Movies for the Flu

So I've been poorly and was managing to ignore this until Wednesday when I decided a day off would be a good idea. So I wandered via the library to grab a couple of DVDs on Tuesday. Figuring a bit doped up on stuff would lead to fun times with my normal movie fare I went for Flesh for Frankenstein. Directed by Paul Morrissey who is most notable for being the director that Warhol's Factory used. Described as cult-classic, even I found it pretty dire. It's predictable in its use of shots and story development. It's not sure if it wants to be a sex flick (like Flesh Gordon) or a cult-horror-pisstake. Storyline is Baron Frankenstein wants to create a race of beautiful zombies who will breed more zombies for him. There's incest, butchery, black humour including such lines as "To love life you must fuck death in the duodenum" - while he's in the process of doing just that. Classy. Ok, so it's not a bad b-grade, it's just it lacks something bgrade-ish to bring it up to the great bgrades. The kids are a nice touch, and I can so see this flick turning up in the 24hr MM based on one of the over-riding themes. Are you reading this Ant?

The other one I got out was the first in the revenge trilogy by the brilliant director Chan-wook Park. He who brought you the perfect movie Oldboy, and the slightly less great Sympathy for Lady Vengence. This one was the first in the trilogy, Sympathy for Mr Vengence. The first hour is slow and not at all visceral, setting up the elaborate (ish) plots in order to pay for a black market kidney. No really. It all revolves around that. There's also a deaf mute. It's touching - the lengths the mute goes to to obtain a kidney for his sister - it's moving - the plans the mute and his girlfriend go to for the sister. And above all its beautiful in the sheer violence in the second half, none of it is the Tarentino OTT violence, this is sudden, poetic, balletic and generally unexpectedly perverse. I prefer OldBoy, for the brilliance of the plotline, but I enjoyed this too. Worth viewing.

B xxx