31 Days of Horror: Perfect Blue (1997)

perfect blue

It feels like such a treat to get an animated horror film. I’m a relatively big fan of animation and I realize that there are a lot of animated films being made that are not what you would call family-friendly. GKids has been putting out a lot of great stuff that deals with very mature themes and are meant for mature adults. Yet, in the USA animation seems primarily aimed and children. Even the great films Pixar have been putting out, many of which do deal with things like sadness and death, keep everything cheerful enough for the kiddos to watch.

So I say again, it feels like such a treat to get an animated horror film, even if this one did come out in 1997.

Perfect Blue is about Mima (voiced by Junko Iwao) a pop singer who is putting down her microphone in order to become a serious actress. In order to make that transition, she has to do things like pose nude in a magazine and perform in a brutal rape scene. All of which puts a bit of a crack in her psyche.

It doesn’t help that some crazed fan is stalking her, pretending to be her in online chat rooms, and murdering the people in her life.

The film blends reality and fiction in really interesting ways. There are lots of scenes that appear to be real only then to pull the curtain and make us realize it is a scene the actress is performing in or just a dream. I’m still not sure exactly what happened in it. But I rather loved watching every bit of it.

31 Days of Horror: Eyes of Laura Mars (1978)

eyes of laura mars

As my silly little Garcia Poster note indicated I watched Eyes of Laura Mars today. It is kind of an American take on the Italian Giallo with Faye Dunaway playing a photographer who suddenly gets visions through a killer’s eyes. The murderes are all of her friends whom she gets to watch get stabbed to death while the deed is happening.

Tommy Lee Jones is the detective solving the case. It is based on a story written by John Carpenter and was directed by the guy who did The Empire Strikes Back. It is full of lush, soft photography of half-naked women (Faye’s specialty is of beautiful women in their underwear murdering handsome men in tuxes). It is all pretty silly and a little trashy and kind of awesome. I’ll have a full review up soon.

The Accused (1949)

the accused

If you are growing tired of #31Daysof Horror then feel some relief in knowing that #NoirVember is coming in just a few short weeks. That’s when I’ll be talking about a lot of film noirs. But until then you can enjoy my review of The Accused, a rather good film-noiresque drama starring the always wonderful Loretta Young. You can read my review here.

DC’s Legends of Tomorrow: The Complete Sixth Season

legends of tomorrow complete sixth season

I’m working my way through all of the Cinema Sentries reviews I’ve done over the years in reverse chronological order. This means you will get to read my Arrowverse reviews backward. I guess that’s fun, especially because I like the earlier seasons much more than the later ones. Click here to read my review of the sixth season of Legends.

Breakheart Pass (1975)

breakheart pass

I very much like Agatha Christie-style murder mysteries. I have recently come to love westerns. I’ve always dug a good movie set on a train. I ought to have been a fan of Breakheart Pass, a murder mystery/western set on a train starring Charles Bronson. Sadly, I found it a rather tepid affair. You can read my review here.

The Sheik (1921)

the shief bluray

While I am a great lover of old movies I’ve only recently begun dipping my toe into the silent era. I gotta admit I still struggle to watch some of those films. They often contain some great visuals, but without audible dialogue, and often mismatched music, my mind tends to wander. But the more I watch the more I’m able to follow along.

The Shiek stars Rudolph Valentino who was a huge star at the time. It is a bit outdated by today’s standards but is still a pretty entertaining watch. My review is over at Cinema Sentries.

The Incredible Shrinking Man (1956)

incredible shrinking man

I am a complete and utter sucker for movies in which people shrink down to tiny sizes. I just love the effects of giant-sized everyday objects. The Criterion Collection recently released this cinematic adaptation of a Richard Matheson story and it has tons of fantastic special effects involving a little man up against big objects (and critters). My review can be read here.

The Cheat (1931)

the cheat bluray

Not all classic films are true “classics” if you catch my meaning. Case in point is this Tallulah Bankhead film which is rather dull to watch. It does have some great Pre-Code moments – sexual innuendo, human branding and attempted rape – but that still can’t save it from being an utter bore. Here’s my full review.

Torch Singer (1933)

torch singer

One of the challenges you face when watching old movies is butting heads with some of its outdated morals. I always find it tough to watch films that portray the slave-owning confederates as heroes. Torch Singer doesn’t have any of that, in fact, it is fairly progressive in its point of view, but I still wrestle with how best to watch it in my review.