Day: May 29, 2012

By Joe Bendel. It could be said socialist “President” Plutarco Calles made Mexico a holier place. After all, he was ultimately responsible for the canonization of twenty-five Mexican saints, by martyring them during the Christero War. His brutal “anti-clerical” laws inspired a heroic rebellion, however, dramatized in Dean Wright’s For Greater Glory, which would have been thematically appropriate for Memorial Day weekend but which opens this Friday across the country instead.

General Enrique Gorostieta Velarde does not believe in the Catholic faith, but in religious liberty—perhaps enough to even die for it. He has also been offered an unusually high salary to take command of the hardscrabble Christero forces. Before his appointment, the Christero rebels had won embarrassing victories, but they were not considered a serious threat to the Calles regime. However, Gorostieta is a man to be reckoned with.

Calles is a duly elected dictator, who razes churches and executes foreign born priests like the kindly Father Christopher, played by Peter O’Toole (who must enjoy the irony of such a pious role, given his notoriously checkered private life). Glory is not shy about depicting the violent oppression meted out by the Calles forces, most notably with their treatment of José Luis Sánchez del Río, the captured mascot of Gorostieta’s army, who joined the Christeros after witnessing the state-sanctioned murder of Father Christopher. However, the film does not just wave the bloody shirt. Christeros like the legendary “El Catorce” take the battle to the Federales good and hard, heedless of their superior numbers, in several satisfying scenes of vintage warfighting.

Of course, Glory is a prime example of one of the fundamental laws of cinema: don’t mess with Andy Garcia. Perfectly cast as Gorostieta, he captures both the swagger and the gravitas of the principled man of action. It is easy to see why men would follow him into battle. Just as Garcia looks the part of Gorostieta, Ruben Blades is the near spitting image of Calles, aptly conveying his arrogance and ruthlessness.

Santiago Cabrera is also quite a riveting presence as Father Vega, a priest turned guerrilla general, while young Mauricio Kuri is surprisingly poised as Sánchez del Río. It is a strong and accomplished cast, even featuring Oscar nominee Catalina Sandino Morena (for Maria Full of Grace) as Christero fund-raiser Adriana. Though a bit of an undercooked role, she projects a strong presence nonetheless. However, Eva Longoria seems to be dropped into the film merely for decorative effect as Gorostieta’s wife, Tulita. Arguably the most intriguing supporting turn comes from the ever-reliable Bruce Greenwood as American Ambassador Dwight Morrow, sent to broker a deal to keep the petroleum flowing, duly fulfilling his brief despite the twinges of his conscience.

Indeed, Glory shines a spotlight on some conveniently overlooked Mexican and American history. Had Coolidge been more Reaganite and backed the Christeros, the Twentieth Century might have been much more prosperous and pleasant for Mexico. Instead, Calles’s PRI party would dominate Mexico for decades, whereas Calles himself briefly took refuge in America during a period of involuntary exile, where he fell in with the marginalized fascist movement (maybe he even met Morrow’s future son-in-law, Charles Lindbergh). Frankly, he ought to be regarded as one of history’s worst despots.

Granted, Glory is not exactly the most nuanced film, but there is not a lot of room for subtlety in such a brazen episode of religious persecution. Though director Dean Wright’s background is in special effects, he shows a strong aptitude for old school cavalry and artillery battles. (The English language dialogue is a bit of a misstep though, in contrast to the greater authenticity subtitled Spanish would have lent the film.) Pretty stirring stuff, For Greater Glory is earnestly recommended for everyone concerned about state encroachments on religious liberty,and who can still enjoy a sweeping historical tragedy. It opens nationwide this Friday (6/1), including at the AMC Empire and Village 7 theaters in New York.

LFM GRADE: B+

Posted on May 29th, 2012 at 2:58pm.

By Joe Bendel. It turns out there really are little grey aliens out there. The X-Files had them perfectly pegged physically, but the rest of their nature has yet to be determined. They are coming, though. A motley assortment of Italians await their anticipated arrival during the planet’s final pre-contact days in Gian Alfonso Pacinotti’s deceptively spoilerishly titled The Last Man on Earth, which screens as part of the 2012 Seattle International Film Festival.

Luca Bertacci is a miserable man leading a depressing life. The anti-social bingo parlor waiter has issues with women, but he is not too fond of men, either. Perhaps logically, his only friend (strictly platonic) is a transvestite prostitute. Still, there are understandable reasons for his emotional deep freeze. Despite his long nurtured resentments, he finds himself pining for Anna Luini, a pretty neighbor across the street.

Unlike the rest of the world, Bertacci tries not to think about the aliens, so he is rather surprised to find his elderly father cohabitating with an early arriver. It seems to be a chaste relationship, but her presence invigorates the old man. Bertacci even starts talking to Luini. It isn’t pretty, but it is a beginning. Unfortunately, mistakes in their private lives might have rather cosmic implications as first contact approaches.

