Up! (4 Stars)

Who killed Adolf?

Or didn't he commit suicide in his bunker?

In "Up!" we find out that he faked his death, so that he could flee from the Russians. He's living in a castle in northern California. He's changed his name to Adolf Schwartz, so that nobody will suspect who he is. So what's he up to now, thirty years later (in 1976)? Is he planning to return to power and conquer the world. No, he's gone into retirement. He indulges in his masochistic fantasies by paying local townspeople to torture him. I shan't go into details, except that we see the typical twisted BDSM practise of the submissive being the person in control. Adolf is tied up, but he continues to bark commands about how he wants to be treated next. It's obvious that the people dominating him, a man and three women, despise him and are only with him for the money.

But Adolf's retirement doesn't last. After the BDSM session, when he thinks he's alone, someone murders him by throwing a piranha into his bathtub.

As far as the production went, this was probably Russ Meyer's most chaotic film. When the filming was completed, he realised it was too short, so he added interludes with Kitten Natividad, in which she balances naked on a tree and encourages the audience to work out who the killer is. Normally I would have laughed, but Kitten is so beautiful that I'll forgive Russ just this once. Russ had written the film itself, but he asked his friend Roger Ebert to write Kitten's dialogue. Kitten was picked at the last minute, and her Mexican accent was so strong that her dialogue was barely intelligible. Attempts were made to give her voice coaching, but it was too late to do a good job, so her voice was dubbed by an unknown actress.

I should mention that Adolf's dialogue, spoken completely in German, was written by the Swiss actress Uschi Digard. Despite being played by an American actor, the German accent is flawless, which makes me suspect his voice was also dubbed.

Is this Nietzsche's Superwoman? Kitten is unnecessarily modest, calling herself the Greek Chorus.

Maybe this is Nietzsche's Superwoman. Margo Winchester is an undercover policewoman who arrives in town to solve the murder. When she performs a dance act on stage her voice sounds like Mae West. The identical initials aren't a coincidence.

"Up!" wasn't as successful as Russ Meyer's other films in the 1970's. It was criticised for its excessive violence. His films always contained violence, but this time he pushed it to the limit. It was banned in several American states, which contributed to its lesser success. In a new commentary track for the 4K release, the film historian Elizabeth Purchell says that "Up!" is an underrated film, but doesn't go as far as to say it's up to the standard of "Supervixens" or "Beneath the Valley of the Ultravixens". I also like "Up!" a lot, but not as much as these two films.

TV Series: The Sopranos Season 4

R.I.P. Jerry Adler, who passed away on 23rd August, aged 1996. I would have written about him last week, but he didn't appear in the last three episodes of the Sopranos. He was a secondary character, who only appeared in 28 of the 86 episodes, but he played an important part in cementing the Sopranos mythology. The New Jersey mob was made up of Italian Americans, but Hesh (Herman Rabkin) was a Jew who was a close friend of Tony and enjoyed the respect of his associates. His history was as a music producer, giving work to young black Americans, but making money off them by falsely claiming he'd co-written their songs.

The fourth season starts with the first change in the opening credits since season one. The reason is the date. The third season ended on 20th May 2001, and the fourth season began on 15th September 2002 (broadcast dates). The events of 11th September 2001 necessitated the removal of the World Trade Center (sic) from the credits. Rather than remake the whole credits, the scene was replaced by metal railings of unclear location.

Several things have happened between the two seasons:

AJ (Anthony Junior) has been enrolled into a new school.

Paulie has been imprisoned for unspecified gun charges.

Christopher is using heroin.

Tony's wife Carmela is becoming attracted to Tony's soldier Furio Giunta. She's too reserved to say anything, but she becomes flustered whenever he comes to her house, and, well... it's just obvious from the way she acts.

So much for Janice Soprano's conversion to Christianity. I knew it wouldn't last long. She's taking cocaine and having an affair with Ralphie Cifaretto, even though he's dating Rosalie Aprile. Eventually he breaks up with Rosalie and says he wants to move in with Janice, but she turns him away. She wants a man, but it can't be serious.

