The Italian Job

 

For years, I have been meaning to sit down and watch The Italian Job (1969) and last night I finally did.

The story centers around Charlie Croker (Michael Caine) who wants to steal four million dollars in gold from Turin, Italy. Aided by Mr. Bridger (Noel Coward), the kingpin big boss of British crime, Charlie puts together a crew which includes Professor Peach (Benny Hill) and they start practicing the heist. This leads to the very famous quote “You were only supposed to blow the bloody doors off!”

The Italian Job is a pretty odd movie if I'm honest. To start with, it is a crime/action/comedy and the comedy is British 60's humor which is a thing all on its own. I'm pretty sure there is a lot of subtext that I simply don't get, but most of what was supposed to be funny wasn't. At least not to me.

The action and crime parts are really good though, no complaints there.

The script was originally supposed to be a TV-series which shows. Unfortunately, British TV at the time didn't have the resources to pull off something this ambitious so it was made as a film. There are lots of small scenes that come and go out of nowhere and really need more context that you never get. The heist crew is huge but beyond Caine, Coward and Hill's characters, you don't really know anything about them, which is a shame. They complain a lot and that's about it.

It is in the second half that The Italian Job really starts to shine. Where the first half is a bit disjointed, the second half is poetry in motion. The crew creates a brutal gridlock and escape with the gold in three Mini's, driving through back alleys, down stairs, jump roofs and race through tunnels. This part is not only amazing, it's justifiably famous. It is in fact so good that it justifies watching the movie even if the rest holds no interest for you.

A few interesting facts:

1. The city of Turin really did have the most advanced computerized traffic system in the world at the time, which is why they set the movie there.

2. British Motor Corp. refused to support the movie with cars. Fiat on the other hand offered unlimited cars, filming space etc.

3. The gridlock is real. The film crew and the Mafia really did create a huge traffic jam and most of the angry drivers were also real, having no idea that a movie was being made.

4. The three getaway Mini's are painted red, white and blue respectively to represent the British colors. They were in fact driven by a French stunt team which still works as the colors of the French flag are also red, white and blue.

5. Charlie's girlfriend steals the Pakistani ambassadors car to pick him up from jail. Pakistan at the time didn't have an ambassador in the UK, but a High Commissioner. It really was his car though.

Do I recommend The Italian Job? Yes I do. It is an odd bird to be sure, but I was entertained all the way through. The car scenes are absolute gold and a must see.

That's that and all that. Join me again next time, and until then, have a great and safe week!

Regal Food

 

This week I have something pretty eccentric for you.

I found these videos quite by accident a few days ago and found them fascinating. These are some of the recollections from Darren McGrady who spent fifteen years as a personal chef to the British royal family.

The videos give an insight to the Queen, the late Prince Philip, Prince Charles, Diana and their children. It is interesting to see them as just people rather than the public persons one usually hears about.

I don't really have much more to say, it's better that you watch the videos yourself if it sounds interesting to you.

Here is the link to the playlist:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cCdK_Yzt5XI&list=PLQGGrzFoybiODyierk6K_Sn8bE6XozIVT&index=1

And with that I hope you'll join me again next time and until then, have a great and safe week!

 

 

The Void

 

Today we are going to talk about the 2016 movie The Void.

This is an interesting entry in the world of horror movies. The Void is written and directed by Jeremy Gillespie and Steven Kostanski who are both very talented people in a variety of fields. This is not their first time directing, but the majority of their IMDB entries comes from the effects side of movie making. This shows in a good way as almost none of the effects are digital.

Despite being low budget, they stretch the money a long way. The SFX budget was only about $82.000 but I can't find the overall cost anywhere. Despite this, the movie stars actual actors like Aaron Poole, Kenneth Walsh, Daniel Fathers, Kathleen Munroe and Ellen Wong. This makes the movie a great deal better than many of its class as the acting sells the horror in a way many other low budget movies fail at.

So what is the movie all about? In a nutshell, a group of people are trapped in an old clinic that's about to be shut down after a fire. This includes a cop, a couple of nurses, a doctor and a handful of civilians. Trapping them inside is a sinister cult wearing white robes with a black triangle over their faces. Many bad, gory things happens, the end.

The Void could and should be counted as a Lovecraftian movie, even though it is an original work. Well, sort of original. We'll get to that. It is not an adaptation of Lovecraft like Color out of Space or Reanimator, but a standalone work.

So why isn't it completely original? Take Carpenter's Prince of Darkness, and add a bit of The Thing, The Beyond, and the zombie movie(not that there are any zombies, but some of the tropes are abundant) of your choice. Bake for 90 minutes and you get The Void. It's not that they are ripping off anything as such, it is more that you can see strong influences throughout. Especially the influence of Prince of Darkness is felt from start to finish. That said, it is absolutely original and on top of that, The Void is pretty good.

The beginning is again the weakest part and there are a couple of scenes that makes little sense but it quickly gets better. There is one scene that really needed an epilepsy warning, so beware if you are sensitive to flashing lights. Most of the gore and monster scenes are obfuscated by movement, flashing lights or darkness, but you get to see enough. Some of the character decisions are pretty dumb, but not to a level that really bothered me.

What did bother me is the almost video game levels of healing the main character exhibits. No spoilers, but I suspect he drank a healing potion off camera...

Overall, The Void was a good time. It's not on par with the films I've written about recently, like Oculus, Color out of Space, Suspiria and Underwater, but it isn't far behind. It had the feel of a late 80's or early 90's horror movie, but made with modern equipment. The camera work, set design, sound work etc are very good. I can't really complain about anything except the previously mentioned scenes, but they didn't reinvent the wheel. Most things are predictable if you know your horror.

Would I recommend it? Yes, to horror enthusiasts, but not the general public unless it's Halloween. The overall atmosphere is excellent and the actors are genuinely good, but The Void is the kind of middle of the road horror that fans can appreciate and other groan at.

That's that and all that. Join me again next time and until then have a great and safe week!

Start the week right

 Hello and welcome back to Eccentric Spheres!

I'm going to have to keep it short and sweet today so we are doing some Stand Up. After all, what is better than starting the week off with some laughs?

First up is Peter Kay and his bit on misheard lyrics: 

Then we're doing a medley of Comedians on Arnold Schwarzenegger:

Now that you are good and warmed up, here is The Best of The Best of, by Jimmy Carr. For those of you who don't know his style, Carr doesn't just cross the line, he destroys it. Just so you know:

 

In case the embedding fails, here are the direct links:

Kay: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UMYorpYNMKc 

Arnold: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T4jPqvvYROw

Carr: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S2w0J7GIpBM

That is that. Join me again next time and until then, have a great, safe and funny week!