Youth of the Beast (Review)

August 31, 2015ByTars Tarkas

Youth of the Beast

aka 野獣の青春 aka Yaju no Seishun aka Wild Youth

1963
Written by Ichiro Ikeda and Tadaki Yamazaki
Based on the novel by Haruhiko Oyabu
Directed by Seijun Suzuki

A random stranger coming to town to pit two rival groups against each other is a classic story done well in a variety of genres, and with Youth of the Beast we get the story set in the swinging 1960s yakuza beat, with director Seijun Suzuki determined to make the visuals by themselves a grand spectacle. Joe Shishido and his cheeks take their usual place as a Suzuki lead, as Shishido’s Joji Mizuno waltzes in to lead the sides to their collective dooms.

so what makes Youth of the Beast worth watching like similar tales Yojimbo, Red Harvest, Django, A Fistful of Dollars, or even The Warrior and the Sorceress? Aside from the story being well told again, there is the great Seijun Suzuki visuals. Suzuki starts showing off his boredom with the nonstop yakuza films by tossing in a bunch of visual flair. He must have had fun, because his films only seemed to escalate from here. Youth of the Beast opens with a bleak black and white scene of solemn police investigating a double suicide, a cop and a woman, the only point of color (and life) being a red flower. This sharply contrasts with the vibrant color and exciting city life full of laughing girls, violent fights at the drop of a hat, and a jazzy soundtrack that immediately follows, as Joji Mizuno beats through some Nomoto yakuza thugs to rob their money and blow it at their club.

The energetic club is full of life, sin, and sound, while the Nomoto yakuza bosses who control it observe though soundproof one way mirrors, giving the mirth a surreal quality. Mizuno’s ease of dispatching the thugs gains the interest of the boss, and after a bit of interrogation and some display of weapons skills, he’s on their team. Then just as quickly, Mizuno is ratting everything out to the boss of the rival Sanko gang. As he’s out for revenge against the groups that ruined his life, breaking them apart piece by piece becomes a fun game.

InMovie News

Fatal Flip is a Lifetime housing crash!

August 28, 2015ByTars Tarkas

If this movie doesn’t end with a house literally being flipped on someone, demand your money back!

Just when you thought it was safe to watch those shows about awful people flipping houses with cheap construction and selling to gullible fools for ridiculous prices, now Lifetime has turned them into a Fatal Attraction situation! Fatal Flip has some first time flippers find out that they should have used Angie’s List when vetting their contractor, leading to probable fatal consequences! Someone call Mike Holmes to fix this housing mess, stat!

Jeff and Alex had a simple plan: buy a rundown house, make some repairs, sell it for a profit. But house-flipping can be expensive, and when the young couple partner with Nate, a handsome contractor with a dark past, they get more than they bargained for.

Fatal Flip stars Dominique Swain, Mike Faiola, Michael Steger, and Tatyana Ali, who is the only character I will care about as Ashley Banks rules. The film is directed by Maureen Bharoocha, and written by her and Ellen Huggins. This is Bharoocha’s first feature directing job and the first feature either women have written.

Fatal Flip premieres Saturday, August 29th on Lifetime!

via Lifetime

探偵事務所２３くたばれ悪党ども Detective Bureau 2-3: Go to Hell Bastards!

InMovie Reviews, Ugly

Detective Bureau 2-3: Go to Hell Bastards! (Review)

August 24, 2015ByTars Tarkas

Detective Bureau 2-3: Go to Hell Bastards!

aka 探偵事務所２３くたばれ悪党ども aka Tantei Jimusho 23: Kutabare Akutodomo aka Detective Bureau 23: Down with the Wicked

1963
Screenplay by Gan Yamazaki (as Iwao Yamazaki)
Based on the novel by Haruhiko Oyabu
Directed by Seijun Suzuki

Detective Bureau 2-3 is a light-hearted action film, filled with plenty of comedy bits and trucks full of yakuza running around like video game mobs. This is before Seijun Suzuki went full fever dream, but he does have fun sending up the not very original undercover plot and having plenty of side action and goofs to fill the running time. At times it feels like a Keystone cops vs Keystone yakuza film, as trucks full of gang members armed with random blunt objects drive around in circles chasing after their prey, and dozens of cops run around and try to arrest them all. That’s just flavor for the Joe Shishido being a hero plot, but the trucks full of yakuza (and the musical numbers) are far more memorable than the central story.

The goofiness sort of works against the serious parts, we open with a Pepsi truck ambushing a weapons deal, Sakura and Otsuki gang members are massacred by the armed thugs riding the truck, and some poor Pepsi gets spilled when bottles are shot during the firefight. I guess those bottles won’t be getting the nickel refund! Was there a refund for glass bottles in Japan? The scene seems ridiculous, but the results are fatally real for everyone who is targeted. Only one witness survives, a guy named Manabe (Tamio Kawachi), and he’s suspected of being one of the attackers. The police have him stashed away in their precinct, and outside Sakura and Otsuki gang members wait in their cars, armed with rifles. Don’t worry, they all have the proper permits that say they are going hunting and are just waiting there before they go hunting, which is sort of hilarious. It would be even more hilarious if this wasn’t reality in various open carry states where morons carry AK-47s in public and scare people, and the cops can’t do anything.

