Today, in honor of it being Friday the 13th (and my Mom informed me that there won't be another until 2012!), I decided to watch my favorite "Friday the 13th" film, which was...

Friday The 13th Part VI: Jason Lives - after the disaster of Part V, new director Tom McLoughlin (who had previously scored with the nifty, underappreciated supernatural horror film "One Dark Night") took the series in a new direction: humor.  Intentional humor, that is.  "Jason Lives" is fresh, clever, and very funny, much more than any movie with a "Part VI" in the title has any right to be.  I thought it was a blast when I was a kid and now I respect it even more, as I can appreciate the in-jokes and self-referential humor (over a decade before "Scream"). 

The cast is strong and filled with likeable characters you actually give a damn about as well, which is vital in making a solid and suspenseful horror film, which, against all odds, this is.  It also looks like a million bucks, with McLoughin puposefully filming it like a classic Universal monster movie (he says in an interview that this movie would look great in B&W, which is true).

Oh, and I must admit that the all-Alice-Cooper soundtrack doesn't hurt.

"Wherever the red dot goes...ya bang!"

CASTLE FREAK  (1995)  ***1/2  When John (Jeffrey Combs) inherits a castle in Italy, he moves his family and takes up residence in the medieval estate, only to discover that some terrible evil has escaped its dungeon chains and is on a bloodthirsty killing spree. Now under suspicion for murder, John must catch the killer before his family becomes the next casualty. Stuart Gordon directs this gruesome Gothic tale that also stars Barbara Crampton.

My Review: Even working on a small budget for a direct-to-video schlock factory like Full Moon Entertainment, Stuart Gordon ("Re-Animator", "From Beyond", "Stuck"...) is a good enough director that his talent shines through strongly, making this incredibly fun, over-the-top Gothic horror film not just uncommonly good for direct-to-video (better than a lot of theatrical horror films in fact), but one of the best films in his canon, period.  It's a treat to see the great Jeffrey Combs and Barbara Crampton together again under Gordon's direction (they were also co-stars in "Re-Animator" and "From Beyond"), and the film is an old-fashioned and suspenseful hoot with some great, spooky-old-castle atmosphere. 

AN EDUCATION  (2009)  ***1/2  Jenny's (Carey Mulligan) Oxford-bound teen life is undistinguished in 1961 London until she's given a different kind of education after being immersed in the beguiling but hazardous world of cultured and much-older David (Peter Sarsgaard). Even Jenny's father, Jack (Alfred Molina), is intrigued by him, but her unimpressed teacher (Olivia Williams) works to keep Jenny's entire future from crumbling under David's influence.

My Review: An absorbing and deeply moving coming-of-age drama.  Featuring a great script by justifiably acclaimed writer Nick Hornby ("High Fidelity", "About A Boy"), excellent 1961 period detail and cinematography, and a snappy pace (it clocks in at just under 100 minutes), "An Education" is one of the year's best films.  The entire cast do tremendous jobs, but everything you've read about relative newcomer Carey Mulligan is true.  She's amazing, and lights up the screen in every scene she's in.

And the other day I watched my DVD of...

Werner Herzog's 1972 masterpiece Aguirre, The Wrath Of God.  I consider this in many ways a horror film - it is undeniably one of the most vivid and terrifying descents into the depths of human nature ever made.  It tells the true story of a 16th-century Spanish expedition into the Amazon to locate the mythical "city of gold" known as El Dorado, an expedition that went into the jungle never to be heard from again, vanishing without a trace.  Herzog imagines this doomed voyage as a descent into madness, greed, murder and starvation, and the fluid camerawork and eerie score evoke the feel of a waking nightmare.  Yeah, not exactly a date movie.  But it's one you'll never forget, and Klaus Kinski's menacing glare will burn itself into your brain.

