Tagged: look

Theatrical Thursday – ‘The Quest for the Mighty Sword’ (1990).

Ten bucks certainly can’t buy much these days; a measly movie ticket, maybe a six pack, a mess of cheap tacos, or a beer at a ball game.  Oddly enough, ten dollars can sometimes finance your movie.  Ok, maybe this film cost twelve bucks to make. Want to be a filmmaker?  Grab your beefiest best friend, a ratty blonde weave, some fur covered fruit of the looms, a few dwarves for a little “Lord of the Rings” flavor, and get to filming.  That’s exactly what the makers of The Quest for the Mighty Sword did.  Vomit inducing dialog?  Check.  Cookie cutter, fifth grade school play quality, 80’s porn-esque backdrops?  Check.  Absolutely, incredibly, mindbendingly ridiculous storyline?  You know it.  A dude with a sword that fights robots?  All i can say is wow.  I truly don’t think anyone ever successfully pulled off a Conan meets Battlestar Galactica mix.  This flick takes you down a dark alley that you’d normally avoid at all costs, lest you get stabbed unmercifully.  The film follows a guy named Ator on his journey to free his people from a magically evil dwarf troll (like you really care what this movie is about), while battling mythical creatures along the way.  That pretty much sums it up; the key to watching a flick like this is keeping an open mind, and trying really hard not to take it seriously.  Surprisingly, director Joe d’Amato did.  All jokes aside, it’s a hilariously fun ride, and props to d’Amato for crafting a truly memorable piece of work.  Also, much respect to Eric Allan Kramer, who is one hell of a talented actor, and was just the man to connect the dots and hold this thing together. Needless to say, as a true film fan, this flick is a must watch purely for the sake of an hour and a half of utter fun and a good deal of belly laughs.

Check it out!

Note – this movie scored a whopping 2/10 rating on IMDB.com.

Theatrical Thursday – Double Indemnity (1944).

I’ve always said that some of the best movies can be seen on a quiet Saturday morning; there’s some good fertilizer in that crisp Saturday morning air that gives blossom to great movie viewing. It’s fun to catch a great picture from start to finish in the gray of the morning before the world wakes up, and before you owe the day any of your time, or anything to anyone. Some of the best films I’ve ever seen have been scoped on mornings just like that, free of burden, free of care, and with a surplus of time. When we were kids, my sister and I made it a goal to watch as many of the American Film Institute’s Top 100 films of all time in one summer; I can’t recall just how many we saw, but we gained some good ground while she was in town. One of my favorites from that summer was 1944’s Double Indemnity, starring Fred MacMurray and Barbary Stanwyck, so I decided to give that old classic a go this morning with my coffee.

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Director Billy Wilder’s Double Indemnity is film noir at its finest; the dialogue was as thick and sultry as the lingering cigarette smoke, the script was as complex and detailed as the bourbon they drank, and the characters were as cool and slick and breezy as a mid May afternoon. The cinematography was a dimly lit tapestry of finely weaved shots that suffused the story with an air of gritty believability, and added a hefty and necessary dose of grim weight to the subject matter. The sturdy Fred MacMurray played Walter Neff, a hot shot top insurance salesman who fell instantly for the brazen and deceptively conniving Phyllis Dietrichson, played icily by Stanwyck. Neff falls hard for the allure of Mrs. Dietrichson, who convincingly lures the haplessly love struck Neff into a plot to knock off her husband after taking out a life insurance policy on him. The venerable Edward G. Robinson, star of a horde of gangster films and early Hollywood gems, played the feisty and meticulously detailed Barton Keyes; a remarkably intelligent Sherlock Holmes-esqe claims adjuster with a knack for sniffing out mischief.

The dark and brooding undertones of the film set a castle solid foundation of deceit, mystery, and intrigue that was so effectively present in the classics of the 40’s and 50’s, and earned the film seven Oscar nominations, including Best Picture.

Men of Distinction – Bo Jonsson Grip (1330’s-1386).

There’s powerful, and then there’s Bo Jonsson Grip powerful. By any means necessary, Jonsson (Grip is Swedish for griffin), a Swedish noble, managed to nab the highest titles available (including ruler of Finland), was in possession of the largest landholdings in Swedish history (even more than the royal family), and served as the right hand man of the king. He exerted tremendous control over the politics of the day, and his influence over foreign and domestic matters was unparalleled; in addition, his wealth and position allowed for crucial input regarding royal matters and matters of succession. It is even said that he got away with the murder of one of his second wife’s admirers due to his high status. Bo Jonsson…distinguished.



 
 

Look him up!