Going back to the golden era of exploitation I bring you French Quarter, a 1978 movie named just like the New Orleans actual french village which happened to be recently re-released by Millcreek Entertainment on the 12 movie pack Dangerous Babes.
The story is about a naive young lady by the name of Christine Delaplane (Alisha Fontaine) goes to New Orleans to find her future and winds up getting a job as a stripper at a local seedy dive (yeah, some future). So far, so familiar. But the story takes a surprising and unexpected departure into more fresh and intriguing cinematic territory after Christine has a drink with some drug in it and flashes back to the past where she was one Gertrude "Trudy" Dix, a sweet virgin who worked at a fancy bordello run by classy and kindly madam Countess Willie Piazza (Virginia Mayo) in the early turn-of-the-century French Quarter.
Alternate movie poster.
An original movie still on sale in E-Bay.
Although she's set to be literally "auctioned off" to any rich pervert who pays the highest price for her, Gertrude nonetheless falls in love with nice guy pianist Kid Ross (Bruce Davison). Director/co-writer Dennis Kane and co-writer Barney Cohen concoct a dandy yarn that makes the most out of a limited budget, soaks up plenty of deliciously tangy and colorful Big Easy atmosphere, offers a fascinatingly intricate juxtaposition of the past and present (for example, every last cast member has dual roles in the picture), and even provides a touching central love story between the two engaging protagonists. Of course, we also get the usual steamy soft-core sex and tasty female nudity, with a sizzling striptease in a giant wineglass rating as a definite erotic highlight.
a Bordello daily life.
Believe it or not, these scenes do make sense.
Ladies!
The movie highlights.
Adding some extra spice to an already tasty celluloid gumbo is a good dash of voodoo complete with snakes, pounding primitive drums, and frenzied tribal dancers. The supporting cast comes through with a bevy of exquisitely beautiful women: Lindsay Bloom as the bawdy Big Butt Annie, Laura Mischa Owens as the frosty Ice Box Josie, Ann Michelle as kinky, disloyal junkie Coke-Eyed Laura, and Becky Allen as the fiery Bricktop. Lance LeGault positively oozes smarm as evil lecher Tom, William Simms is properly nasty as brutal bar owner Aaron Harris, and Vernel Bagneris contributes an amiable portrayal of cocky legendary jazzman Jelly Roll Morton. The handsome cinematography by Jerry Kalegeratos makes pretty frequent use of dewy soft focus. Dick Hyman's flavorful score likewise hits the swinging soulful spot.
Quirky, different and ambitious, this neat little sleeper is well worth a look.
More action.
Snakes are sexy.
Such a bride.
Darkness is a friend of sex.
Vodoo Sex.
Overall, this low budget movie that qualifies as a B movie has plenty more to offer than hundreds of exploitation films that were about the same story with a lesser prepared production and weak plots, so I definitely recommend it, this isn't a sex movie with little or no plot, the bordello story implies that we need to see some sex scenes.
Millcreek Entertainment has done well this time, by adding this interesting movie in their recently released 12 movie pack Dangerous Pack and you can get it for less than 10 bucks, actually you're getting a good deal with 12 movies as interesting as the one in review today.
Unfortunately I found no trailer for the film, my bad!
No movie poster, this was a straight home video release.
Andy Sidaris was the go to film maker when it came to the chicks & guns topic but, ages before him we had Crown International Pictures, one of the most well known B movies companies, in a way they contributed hundred of films to the exploitation genre, and in the early 90's the exploitation genre had fallen into a deep agony, you know people grew tired of watching the same stories re-told over and over again. However exploitation by meaning is defined as squeezing the fruit's juice to its last drop so Crown International Pictures didn't give up and thought, "hey, La Femme Nikita was quite a blockbuster, how about making our own Femme Nikita", and that's how we got 1992's The Silencer, a cocktail of the Andy Sidaris style and some inspiration from female spy movies.
Our killing machine.
Nice gums, I mean guns!
Our Angel doing her thing.
Probably the only interesting scene of the movie.
This little nothing is about a female assassin named Angel. Angel has to kill five scumbags who are involved in a child prostitution ring. She uses a Wather PPK with a silencer (hence the title of the film) to eliminate low-lifes. We know that she has a shady past, but this really isn't explored too much in the film. She's being tracked by another assassin who is probably her former boss and possibly lover. The film pretty much just leaves it at that. What's really silly or bizarre is that she plays a video game called "The Silencer" (again, an illusion to the title of the film) to receive information about her assignments. Her former boss/lover/whatever uses the same video game to track her down.
Angel, 100% killing macine.
She's ready anytime!
