No, it's not great film-making by any stretch of the imagination, but I fail to see the reason for the animosity that's been directed at this flick. It strives simply to be a goofy, mindless romp featuring likable protagonists, good-looking women, a tissue-thin plot to explain why the guys go from one location to another, cartoonish violence, and a happy ending, and it delivers in all of those areas. Okay, the two lead characters obviously aren't the teens they're cast as, but that's a minor detail. This movie may have been primarily a tax dodge, since I doubt that it received a real release, but it's also not a bad way to kill a couple of hours with your brain in neutral Did I say I liked the ending? Steve.
Reviews
4 Reviews
Con el cuerpo prestado
(1983)
Nice Body-Swap Fantasy
29 September 2005
Warning: Spoilers
I saw this Mexican fantasy a couple of decades ago in its original Spanish (a language I don't speak) without subtitles, so some of my comments about minor details (such as names) may be a bit off-target.
Basically, this is the story of a beautiful but insecure and repressed Marta (the delicious Sasha Montenegro) who is routinely bullied by her rather disreputable husband and his awful family. When she reaches the limits of her resistance, Marta decides to end her sad existence by throwing herself into the sea. This attempted suicide is witnessed by another attractive young woman, Carlota (Maria Sorte), who happens to be boating in the area. Carlota doesn't think twice about her own safety when she leaps into the ocean to save the distraught woman. In performing this selfless act, however, Carlota slips into the depths and is herself drowned.
The unconscious Marta is found by the crew of a passing fishing boat and brought on broad. While she recovers (apparently experiencing a mild and transitory case of amnesia), she becomes attracted to a handsome crewman, but when her memory fully returns she realizes that she must go back to her abusive "family." The treatment she receives upon returning is, if anything. even worse, so Marta soon finds herself in her bath, emotionally crushed and again on the verge of taking her own life. It is at this point that the enjoyable fantasy elements surface (so to speak).
Before Marta can harm herself again, the ghost of Carlota appears to her. It seems that Carlota cannot proceed to the next level of existence as long as she leaves unresolved problems here on Earth, and her chief remaining problem is that of the suicidal Marta, for whom she has already given her life. Marta believes herself to be going insane upon seeing and speaking with this beautiful specter, naturally enough, and this feeling is compounded when no one else can detect the dead woman's presence. Finally, Marta is convinced of the reality of the other woman and pours out her heart to her in explanation of her attempts to take her own life.
Carlota is sympathetic, but she also possesses a much tougher personality than Marta. She tries to goad the still-living woman to stand up for herself, and when this fails, she comes up with a more radical plan: as a spirit, she is able to take over Marta's body while shifting Marta into her astral form. With nothing else to lose, Marta agrees, and the two swap bodies in an effective sequence that since has become rather a cliché in films of this sort -- lying on their backs and staring up into the camera while their ephemeral "souls" drift between their forms.
Carlota is happy to be corporeal again and quickly adjusts to being Marta physically. After this short period of realignment, she confronts Marta's husband and relatives and lays down the law to them, both verbally and more painfully (by handily beating up the startled husband). She also discovers that the underhanded group are involved in illegal activities and exposes them both to their would-be criminal associates and the police. Marta, in Carlota's body, watches all of this from the bath, where she (apparently) must remain while occupying this ghostly form.
During her sojourn as Marta, Carlota also encounters the fisherman whom Marta had become close to earlier in the film, and since the exposing of the husband and his kin has left Marta free again, their relationship can now be carried to the next step. Carlota returns to the bath -- as she knows she must --, and for all she has done for the timid woman, she asks one final favor: she wishes to remain in Marta's body while she and the fisherman make love. Marta agrees and watches this tender sequence happily. The end has come, however, and in a reverse of the first swap, the two spirits reunite with the proper bodies. Carlota can now move on to her reward in the afterlife, while Marta has a new beginning in this world with a man who truly loves her.
