Naked Obsession

Vote for Carlisle to clean the city off of filth.

"A city councilman explores the seedy side of town to help him decide how to approach an urban renewal project. Being obviously not from there he is beaten in the street and his wallet ..." And who's that honorable man? None other than William Katt, the once famous TV superhero, The Greatest American Hero!  Only 8 years after the demise of the beloved cult series, Katt wanted to try something entirely new: a sexploitation thriller! Directed by Don Golden & written by Robert Dodson and Golden himself, Naked Obsession is clearly one of those forgotten late night cable TV classic films from the 90's that should deserve more recognition than they actually do, so here we are again, back in the very roots of our blog, reviewing a film connoisseurs know better. 

 

Co-starred by Rick Dean (as the mysterious Sam Silver) and a bombshell gallery (Maria Ford, Wendy McDonald, Elena Sahugan & Rya Coyne) this film screams "Skinemax"  from start to finish.  

 

Franklin Carlisle, an honest man.

Making America great again.

William Katt plays Franklyn Carlisle, a councilman who is running for Mayor. One of his plans is to clean up the city of it's filth. One night, while driving through the red district, he is mugged. He wakes up in an alley and meets up with a strange man named Sam Silver. Mr. Silver introduces Franklyn to the sins of the Ying Yang Club, a gentleman's club. One of the ladies who works there (Maria Ford) takes a liking to him, and in order to make sure Mr. Carlisle sees this, she shows him her labia. After the amazement of what he's just witnessed, he leaves the place and discovers his car has returned miraculously, so he heads home with a lot of thinking to do. Once he's home, he dines with her wife and then unsuccessfully decides to fuck her hard. Something's wrong, obviously but I won't spoil it, this movie is a must watch.

The next night, Franklyn returns to the area to search for Sam again. They meet and talk. Sam isn't happy with proposals to close down the club, saying that cities need to have a good side and and bad side. The woman that likes him has finished her shift and asks if he can drive her home. He agrees and you know what happens next. There is an interesting storyline with Lynn Hauser's interest in being choked while having sex.

 

Sam Silver, a mysterious savior.

C'mon, let's chill a little!

The fuck night was such an orgasmic success that the next morning Franklyn goes down to Lynn's house for another wild sex session, only to find she's been murdered!. Unfortunately to him, there's an old lady tallking with a cop who saw him with her the night before so she instantly point the cop to him, so our honest man has nothing left but to run for his life. Luckily to him, somehitng unexpected occurs and, the cop dies by heart attack At the same time Franklyn finds Sam, uncuffs him  and tells him what just happened. To make matters worse, Sam gives a cryptic piece of advice that only makes Franklin even more confused. 

Plot wise, Naked Obsession unravels a simple (but well executed with unexpected twists included) story that is good enough for the hour and a half the film runs. Most of the action occurs while at night, making you think everything that transpires Franklyn's life is either daydreaming or a nightmare. The Yin Yang Club (address number 666) represents the sleazy city life our main character has sworn to shut down. Therefore, it is no coincidence that the club is named after the Chinese philosophy that describes how seemingly opposite or contrary forces may actually be complementary, interconnected, and interdependent in the natural world, and how they may give rise to each other as they interrelate to one another. Moreover, the Sam Silver (Rick Dean) character, happens to show up at key moments in Franklin's life, saving his life and showing him there is more than meets the eye (the strippers in the club seem to be very friendly and in no way sleazy or perverted) In addition, Franklin's world (his wife, secretary & other colleagues) seem to be the complete opposite of what they stand for, both professionally & intimately. 

Lynn is to die for.

Can you spell Labia?

Music also plays a relevant role in the film. Glam rock was dying in 1990, but The Ying Yang Club is all about glam rock. Each stripper dances a full song, while some even get to dance two consecutive songs. The music was written by Scott Singer and it plays as a nice derivative piece that sets the overall mood of a rather dark film. 

Photography is 90% dark and foggy and 10% clear & sunny. The urban landscape also follows the above mentioned yin yang concept. The stripper club is located behind an alley in a dirty street where hobos pray, while Franklin's house & office seem to be located on the hippie side of the city (official film locations are unknown) 

Unsatisfied wife.

Fierce female power.

The clever plot twist reveals Franklin's been living a lie when he goes back home to discover his wife fucking his best friend. Obviously, things instantly go south. A couple of gunshot sounds and bang! wife & lover death!.  Our poor counselor discovers a note telling him to go back to the Yin Yang club at 8:00 PM. Once, he makes it to the club the climax unveils in the form of another striptease and an avid (almost deadly) blowjob that will put an end in Franklin Carlisle's political career. However, the element of surprise is a constant in this film, so just before our hero cums in her obsessed lady's mouth, another gunshot ends the scene very unexpectedly. 

T & A wise, well, you get a lot of that, beautiful women are everywhere on the film and they're not afraid of showing their pussies in full frontal nudity. Perfectly rounded asses, big boobs and mildly shaved pussies are everywhere, and believe it or not, they all make sense because they're connected to the storyline! something you don't see everyday! gratuitous nudity is not on this film. 

Masked cocksucker.

I'll suck you dry Franklin!

Overall, Naked Obsession is one of the many 90's erotic films that made their way directly to cable TV and enjoyed moderate fame thanks to Shannon Tweed's

success in this genre. Casually, William Kat would work with Gene Simmon's wife in 1991's Last Call, our next review, so stay tuned and warm! 

 

Here's the movie trailer, and special thanks to David Zuzelo, a real writer who reminded me of this wonderful film a couple of days ago. 

Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2

They're back with great music from the past!