The police know Manabe is dead if the mob gets him, and they don’t have enough evidence to hold him forever. So Captain Kumagaya (Nobuo Kaneko) has an idea, he calls on noted Detective Hideo Tajima (Joe Shishido). But to keep everything off the books and confusing in case of leaks or bad ends, Detective Hideo Tajima is given a gun and a permit, all under the fake identity of Ichiro Tanaka. He uses his skills to drive Manabe away from the waiting goons and causes enough of a scene (thanks to a timely cement truck blocking the yakuza vehicles) that they escape, and is instantly recruited to join Manabe’s gang.

The Unauthorized Full House Story Lifetime

InMovie News

The Unauthorized Full House Story spoils the secrets on Lifetime!

August 20, 2015ByTars Tarkas

The Shocking Truth of what happened to Comet!!!

The most legally defensible word in the English languages is “Unauthorized”, and Lifetime is on a mission to turn that into a film franchise of 90s nostalgia mixed with the drama we never knew we needed to know, no matter how ridiculous and made up it may be. On that note, the next entry is The Unauthorized Full House Story, and that premieres this weekend in what will surely be a bunch of people making jokes on Twitter, a few of which will actually be watching the film!

Prepare to return to the world of Danny Tanny, Jesse Kastopolis, and Joey the Guy in the Basement along with all the kids and random neighbor children only months before the actual Full House sequel series premieres, where DJ Tanner continues the Tanner Spouse Death Curse. Will we learn shocking truths about how Bob Saget and John Stamos are mortal enemies? Will we learn what happened to the secret Olson Triplet? I expect a full expose about which cast member stole Dave Coulier’s career after the show ended! And if Full House ain’t your thing, Lifetime has upcoming Unauthorized Melrose Place and Unauthorized 90210 films on the way, with probably many more. I’m still waiting for their Unauthorized Fresh Prince of Bel Air and Power Rangers shows.

Lifetime’s Unauthorized film franchise continues this summer with the original movie “The Unauthorized Full House Story.” From its start as an unassuming family comedy in 1987 to its eventual wildly popular 192-episode run, the film centers on the rise of the cast of one of America’s most beloved family sitcoms and the pressures they faced in balancing their television personas with their real lives.

The iconic roles include:

DANNY TANNER: Garrett Brawith (“Rolling”) as Bob Saget

JOEY GLADSTONE: Justin Mader (“Death Race”) as Dave Coulier

JESSE KATSOPOLIS: Justin Gaston (“Days of Our Lives”) as John Stamos

REBECCA DONALDSON: Stephanie Bennett (“Big Eyes”) as Lori Loughlin

D.J. TANNER: Shelby Armstrong and Brittney Wilson (“Rogue”) as the younger and older versions of Candace Cameron

STEPHANIE TANNER: Dakota Guppy (“The Returned”) and Jordyn Olson (“The Unauthorized Saved by the Bell Story”) as the younger and older versions of Jodie Sweetin

MICHELLE TANNER: Blaise and Kinslea Todd as the toddler versions of twins Mary-Kate and Ashley Olsen; Calla and Tyla Jones playing them at age six and Kylie and Jordan Armstrong as the twins at nine years of age

KIMMY GIBBLER: Aislyn Watson (“Finding Mrs. Claus”) and Jaime Schneider (“Twisted Tales of My 9 to 5”) as the younger and older versions of Andrea Barber

“The Unauthorized Full House Story” is produced by Front Street Pictures and Bay Road Productions Ltd. for broadcast on Lifetime. The movie is executive produced by Harvey Kahn (“Flowers in the Attic”) and Stephen Bulka (“The Unauthorized Saved by the Bell Story”). The film is directed by Brian K. Roberts (“An En Vogue Christmas”), and the teleplay is written by Ron McGee (“Rizzoli & Isles”).

The Unauthorized Full House Story premieres Saturday, August 22nd on Lifetime!

via Lifetime!

What did happen predictability?

Everywhere you look, Unauthorized Lifetime adaptations are coming for YOU!

InGallery

Dee Vee the DVD Monster and more Tumblr fun!

August 19, 2015ByTars Tarkas

It’s that time again, time to post an article full of images culled from Tumblr complete with comments. As usual, we will link to sources if we can (though I’m not linking to NSFW stuff), but I won’t link if I have no idea where it came from or if it is something that obviously isn’t from where I found it. Fun images are fun, so let’s have fun. Won’t you?