Bertacci is hardly a typical sci-fi action protagonist. Rather than I Am Legend, think of him more like the guy in the “if you were the last man on Earth” expression. Still, the aliens really are coming, which serves as an amusing Rorschach for various characters’ neuroses. During the opening credits, one radio talk show caller even expresses concern for the impact on small market football teams. In a way, Last is like two (or perhaps one and a half) decidedly oddball love stories, connected by unrestrained existential dread.

Hardly kid-friendly space opera, Last lurches into some pretty ominous places, but Gabriele Spinelli solidly anchors it all as Bertacci. While sympathetic, there is clearly something off about the waiter that is never fixed with a neat psychological contrivance. Frankly, it is pretty engrossing just watching the dysfunctional gears turning in his head. Though she only has one really heavy scene, Anna Bellato is a dynamic presence as her namesake, while the makeup obscured Sara Rosa Losilla’s weirdly awkward body language perfectly suits the alien.

A distinctive work of cerebral social science fiction, Last would make a good double feature with Nacho Vigalondo’s Extraterrestrial, which also screens at SIFF this year. Of course, Pacinotti’s film would definitely be the darker half. Yet the comic artist (a.k.a. Gipi) turned director never allows the angst to overwhelm the story. Recommended for discerning genre fans, Last Man on Earth screens this Thursday (5/31) during SIFF.

LFM GRADE: B+

Posted on May 29th, 2012 at 2:21pm.

By Joe Bendel. Technically, there is only one bat monster in Francis Gordon’s latest B-movie, but it would hardly be the first time the zero-budget mogul delivered slightly less than promised. It will certainly attack though, rest assured. By hook or by crook, his cast and crew will pound out his next drive-in programmer in Attack of the Bat Monsters!, Graham Kelly Greene’s affectionate love letter to campy late 1950’s and early 1960’s monster movie-making, an alumni selection returning to officially open the 2012 Dances with Films this Thursday.

Attack is not about Roger Corman per se, but it would not have been made without his example. Gordon is definitely a grindhouse showman in the Corman mold. He is convinced he can fix anything in the editing room as long as they follow his cardinal rule: “when the monster’s dead, the movie is over.” Paralleling the genesis of Corman’s Little Shop of Horrors, Gordon wrapped production on his latest film early, but he still has three paid-up days in the southern California rock quarry he does not intend to waste.

Suddenly, AD Chuck Grayson is rushing about lining up a screenwriter (the least important part), a pseudo-star, and a new monster (that would be the biggie). The beatnik poet Bobby Barnstone and his Barnstone method of Benzedrine-fueled stream-of-consciousness screenwriting looks like the best bet for generating fast pages. They don’t have to be good, after all. Larry “The Cat Creature” Meeker, Jr. seems to have fallen on hard enough times that he would consider a Francis Gordon movie; plus, a former creature-making colleague has just been fired by a major studio. However, he still harbors bad feelings over The Snake Woman, a Gordon production so notorious, the mere mention of the title sucks the air out of rooms.

All the Corman motifs are present and accounted for, including spaced-out beatniks, a jazzy soundtrack, and a ridiculously cheesy monster. What sets Attack apart from thematically similar B-movie pastiches is Greene’s confidence in the behind-the-scenes story. There will be no real life monsters or aliens invading their set, just the union goon extras from a studio gladiator movie sent to run the crew out of the quarry ahead of schedule.

Attack had its world premiere at DWF back in 2000. Frankly, the fact that the film has yet to develop its own cult following is downright mystifying, because it really delivers the goods. Greene knows the Corman lore inside-out and his cast of not exactly household names is way funnier than you would expect. There is also a real edge to his dialogue, as when Gordon indignantly defends his honor by declaring he always pays his taxes and pays-off his unions. Indeed, what more could one ask of a good Hollywood citizen?

There are some hilarious supporting assists here, particularly Robert Bassetti as Barnstone and Douglas Taylor as Meeker, Jr. Fred Ballard is also pitch-perfect as the prickly Gordon, while Michael Dalmon gamely holds the madness together as the put-upon Grayson.

Without question, Attack is generously stocked with goofy humor, but it can also be quite sly. Yet there is a real heart beneath the bedlam that cares about its characters, precisely because on some level they also care about the B-movies they are churning out, despite being fully aware of their schlockiness. A completely satisfying, all-around good show, Attack of the Bat Monsters is ripe for re/discovery when it opens this year’s Dances with Films this coming Thursday night (5/31) in Hollywood, USA.

LFM GRADE: A

Posted on May 29th, 2012 at 2:02pm.