, and have fun getting all caught up in the awesome but retro feel of it all....
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BC
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