If you had to choose the finest MCU films I'm sure the answer would be the Captain America trilogy & the Guardians of the Galaxy, in no particular order whatsoever. While the Cap movies are all serious, the Guardians are all about having fun while saving the day. I have to admit that when the first film came out, I was exhausted of watching superhero films, I had this feeling of "everything's been done before" and/or "every superhero film is derivative" So my expectations were pretty low, and biased by my bad mood. In fact, I had to re watch Guardians of the Galaxy 3 times until I finally came out of my fanboy state to see that I was in front of one of the finest MCU films ever made, so why so serious?

Guardians of the Galaxy Volume 2, is a two hour & fourteen minute roller-coaster ride that bounces up & down among action, drama, jokes and a few surprises.

James Gunn takes us on a thrilling action adventure that is as humorous as it is exciting. You should approach the film expecting to be constantly laughing through almost every, if not every single scene. And you will also be surprised not to come short on the more alternate of emotions as well, as this turns into one of Marvels most emotionally breathtaking films to date. This riveting sequel is not one to leave it's fans walking out of the cinema with their heads hanging down in disappointment. But rather left glued to their seats wanting more, even after the commencement of the five post-credit scenes.

Starlord returns.

So does Rocket Racoon.

Plotwise, the long-awaited continuation of the Awesome Mix Vol 1. regroups us with The Guardians of the Galaxy, who survive by doing some good, some bad and a bit of both throughout the universes. On their journey through space they help others out of trouble and more often than not, work themselves into trouble. When they are met by Ego, a mysterious and powerful being, the future of this unlikely bunch of misfits is all but certain. What purpose does Ego have in mind for our beloved Star- Lord? What will become of the Guardians? How does an iconic 80's action movie- star have a place in this film? Guardians of the Galaxy Vol 2. will provide overall satisfying answers.

The tone and humor which got so many people hooked on the original, is preserved for its sequel. Thank Gunn for that! James Gunn managed to recapture that tone and sense of humor almost perfectly a second time over. All of the Guardians have their distinct personalities and fitting sense of humor but are given a lot more character development in Volume 2. The characters Gunn chose to reintroduce, are interesting due to compelling backstories and some creative, touching and funny character moments. Watching action scenes featuring characters you love and care about, adds so much drama and weight to the action and makes the movie all the more enjoyable. The action itself is creative, fun and often times hilariously over the top. 

Are you sure you wanna meet your dad?

So that's how I escaped marriage.

With any great superhero film, there comes the need for a compelling villain. MARVEL doesn't have an amazing track record as far as villains go. Remember the villain of Thor: The Dark World, or his plan? No, me neither... Or what about the incredible emotional depth that was given to that bald guy from Ant-Man... Oh wait. With great relief I can say that the Guardians face off against a much more compelling and interesting villain in Vol 2. than in the original. His plan and motivation could be considered abstract and pretty vague. But to its credit, the movie does take its time to set up the big bad plan reveal and by that point you're on board with it. Volume 2 takes a lot of time to develop a lot of characters. All this time and effort pays off at the end with an incredible final act and an emotional ending which left me in tears.

Finally, a special mention needs to be made for Baby Groot, who steals every scene he's in. He's adorable, funny, bad-ass and oh so very charming! An absolute fan favorite and a toy-seller for sure. Also, Yondu gets some genuine great development. His character arch is so touching, so unexpected and emotional. It elevated the entire film.

As far as the actual Awesome Mix Vol 2. goes, I can happily say it's amazing! With a lot of upbeat classics and heartwarming ballads, this soundtrack is a must-own.

Baby Groot!

Sister love.

One of the reasons Guardians of the Galaxy is so beloved is because of its tight story. It is based in the same universe as The Avengers and its heroes but didn't need to tie in to the other films so firmly. Just an infinity stone and a cameo by Thanos were enough to establish the connection. What we got was a solid stand-alone film that had a compact story with colorful characters that didn't need to set up six other films. Can you name another MARVEL film that had the exact same advantage? Because of the fact that Volume 2 pays so much attention to character development for a lot more characters than just the Guardians, the story loses focus and a firm grip on the plot. Although the backstories given to our characters, are pretty cool and interesting, it's the way they are conveyed that makes the film lose some steam. There's a lot of exposition and not all of it through well written dialogue. I would've preferred some tight flashback scenes. A lot more "Show", a lot less "Tell".

Then there's the unfortunate need to set up plot-points and characters for future Guardians- films. All this makes for a bit of a messy film with some pacing issues. Gunn clearly tried to balance all these character and plot-points and hasn't come unscathed out of the ordeal. It's weird he went down this route because story-wise, this film is even more disconnected from the Infinity War than the fist one. So setting up so much material for a sequel, is an odd choice because it feels so unnecessary. 

New family members.

An odd couple.

The climax battle is huge! a whole planet on peril, the Guardians outnumbered, and  a collection of explosions and super powers that will give you the thrills! The sad part is that not everyone will survive, yet the sacrifice will expand the GOTG universe for a third part for sure. 

The 5 after credit scenes (yes, five ) are hilarious and I won't say anything else in order to avoid spoiling them for you. There are also some very unexpected cameos, and I'm sure one will be freaking loved by 80's pop culture fans. Coincidentally, the film solves a fan theory mystery, that's been around for quite some time but, I won't spoil that either. Also, I loved Drax in the sequel, his one liners are excellent and had me laughing the most!

Overall, Guardians of the Galaxy Volume 2, slightly bends under the weight of its predecessor but still manages to deliver a fun Space adventure and some much appreciated character development. Even though Gunn and his gang, incorporated a lot more exposition and sequel setups, Volume 2 is still an Awesome Mix of fun, action, drama and colorful characters. With a fantastic ending, I can't wait to see the Guardians return! 

Here's the movie trailer: