Smith's.

mig

The Story Of Ricky (a.k.a. Rikki-Oh)

Ah, The Story Of Ricky. Just when you
think that modern action cinema has run out of
ways to mutilate the human form in really exciting
and flamboyant ways, along comes a reassuring
film like The Story Of Ricky, a film that still manages
to make you cringe and fall off of your seat in
gleeful shock and disgust. Ricky, you see, sort of
has super human strength, and when he gets
put in jail with a bunch of drug dealers after he
murdered a drug dealer who, in turn, murdered
his girlfriend, all hell breaks loose.

Sometimes | just can't figure out how these
flicks get green-lighted. | mean, | know there's a
market out there for them because I'm part of it,
but | have a hard time imagining that one brave
executive who puts up his hand in a meeting
and says, "Yes | think we should fund this movie
because | really think that scene where Ricky
punches a big, exploding hole through that fat
guy's stomach is really cool and will sell this
movie like McDonald's french fries, even more
than the scene where that huge fellow claps
his hands together and pops a guy's head."

Ah, The Story Of Ricky. Definitely a mas-.
terpiece along the lines of Evil Dead and Dead
Alive. You must watch this film.

Deadful Melody
starring Brigette Lin and Yuen Biao. (1993)

If you missed this at The Ridge last October
(where it was shown in a double bill with
Female Convict Scorpion - Jailhouse 41, a
movie about which | shall refrain from com-
menting for fear of that showing's organizers
fierce retribution), | strongly suggest that you
pick it up on video. With the exception of a
handful of films, I've never been a big fan of

video suggestions for the socially basement-ridden

Well, | was going to write a little column on some cool martial arts flicks, but I've
seen a few movies outside that genre this month that I'd really like to recommend.
So it's just a mish-mash. Hope no one gets confused.

the "cable-action" style (where action moves are
enhanced through the use of invisible or digi-
tally removed cables attached to the actors;
think The Matrix), but Deadful Melody is just so
overboard that it won me over. It seems like
every shot has like ten crazy martial arts war-
riors flying through the air or exploding in the
air or getting parts of their anatomy removed in
the air. And not only that, but people get killed
with musical instruments. As for plot, well,
there's lots of people flying through the air.

Network

starring Robert Duvall, Faye Dunaway, Peter
Finch, and William Holden, directed by Sidney
Lumet. (1976)

Am | the only person who hadn't seen this |

movie? If I'm not, if there are some other
unlucky blokes reading this who haven't yet
seen Peter Finch declare that he's going to kill
himself on a national news television program,
then let me tell you to check it out. It's oddly
prescient, this film, as it declares a network's
desire for ratings so strong that it's willing to air
any act of sensationalistic depravity, from manic
rants and psychic chats to weekly installments of
terrorist home videos and live assassinations.
Undoubtedly scathing in its time, it still packs
quite a punch today, but perhaps more, now, for
its retrospectively accurate assessment.

Winter Sleepers (a.k.a. Winterschlafer)
directed by Tom Tykwer. (1997)

Winter Sleepers floats along through the
lives of its five sometimes unknowingly intercon-
nected main characters, Rebecca, Rene, Laura,
Marco, and Theo. Interconnected how, you ask?

Well, Rebecca and Laura live together, and one
night Rebecca's boyfriend, Rene, stops by for a
shag, leaving his car unlocked by accident.
Marco, who's walking home drunk, steals the
car and goes for a ride. He is nearly run off the
road by Theo, who is driving poorly and who,
himself, ends up crashing, severely injuring his
daughter. His daughter is taken to the hospital
and is operated on by Laura, who eventually
starts dating Marco, who has memory loss and
can't figure out why his new girlfriend's house
and Rene's car look familiar. Theo goes on the
hunt for the owner of the car that caused his
accident and is led to Rene. After that there's a
lot of misinterpretation and miscommunication,
but the film draws inexorably towards a strangely
logical conclusion.

Made by the same German guy who made
Run Lola Run, Winter Sleepers was actually
made first but is just seeing the light of day over
here for the first time on the big screen and on
video (simultaneously, for some reason). It is by
far the better of the two, engaging, beautiful,
and lyrical. And when | say "lyrical", that means
don't expect the brainless MTViness of Lola. This
one has a far more relaxed pace, and it's a finer
film for it.

Last House On The Left
directed by Wes Craven. (1972)

Okay, so Phyllis and Mari go to a concert in
the city to celebrate the latter's birthday, but
when they get there they try and get some
ganja. They get picked up by a band of loony
escaped convicts who beat, torture, and rape
them. This film's not for everyone. But it just
might be for those who are into having their
brains shocked out of their heads by some seri-
ous debasement.

Hey, anybody interested in free movie tickets? For real? Well, | get lots, so if you're a student or if you're willing to buy me alcohol
stop by the Influx office and I'll pass them on. And yes, you're still allowed to bring me alcohol even if you don't want to see a movie.

