A Fistful Of Dynamite (1971)

AKA Duck, You Sucker.

A film from Sergio Leone that manages to fit in a lot of his usual tricks while also feeling a step removed from his better-known works, A Fistful Of Dynamite is his most comedic movie, and yet it doesn't skimp on the moments of explosive violence (literally).

James Coburn plays John, the Irish "rebel" who is happily driving around Mexico on his motorbike until he crosses paths with a Mexican bandit (Juan, played by Rod Steiger). The initial encounter quickly reveals John's skill with explosives, something that Juan can see being very useful as he thinks about a particularly rich bank he has wanted to rob for some time. John is reluctant to help, to put it mildly, but the two soon form an unlikely alliance, leading them on a path that will get them more involved with the Mexican Revolution, to the apparent delight of John and despair of Juan.

Once again, Leone shows that he knows who to pick for his leading roles. Although I have limited exposure to both Coburn and Steiger (sad, I know), both men quickly beguile viewers here with their laid-back acting styles and natural charisma. Coburn possibly edges ahead, but Steiger features in more of the comedic moments, and plays them wonderfully. This is very much a mismatched "buddy" movie and therefore relies on the chemistry of the leads, both individually and as they interact with one another, so the casting of Coburn and Steiger plays a huge part in how enjoyable this is. The rest of the cast are decent enough, although there's a lack of some of the memorable supporting players who populated the "Dollars" trilogy. Romolo Valli has some good moments, David Warbeck is an important figure in a number of flashback sequences, and Antoine Saint-John is the main villain of the piece (although there is really more than one, and just how bad they are is relative to your own views on morality and treachery).

Despite the focus here being on explosions rater than gunshots, the structure is similar to what we have seen from Leone in his other movies. Each set-piece seems to feel a bit bigger than the previous one, culminating in a grand finale that supercedes everything that came beforehand while still taking the time to reveal some more about one of the central characters, and what has motivated them throughout the entire film.

It looks very good, as you would expect, and many people enjoy the Ennio Morricone score (although I wasn't all that taken with it), but there's nothing here that puts it on a par with any of the other masterpieces from Leone. Not to say that the film is bad, it just doesn't reach the ridiculously high standards set by the man in charge. I absolutely recommend people give it a watch, it's probably the least-seen of Leone's filmography, and it's one that I can also see as an easy choice to revisit and enjoy. It's just not a classic, but they can't all be classics.

7/10

Here's a nice disc release.
American amigos can get a blu here.

Pervirella (1997)

Pervirella, like many other movies, is something that I can't help liking in spite of just how many huge flaws it has. It's a daft film, it was made for a budget that clearly wouldn't pay for one day on any blockbuster film set, and it's pretty crude, in terms of the technical stuff and the onscreen content. But it has Emily Booth as the titular character, and a supporting role for Eileen Daly. And there also happens to be a fair bit of gratuitous nudity.

The basic story concerns an evil Queen Victoria (Sexton Ming), the lovely Pervirella (Emily Booth, billed as Emily Bouffante), and an underground movement called The Cult Of Perv. Pervirella is a sweet girl, but she's a dangerous nymphomaniac whenever a protective necklace is removed from her person - something that comes in quite handy as she joins some explorers on a quest for some magical elixir and to meet some other people who like to shed their clothes as often as possible.

Directed by Alex Chandon and Josh Collins, who also wrote the movie (with additional material by Jason Slater and Nico Rilla), this is an enjoyable pastiche for those who fondly remember the wide variety of movies that came from the UK in the '60s and '70s. Familiar studios (Hammer and Amicus being the main two) provide the main adventuring element, while a number of sex comedies from the past provide the sauce that covers every scene. Love it or loathe it, it's a film stitched together to make a very British patchwork.

Emily Booth is the main draw here, and does just fine in her role. She's not asked to deliver any lengthy speeches, or to emote in any way that isn't completely over the top, but she's asked to go along with the ridiculous material, act very naive, and not worry about the many times in which she loses some of her clothing. And, in that regard, she's a great success. Ron Drand is okay as Professor Rumphole Pump, a classic British adventurer type, Sexton Ming is amusing as the evil Queen, Eileen Daly is a welcome presence, as always, and David Warbeck is very funny as the smooth and heroic Amicus Reilly. Fans of UK comedy/TV will be able to point and laugh at VERY brief cameos from Mark Lamarr and Jonathan Ross.

If you want something that feels like a proper movie then you should give this a miss, but if you're a fan of the movies that Chandon and Collins throw into their bubbling caldron then you might end up having some fun. Pervirella is a labour of love. It uses a mix of model work, some of it good and some of it intentionally, and hilariously, obvious, it uses plenty of cheap tricks to realise each sequence, and it slips some T & A into proceedings every 10 minutes or so. So it's no surprise that I like it.