CON EL CUERPO PRESTADO has moments of comedy and rather surprising violence, but overall it is a leisurely-paced and gentle fairytale of a woman who regains her sense of self-worth and confidence through the actions of an extra-mortal friend. Montenegro handles both the mousy and fierce faces of Marta with entertaining sureness, and Maria Sorte as Carlota -- though she has far less screen time -- matches her performances. Plus, as I observed in my sexist way earlier, they're both gorgeous. If you're a fan of this type of wish-fulfilling fantasy, C.E.C.P. should really fit the bill . . . even if you don't speak the language. Steve.
Basically, this is the story of a beautiful but insecure and repressed Marta (the delicious Sasha Montenegro) who is routinely bullied by her rather disreputable husband and his awful family. When she reaches the limits of her resistance, Marta decides to end her sad existence by throwing herself into the sea. This attempted suicide is witnessed by another attractive young woman, Carlota (Maria Sorte), who happens to be boating in the area. Carlota doesn't think twice about her own safety when she leaps into the ocean to save the distraught woman. In performing this selfless act, however, Carlota slips into the depths and is herself drowned.
The unconscious Marta is found by the crew of a passing fishing boat and brought on broad. While she recovers (apparently experiencing a mild and transitory case of amnesia), she becomes attracted to a handsome crewman, but when her memory fully returns she realizes that she must go back to her abusive "family." The treatment she receives upon returning is, if anything. even worse, so Marta soon finds herself in her bath, emotionally crushed and again on the verge of taking her own life. It is at this point that the enjoyable fantasy elements surface (so to speak).
Before Marta can harm herself again, the ghost of Carlota appears to her. It seems that Carlota cannot proceed to the next level of existence as long as she leaves unresolved problems here on Earth, and her chief remaining problem is that of the suicidal Marta, for whom she has already given her life. Marta believes herself to be going insane upon seeing and speaking with this beautiful specter, naturally enough, and this feeling is compounded when no one else can detect the dead woman's presence. Finally, Marta is convinced of the reality of the other woman and pours out her heart to her in explanation of her attempts to take her own life.
Carlota is sympathetic, but she also possesses a much tougher personality than Marta. She tries to goad the still-living woman to stand up for herself, and when this fails, she comes up with a more radical plan: as a spirit, she is able to take over Marta's body while shifting Marta into her astral form. With nothing else to lose, Marta agrees, and the two swap bodies in an effective sequence that since has become rather a cliché in films of this sort -- lying on their backs and staring up into the camera while their ephemeral "souls" drift between their forms.
Carlota is happy to be corporeal again and quickly adjusts to being Marta physically. After this short period of realignment, she confronts Marta's husband and relatives and lays down the law to them, both verbally and more painfully (by handily beating up the startled husband). She also discovers that the underhanded group are involved in illegal activities and exposes them both to their would-be criminal associates and the police. Marta, in Carlota's body, watches all of this from the bath, where she (apparently) must remain while occupying this ghostly form.
During her sojourn as Marta, Carlota also encounters the fisherman whom Marta had become close to earlier in the film, and since the exposing of the husband and his kin has left Marta free again, their relationship can now be carried to the next step. Carlota returns to the bath -- as she knows she must --, and for all she has done for the timid woman, she asks one final favor: she wishes to remain in Marta's body while she and the fisherman make love. Marta agrees and watches this tender sequence happily. The end has come, however, and in a reverse of the first swap, the two spirits reunite with the proper bodies. Carlota can now move on to her reward in the afterlife, while Marta has a new beginning in this world with a man who truly loves her.
CON EL CUERPO PRESTADO has moments of comedy and rather surprising violence, but overall it is a leisurely-paced and gentle fairytale of a woman who regains her sense of self-worth and confidence through the actions of an extra-mortal friend. Montenegro handles both the mousy and fierce faces of Marta with entertaining sureness, and Maria Sorte as Carlota -- though she has far less screen time -- matches her performances. Plus, as I observed in my sexist way earlier, they're both gorgeous. If you're a fan of this type of wish-fulfilling fantasy, C.E.C.P. should really fit the bill . . . even if you don't speak the language. Steve.
