Prime Time: X The Man With The X-Ray Eyes (1963)

It all starts with an eye. One giant, floating eye. Perhaps placed in shot just to stretch out the opening credits, as we know that director Roger Corman is happy to use every trick in the book to pad out the runtime of a feature, this eye holds your attention for a sequence that seems to go on just a bit too long.

That works out well though, because this film doesn’t take long to get to the main thrust of the plot. After experimenting on a monkey that dies, and then enjoying a smoke with a colleague (cigarettes lit by a casually-held Bunsen burner), Dr. James Xavier (Ray Milland) feels that there is no time to waste as he splashes his new, potentially wondrous, eye drops into his eyes. As expected, they give him x-ray vision, which can surely help him to, ummmm, read paperwork covered by other paperwork, as well as potentially saving the lives of patients. One bit of terrible luck, however, and James has to flee his life, settling in to life as a carnival worker, overseen by Crane (Don Rickles). The potential miracle of x-ray vision is sold as a novelty, a trick to impress the crowds, and it isn’t long until James realises he needs to go somewhere else to make the best use of his “superpower”. He need to go to Las Vegas.

Fairly brisk and fun throughout, X The Man With The X-Ray Eyes now feels far too tame and lacking in visual flourishes that would help play up the core idea. Remake this nowadays, with some top-notch practical effects and intermittent 3-D to better display what the main character is seeing, and I reckon you could have a good time.

Not that this is bad. It just feels a bit too “fast and loose” when it could have better mixed the fun moments with a sense of growing unease and tension. The script, by Robert Dillon and Ray Russell, gets the science mumbo jumbo out of the way quickly, all the better to focus on the journey of a man who looks set to destroy himself in the quest to help others. It all starts from a point of arrogance, of course, and Dr. Xavier is a mild flavour of Dr. Frankenstein mixed with Dr. Jack Griffin (aka The Invisible Man), so viewers are able to both root for him and enjoy watching him suffer from the consequences of his own actions.

Corman directs with his usual efficiency, although it has to be said that the film only feels padded out in two main moments: that opening sequence, and a carefully edited scene showing our main character seeing everyone around him naked while they are dancing at a party. Otherwise, the direction feels nicely in tune with a script that zips along between three or four different set-pieces.

Milland is fine in the lead role, his eyes covered up for most of the runtime as he keeps trying to adjust to his increasing ability. He doesn’t try too hard to gain any sympathy, playing his character as someone diving headlong into an opportunity that most of us would be at least slightly tempted by. Diana Van Der Vlis is pleasant enough as a friendly colleague, and possible ally, named Dr. Diane Fairfax. But the standout is Rickles, stealing the movie in the few scenes that feature him (although it is also nice to see yet another turn from Corman “totem” Dick Miller, playing a carnival audience member who assumes the x-ray trickery is being done with the usual fakery and cheats).

This is a decent little ‘69s flick that doesn’t outstay its welcome. The better moments more than make up for the stumbles (and, it must be said, the sequence in Vegas ends up being a big stumble), and there’s a final moment that remains surprisingly impressive. Worth putting in your eyes.

6/10

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Dead By Dawn 2018: Innocent Blood (1992)

A horror comedy about a vampire from the director of An American Werewolf In London? It's fair to say that I had some pretty high expectations when I first watched Innocent Blood. Those expectations weren't met, and I didn't ever revisit the film over the next couple of decades. I'm not sure whether that is a good or bad thing, because this long overdue rewatch has made me realise that there's a lot here to enjoy.

Anne Parillaud plays a vampire named Marie who heads out into the night to feed. She feels like Italian, leading to her feeding on one of the many mobsters who populate the city. Once done with her meal, Marie usually takes care of the body to stop anyone returning as a vampire, but she is interrupted when she starts to feed on a boss man named Sallie (Robert Loggia). That leads to Sal rising up again, hungry and out of sorts, which leads to bewilderment from his crew and problems for an undercover cop named Joe (Anthony LaPaglia).

Written by Michael Wolk, Innocent Blood is a fun vampire movie that uses the supermatural powers associated with the beasts to play around with the buddy cop film template and provide some fun set-pieces. There's a decent amount of bloody moments, and the script has a lot of fun lines as the vampire threat and mobster activity builds.

John Landis directs competently enough, working within his means to deliver a vision that requres some enjoyable practical effects and stunt work to fully show the deveoping situation. There are some surprisingly solid action beats, some playing around with vampire tropes, the usual selection of cameos,and one main sequence in which Frank Oz plays a coroner bemused by the liveliness of the corpse wheeled in for him is a highlight.

Cast-wise, Parillaud is decent enough in the main role. She doesn't always convince when in full vamp-predator mode, but does much better in the scenes that have her fooling people with her attempts to look innocent. LaPaglia is also decent, stuck with the more straightfoward role - the cop on the case who is seeing things that nobody else will believe. But it's the cast of criminals that make the film more fun than it otherwise would be. Loggia is a blast as the powerful criminal who starts to realise just how much more power he has gained, Don Rickles is wonderful as his legal counsel, Chazz Palminteri has a small role (but is always good to see), and Tony Sirico, Kim Coates, and some other familiar faces are a lot of fun as they watch Loggia evolving. Angela Bassett and Luis Guzman also appear in small roles, both on the side of the police.