After an argument with Christopher, undercover agent Deborah Ciccerone (aka Danielle) can no longer act as Adriana's friend. The FBI decide that she should reveal her true identity. Adriana is threatened with up to 25 years in prison if she doesn't cooperate. This is obviously an exaggeration, but Adriana is scared and agrees to give information.

Deborah/Danielle can go back to her usual hairstyle. I prefer her professional look, but can't she smile?

This is a slow start to season four, but don't worry, things are warming up.

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Kangaroo (4 Stars)

"Kangaroo" is based on a true story, but the film is told as a comedy.

News anchor Chris Masterson is disgraced when he attempts to save a beached dolphin on live television, but unwittingly causes its death. He's fired from his job in Sydney, and he has to accept a lower paid job in western Australia. While driving to his new job his car hits and kills a kangaroo. He finds a baby kangaroo in the pouch and rescues it. The accident is witnessed by 10-year-old Charlie, who tells him that anyone who kills a kangaroo's mother is responsible for it, otherwise he'll suffer a curse.

Charlie is able to help Chris. Her grandfather is the only car mechanic in the nearby town Silver Gum, population 750. He also has a small cabin that Chris can stay in while his car is being repaired. It's derelict, but at least it's a roof over his head.

Charlie feels drawn to Chris, because her father has recently died. She's an outsider in school, spurned by the other children because of her love for kangaroos. It's soon apparent that she invented the curse to protect the kangaroo. Initially the town's residents reject Chris as a city man, but as the weeks go by waiting for his car to be repaired they begin to accept him. While Chris is waiting, Charlie brings more kangaroos to stay with him in the cabin

This is a touching story. I think I would have preferred it if it hadn't been a comedy, but I still enjoyed it. Due to my holidays, it was my first cinema visit for more than a month. It was a good return.

Today I watched the film dubbed into German. For some reason Charle's name was changed to Lily. That's strange.

Vixen (4 Stars)

"Vixen" is set in the great country of Canada, to be more precise in British Columbia. It was Russ Meyer's 12th film, made in 1968. His previous films had been moderately successful, but this was his big breakthrough. In the commentary Russ says it was the film that put him on Easy Street. It was filmed with a budget of $20,000, but it earned $26 million at the box office. I have to ask how he could make it so cheap. Didn't he pay the actors anything?

This is Vixen herself, as played by the beautiful Erica Gavin. Was she the reason for the film's success? Maybe in part, but there had been beautiful women in all of Russ Meyer's films. Maybe it was the politics. Maybe it was the scandalous subject matter. Whatever it was, Russ ticked all the right boxes, and the film was a massive hit.

This is Vixen's husband, Tom Palmer. He has a small cabin that he rents to tourists who want to get away from civilisation. He picks them up from a nearby airport with his private plane. It's mentioned at the beginning that he spends a lot of time away from home, but it's not stated what he's doing. A fellow pilot asks him if he's not worried that Vixen will be unfaithful in his absence. Tom isn't worried. He's convinced that Vixen is always faithful. Silly man. At the very moment he's speaking these words she's with a Canadian Mountie.

It's a remote community, and there aren't many men. One of them is Vixen's brother Judd. He declares his rebellion against the world by wearing a swastika and other Nazi regalia. Is that really necessary? There must be other ways to tell people you're a rebel. He's not a pleasant person. There are a lot of unpleasant characters in Russ Meyer's films. But Vixen herself is the most unpleasant person.

When there are no Mounties available, Vixen opens her shirt to tempt her little brother. He resists her, but it's all he can do to keep his hand steady on the throttle.

Vixen doesn't give up so easily. She always gets what she wants. She climbs into the shower with him when he's naked. That's more than any man can resist, sister or not. Within minutes they're on the bed performing acts that are illegal in Canada.

At this point you must be thinking that Vixen will sleep with any man. No, she has her limits. She despises black men, so she refuses to sleep with Judd's friend Niles. He wants her, but she doesn't want him. He's an American who's fled to Canada to avoid being drafted into the Vietnam war. He wears his peace sign with pride, although his peaceful nature isn't his only motivation. He also says that he refuses to fight for a country that treats him as a second class citizen.

