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Reviews
The Mephisto Waltz (1971)
All-da reasons not to watch
If you can believe that two gorgeous women like Jackie Bisset and Barbara Parkins would fight over Alan Alda . . .
Alda's shambling gracelessness lends little credibility to this movie but when he is off-screen, although it does not rival the Ripley/Alien slug-fest in Aliens, there is enough acceptable conflict between Bisset and Parkins give this movie some distinction. Oh, yeah, Curt Jurgens is pretty good, too.
Mosura tai Gojira (1964)
Can He Turn Corners?
Can Godzilla turn corners, or MUST he smash right straight through buildings? Why does he hate towers and castles so much? And what, exactly, is so threatening to Godzilla about Mothra (in Moth form)? What's Mothra going to do? Knock him down with the mighty wind power of his pretty wings?
This movie leaves me with more questions than answers, however, the Peanuts are delightful and the bad guys are bad, so one could do worse than give this a watch.
The Thing That Couldn't Die (1958)
In the hands of another . . .
This film takes place on a ranch somewhere on the Central California coast. There are a handful of odd people -- a money-grubbing spinster, a lunkhead ranch hand, a greedy ranch hand in a Little Joe Cartright hat and jacket, an artist who likes his wine and women, an elderly president of the California Historical Society, an earnest young (male) archeologist, a severed head, and two women (one blond, one brunette) who spend some time sharing a bed.
Give these ingredients to David Lynch and you've got a movie!
However, as it is, this Thing That Couldn't Die is merely a hokey time-killer. Worth a few chuckles, but if you never get around to seeing it, you won't have missed out on much.
Under the Skin (1997)
It is about more than casual sex.
Most people seem to focus on the sex in this movie. When I looked beyond the obvious in-your-face sex, I noticed that Iris had much more than boyfriend problems. She was hallucinating, hearing voices in cell phones that weren't there, behaving out of character, dressing oddly . . . This is about a young woman in severe emotional crisis. I'm not a psychiatrist, I don't have a copy of DSM-IV on hand, but it seems to me this movie portrays a young woman's psychotic breakdown after the death of her mother. As such, a very good film.