Christmas movies

Time for this reviewer to set aside her practically terminal sarcasm, to reflect on favorite Christmas films.

It's A Wonderful Life (1946)

This reviewer's all-time favorite Christmas film.
Jimmy Stewart is George Bailey, who, when he is about to commit suicide, is prevented by the sudden appearance and intervention of his "guardian angel", Clarence (Henry Travers). Clarence gives George the chance to see what life would have been like had he never been born. The beautiful Donna Reed is Mary, his wife.  The audience sees George's life evolve up to the very point that he becomes desolate and turns to suicide as a last resort, and then as he is taken by his guardian angel through events as they would have occurred had he never existed, how he "really had a wonderful life, wouldn't it be a shame to throw it away?"  Lionel Barrymore stars as the town's evil slumlord Mr. Potter, who famously yells at George "Merry Christmas!  IN JAIL!"

A commercial flop when it was initially released, although nominated for five Oscars, and often referred to as "Capracorn" at the time, Frank Capra being the director, and because it was considered so "corny", it has since become a much-loved classic. It's also the movie with the most romantic scene of all time: the phone scene. When Jimmy Stewart is listening in on the phone call with Donna Reed, and they end up kissing....the whole buildup to that moment when he grabs her...THE BEST EVER ROMANTIC MOVIE SCENE, bar none, in this reviwer's opinion. However, the part where the audience is shown that Reed's character would have become a dowdy, shy, nearsighted old maid librarian, with bushy eyebrows, no less, if she hadn't met Stewart's character, is ludicrous, not to mention sexist. Sam Wainwright would have married her! ;P

Other recommended Christmas films...

Elf (2003)- funny and creepy and festive...all at the same time

Badder Santa (2003) - great to offset "It's A Wonderful Life"

Miracle on 34th Street (1947) - a timeless classic

A Christmas Carol (1951) - Alistair Sim - 'nuff said

How The Grinch Stole Christmas (1966)- perfect story - perfect animation - perfect narration

The Nightmare Before Christmas (1993)- Tim Burton's strange and wonderful take on the season

Spellbound

(1945)

Will he kiss me or kill me?

"Spellbound", starring Ingrid Bergman, Gregory Peck, Leo G. Carroll, loosely based on the novel "The House of Dr. Edwards", was Alfred Hitchcock's somewhat surreal vision of a film about psychoanalysis. 

The story: Peck's character, claiming to be Dr. Anthony Edwardes, appears at the mental hospital where Dr. Constance Peterson (Bergman) works, to replace Dr. Murchison (Carroll) as head of the institution. The young pair immediately fall for each other, but Constance's professional abilities also bring her to face the reality that something is terribly wrong with "Dr. Edwardes".  She loves him and tries to help him, while at the same time fearing that he may be a murderer.

"Spellbound" is mostly remarkable for being a visual delight, not only of course due to its master director, but also because the film's famous surreal dream sequence Hitchcock created in collaboration with Salvador Dali.  This surreal tone is helped by the inclusion of other heavily symbolic scenes such as the line of seven doors opening when Bergman's frigid character becomes "thawed" by her first kiss with Peck.  The heavy-handedness of the sexual symbolism in the door scene (violins start up as the doors begin to open) is a little over-the-top but does fit in with the otherwordly feel of the film.

"Spellbound" will be showing in Raleigh at The North Carolina Museum  of Art, at 2110 Blue Ridge Road, Friday, November 18th, at 8 pm.  The film is part of the Fall Film Series at the Museum focusing on surrealism.  Tickets are $3.50 for Museum members, students, Cinema Inc. and Galaxy Cinema members, and $5 for all others.  Tickets may be ordered by phone by calling 919-715-5923, and in person (East Building) during regular hours:  Tues.-Thur., Sat.-Sun. 10 am-5pm, Fri. 10 am-9 pm.

Photo credit: Selznick International Pictures

Favorites for Halloween Viewing

Favorites for Halloween viewing, in no particular order after the first one:

The Haunting (1963)
Psycho (1960)
What Lies Beneath (2000)
Mr. Sardonicus (1961)
Trick 'R Treat (2007)
The Picture Of Dorian Gray (1945)
Westworld (1973)
Phantom of the Paradise (1974)
The Night of the Hunter (1955)
The Evil Dead (1981)
The Exorcist (1973)
Halloween (1978)
Creepshow (1982)
Whatever Happened To Baby Jane (1962)
Phantasm (1979)
Alien (1979)
Trilogy of Terror (1975)
Frailty (2001)
The Return of the Living Dead (1985)
The Grudge (2004)
Rosemary's Baby (1968)
Night Of The Living Dead (1968)

Creepshow

(1982)

"Just call me Billie! Everyone does!"