6/10

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Pervirella-DVD-Emily-Booth/dp/B00005TRZJ/ref=sr_1_1?s=dvd&ie=UTF8&qid=1393867500&sr=1-1&keywords=pervirella

Twins Of Evil (1971)

The third of the Karnstein trilogy, loosely connected movies from Hammer based on "Carmilla" by Sheridan Le Fanu, Twins Of Evil isn't too bad. Okay, I wouldn't exactly call it good, but it's certainly made more interesting thanks to the premise and yet another sterling performance from the great Peter Cushing.

The movie presents Cushing as a kind of witchfinder general type, Gustav Weil, quick to rouse his followers into a state of fervour before leading them off to burn some young woman at the stake. While this is a regular occurrence, it doesn't really deal with the main problem in his area, the nefarious Baron Karnstein (Damien Thomas). The Baron is a bad man, an evil man, but he's also well connected. Set against this backdrop of menace and paranoia, Gustav and his wife, Katy (Kathleen Byron), find themselves taking charge of their two nieces (the twins, played by Mary and Madeleine Collinson). The two girls quickly find themselves incurring the ire of their stern uncle, and one of them decides to retaliate by indulging in some shenanigans that would definitely not meet with approval.

As you may have already been able to guess, Twins Of Evil succeeds largely because of the twins. I'm not going to pretend that I kept up with exactly who was who, but that's fine because the movie does enough to keep viewers just informed enough to enjoy the twists of the plot (with a lot of the fun coming from the fact that the twin who turns to evil can then make use of the good twin to help protect her from Gustav and his band of followers). So I may not have remembered who was Maria (played by Mary) and who was Frieda (played by Madeleine) at all times, but I knew who was evil and who was good . . . . and then who was evil but pretending to be good and who was good being made to look evil.

The script by Tudor Gates isn't too bad, and the direction by John Hough throws in some nice, surprisingly atmospheric moments of spookiness. The acting is a mixed bag, with Cushing being his usual great self while Mary and Madeleine Collinson are . . . . . . . . . . well, they're okay, but obviously chosen more for their ability to be twins than any major acting chops. David Warbeck, Dennis Price and Kathleen Byron do pretty well, Katya Wyeth has a small, but memorable, role and Damien Thomas fails to impress as the dastardly Baron.

There are a few decent moments of gore, some nudity and a number of typical Hammer moments to keep fans amused, making this a solid piece of entertainment for those who already favour the style and ethos of the studio.

6/10

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Twins-Evil-DVD-Peter-Cushing/dp/B000I0QSUS/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1373970895&sr=8-1&keywords=twins+of+evil

The Beyond (1981)

Lucio Fulci is a director who tends to invoke extreme reactions in people. His work is often extremely gory, more than a little bit bonkers and very atmospheric, but there are many of his films that people also just dismiss as nasty, misogynistic trash. I've not seen too many of his movies, but I've seen enough to know that I like his stuff, even if it is completely off the wall at times. City Of the Living Dead (please be kind to my brief review, it was one of my first for Flickfeast) remains a firm favourite in the zombie movie sub-genre, thanks in no small part to the atmosphere that's laid on with a shovel. The Beyond is its equal.

Catriona MacColl plays Liza Merril, a woman who finally has a shot at getting something good happening in her life when she inherits an old hotel in Louisiana. It's unfortunate that the hotel is built over one of the seven entrances to Hell and that a long-dead artist named Schweick seems intent on leading hordes of the undead into the world of the living. If Liza heeds the advice of blind Emily (Cinzia Monreale) then maybe she, with the help of Dr. John McCabe (David Warbeck), can stop all hell breaking loose. Literally.

Fans of City Of The Living Dead should love this movie as it's certainly a thematic companion piece to it, making up a nice trilogy of sorts that would be completed by The House By The Cemetery. Fulci also co-wrote the screenplay with Dardano Sacchetti and Giorgio Mariuzzo though it's hard to imagine them doing much more than imagining nasty, gory death scenes and then making the rest of the plot up while the cameras were rolling. To be fair, a lot of the footage from the last third of the movie was added at the insistence of the distributor, but the movie feels like a melting point of ideas and outrageous horrors anyway so nothing ever feels too incongruous, even as everything gets crazier and crazier.

MacColl is a lovely leading lady, David Warbeck acts capably alongside her and Cinzia Monreale plays a young woman who can sit at a piano and play her own spooky theme music. Veronica Lazar and Anthony Flees are given enough just enough screen-time to make it clear that they might not live to enjoy any retirement in their old age and Maria Pia Marsala is a young girl who sees a lot more blood and death than any young girl should see.

The acting is uneven, of course, and so are some of the special effects moments, but the good far outweighs the bad when it comes to the eyeball trauma, flesh being lashed off in chunks, faces being severely disfigured, tarantulas enjoying some meat treats and the atmosphere that starts to build up during the middle of the movie and thickens and thickens right up until those brilliant final images.

In case you didn't realise it already, this is another film that I hold dear to my horror-loving heart, flaws and all.

8/10

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