I have no idea who Dee Vee the DVD Monster is, but he’s awesome! Can you be as awesome as Dee Vee the DVD Monster? No, you cannot. Don’t even try, it is embarrassing for both of us, and you are upsetting Dee Vee the DVD Monster.
via

http://www.megolike.com/lincolnint.htm
No, that’s not Mr. Spock, it’s his identical cousin Mr. Rock! Mego was a popular toy line, and like all popular toy lines, there are waves and waves of bootleg knockoffs. Mr. Rock here is one of many, he’s from a line produced by Lincoln International, most of the others were various versions of monsters like Frankenstein, Dracula, the Mummy, and a Girl Victim!!! Amazingly, the Girl Victim is a ripoff of an old Aurora model kit from 1971 that elicited a string of protests resulting in the kit being pulled. Then a few years later Lincoln International decides to do it all again! I guess Mr. Rock here can be a hero and save her, assuming he isn’t the evil goateed version of Mr. Rock from the Mirror Universe!

As you can see in this link from the wonderful Plaid Stallions website, Mr. Rock came complete with a ray gun and a pink space communicator, which looks amazingly like a cell phone. Bootleg toys, predicting the future just as well as Star Trek!

Oh, Mr. Sweet Potatoes, what mysteries could you possibly contain? Oh. Well, then! Public domain is the best domain! Also there is a drawing of a chimp in a monocle reading the newspaper for one of the stories (Spoiler: the chimp dies!) via monster-a-go-go

Dance dance dance!
via

We had a bootleg Mr. Spock, now how about the real deal Mr. Spock hawking candy cigarettes! Those of you who are young might not know that there used to be candy cigarettes that you could buy to pretend that you smoked, only they were basically flavored chalk (they were usually NASTY!) and I never really saw them again after the 1980s. But this is the swinging 70s, 1970 to be exact, and Primrose Confectionery from England is proud to present Star Trek Sweet Cigarettes! How many people do you think died because of these candies?

via

One of many Godzilla images on Tumblr, this is a copy of the Godzilla vs. Hedorah soundtrack! Back when album art mattered.

If there is one thing I like as much as ridiculous movies, it is ridiculous bootleg toys. So the second bootleg toy series we’ll look at is this cheap vending machine set called Horrible Vending Machine Monsters. As you can see, they featured the classic monster lineup, but also “Godzilla” and “King Kong”. Except you can clearly see that the “Godzilla” toy is just a bigger Creature from the Black Lagoon, and the “King Kong” looks like a big Wolfman. It is entirely possible that there are other molds beside these and there are actual Godzilla and King Kong toys, but who knows? Your new life goal is to travel back to 1960s vending machine America and answer that question some day! So hurry up and post the answers in the comment section!

Be sure to drop by Our Tumblr if you enjoy people who repost things that were reposted. And also updates and random stuff I post from my heard drive of 20 years of collecting random crap on the internet!

InMovie Reviews, Ugly

Whiskey Business (Review)

August 17, 2015ByTars Tarkas

Whiskey Business

2012
Written by Jed Elinoff, Scott Thomas
Directed by Robert Iscove

Pauly Shore making moonshine on a CMT made for tv movie? How can you say no? The best part is how I taped this and then forgot about it, yet as soon as I found the recording on my hard drive I instantly watched it, because you just have to watch it, even if it is years too late. Yes, Country Music Television makes tv movies now and again, and not only is Pauly Shore being all Jersey Shore in hillbilly land, but there is Tanya Tucker running around, and Dukes of Hazzard alum John playing a corrupt sheriff who is anti-moonshine. That’s some inspired casting, right there.

The movie is dumb as heck and seems to let Pauly Shore improvise half of his dialogue while the scenes play out. But it’s also dumb fun, because Shore’s character begins to grow on you. I am of the often controversial opinion that Pauly Shore is entertaining at times, so your mileage may vary. Some may be shocked because this review of a Pauly Shore movie will be positive, but please try to keep it all in stride…

Nicky Ferelli (Pauly Shore) is a mob boss scion who spends his days working out and spraytanning, and his nights partying it up and making flavored drinks. The only thing keeping him from being a reality show cast member is the lack of a stupid nickname. He has no intentions of taking over the family business, but his dad has other plans, sending him out with enforcer Dino (Ari Cohen). Dino feels that he is the rightful heir to the family, and plans to kill off Nicky, which goes awry as Nicky escapes by hiding inside a truck. But he’s now framed for murder and alone in Tennesse, where he’s promptly robbed of his shoes and left to run through the woods. Avoiding potshots from an angry moonshiner with a gun, Parnell (Brad Borbridge), Nicky is helped by bar owner Jess (Cynthia Preston) and sort of adopted by Trina (Tanya Tucker), giving him a place to stay and food. He ends up helping Parnell (who is Trina’s stepson) and his moonshine, coming up with a scheme to flavor it with fruit so it doesn’t taste terrible.

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