The 10th Victim (and the 11th, 12th, and 13th too --- the audience)
OK this is a seriously overrated and under-entertaining movie. To all of you who said "its a lot like DANGER DIABOLIK," I kindly invite you to go f*ck yourselves. Although to be fair, I suspect that these same individuals may not have seen what this movie desperately wishes it was: Jean-Luc Godard's ALPHAVILLE. And anyone who knows me knows that I passionately loathe Jean-Luc Godard (who most famously got me the stinkeye from a video store customer when I told her that "Jean-Luc Godard is anathema for those who like entertainment.") In any case the movie is for the most part unremarkable. Unless you count the oddly prescient future fashion of Showing the Ass Crack, Ursula Undress keeps the movie solidly in mild-PG territory with the awkwardly-posed "loose shirt" routine that prohibits any other fan appreciation whatsoever. (An audience member was heard to remark, "What, you'll get 'em out for the cannibal movie, but not this piece of crap?") Marcello Mastroiani marks his debut to my eyes in a sluggish role better suited to Udo Kier (or, at the very least, Klaus Kinski). The movie's "pop" sensibilities positively PALE in comparison to DANGER DIABOLIK; hell, classic STAR TREK is hipper than this. For God's sake, Adam West's BATMAN is groovier. Mired in ponderous dialogue meant to evoke sympathy for middle-aged men contemplating bachelorhood vs matrimony, the entire affair is a tedious bore from start to finish, except for a minute sampling of bits that seem to have inspired AUSTIN POWERS. Which is no damn classic either.
As usual, the reparte of the audience was a bit more choice than the movie itself. Best bits were the roundtable denigration of Jean-Luc Godard when my man Paul said that CONTEMPT, boring and pointless as it is, is basically "the RAIDERS OF THE LOST ARK of Godard films," with "Jack Palance's death as the truck chase." I assume this is funny as I've never bothered watching the piece of shit. I thought it was a Fellini film.
Luckily the viewership of THE 10TH VICTIM (which, by the way, had its premise ripped off almost verbatim by the superior SERIES 7) were afforded the opportunity of an unwasted evening with the near-genius VICTORY THROUGH AIR POWER, a gorgeous 1943 Disney propaganda film urging the adoption of an Air Force and "Super Fighter" planes to defeat Japan. Devoid of the racism in most wartime propaganda, we do get a heaping helping of the fetishization of Japan's impending destruction. While the Incendiary Bomb is lovingly detailed as if it were nothing more than a cool fireworks display, more conventional bombing is rendered in protracted sequences of destruction and annihilation, chiefly after the bombing of Pearl Harbor is depicted. You'd think it was a Mobile Infantry recruiting film for the assault on Klendathu! Also on the menu this evening was the classic DER FEUHRER'S FACE, starring Donald Duck --- as a Nazi! Its so obvious! Why didn't *I* think of that!
Other items viewed this weekend: ENTOURAGE (Season One), a series so devoid of tension that it kinda reads as a Hollywood fairy tale. Entertaining enough, I guess, but I found myself more interested in the suporting characters than the leads, because the supporting characters have actual TROUBLES in their lives. Its kinda boring watching pretty rich people decide which Rolls to buy or what cute girl to f*ck.
Well, KINDA boring :)
As usual, the reparte of the audience was a bit more choice than the movie itself. Best bits were the roundtable denigration of Jean-Luc Godard when my man Paul said that CONTEMPT, boring and pointless as it is, is basically "the RAIDERS OF THE LOST ARK of Godard films," with "Jack Palance's death as the truck chase." I assume this is funny as I've never bothered watching the piece of shit. I thought it was a Fellini film.
Luckily the viewership of THE 10TH VICTIM (which, by the way, had its premise ripped off almost verbatim by the superior SERIES 7) were afforded the opportunity of an unwasted evening with the near-genius VICTORY THROUGH AIR POWER, a gorgeous 1943 Disney propaganda film urging the adoption of an Air Force and "Super Fighter" planes to defeat Japan. Devoid of the racism in most wartime propaganda, we do get a heaping helping of the fetishization of Japan's impending destruction. While the Incendiary Bomb is lovingly detailed as if it were nothing more than a cool fireworks display, more conventional bombing is rendered in protracted sequences of destruction and annihilation, chiefly after the bombing of Pearl Harbor is depicted. You'd think it was a Mobile Infantry recruiting film for the assault on Klendathu! Also on the menu this evening was the classic DER FEUHRER'S FACE, starring Donald Duck --- as a Nazi! Its so obvious! Why didn't *I* think of that!
Other items viewed this weekend: ENTOURAGE (Season One), a series so devoid of tension that it kinda reads as a Hollywood fairy tale. Entertaining enough, I guess, but I found myself more interested in the suporting characters than the leads, because the supporting characters have actual TROUBLES in their lives. Its kinda boring watching pretty rich people decide which Rolls to buy or what cute girl to f*ck.
Well, KINDA boring :)
posted by figurebuilder at 11:21 AM
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
<< Home