Detention
(I) (1998)
Very Disappointing
21 September 2005
Warning: Spoilers
In addition to being a blatant rip-off of a young adult novel called (I think) HOUSE OF STAIRS, this film is rather despicable in its own right. Plus it's slow enough in execution to really telegraph its supposed "surprises." (SPOILER AHEAD!) Did anyone really think that "Joey" was dead? My rented copy of this flick came from the Netflix people, who tried to present it as another "massacre the teens" effort rather than the "dark comedy/satire/sociological examination" that it struggles to be. Had it been even a tired impression of one of the "Freddy" entries, I believe I could have given it one more star than I was able to dig up for this disappointing bit of self-indulgence. Sometimes there are legitimate reasons for certain films being difficult to find. Steve.
The Granddaddy of all "thawed dinos out to stomp the world" flicks.
2 July 2005
Warning: Spoilers
This is, simply stated, the very best film in which a reanimated prehistoric monster lays waste to modern civilization. Acting, action, atmosphere, everything about the film is as close to perfect as a movie made in 1953 could be. Kenneth Tobey was never more stalwart a military hero, Paul Christian creates a fully-fleshed out leading man role that contains courage, humor, and a believable vulnerability, and Paula Raymond makes the viewer accept her as a beautiful young woman who also possesses a trained and incisive scientific mind. And, as usual, Cecil Kellaway steals every scene he's in, even though he reins in his typical impish charm while portraying one of the world's foremost experts in prehistoric life. He maintains a sense of wonderment at what he is witnessing right until the instant that he dies during his self-proclaimed "highlight of my life."
Of course, the biggest star of the picture is Ray Harryhausen's "rhedosaur," surely the most fully-conceived gigantic animal ever to knock over a skyscraper. Harryhausen was never better before or since this work, his first big screen solo effort. Somehow, the special effects genius made this minuscule-budgeted movie look like an "A" film from a major studio, and his careful and tedious work paid off big at the box office. The monster is just as terrifying in broad daylight as he is during the many moodily atmospheric set pieces which take place during nighttime or in fog. This is no man in a rubber suit, this is one rough customer with a bad attitude. Yet we still feel a twinge of sympathy at his death, burning both within and without, millions of years past his own time. Just a great example of the genre surpassed only by the original KING KONG (with its indelible, iconic title character). THE BEAST FROM 20,000 FATHOMS was the direct inspiration for the more widely-known GODZILLA, as was freely admitted by Inoshira Honda at the time of the latter's production and release. Yes, without the BEAST there would have been no Big G.
Forget classifications or critical snobbery: THE BEAST FROM 20,000 FATHOMS deserves a place high on the list of great motion pictures, no matter what the criteria. For me, it's one of the ten best films ever made. Steve.
Of course, the biggest star of the picture is Ray Harryhausen's "rhedosaur," surely the most fully-conceived gigantic animal ever to knock over a skyscraper. Harryhausen was never better before or since this work, his first big screen solo effort. Somehow, the special effects genius made this minuscule-budgeted movie look like an "A" film from a major studio, and his careful and tedious work paid off big at the box office. The monster is just as terrifying in broad daylight as he is during the many moodily atmospheric set pieces which take place during nighttime or in fog. This is no man in a rubber suit, this is one rough customer with a bad attitude. Yet we still feel a twinge of sympathy at his death, burning both within and without, millions of years past his own time. Just a great example of the genre surpassed only by the original KING KONG (with its indelible, iconic title character). THE BEAST FROM 20,000 FATHOMS was the direct inspiration for the more widely-known GODZILLA, as was freely admitted by Inoshira Honda at the time of the latter's production and release. Yes, without the BEAST there would have been no Big G.
Forget classifications or critical snobbery: THE BEAST FROM 20,000 FATHOMS deserves a place high on the list of great motion pictures, no matter what the criteria. For me, it's one of the ten best films ever made. Steve.
Tell Your Friends