But what about the politics? Tom has a guest called Mr. O'Bannion, a stereotypical Communist. He promises Niles a better future in Cuba, where his skin colour won't matter. O'Bannion hijacks Tom's plane and forces him to fly to Cuba, where Niles can enjoy a life of freedom. On the way, Niles wakes up to reality and sees that O'Bannion is just another sort of oppressor.

There's something I never noticed in Russ Meyer's films until I listened to the film commentaries: the women don't blink. They always stare straight at the men they're talking to. This is a subtle touch, that most viewers (including me) will miss, but it makes the women more intimidating.

Success Rate:  + 1298.0

TV Series: The Sopranos Season 3 (Part 4)

The eleventh episode of season three, "Pine Barrens", is worth a special mention, because most Sopranos fans consider it the best episode of the whole series. Paulie and Christopher accidentally kill a man when a pick up goes wrong. They dump him in their trunk and drive to Pine Barrens, a woodland area in southern New Jersey, to bury the body. They should have checked more closely. When they open the trunk he's still alive. He attacks them and runs away. The rest of the episode involves Paulie and Christopher wandering around in the woods, unable to find where they parked their car.

The main recurring theme in the fourth part of season three (episodes 11 to 13) is break ups. Tony's short, tempestuous relationship with Gloria Trillo is over. She crosses a line by making contact with Tony's wife. She even threatens to tell his wife and children about their relationship. No no no. That's going too far. Tony breaks off the relationship immediately, and when she rings him to ask him to change his mind he sends a man to threaten to kill her if she ever contacts him again.

The other break up is Jackie Aprile, who's been dating Meadow Soprano for only a few months. When Meadow says she's too tired to have sex with him, he contacts another girl to fulfil his needs. What's wrong with him? God gave men a right hand to deal with problems like those. Meadow is suspicious because of his lame excuse; he has to take his car to be repaired. At midnight? Would anyone believe that? She breaks off the relationship immediately. Unlike Gloria he doesn't beg to be taken back.

But the break up is sealed in another way. A few days later Jackie is foolish enough to rob a card game run by his uncle's associates. Jackie goes into hiding, but he's found and shot in the back of the head. He doesn't even see it coming. That's a mercy.

The FBI has no decency. They interrupt Jackie's funeral to arrest Silvio Dante for gambling offences. They know where he lives; they know where he works. Couldn't they have arrested him later? Silvio isn't worried. He laughs at the agents and tells them his lawyer will get him out before his soup is cold.

We hear nothing more about the arrest, but Silvio's prediction comes true. A few hours later we see him at Jackie's funeral wake with his wife. Incidentally, the two actors are also man and wife in real life. They make a beautiful couple.

There are two developments at the end of the season that will have effects in the following seasons. Tony's son AJ (Anthony Junior), shown here looking smart at the wake, is expelled for stealing the results of a school test. There's an unsuccessful attempt to enrol him in a military academy, but the season ends with him being unschooled.

The junior FBI agent Deborah Ciccerone is assigned to get closer to the Soprano family by becoming friends with Christopher's girlfriend Adriana.

Deborah fluffs her hair up and arranges a chance encounter in a clothing store. They're friends immediately. But which look do you prefer? Speaking for myself, I like her professional flat hair look. Did Deborah really have so much hair glued to her head?

This was yet another excellent season? Where will it go from here? I already know the answer, because I've seen it all before, but I'll keep you in suspense.

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Patterns of Evidence: Exodus (4 Stars)

This is a subject that's been interesting me for a few months. I read the questions and answers on Quora, and the Exodus of the Jews from Egypt is a frequent topic. Most of the writers who contribute to the site smugly say "There is no evidence that a large slave population ever left Egypt". End of story. I'm not an archaeologist, so I just have to take their word for it. And yet the Biblical narrative of the Exodus is so detailed that it seems unlikely to have been invented merely to justify the existence of the Jews as a racial entity.

I was discussing the subject with a friend last night, and she pushed this DVD into my hand. It's a documentary made by a filmmaker called Timothy Mahoney, who was struggling with the same questions as me. Unlike me, he was able to do his own research on the subject. For 12 years he travelled around the world, not just to Egypt and Israel, but to universities and museums in America and European countries where he could speak to experts and examine old papyri.