THE MEN WHO STARE AT GOATS  (2009)  **1/2  Journalist Bob Wilton (Ewan McGregor) latches onto an unbelievable story in Iraq when he meets Lyn Cassady (George Clooney), a man of mysterious origins who reveals he was a "warrior monk" trained by the U.S. Army to develop psychic powers. Jeff Bridges co-stars as Lyn's mentor, the man who dreamed up the top-secret operation. Kevin Spacey co-stars in this Grant Heslov-helmed wild spoof.

My Review: Lightweight and goofy, "The Men Who Stare At Goats" certainly isn't going to make anybody's Top 10 list of political satires, but it's an easy and mostly entertaining watch.  It's uneven and essentially pointless, but the cast is a lot of fun, and the good time they clearly had making this movie proves infectious.  Plus, there's a warm place in my heart for any movie that uses Boston's "More Than A Feeling" effectively!

And a couple DVD's I've watched recently...

The other night I re-watched Southland Tales for the first time since I saw it in theatres.  I had been kinda dreading it, because everybody hates this movie and I loved it, so I was afraid I wouldn't like it anymore.  But nope, I still love it.  It's absolutely a mess, but it's a glorious mess, the result of unbounded imagination, ambition and style, and although it borrows from countless sources, there is no other movie like it.  And I truly, honestly think it's good.  It's funny, the camerawork is fantastic, the soundtrack and score is awesome, the satire is hardly "Dr. Strangelove" but hits the mark, and the cast is gigantic, unconventional and fun.  There's even a musical number.  It's not for everyone, but come on, this movie is alive! 

And one of my favorite films of all time, 1986's cult classic Night Of The Creeps is now finally available on DVD, having gotten cleared of its copyright tangles.  I watched it last night and it was as much fun as ever.  Seriously, this movie has got everything: aliens, zombies, fraternity hijinks, parasitic slug monsters, axe murders, and it's incredibly funny, filled with clever dialogue, B-movie in-jokes and genre hero Tom Atkins gets absolutely his best showcase role ever as a suicidal, hard-boiled detective.  If you haven't seen this incredibly entertaining little classic, do yourself a favor and check it out!

CIRQUE DU FREAK: THE VAMPIRE'S ASSISTANT  (2009)  ***1/2  Things get freaky fast for 16-year-old Darren Shan (Chris Massoglia) when his friend (Josh Hutcherson) takes him to a circus that's chockfull of sideshow oddities. There, he meets vampire Larten Crepsley (John C. Reilly) and receives a life-changing bite on the neck. As the newest member of the mysterious Cirque du Freak troupe, Darren keeps company with Madame Truska (Salma Hayek) and sparks a war between the vampires and their rivals.

My Review: Apparently it's not for everyone, but I thoroughly enjoyed this funny, imaginative and very, very strange fantasy/horror/comedy.  Imagine Tod Browning's masterpiece "Freaks" by way of "Hocus Pocus" and given a script polishing by Clive Barker and you've just about got it.  The cast is fantastic; John C. Reilly may seem like an odd choice but he's great and the supporting cast is huge and engaging.  It has a tough hill to climb, being far too violent and ghoulish for younger kids and perhaps too fantastical for older audiences, but for people with just the right sensibilities, it's very entertaining.  I, for one, hope for continuation of the story.

THE GREAT ESCAPE  (1963)  ***1/2  Based on a true story and brimming with tension, this epic yarn directed by JOhn Sturges centers on an audacious plan by Allied officers -- who've escaped their Nazi captors time and again -- to stage a massive breakout from an ostensibly escape-proof German prison camp. The star-studded ensemble cast includes Richard Attenborough, James Garner, Donald Pleasence, Charles Bronson and Steve McQueen, whose climactic motorcycle sequence remains one of most memorable in cinema history.

My Review: A sprawling, exciting epic, and apparently more historically accurate that one might think (having read up on it a bit), considering that it seems about as historically accurate as "Inglourious Basterds".  Steve McQueen was one of the biggest stars in the world at the time so he gets top billing, but it's really an ensemble film, with over a dozen important characters.  I had a particular affection for Donald Pleasence's proper English birdwatcher who specializes in forging important documents and James Garner's smooth-operating "scrounger", but really everyone is great.  Though it's nearly 3 hours long, the film has an expertly measured pace, and the escape sequence itself is remarkably suspenseful.