Director George Romero ("Night of the Living Dead", 1968) and author/screenwriter Stephen King teamed up for this collection of 5 gruesomely funny horror tales. Combining comic-book panels, melodramatic lighting/coloring and camera angles, with the linking sequences in between the tales animated in the style of 1950's E.C. comics, the results will also remind many of classic comic books such as "Eerie" and "Creepy".

Hal Holbrook, Adrienne Barbeau, Fritz Weaver, Ted Danson, Leslie Nielsen, Ed Harris, Carrie Nye, Viveca Lindfors, E.G. Marshall, and even Stephen King are in the great cast. The tales are titled: "Father's Day", "The Lonesome Death of Jordy Verrill", "Something to Tide You Over", "The Crate", and "They're Creeping Up on You". They are all top-notch (with the exception of the just plain silly "The Lonesome Death Of Jordy Verrill", which stars King in the lead role).

"The Crate" is this reviewer's personal favorite, not because the name of Adrienne Barbeau's vulgar, coarse character is Billie (in her case, Billie is short for Wilma), although Barbeau raucously blaring "Oh, just call me Billie! Everyone does!" several times does induce outright laughter in this reviewer's home. Hal Holbrook, a very accomplished actor, gives a wry and subtle performance as Billie's beleagured, henpecked husband, and Adrienne Barbeau is spot-on as the trashy, trampy, loudly drunken Billie. And while this segment has the same morbid humor of the rest of the tales, it is also pretty scary at times, with a very satisfying ending.

Personal second favorite is "Father's Day", with the bastard of a father yelling "Bedelia! It's Father's Day! Where's my cake? I want my cake, you bitch!" and there's nothing quite like seeing Ed Harris doing what this reviewer likes to call his little "chicken dance", which is rivaled in hilarity only by Jessica Harper's onstage jig in Brian DePalma's underappreciated cult classic "Phantom of the Paradise" (1974).

"Something To Tide You Over" is third personal favorite ("I can hold my breath a long, long time!"), and "They're Creeping Up on You" is for those who are scared by insects, with the great E.G. Marshall as a mean and reclusive germ-phobic millionaire.

Great campy horror fare from Romero and King, worth re-watching several times a year (especially around Halloween - the beginning shots and music are reminiscent of John Carpenter's classic "Halloween").

The Return Of The Living Dead

(1985)

They're Back From The Grave and Ready To Party! 

"The Return Of The Living Dead", written and directed by Dan O'Bannon, and starring Clu Gulager, James Karen and Don Calfa performing at their over-the-top best, is one of the prime examples of the no-holds-barred camp zombie movies to date, with laughter-inducing imagery, lines such as "Send...more...paramedics" and "They're rabid weasels" to a soundtrack with tunes by legendary punk rock groups such as The Cramps.  The supporting cast includes "Scream Queen" Linnea Quigley as Trash, a red-haired punker with a tendency to take her clothes off on a random and frequent basis and dance on the tombs in the local graveyard.

The plot: at the Uneeda Medical Supply (you have to love the name) warehouse in a small town in Kentucky, foreman Frank (Karen) decides to show the new employee, Freddy, some old military barrels that accidentally ended up in the basement. Containing the leftovers of the botched army experiment that inspired the classic "Night of the Living Dead" (1968), the gas inside the barrels sprays all over when Frank starts fiddling with the containers, putrid zombies break out, and the fun is just beginning as Frank phones his boss Burt (Gulager).  Burt rushes over to try and help contain the problem, but of course matters only worsen (split dogs!  headless cadavers running amok!), so the two enlist the help of his mortuary friend (Calfa).

Freddy's teenage friends and his squeaky-voiced goody two-shoes girlfriend Tina show up at the supply house to pick him up when he gets off work, and become entangled in the havoc.

