cesar romero Tagged Articles at Cinematical

Let's imagine Tony Soprano in one of his 3 am near-comas. Rich food and stress is keeping him awake, as the rest of his family sleeps soundly in their Jersey mini-mansion. Having just loaded an extra-extra large hot fudge sundae into his gut, he's half-awake on the sofa, watching television. This is a scene that happened repeatedly during The Sopranos, when Tony would sometimes see an old movie that would cut him to the quick, or else plant a seed of doubt in him, tipping him off to some unsuspected treachery in his world. Tonight's screening is a weird, weird film from 1968...so damned weird that the next day, Tony wouldn't be sure if he didn't doze off during it, adding plot details from his own dream-life.

Skidoo by Otto Preminger--a resounding, loathed failure in its time--has a cult, like almost all failures do. It includes the first appearance by the reliable character actor and acting teacher Austin Pendleton. Also making her debut was the famed pioneer African-American model and Warhol star Donyale Luna (memorable from this photograph you've seen in every beauty salon, in which Luna's leanness and sinew is visually contrasted with a line of elephants). (here's a famous photo of her) Unique casting compliments a really one-of-a-kind musical/satire that shows how beyond "good" and "bad" some films are.

I apologize for tricking you with that headline. You probably even skipped all this text and headed directly for the video, only to be somewhat disappointed that this is in fact not actually a new trailer for The Dark Knight. While Christopher Nolan's latest installment is one of the movies to see in 2008 (aka 2000-Great, according to my friends), the video below is best described as one of the worst films of 1966. Of course, we all love it, don't we? For some reason, Fark.com's hosting of the video claims Leslie H. Martinson's kitchy Batman is even worse than the two Schumacher installments, but really what would you rather watch? If you didn't say this big-screen spin-off of the Batman TV series, then you clearly don't know how to have fun.

Anyway, this isn't the best-edited piece of parody to grace YouTube, but there are a lot of well-synced clips and that shot of the businessman getting zapped is delightfully awful. I personally love Cesar Romero as the Joker and can't get enough. I also really like what was done with the "little fight in you" section of the Dark Knight trailer: The Joker fights Bruce Wayne, who suddenly becomes Batman for the "then you'll love me" line. Sure, it's not as cute as Maggie Gyllenhaal kicking her brother's boyfriend in the nuts, but it's pretty funny. Anyway, you can check out the real Dark Knight trailer -- though you already have, unless you don't know what's good for you -- over here.

It's Thursday, which means the more rabid among you have already devoured Monika's New DVD Picks of the Week and/or my suggestions (Indies on DVD) and you're thinking: What's next? Well, my DVD fiend friend, may I suggest a trip to Asia?

We'll start with the one that probably has the broadest immediate appeal. Latitude Zero comes to us courtesy of Japanese director Ishirô Honda, the man behind Godzilla and Rodan, among many others. He also made Atragon in 1963, the tale of a renegade atomic submarine whose crew becomes involved with a colorful pagan tribe that lives under the sea. Latitude Zero appears to be semi-related; it revolves around a secret city under the sea (also named "Latitude Zero"). When the film was released Stateside in 1970, the New York Times commented: "The real virtue of the film lies in its charming and careful models, its ingenious special effects, its fruity interior décor, its elaborate network of television screens ... and in Dr. Anne Barton," played by Linda Haynes. (Free registration required to read the complete review.) Joseph Cotten and Cesar Romero star. The two-disk special edition DVD from Tokyo Shock features the US and Japanese versions, deleted scenes, crew interviews, and a trailer gallery.

The more adventurous might wish to check out Evil Dead Trap 2 (DVD from Unearthed Films, with photo gallery and trailers), described as a "surrealistic sequel" about a projectionist; "in her spare time, she's completely insane and bloodily guts prostitutes with a knife." (!) Along similar extreme edges, Raw Summer (DVD from Pathfinder Home Entertainment with a "making of" feature and biographies) follows "a salaryman [who] obsesses over a pretty teenage schoolgirl in first-time filmmaker Keisuke Yoshida's darkly comic tale of a man consumed by a truly twisted love." The cover looks exploitative (and is NSFW) but has positive quotes from Andy Klein of LA CityBeat; Klein is an experienced critic of Asian films, so this may be worth a rental.

For the record, I'll mention that Suffocation, whose import DVD proclaimed it was "China's first Psycho Film," has arrived on Region 1 DVD via Image Entertainment. I've tried to watch this twice, but have been defeated each time by the glacial pace of the proceedings and the lack of any spookiness. Potential renters, consider yourselves forewarned.