The acting is mediocre. The plot is nothing new. In fact, the script itself is probably the biggest crime you'll see in the movie, and the title sequences, which were supposed to be from the video game Angel plays would have the original Atari console turning in its grave.
Overall the movie itself proves to be a complete failure, don't get me wrong here but, 90's exploitation was the display of the worst movies ever made. 70's & 80's exploitation was a different thing it had vibes, it had the feeling of making low budget movies with a sense of respect for a little quality. The only thing that had vibes & feelings in the 90's was the Grunge scene no doubt about it.
Here's the movie trailer:
And here the lame "wanna be a video game" opening scene with the worst 80's style pop song:
I wonder why most of the good exploitation films keep on being out of print or hard to find gems, while some of the worst exploitation films are being re-released! The Silencer has being re-released by Millcreek Entertainment on the 12 movie pack Dangerous Babes, which you can get in Amazon for less than 9 Dollars, a bargain.
The doctor told me I had to do stuff I liked in order to help my recovery process, so here I go again. The movie I'm going the review brings me the warmest memories of my early years into the world of VHS tape renting.
Back in the 80's video rental stores where the go to places on weekend with your parents, Blockbuster didn't own everything so there where thousands of independent rental stores. I remember dad used to say "We'll rent one for you, and one for us adults" funny thing was that after I was done with renting blockbuster 80's cartoons such as Silverhawks, Thundercats, Transformers and many others, I set my mind into renting action movies, silly me! most of the ninja style movies you could find at Marconi's (that's the name for the defunct rental store we used to go to) where adult films, so they always came packed with blood, explosions and loads of sex and nudity! so I was introduced into the exploitation movie making scheme at quite an early stage. Thanks for that dad!
Well, after the heartfelt introduction I tell there were thousands of martial arts b movies made in the late 70's and during the 80's, of course they were all trying to unsuccesfully imitate the success of major action packed releases, and Nine Deaths of the Ninja is one of those I heart for childhood memories.
For the unaware, the title, as in many exploitation flicks, is completely misleading. Nine Deaths of a Ninja? I hope the ninja would have used up his nine lives early on and get this movie done with. Nine deaths? I don't think so.
A promotional Ad.
a Ninja!
The weird martial arts meet 80's dancing opening titles.
Okay, the plot, if there is one. A German (of course a German, and a Nazi, swastika flag and all) terrorist and his amazing bunch of henchmen and -women kidnap a bus load of tourists. They take them to a remote place in jungle and demand the release of Rahji Mohammed, some kind of fellow terrorist. The best special team, consisting of Shô Kosugi, Brent Huff who looks like he's escaped from a toothpaste ad and a gorgeous but oh-so-clever blonde Emilia Crow, is sent to take care of the problem. Rahji, the terrorist had two or three lines in the whole movie, the rest of the time he just laughs (believe me). Oh and he must be a really nasty guy: he takes some balloons away from children and squeezes the balloons until they pop. Terrifying.
Part of our team of heroes.
Our man.
A Ninja who digs lollipops.
The rest of the terrorists show their bad to the core nature by stealing medication from a girl with severe heart condition. The rest of the actors are just as wooden as Sonny Erang.The fight scenes are so stupid they are laughable. The bad guys stand in line and neatly wait their turn as they are being slaughtered. I wonder why this movie has been cut and given high PG, there is nothing to see here, not so gory violence and no sex, excluding a pair of titties in one scene.
But hey! chill out! that's the adult serious movie reviewer inside me. When i was a boy this was just an action packed film, I used to play with my friends imitating the plot with our action figures in our patio, ahhh those were the days.
Whitney Houston hahah.
Our heroes to the rescue.
So before you watch this movie, I think it's important that you realize it is a comedy, and that it is filled with spoof or parody elements, right down to the cheesy music and characters. Of course, the film COULD be a little less deceptive in which genre it fits under. I can easily see how many would think the director was just a goof trying to make a serious action film.
Here's the movie trailer:
By the way, i'm looking for this movie where a white ninja, who wore some cool mask had a secret identity being some retarded boy do you know which movie is it?
After a long while reviewing films that were beyond being considered B movies I felt it was about time to go back to my pending assignment of reviewing the Andy Sidaris Girls, Guns & G-Strings 12 movie saga, so fasten your seatbelt for today's review for 1988 tits & ass classic: Picasso Trigger.
After double agent Picasso Trigger (believe it or not, that his name) gets bumped off by treacherous arch drug smuggler Miguel Ortiz (played by Sidaris usual actor Rodrigo Obregon), several federal agents are assigned by the agency they work for to bring Ortiz down.
Airplanes were always a part of Sidaris' cast.
Our agents ready for action.
