Author: Blake Van Poucke

CERTIFIED WEIRD: Hiroshi Teshigahara’s “Pitfall” a surreal fight for workers rights

December 14, 2021

Pitfall remains in between life and death, not fully existing in reality but not fading away into the tether. It’s a film with grand themes of abused labor in a villainous, soulless industry, while playing in the avant-garde of the afterlife. Director Hiroshi Teshigahara shows his personality in the surrealism and tells the majority of this story within this mood but keeping the narrative grounded in real world struggle. In his first collaboration with legendary novelist Kobo Abe, Pitfall is a film that toils with utter existentialism, and unfair and unjust treatment of human beings but then goes even further. It explores a culture of overworking, lack of freedom if one chooses to go against their company, and the complete alienation of the human condition. … More CERTIFIED WEIRD: Hiroshi Teshigahara’s “Pitfall” a surreal fight for workers rights

The best adaptation of Yukia Mishima’s “The Temple of the Golden Pavilion” comes in Conflagration (1958)

December 14, 2021

The famous Yukio Mishima story, The Temple of the Golden Pavilion, adapted to film in Kon Ishikawa’s Conflagration. A triumphant retelling of the deeply troubled character story, where the preservation of beauty makes Raizo Ichikawa (Goichi Mizoguchi), fly into an enraged and violent jealousy. Ishikawa’s vision for the film better understands Goichi trauma, and how his upbringing influences his mannerisms and actions. It helps us better understand the dangerous obsession to the temple and the overwhelming feelings he harbors towards its unrequited beauty. In the absence of universal peace and aesthetic beauty, we see the self-destruction of Goichi from the inside-out. … More The best adaptation of Yukia Mishima’s “The Temple of the Golden Pavilion” comes in Conflagration (1958)

CERTIFIED WEIRD: Paul Verhoeven’s Benedetta a triumph of provocation

December 14, 2021

Paul Verhoeven always creates lived-in worlds and his retelling of Saint Benedetta’s life in the Catholic church is PURE Verhoeven. Impending darkness presiding over a sexual awakeneing, provoking the audience with every subsequent scene. It’s a beautiful rendering of sexual freedom through the guise of religious restriction. It’s violent and bloody. Apocryphal and full of juicy drama. Plus, filled with damning religious imagery and powerful metaphors. What we’re left with is one of Verhoeven’s best films.
… More CERTIFIED WEIRD: Paul Verhoeven’s Benedetta a triumph of provocation

Marnie (1964) serves as an off-balance miss from Alfred Hitchock

December 14, 2021

Marnie, an off-balanced Hitchock thriller all reliant on the twist, is one of the few films he ever made that I didn’t find palatable. It’s a combination of the Jay Presson Allen screenplay forcing weird character traits and phobias that move the plot along and furthermore, Tippi Hedren’s (Marnie) exploding neuroticism actively took me out of the story. Thankfully, Marnie has some charm, as Sean Connery (Mark) adds bravado, but Marnie’s past dominates the narrative in a way that felt cheap. 
… More Marnie (1964) serves as an off-balance miss from Alfred Hitchock

CERTIFIED WEIRD: Silent Night is an unbalanced black comedy with little laughs

December 7, 2021

The concept behind Camille Griffin’s holiday black comedy Silent Night had potential, but the tonal balance of the film betrays the comedy elements, melodrama, and warped sentimentality. It sets out to make a Hallmark moment Holiday extravaganza while looking directly into the eye of impending doom. The ensemble piece takes center stage at the end of the world slash Christmas get-together, as the script slowly but surely reveals more damning plot details.  … More CERTIFIED WEIRD: Silent Night is an unbalanced black comedy with little laughs

Jane Campion’s “The Power of the Dog” a fiercely complex character piece

December 7, 2021

Character driven, methodically paced storytelling from Jane Campion. The Power of the Dog can be an empowering journey of inner discovery, but most of the film is spent in a cesspool of toxic masculinity, reaffirming machismo. It’s a muddled and complex rendering of Thomas Savage’s novel, showing these characters as brutish and consciously flawed.
… More Jane Campion’s “The Power of the Dog” a fiercely complex character piece

The 26th Annual Satellite Award Nominations – Belfast, Dune and The Power of the Dog show Strength

December 2, 2021

The 26th annual Satellite Award nominations are here. The internationally based awards body has a decent to obtuse track record of matching up with the Oscars. Chloe Zhao walked away with director and picture last year, but in 2019, Ford V. Ferrari won best Drama. It’s a mixed bag. … More The 26th Annual Satellite Award Nominations – Belfast, Dune and The Power of the Dog show Strength

The Hidden Facade of Joan Crawford’s Private Life in her daughter’s Memoirs, Mommie Dearest

December 2, 2021

Hollywood starlet, raised to believe that success is earned and handled. She was never naive and her business acumen made her a threat to the structure of society. Not only that, she was a powerhouse of an actress and delivered a number of my favorite performances (What Ever Happened to Baby Jane?, Mildred Pierce, Johnny Guitar) ever. She’s an icon, but her public persona hides a dark, personal secret.
… More The Hidden Facade of Joan Crawford’s Private Life in her daughter’s Memoirs, Mommie Dearest

The Desperation Felt in William Wyler’s The Desperate Hours (1955) is Palpable

December 2, 2021

The frighteningly real experience of William Wyler’s noir-thriller, The Desperate Hours, pins a family with everything to lose against a trio of runaway felons with nothing to lose. The elongated hostage situation is a boiler of nervous energy and the longer the situation gets extended, the less nerve the characters get, making for a volatile situation. It’s an extremely tight narrative structure, a streamline of intensity from the opening moments to the tragic conclusion.
… More The Desperation Felt in William Wyler’s The Desperate Hours (1955) is Palpable