I am admittedly ignorant to the praise and mocking this 1964 ditty has received over the decades. From a treatment on MST3K in America, to a cult following, “Kitten with a Whip” is that rare piece of cinema fodder that is a completely obvious chunk of sixties conservative propaganda demonizing the youth, free spirits, and sexuality altogether. Setting aside the context, “Kitten with a Whip” is a dumb movie. It’s sometimes very ridiculous to the point where this can just be deemed as a fantasy or a cartoon of a sorts. The vivacious Ann Margret coming off of “Viva Las Vegas” slums it and mugs it for the camera in this cliché youth gone wild quasi-thriller that is something of a fractured romance beneath the hilarious camp and utterly absurd dialogue.
Tag Archives: Drama
The Last House on the Left (2009)
Let me preface this review by declaring my sheer utter hatred for Wes Craven’s original “The Last House on the Left.” I don’t care how influential it is or has become, since watching it about four years ago I couldn’t believe my eyes. Here within this seventies grindhouse flick was a truly nihilistic gem hidden beneath an utterly ridiculous sub-plot involving two of the dumbest cops I’ve ever seen. “The Last House on the Left” in spite of its impact on cult filmmaking is one of the worst movies I’ve ever laid eyes on. So with that did I support a remake of it? No. Why? Because for one thing, Craven ripped off “The Virgin Spring” with his film, so it was a remake already, and two this could have been its own film without the tag. Nevertheless with its great cast and atmosphere I approached this with an open mind and guess what? I loved it.
Frankenstein Unlimited (2009)
The folks at Sinema Saliba manage to concoct an interesting indie experimental anthology film around the theme of Frankenstein and rebirth with a series of short films that dabble in narratives revolving around mortality and death all of whom vary in tones of artistic to the utterly absurd. Director Matthew Saliba pulls out all the stops for this anthology picture that deconstructs the tale of Frankenstein and sets the framework down in assorted set pieces and flavors that help this movie feel like a varied buffet of vignettes that will manage to perfectly entice the viewer’s imagination and rethink the concept of the mad doctor and the monster.
Grease (1978)
Frankly I’m very annoyed at the latest promotions to push “Grease” as the original “High School Musical.” While it is true in a sense that this was a hit movie musical about high school students, “Grease” is a wonderful musical masterpiece with amazing dance and singing numbers, catchy tunes, and a story that’s pretty trite but otherwise simple enough to sit and enjoy for its lightweight emotional fodder while Disney’s high profile movie was just a fad for tweens between naps at grade school. “Grease” is one of the last of its kind, a musical that continues to be relevant and masterfully splices in its numbers in to its narrative with smooth precision to where it flows naturally within the scope of the characters and conveys their sadness and joy.
A Nightmare on Elm Street (2010)
At this time horror fans are so beaten down to a messy shit stain that they really don’t have the strength to complain about remakes of their beloved horror classics anymore. Because whether we like it or not, Platinum Dunes and other horrific money grubbing companies will rehash our favorite titles and nothing is off limits. That preface aside, Neo-Nightmare sets down on basically the same premise except with ten times less the flavor and creativity of Wes Craven’s admittedly dated original. I never liked Platinum Dunes to begin with but “A Nightmare on Elm Street” ends as such a blatant spit in the face of horror fans everywhere it practically begins with a disclaimer reading, “We don’t give a shit about quality, but hey at least we have your money, suckers!” And they fell for it hook line and sinker.
Mirrors (2008)
I don’t know what exactly was going on with the production in Alexandre Aja’s remake of the 2003 Asian horror film “Geoul sokeuro,” but as it stands, this remake is probably one of the most inadvertently comical horror films of the last five years. The marketing campaign for this film promised one of the most insane genre outings we’ve ever seen, and I knew I was in trouble when I began to chuckle at Kiefer Sutherland screeching at the sight of his deformed doppleganger in his bathroom window. Everything about “Mirrors” has the potential to turn in to a bonafide horror masterpiece, and instead we’re given nothing but fake scares, clunky dialogue, and writing that is just atrocious.
Daylight (1996)
1996’s “Daylight” is pretty much just a nineties version of “The Poseidon Adventure.” There’s an eccentric old couple, a resistant tough guy constantly battling with our hero, a cynical woman who bonds with the hero, an epic disaster that is impossible to rebound from, a moment where our characters have to swim under water to make it to a safe zone hoping to escape inevitable drowning, in the climax we see authorities opening a hatch for our victims to escape through, and like Hackman’s hero, Stallone even screams at god as he fights to live in the climax.