Despite some issues, such as a few dated effects and the pacing issues, Innocent Blood is a fun time. The biggest thing working against it when it was released back in 1992 was that it wasn't another An American Werewolf In London. But what is?

7/10

This LOOKS like a decent disc for those wanting the film, but maybe another release could be on the horizon?

Ani-MAY-tion Month: Toy Story (1995)

It's strange now to think of the many, many years before Pixar were such a huge success in the realm of animated movies, but Toy Story certainly announced their arrival in the best way possible. Smart, packed with great gags and characters, a visual delight (although Pixar would develop and improve with each subsequent movie), and benefiting from a premise that will appeal to any child, and anyone who can remember their childhood.

Woody (Tom Hanks) is a cowboy, and he's also young Andy's favourite toy. He loves his life. When nobody else is around, the toys are all able to live the lives that they keep secret from all of us humans. But things change when Andy receives a shiny new toy for his birthday. A Buzz Lightyear (Tim Allen) action figure. Buzz has a laser, wings, better audio speakers, the lot. He's a super duper, shiny spaceman, and his presence threatens Woody's position as the number one toy in the room. And to add to the frustration, Buzz doesn't realise that he is a toy. He thinks that he is THE Buzz Lightyear.

Directed by John Lasseter, who also developed the story idea with Andrew Stanton, Pete Docter and Joe Ranft, Toy Story remains not just one of Pixar's best movies, but also a statement of intent. It showed just how in tune they were with audiences, mixing fresh ideas and animation with enough jokes and nostalgia to keep adults happy. The script is packed full of great lines, written by Stanton, Alec Sokolow, Joel Cohen, and one Joss Whedon, and the world of the toys is rendered in a creative, colourful, and brilliantly believable, way by the team of talented animators.

The voice cast is the icing on the cake. Hanks and Allen are both superb as Woody and Buzz, but the film is given even more plus points thanks to the involvement of Don Rickles, Jim Varney, John Ratzenberger, Wallace Shawn, R. Lee Ermey, Annie Potts, and, well, basically everyone who lends their voice to any character (including Erik von Detten, who does great work as Sid, the nasty kid who lives next door, and spends a lot of his time damaging toys).

The original, and still the best, Toy Story is an object lesson in how to make a modern movie for the whole family. The tools are used to realise the story, as opposed to being overused just because they're available, the film talks directly to children without ever talking down to them, and both the script and visuals provide enough gags and details to keep boredom at bay, no matter how many times you've already seen it.

10/10

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Kelly's Heroes (1970)

I can't start a review of Kelly's Heroes without first relating a memory. A memory that goes all the way back to my early teens when the home entertainment market was still lorded over by the wonder of VHS. In my home we had a copy of Kelly's Heroes. It was quite a good movie but back then I felt it was a bit long and it didn't hold my attention from start to finish in the same way as, for instance, Stir Crazy did.
One of my best mates, Robbie, loved it. Absolutely loved it. But he didn't have it in his house. He only had access to my copy (well, not MINE but you know what I mean). This meant that during our school holidays, when the Scottish weather was predictably dire, I watched a lot of Kelly's Heroes. As did Robbie. In fact, he even borrowed it for a few months and tried to watch it every day while he had it. Which tells you that this movie is one that some people just absolutely love.

For anyone who has seen Three Kings, this is a definite forerunner to that movie. Clint Eastwood plays Kelly, a soldier who luckily happens on some information regarding of a LARGE stash of gold being held behind enemy lines. Instead of the American soldiers fighting Germans without respite just because they're ordered to do so it becomes easier to motivate themselves when they know that they can make themselves rich. But it's obviously not going to be easy.

Written by Troy Kennedy-Martin (and, believe it or not, this wild ride has a basis in truth) and directed by Brian G. Hutton, Kelly's Heroes is a great mix of war movie, heist movie and standard comedy. There are, as my mate Robbie will testify, many quotable lines from the variety of characters onscreen. And what a collection of folk we have.

Eastwood is still at his squinty best, even if he is wearing military garb as opposed to a poncho or NY detective badge, while I just have to namecheck the rest of my favourites now so that I don't miss anyone out. Telly Savalas - brash and very likeable as Big Joe. Don Rickles - great fun as a man interested in making money who resents having to do some work for it. Donald Sutherland - stealing every scene that he's in as Oddball. Stuart Margolin - highly entertaining as Little Joe. There are also great turns from Carroll O'Connor, Gavin MacLeod, Hal Buckley, Jeff Morris and Harry Dean Stanton (billed here as just Dean Stanton). The more eagle-eyed viewers can also try spotting John Landis in an uncredited cameo . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . as a nun.

Watching Kelly's Heroes nowadays is a bit of a frustrating experience because I have to admit that, all those years ago, Robbie was right. He may have gone overboard with his love for the movie but it's a movie that deserves at least a bit of love and recognition. Give it a try and see how much you end up loving it.

8/10.

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Kellys-Heroes-Blu-ray-Region-Free/dp/B0030A0ZE8/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1333809424&sr=8-1