Wolfman

Hey. Remember when they gave Leigh Wannell the classic Universal Monster The Invisible Man?  Remember how she turned it into a Me Too, Girl Power, you get that revenge flick that wiped its butt with the source material? Remember how she cast a pasty pale ugly woman as the lead! Fun!!! 

I remember.

That’s why I was a little surprised to see her attached to this project.  Another attempt to resurrect the Universal Monster empire that fell flat on its face at the box office. 

Oh, people don’t want the old monsters they say?  No.  They just don’t want her version. 

Here, Julia Garner steps into the ugly pasty role and she’s got that part down.  The rear? She’s awful.  But she’s the powerful girl we deserve.  Or something.

It’s not all bad.  There’s a good dose of gore and some grisly moments. There’s enough to qualify as horror. And some of the transformation effects are decent. 

In its defense it hews closer to the source than her IM did.  Just not close enough. 

I’m tired of Garner and her ugly short white fro.  She peaked at Ruth and should just go away now. 

The Conversation

At some point around the same time he was finishing Godfather 2, FFCoppola wrote and directed this film. Despite an Oscar nomination for best picture (lost to G2) it is kinda lost to the annals of time.  Few probably even know it existed.  I didn’t. 

Thats unfortunate.  It’s a good watch for a number of reasons. 

First, it’s got a strong 70s look and feel. It’s the kind of introspective, intellectual move they just don’t make any more.  It doesn’t beat you over the head with exposition. You figure it out as you go along.  Characters aren’t good or bad. They’re a mixture of both, with agendas and flaws.


Second is the cast. Superb. Gene Hackman is the lead.  But look for Cindy Williams (cute and right before her career was engulfed in Shirley).  Robert Duvall and Fredo Corleone make appearances.  So does Harrison Ford in a strange turn as an evil henchman. Teri Garr shows up in a short but poignant scene.  And then there’s Lou Ann Poovie (shout out to Gomer Pyle) in a nude scene! 

Today’s audience would probably call it slow and boring.  The film very much hinges on Hackman’s internal struggles with his chosen career and the moral dilemma it poses.

Third, the film is about surveillance and the perils of watching and listening to people’s private conversations. That still applies today. Looking at all the surveillance tech on display and considering this took place in the era of Watergate added a level of interest.

I found it intriguing. But I like the gritty, sweaty, color burned 70s style films. Stuff like The Gauntlet. It won’t be for everyone.  But it is a well scripted, well acted, well directed film.

The best thing? In one scene I saw a gold Shell Pest Strip box stuck to a wall. I haven’t thought about those things in 40 years.  Everybody had one back in my day.  The slice of toxic cheese inside it always fascinated me. Of course they were outlawed. I think Ralph Nader made his bones going after them.  They killed the crap out of bugs though. 

We just need the girl’s daddy come out and say she deserved it. 

So we have two football players get arrested and one BB player in the last two weeks.

Last I heard form bammers is we are shutting down our programs. The sky is falling in Lee county.

Its all because of Hugh's golfing.   

Hello23545wqetr665876
 
BBCode
 
FFssdaebve436456
 
HTML_Code
 
FFssdaebve436456
 
http://Captcha3.crom