Smith's.

mig

i-Oh)

The Story Of Ricky (a.k.a. Ri

‘Ah, The Story Of Ricky. Just when you
think that modem action cinema has run out of
ways to mutilate the human form in really exciting
and flamboyant ways, along comes a reassuring
film like The Story Of Ricky, a film that still manages
to make you cringe and fall off of your seat in
gleeful shock and disgust. Ricky, you see, sort of
has super human strength, and when he gets
put in jail with a bunch of drug dealers after he
murdered a drug dealer who, in turn, murdered
his girlfriend, all hell breaks loose.

Sometimes I just can't figure out how these
flicks get green-lighted. | mean, | know there's a
market out there for them because I'm part of it,
but I have a hard time imagining that one brave
executive who puts up his hand in a meeting
and says, "Yes | think we should fund this movie
because I really think that scene where Ricky
punches a big, exploding hole through that fat
guy's stomach is really cool and will sell this
movie like McDonald's french fries, even more
than the scene where that huge fellow claps
his hands together and pops a guy's head."

‘Ah, The Story Of Ricky. Definitely a mas-
terpiece along the lines of Evil Dead and Dead
Alive. You must watch this film.

Deadful Melody
starring Brigette Lin and Yuen Biao. (1993)

If you missed this at The Ridge last October
(where it was shown in a double bill with
Female Convict Scorpion - Jailhouse 41,
movie about which | shall refrain from com-
menting for fear of that showing's organizers
fierce retribution), | strongly suggest that you
pick it up on video. With the exception of a
handful of films, I've never been a big fan of

video suggestions for the socially basement-ridden

Well, | was going to write a little column on some cool martial arts flicks, but I've
seen a few movies outside that genre this month that I'd really like to recommend.
So it's just a mish-mash. Hope no one gets confused.

the “cable-action" style (where action moves are
enhanced through the use of invisible or digi-
tally removed cables attached to the actors;
think The Matrix), but Deadful Melody is just so
overboard that it won me over. It seems like
every shot has like ten crazy martial arts war-
riors flying through the air or exploding in the
air or getting parts of their anatomy removed in
the air. And not only that, but people get killed
with musical instruments. As for plot, well,
there's lots of people flying through the air.

Network

starring Robert Duvall, Faye Dunaway, Peter
Finch, and William Holden, directed by Sidney
Lumet. (1976)

‘Am | the only person who hadn't seen this
movie? If I'm not, if there are some other
unlucky blokes reading this who haven't yet
seen Peter Finch declare that he's going to kill
himself on a national news television program,
then let me tell you to check it out. It's oddly
prescient, this film, as it declares a network's
desire for ratings so strong that it's willing to air
any act of sensationalistic depravity, from manic
rants and psychic chats to weekly installments of
terrorist home videos and live assassinations
Undoubtedly scathing in its time, it still packs
quite a punch today, but perhaps more, now, for
its retrospectively accurate assessment.

Winter Sleepers (a. Winterschlafer)
directed by Tom Tykwer. (1997)

Winter Sleepers floats along through the
lives of its five sometimes unknowingly intercon-
nected main characters, Rebecca, Rene, Laura,
‘Marco, and Theo. Interconnected how, you ask?

Well, Rebecca and Laura live together, and one
night Rebecca's boyfriend, Rene, stops by for a
shag, leaving his car unlocked by accident.
Marco, who's walking home drunk, steals the
car and goes for a ride. He is nearly run off the
road by Theo, who is driving poorly and who,
himself, ends up crashing, severely injuring his
daughter. His daughter is taken to the hospital
and is operated on by Laura, who eventually
starts dating Marco, who has memory loss and
can't figure out why his new girlfriend's house
and Rene's car look familiar. Theo goes on the
hunt for the owner of the car that caused his
accident and is led to Rene. After that there's a
lot of misinterpretation and miscommunication,
but the film draws inexorably towards a strangely
logical conclusion

Made by the same German guy who made
Run Lola Run, Winter Sleepers was actually
made first but is just seeing the light of day over
here for the first time on the big screen and on
video (simultaneously, for some reason). It is by
far the better of the two, engaging, beautiful,
and lyrical. And when | say "lyrical", that means
don't expect the brainless MTViness of Lola. This
one has a far more relaxed pace, and it's a finer
film for it

Last House On The Left
directed by Wes Craven. (1972)

Okay, so Phyllis and Mari go to a concert in
the city to celebrate the latter's birthday, but
when they get there they try and get some
ganja. They get picked up by a band of loony
escaped convicts who beat, torture, and rape
them. This film's not for everyone. But it just
might be for those who are into having their
brains shocked out of their heads by some seri-
ous debasement

Hey, anybody interested in free movie tickets? For real? Well, | get lots, so if you're a student or if you're willing to buy me alcohol

stop by the Influx office and I'll pass them on. And yes, you're still allowed to bring me alcohol even if you don't want to see a movie.

@