LATE AT TATE

Some more information regarding this Friday's Late At Tate intervention!

FILLMORE DISCOS 53

The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo (**)
Noomi Rapace of Daisy Diamond fame features in this dreary exercise in detective drudgery and endlessly pointless exposition via a clumsy script and clunky editing; in fact the whole exercise feels like bad TV, and doesn't remotely live up to Sweden's historically high standards of filmic originality

Rec 2 (**)
why oh why did the Rec team have to introduce all that supernatural satanic shit into the narrative? it doesn't even make any sense, badly tarnishing the memory of the tight brilliance of the original

Dans Ma Peau (*****)
sensational filmmaking from Marina de Van who also stars; a girl, after accidentally disfiguring her calf in a minor accident at a party, begins a gruesome journey of self-mutilation and exploration of her own body - that, along with the unfulfilling relationship she has with her boring partner, becomes a stark echo of the classical female romantic paradigm

Resurrecting The Street Walker (*)
even a total sucker for shaky camera horror like myself isn't going to find anything remotely worthwhile in this diabolically dreadful UK attempt at the genre

FILLMORE DISCOS 52 - CHRISTINA LINDBERG SPECIAL
FILLMORE DISCOS 51 - GIALLO SPECIAL 4
FILLMORE DISCOS 50

DEATH PENALTY JAPAN

At the age of around 12 I recall leading a school debate opposing the reintroduction of capital punishment; I'll never forget the incredible vitriol against such a notion from the pro-hanging lobby on the floor. I didn't stand a chance as the motion was defeated almost unanimously. It was as ugly as it was unexpected, and now, as then, it's one of the few fixed beliefs about which I feel passionately.

The recent media access to Tokyo Detention House's sterile carpeted place of execution belies, or perhaps underscores, its horror; in full contrast to the cold grey-tiled room to which the hanged man, heart still beating for up to 15 minutes, is dropped and delivered below. The prisoner, in permanent solitary confinement, is only informed an hour or so beforehand of his impending death, after which the final insulting cruelties are proffered: a goodbye meal and face time with a fucking priest.

DOGMAGRAPHICAL 6

Because the original sign would look so much better in Helvetica? What a cunt.

ANTICLASTIC 3

Fixed.

ANTICLASTIC 2
ANTICLASTIC 1

ACQUISITIONS 11

reading
The Tribe Of Tiger - Elizabeth Marshall Thomas
Adoring Slave - Rosemary Gibson
Games People Play - Eric Berne
Freakshow - Albert Goldman

listening
Bilitis (LP) - Francis Lai
Histoire d'O (LP) - Pierre Bachelet
Quella Vecchia Locanda (LP) - Quella Vecchia Locanda

viewing
Pray The Devil Back To Hell
Banged Up Abroad - Nat Geo HD
Lost In China - Nat Geo HD
WSOP 2008

ACQUISITIONS 10
ACQUISITIONS 9
ACQUISITIONS 8

FILLMORE DISCOS 52 - CHRISTINA LINDBERG SPECIAL

Christina Lindberg's acting career was predominantly in the 70s when she epitomised the sweet-looking and somewhat lonesome submissive young teenager whose voluptuous looks are an unwitting magnet for various types of sexual predator, both male and female.

Exposed (*****)
Catherine Breillat could learn a lot from this early 70s gem, her coming-of-age films whilst being never less than brave are consistently blighted by her own extreme naïvete and seeming lack of personal experience - Exposed ('Exponerad' in Swedish), much like the later Maid In Sweden but with harder and more forceful content, is a masterly look at feminine teenage sexuality that would probably now never be made

Maid In Sweden (****)
once you get past your expectations of Maid In Sweden being a routine 70s softcore entry and the hilarious accents (all the acting is in English with real time audio), you get drawn into what is a minor coming-of-age classic full of courageous touching honesty with extremely rare insights into the usually misrepresented female psyche

Young Playthings (***)
sexploitation director Joe Sarno's hard-to-find Young Playthings is one of the most incomprehensible movies you're likely to ever see; what starts out as conventional softcore fare soon gets indescribably arty weird as the two female protagonists get drawn into an apartment and involved in an arcane mime show - somewhat like Roger Watkins' Last House On Dead End Street without the gore

Sex And Fury (**)
pinky violence with Christina Lindbergh should deliver a lot more fun than the results - she pretty much delivers her side of the bargain seen here at her radiant best with huge anime eyes, unfortunately the whole is let down by a poor Japanese cast and some preposterously amateurish low budget action sequences

Journey To Japan (**)
traditional Japanese porno fare as Christina, after getting picked up by one of the many geeky perverts that appear to troll Tokyo's streets, is predictably subjected to various kinky assaults before falling, also predictably, Stockholm syndrome style, for her nerdy bespectacled captor

Anita: Swedish Nymphet (**)
Lindberg is fantastic as the 17-year-old nymphomaniac, one of her best performances - sadly, the film has dated terribly and is undermined by its ridiculous premise of a lonely teenage girl aggressively accosting random men for sex; this nonsense is made worse when a weedy youth becomes her self-proclaimed therapist attempting to wean her off the 'addiction' - Deep Throat's narrative is more believable than this

Thriller: A Cruel Picture (****)
don't be too put off by Tarantino (and others) referencing this as inspiration, Thriller is an entertaining yet thoughtful revenge action movie with some uncommon nastiness - Lindberg is perfectly cast as the beautiful young girl preyed upon to breaking point by perverts, pimps, and pushers

FILLMORE DISCOS 51 - GIALLO SPECIAL 4
FILLMORE DISCOS 50
FILLMORE DISCOS 49

AFTER SIGHT 11

SWAG

They seem to have abandoned any real attempt at customs checks upon arrival back home nowadays, but it didn't always used to be like that. Woe betide travellers returning from suspect locations like Amsterdam or Tokyo who could expect to suffer a 'thorough' examination. Drugs, pornography, nasty horror movies, you name it, it was banned in the UK. Thank god for the internet. It's a blessing to be the kind of person not to get stopped, even though that never helped an undeservedly guilty conscience. The shifty avoidance of direct eye contact, the stilted gait, and the SPS (Sweaty Palms Syndrome) is such a tell.

Enjoy some stills from a fabulous new exhibition, I'd love to be able to see it in person. My pick for the most disturbing is 'unknown meat in bottle (prohibited)', while the moral for would-be drug traffickers is not to muscle in on the CIA cartel.