The so-called Irish Ramones most famous song. Legendary British DJ John Peel called this his all-time favorite song and requested that the opening line of the song engraved on his tombstone when he died. Irresistible power pop with really grungy guitars.
Winner of the 1990 Grand Jury Prize at the Sundance Film Festival comes this extremely odd, hilariously subversive, and sadly forgotten film by Wendell B. Harris, Jr. Based on a true story, it’s about a con man named William Douglas Street who impersonates a reporter, a doctor, an attorney, and many others in order to pursue the American dream. A tremendously cool film on so many levels. The lead character is not entirely likeable (and a bit of a sociopath), but he’s got a wonderfully funny and disdainful view of the world. The sense of humor is sly and not immediately apparent, but if you can get into the groove of it, it’s a real trip.
Before Larry David’s “Curb Your Enthusiasm,” there was the brilliant cringe-inducing comedy of Albert Brooks. And if there’s a comedy you have to watch through your fingers, it’s 1981’s “Modern Romance.” Brooks plays the most annoyingly neurotic character in movie history trying to deal with a romantic breakup. It’s extremely funny, but will make you hide your eyes.
This is the infamous scene where Brooks’s character decides he wants to take up jogging after his breakup and his encounter with a sporting goods store salesman is priceless. The salesman is played by Brooks’s brother Bob Einstein, who later went on to play Marty Funkhouser on “Curb Your Enthusiasm.” I feel this way every time I walk into Jiffy Lube.
An excerpt from producer/studio executive Robert Evans’ beyond brilliant audiobook version of his autobiography “The Kid Stays in the Picture.” This is the part where he discusses the making of “The Godfather.” The audiobook was so highly regarded that it was turned into a documentary in 2002, directed by Nanette Burstein and Brett Morgen. One of the fringe benefits of having an allergy attack is that I get to talk like Robert Evans. Does it annoy my wife? You bet your ass it does!
Number 6 on Dave’s Strange World’s list of all-time favorite films is Tim Burton’s outrageous and loving biopic of the legendary “World’s Worst Filmmaker” Ed Wood, starring Johnny Depp as Wood. A lot of the films on the Sight and Sound list of World’s Best films (as well as my own list) center around the world of filmmaking.
Having a dream can be a dangerous thing. In this country, they say if you work hard enough and persevere, you can achieve anything. While hard work is essential towards achieving any dream, you also need talent and luck. Wood had passion to burn, but lacked the taste and talent to become who he wanted to be: Orson Welles.
However, you have to have the dream first. Granted, it helps if you know your limitations and are non-delusional. But at some point you do need to have a leap of faith to potentially achieve the sublime. Only those crazy and courageous enough to pursue their dream always go farther than those who never try.
Which is why I love this scene where Wood, frustrated after disagreements with the producers of his film (and wearing a dress, because that’s what made Wood feel most comfortable), storms off to a bar and runs into his hero, Orson Welles. I imagine this encounter was the invention of the writers, but it’s still a marvelous scene. Tellingly, Welles doesn’t flinch when he sees Wood dressed in drag and wearing a hideous mustache. As Welles tells Wood, “Visions are worth fighting for. Why spend your life making someone else’s dreams?” Just because it’s being said to someone who probably never should have been a director doesn’t make it any less true.
At what point does an exploitation film become an art film? Take for example, the nasty, but incredibly fun suspense thriller “Freeway” from 1996. “Freeway” updates the “Little Red Riding Hood” story to modern times, but the heroine is not the sweet, innocent girl she is in the fairy tale. While Reese Witherspoon’s teenage character Vanessa Lutz has been dealt a lot of bad cards in life, make no mistake, Vanessa is really f–king scary! Even scarier is Kiefer Sutherland’s child psychologist Bob Wolverton (Wolverton = wolf, get it?) who moonlights as a serial killer of hitchhikers and prostitutes. Anyway, Bob picks up the wrong girl with Vanessa and as the attached trailer shows, turns the tables on Bob. Lots of trouble ensues …
Make no mistake, this is one sleazy tale, but it’s gleefully sleazy and doesn’t pretend otherwise. However, the acting (especially by Witherspoon and Sutherland), script, and direction are all top notch. And it proves that just because you’re making an exploitation film, it doesn’t mean that it has to be crappy. It’s too bad Bright’s directing career didn’t take off after “Freeway.” Let’s just say he’s made some “interesting” choices since then. And while the trailer is fairly cheesy, this is by no means is indicative of the quality of the film. If you have the stomach for it, “Freeway” is a wonderfully sick thrill ride.
The Godfathers do an explosive cover of John Lennon’s wrenching late 1960s hit about heroin withdrawal. It really says something about the Beatles’ popularity that Lennon’s original (which is really raw stuff) made the Top 40 back in 1969. As good as Lennon’s original is, I like this version better than Lennon’s, as sacrilegious as that may sound. While the minimalism of Lennon’s original has its merits, I like the way the Godfathers fleshed it out.
Number 7 on Dave’s Strange World’s list of all-time favorite films is Martin Scorsese’s vicious, profane, and hilarious gangster classic “Goodfellas.” Since I tried limiting myself to just one film by each director, it was hard picking my favorite Scorsese film. “Taxi Driver” and “Hugo” almost made the cut on all my time Top 10, but “Taxi Driver” is a really heavy, painful film that I don’t watch that often these days and “Hugo,” while being emotionally uplifting, is heavy in its own way too. These aren’t criticisms, it’s just that if I’m picking a Scorsese film to watch at the end of a long, hard day at work, “Goodfellas” never disappoints. Even at 2.5 hours long, it feels like it’s half that length. Everything about this film, from the script to the acting to the editing to the music is a pure adrenalin rush. And while you may feel exhausted at the end of this, it’s a good exhaustion.
The scene I included here is where Liotta’s, DeNiro’s, and Pesci’s characters need to borrow a shovel from Pesci’s mother’s house to bury the body of a gangster they just killed. Playing Pesci’s mother is Scorsese’s mother Catherine, who is totally sweet and funny in this scene. There is some pixelation during the first 11 seconds of this clip, but everything else is fine after that. Favorite line: “Looks like someone we know.”
Number 8 on Dave’s Strange World’s list of 10 favorite films comes Richard Rush’s bats–t crazy masterpiece from 1980, “The Stunt Man.” I saw this when it was in theaters in the fall of 1980, thanks to my Dad. Back in the day, my Dad was an avid “New Yorker” reader and likely wanted to see this based on Pauline Kael’s rave review of this film. Granted, this film was grossly inappropriate for a 10-year old to see, but I respect my Dad for trusting my intelligence and good taste in letting me see this.
Like “Pulp Fiction,” this is quite possibly the perfect film: action, suspense, comedy, violence, sex, and plot twists that seriously f–k with your brain and make you question reality. It’s cerebral, but ridiculously entertaining at the lowest common denominator as well. It’s what every Hollywood film should be like, but isn’t. Richly deserving of its 3 Oscar nominations for Best Director, Best Screenplay, and Best Actor for Peter O’Toole’s turn as the Satanic director. O’Toole could have easily walked off with the Best Actor Oscar that year, had it not been for DeNiro’s turn in “Raging Bull.” (Shaking fist in the air, Stephen Colbert-style: “DENIRO!!!!!!!”)
I think this is still available on Netflix instant and if you haven’t seen it, you’re in for one of the greatest treats of your life.
Soft Cell’s best-known song in the States is “Tainted Love” and maybe, the notorious album track “Sex Dwarf” off their debut album “Non Stop Erotic Cabaret.” However, this terrific, sad ballad was a huge hit in England and has gradually become my favorite Soft Cell song over the years.
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