"The Return Of The Living Dead" is a truly hilarious camp classic of zombie films, a must-see for first-timers and a must-see-again-and-again for all fans of zombie films.  It's screening as part of the Cinema Overdrive series (proudly presenting 35mm for all of their films, and showing classic movie trailers before the show), and will be presented on Wednesday, October 26th, at 8:00pm at The Colony, at 5438 Six Forks Road, Raleigh, NC. (919) 856-0111.  Tickets are $5.50 at the door (The Colony is cash-only).

Photo credit: Orion Pictures Corporation, Fox, MGM

The Haunting (1963)

The Haunting (1963)

"You may not believe in ghosts but you cannot deny terror."

Based on the classic 1959 novel "The Haunting Of Hill House" by renowned author Shirley Jackson, and starring Julie Harris, Claire Bloom, Richard Johnson, Russ Tamblyn, masterfully directed by Robert Wise, the original 1963 version of "The Haunting" (don't bother with the hideous 1999 remake) is a true masterpiece of psychological horror.

Dr. John Markway (Johnson) is a psychic researcher who invites a group of people with paranormal experience to help him investigate Hill House - an imposing 90 year-old estate which "had stood for 90 years and might stand for 90 more",  feared by the locals because of its lurid and violent history that began with its original owner, Hugh Crain.

Only two of the invitees show up: the emotionally fragile and introverted Eleanor Vance (Harris); and Theo (Bloom, sporting a wardrobe by edgy '60s designer Mary Quant), stylish, outspoken, beautiful, and sexually ambiguous - in direct contrast to the meek Eleanor. Russ Sanderson (Tamblyn) is the skeptical young relative who stands to inherit Hill House, and he tags along to "protect (his) investment."

Early on in the film there is some humor from the group's interactions with the crabby caretaker and his wife, Mrs. Dudley ("No one lives any nearer than town. No one will come any nearer than that. In the night.  In the dark."), a creepy, skull-faced woman. After that brief injection of humor (which does of course warn the audience of events to come), the film gets down to business: ghostly voices, a superbly mood-setting soundtrack, stark lighting, off-kilter camera angles and subtle insinuations all meld seamlessly with the skillful casting and direction to create some of the most chilling moments in psychological horror.

A must-see classic of  the genre (and the favorite horror film of director Martin Scorsese) "The Haunting" is screening on Tuesday, October 25 at the Koka Booth Ampitheatre in Cary, North Carolina.  Gates open at 6pm, and the movie starts at dusk. Admission - $3, kids 12 and under are free. Blankets, chairs and picnics are allowed. Amphitheatre concessions will be open with movie night snacks and beverages available for purchase. Tickets can be purchased at the Amphitheatre Box Office.

A portion of the proceeds from the movie will benefit the Alzheimer's North Carolina Inc. Supporting North Carolina families dealing with Alzheimers Disease. To learn more visit www.alznc.org

Evil Dead 2

"The Sequel to The Ultimate Experience in Grueling Terror."

(1987)

Directed by Sam Raimi, written by Sam Spiegel, and starring loveable ham Bruce Campbell, "Evil Dead 2" (also known as "Evil Dead 2 - Dead By Dawn") continues Ash Williams' (Campbell) unfortunate saga in a remote cabin in the woods, where a group of evil spirits possess the living, turning them into screeching, gooey, and hilarious monsters, after being summoned by readings from The Book Of The Dead.

If you have seen "The Evil Dead" (1981) then be prepared for even crazier shenanigans as Ash fights for his life, even to the point of cutting off his own arm "It got into my hand and it went bad" then attaching a chainsaw to the stump. Filled with terrific one-liners, and Raimi's trademark directing style utilized to perfect effect, "Evil Dead 2" raises the level of camp at least one big notch up from the first film.  "The Evil Dead" was scary and campy, "Evil Dead 2" is pure horror satire.

"GROOVY!" is this particular film's standout catchphrase, and is another one forever linked with Campbell - his collaborations with Sam Raimi have resulted in such classic camp films as the first in the trilogy "The Evil Dead", then "Evil Dead 2","Army Of Darkness" (1992), and have also spawned several video games based on the films, with Campbell lending his voice.

"Evil Dead 2" is screening as part of the Cool Classics series (proudly presenting 35mm for all their films) hosted by The Colony movie theater in Raleigh, NC, and will be showing on Wednesday, October 19th, at 8:00pm at The Colony, at 5438 Six Forks Road, Raleigh, NC. (919) 856-0111. Classic horror movie trailers shown before the show.  Tickets are $5.50 at the door (note: The Colony is cash-only).