The Exodus is supposed to have taken place round about 1250 BC, based on the interpretation of a few Bible verses, correlated with Egyptian records. The problem is that there is no evidence in Egypt that this ever happened. Mahoney's research led him to believe that the Biblical verses have been wrongly interpreted, and the chronology of ancient Egyptian history is faulty. Looking at the records 400 years earlier, he found archaeological evidence of large cities in north west Egypt that were abandoned at short notice. He put together records from the arrival of Joseph in Egypt to the return of the Jews to Canaan.

The problem is that most archaeologists refuse to accept anything that doesn't fit the traditional Egyptian chronology. For instance, the city of Jericho was dug up, and it was discovered that there was no city at that location in 1250 BC. But when the archaeologists dug deeper, they found the remains of a city that suddenly collapsed 400 years earlier. An earthquake? Believe that if you want to, but it coincides with the time when the Israelites attacked Jericho.

Mahoney emphasises that the experts he visited were all non-Christians, either atheists or agnostics. They were scientists, and as scientists they were interested in uncovering the truth. Like Mahoney, they were convinced that there was overwhelming evidence for the departure of a large slave people from Egypt.

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I still know what you did last summer (5 Stars)

I'm back from holiday, so as promised I'm able to watch the sequel to "I know what you did last summer". Afterwards I took the time to read reviews of the film. The critics just don't get it. For instance:

"I Still Know borders on being worthy of nothing but the direct-to-video bin, but the film's box office return that put it in the black proved otherwise. Nevertheless, I Still Know is a terrible film, one devoid of brains, originality, and, most disappointingly, scares. A tame and by-the-book slasher picture with only a hint of gore, a generic story, and dull characters, I Still Know marks one of the very worst of the Teen Slasher genre that actually enjoyed a theatrical run".

As far as I'm concerned, it's a brilliant film that lives up to the original in every way. I've never spoken to anyone personally who hates the film, it's only the know-it-all critics who batter it. I'm issuing a challenge. If you're someone who loves the original but hates the sequel, leave a comment telling me what you don't like about it. Let's discuss the film, one on one. I doubt you'll be able to change my mind, but at least you can help me understand what's so bad about the film, in your eyes.

Success Rate:  + 1.5

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The Babysitter: Killer Queen (3 Stars)

Holiday Netflix #7

"The Babysitter: Killer Queen" is a wild, over-the-top sequel that doubles down on the campy humour and blood-soaked chaos of the original. Set two years after the first film, it follows Cole as he once again finds himself battling demonic forces during a weekend getaway gone wrong. While the movie embraces its absurdity with flashy visuals and tongue-in-cheek dialogue, it struggles to capture the same charm and surprise that made The Babysitter so enjoyable. The returning cast, especially Samara Weaving, adds bursts of energy, but the story often feels repetitive and unfocused. Despite its flaws, Killer Queen remains a guilty pleasure; loud, self-aware, and entertaining for fans who enjoy stylish, overcaffeinated horror-comedy.

The Babysitter [2017] (4 Stars)

Holiday Netflix #6

"The Babysitter" is a darkly comedic horror film that blends slasher tropes with sharp humour and self-awareness. The story follows a young boy who discovers that his seemingly perfect babysitter is part of a satanic cult, leading to a night of chaos and bloody mayhem. Director McG keeps the pace fast and the tone playful, balancing gore with witty dialogue and over-the-top performances. Samara Weaving shines as the charismatic yet menacing babysitter, elevating the film beyond its B-movie premise. While it’s not particularly deep, "The Babysitter" delivers exactly what it promises: fun, stylish, and unapologetically outrageous horror entertainment.

Fear Street Part Three: 1666 (5 Stars)

Holiday Netflix #5

Deena Johnson finds herself in Sarah Fier's body in 1666. Deena is unable to act, she just passively sees everything through Sarah's eyes. She discovers that nothing in the stories about Sarah was true. She wasn't a witch, she was a lesbian, which was considered even worse than witchcraft.