An old movie ad.
Writer/director Andy Sidaris maintains a quick pace throughout and delivers his usual enjoyable mixture of centerfold babes in tight swimsuits or with no clothes on, also the movie delivers a moderate amount of amusingly goofy sense of humor, average explosions, James Bond-style low budget gadgets such as an explosive boomerang and a killer remote control plus a good deal of bloody violence, occasional bits of strenuous slow motion, a cool fierce martial arts fight, and globe-trotting international locations which add an impressively expansive scope to the picture.
Now, this is talent.
More talent displays.
A Key scene from the film.
Another Key Scene.
More key scenes.
The acting from the attractive cast is the kind you would expect from a B movie, but, we do know that all the centerfolds here are not for award winning acting talent, they are here for their gorgeous bodies! Overall this film, as I've read from other movie freaks like me, is not considered as one the most interesting Sidaris films, other reviewers, most of them I'd say consider that this movie is basically a display of nudity and action scenes that somehow look exactly the same as earlier Sidaris works and in a way you could say that, but this is a B movie not a masterpiece movie, so I think that to state that Sidaris movies are a bit too repetitive makes no sense, remember these movies are not meant for all audiences, only for the connoisseurs, not for blockbuster smart asses, so if this is what you're looking for, look no further and help yourself watching this amusing flick, and if this is not, well just turn the page!
In case you still feel this film is not worth watching, let's check the main characters:
Continuing with classic movies that are somehow related to the vintage cult we heart at Spam-Alternative, after thinking about the many choices I had to review from, I finally settled for Marti Scorsesse's best movie ever made, period. The year: 1976, the movie: Taxi Driver, fasten your seatbelt, we're in for a special ride.
Taxi Driver has been defined by many as a classic of American cinematic power. Martin Scorsese sets his mind into one goal alone, which was to create a masterpiece about urban alienation. The magnificent script written by Paul Schrader depicts a portrait of loneliness in the largest city of the world. Travis Bickle(the main character masterly played by Robert De Niro) never once enters into a meaningful relationship with any character anywhere in the film. He is the incarnation of the most hopelessly alone person in the Big Apple during the whole film.
Awesome poster ain't it?
Travis, before his transformation.
Travis Did try to be social, if only he had a Facebook account...
Travis drives a lonely road with his thoughts, and his thoughts are dark ones. The film fools you on a first viewing. Is Travis an endearing eccentric? Sure, he's odd, but he's so polite, and he's got a quirky sense of humor. His affection for Betsy is actually rather endearing. But on a second view, you see it for what it is. The audience comes to see Travis's psychosis gradually, but there's actually far less development than one might think. When he talks about cleaning up the city, the repeat viewer knows he doesn't mean cleaning up with the law on his side.
This is less a film about a character in development as it is a kind of snapshot. To be sure, it takes the stimulus to provoke the response, but does that imply some kind of central change in the character?Tremendous supporting roles are brought to life through vivid performances by Harvey Keitel (he plays a suave pimp) and Jodie Foster who plays a teenague prostitute working for Keitel. Cybill Shepard's character, Betsy, is little more than a foil to highlight Travis's utter alienation from society, but she is still impeccably portrayed. With only two scenes that don't center on Travis, it is unavoidably a one man's movie, De Niro's movie.
Betsy, a regular working girl.
I'm the pimp 'round here, comprende?
Jodie Foster couldn't attend the film premiere, she was underage.
Travis playing the hero.
Are you talking to me?
Bread & Jam.
The life with which the supporting cast imbues their characters is a credit to themselves, and to the director's willingness to let the film develop from the intersection of diverse ideas and approaches. What would the plot lose by eliminating the Albert Brooks character (Tom)? Nothing at all. He makes almost no impact on Travis's life, which is where the plot lives. But his inclusion makes the film as a whole much richer and fuller.As a piece of American cinema history, this film will live forever. But far more important than that, this film will survive as a universal, ever-relevant examination of the workings of the alienated mind.
Punk Rock Taxi Driver.
Famous scene.
The story doesn't end when the credits roll. We know Travis will snap again. But the story doesn't end with Travis either. It continues today in the cities and in the schools. The film is about the brutal power of the disaffected mind.This film didn't cause the incidents in Columbine, or Hawaii, or Seattle, or wherever you care to look, even with all of its disturbing images of violence. It didn't cause those things.In a way, it predicted them, and that's a credit Scorsesse fully deserves, he was a visionary and still is.
Taxi Driver, had such a strong storytelling that most of the exploitation films that were released during those days, tried to deal with the same issues with lower budgets, and less talented actors, but, hey Scorsesse's masterpiece was a trend setter itself.