And the other day I watched my DVD of The Graduate, another film like "Deliverance" and "Midnight Cowboy" that I hadn't seen in several years.  It's still one of the greatest of all coming-of-age films, and still very wise about the differences between generations, depicted excellently in the contrast between Benjamin's (Dustin Hoffman) restless, heated emotion and Mrs. Robinson's (Anne Bancroft) world-weary, hostile loneliness.  Though the story has the makings of farce, the film never loses sight of its characters' feelings and as a result it's incredibly affecting.  It would be great even without the brilliantly ambiguous ending.

And how could I forget the great Simon & Garfunkel song score?

MICHAEL JACKSON'S THIS IS IT  (2009)  ***1/2  Rehearsal footage, backstage action and interviews comprise this moving Michael Jackson experience. He is shown here preparing for a series of 50 sold-out London shows, which were scheduled to kick off in late summer 2009. Singing his numerous hits at the Staples Center in Los Angeles during the days leading up to his untimely death, Jackson is also seen refining cues, delving into dance details and working with director Kenny Ortega.

My Review: Poignant, rousing performance documentary that may not get very deep into Jackson's mysterious life, but has more than enough footage to remind you why he was a genius and that he has literally dozens of the most perfect pop songs of the last several decades to his credit.  One great song follows another, and we are privy to many of the show's grand, already-prepped visuals that make you realize just how amazing this finished show would have been.

GOOD HAIR  (2009)  ***1/2  Actor and stand-up comic Chris Rock hops around the world going from beauty salons to science labs to comb through the mystery of African American hair in this astute, hilarious documentary directed by Jeff Stilson. Rock contemplates the purpose and application of a weave as well as women's self-esteem and their locks. He also gains varying insights from Ice T, Nia Long, Rev. Al Sharpton, Maya Angelou and other celebrities.

My Review: Entertaining, unique and endlessly thought-provoking, Chris Rock's quest to get to the...uh...root (sorry) of the importance of hair in the black community (and the often-important, white-influenced straightening of that hair) makes for one of the year's very best documentaries.  Though the film ponders many of the deeper sociological issues at play here, it manages to keep a light, breezy tone throughout.

Watched Monty Python And The Holy Grail again last weekend, for the first time in many years, and it's still just hysterically funny.  Some of the gags are more puzzling than funny, but that just adds to the overall absurdism.  The humor ranges from extraordinarily crude and simple to complex and cryptic (and everywhere in between), and the visuals are still pretty amazing.  And the killer bunny still makes me almost pee my pants.

Another movie I recently watched that I hadn't seen in years was Deliverance.  This is quite a strange beast of a film, and watching it this time made me realize what it really is.  An extravagantly produced, extremely well-made-and-acted...B-movie.  It has the look and feel of a prestige picture, but at heart it's a violent fantasy that earns its reputation as part of the "hixploitation" subgenre.  But what I'm saying is not a diss - this is great B-movie.  The cinematography is gorgeous, the pacing is snappy, and the acting is terrific.  There are also some parts of it that haunt and affect you after the credits have rolled, much like the events in the film haunt the survivors.  So it's also a thoughtful B-movie, which is kinda rare.

"Deliverance" got me thinking of classic Jon Voight, so the next day I watched Midnight Cowboy, which I also hadn't seen in several years, and WOW.  I had forgotten just how great that movie is.  Dated, sure, but its character study of a Texas dreamer ruined by the cold, impersonal city is truly timeless.  Jon Voight and Dustin Hoffman give two of the the best performances I've ever seen, and the editing is brilliant, giving us snippets of Voight's character's past through mysterious and hauntingly ambiguous dream sequences and flashbacks that purposefully never converge into a whole picture.  I also hadn't realized just how much influence "Requiem For A Dream" took from this great film.