The events in 1666 take up most of the film. When Sarah is hanged, Deena is released from her body and returned to the present (1994). She thinks she can use the new information she's gained to free Shadyside from its curse.

The three films in the trilogy were filmed back to back over a six month period, but the third film is superior to the first two parts. It's the script that makes it better. In the words of "Scream 3", in the third film of a trilogy "whatever you think you know about the past, forget it".

Fear Street Part Two: 1978 (4½ Stars)

Holiday Netflix #4

Deena Johnson meets Cindy Berman, who claims to be the only living person who's seen the witch Sarah Fier, She survived the attacks of a serial killer at Camp Nightwing, a sports event that features a competition between the young people from Sunnyvale and Shadyside. Cindy relates the events in an extended flashback, before finally confessing that she's not Cindy Berman, she's really Cindy's younger sister Ziggy.

In the story Cindy (the real Cindy) discovers secrets written about Sarah Fier. She gave up her hand to make a deal with the Devil that she would be given eternal life. She was hanged as a witch shortly afterwards, but she's been causing mayhem in Shadyvale since 1666. The only way to stop her is by uniting Sarah's hand with her body, which is a difficult task because they've been buried separately in two unknown places.

Deena and her friends find the hand and place it in Sarah's grave, but it isn't enough to stop her. Deena finds herself transported into the body of Sarah Fier in 1666.

Fear Street Part One: 1994 (4 Stars)

Holiday Netflix #3

Shadyside is a town that's had a series of serial killers ever since the town was founded 300 years ago. In contrast, the neighbouring town Sunnyvale is a peaceful town with hardly any crime. One evening after closing time Josh, a Shadyside mall employee, goes crazy and kills eight other employees before being shot by the sheriff. What's wrong with the town?

There are stories that a woman called Sarah Fier who was executed for witchcraft in 1666 has put a curse on the town. Every few years she possesses a person and makes him a killer. Deena Johnson, a Shadyside teenager, decides to investigate. Josh and two of the previous killers come back to life to pursue her.

Why only three killers? If there have been killers for 300 years, couldn't the witch send 20 or more killers to do her work?

Despite a few discrepancies, this is a much better film than "Fear Street: Prom Queen".

I know what you did last summer (5 Stars)

Holiday Netflix #2

After watching the rather disappointing teen slasher film earlier today, I decided to watch a masterpiece in the genre. "I know what you did last summer" is the highest horror film in my top 100 film list, unless you class "Terminator" as a horror film. Actually, "Terminator" really is a horror film, even though most fans class it as a science fiction film. Can't it be both? it follows all the tropes of an unstoppable slasher.

But that's getting off the subject. "I know what you did last summer" is an eternal classic. It does everything right, from the character development to the suspense. The opening scene paves the way for the film, even though most viewers won't understand its relevance until the second time they watch it. This is what a teen slasher film should be.

After watching it I wanted to watch the (sadly underrated) sequel, but it's not available on Netfilx, so I'll have to wait until I get home to my Blu-ray collection. What idiot said that streaming has replaced physical media?

Success Rate:  + 5.4

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Fear Street: Prom Queen (3 Stars)

Holiday Netflix #1

I'm on holiday in Borkum for the next two weeks. Naturally I'll be spending most of my time outdoors, on the beach or taking lengthy walks, but I intend to watch a film on Netflix each night before bed. Or at times like now, when there's heavy rain.

My first choice was "Fear Street: Prom Queen". A lot of people say they don't like horror films, and this is probably the sort of film they'd consider typical for horror films. A serial killer is killing all the candidates who want to become the high school prom queen. There's lots of gore, lots of blood, lots of jump scares. For me the film isn't bad in itself, but it has no depth. The only thing that excited me was a short dance scene in which four of the candidates dance in sexy Stars-And-Stripes bathing suits. Soon after that they were all killed. A problem is that the body count is so high that the film has little time for character development.

There are much better teen slasher films available.

Nevertheless, after reading that there are four films in the Fear Street series, I'm interested in seeing the others. The first three films were rated highly by critics, but the fourth ("Prom Queen") was given a low rating. So the other films must be better? I hope so.