Goldbeater

Sacco and Vanzetti is a movie that will destroy any illusions you may have regarding the impartiality and functionality of any judicial system, especially the one in the "land of freedom and democracy". The distinctly documentary-style drama uses a cool and factual approach to the events surrounding the fabricated lawsuit with Italian immigrants Niccola Sacco and Bartolomeo Vanzetti. At times, I found it maybe too cold, which was perhaps the most appropriate choice due to the heavy subject matter showing the uncompromising development of events around the two main characters. I was especially surprised by Gian Maria Volonté with his dignified performance in the role of a political radical, whose opinions you don’t have to agree with at all, still, will be unable to resist being impressed by his innocent devotion to a higher cause.

The Troma System is a short sketch comedy in the format of a TV special trying in a funny and subversive way to promote the Troma’s products, which could literally make you a better person! This is a humorous short that puts the practice of teleshopping to the test. Apart from Troma's main characters, there are performances from Lloyd Kaufman, Michael Herz, and, last but not least, Joe Fleishaker. Rocky director John G. Avildsen, creator Stan Lee, producer Samuel Z. Arkoff and musician Dee Dee Ramone also appear.

Battle Beyond the Stars is producer Roger Corman's B-movie response to the success of George Lucas's first Star Wars movie. It’s a colourful and very kitschy spin on The Magnificent Seven or Seven Samurai and does not deny its sources of inspiration, (and refers directly to both - The Magnificent Seven’s Robert Vaughn stars in a supporting role here, and the planet to be fought for is called Akira). Screenwriter John Sayles filled the movie with a wide variety of extraterrestrial species, of which the tyrannical warlord Sador, the ruler of the universe, is the most interesting. In terms of storyline, it's just a terrible set of all sorts of clichés with actors giving worn-out speeches, yet it's quite fun to watch. The funny thing is how easily the main character manages to put together a team of desperadoes to fight villain John Saxon (among the "courageous" team there’s George Peppard from the A-Team, armed with an extensive collection of classic westerns, and Austrian sex bomb Sybil Danning, armed with probably the biggest cleavage in all the galaxies). Interestingly, this is one of the first movies for James Horner and also James Cameron, then 26, who worked on the spaceship miniatures.

Former wrestler Buford Pusser returns to his hometown to live a quiet and peaceful life with his family. However, very quickly he discovers that his city has become a nest of gambling, prostitution, and corruption over the years. After a violent altercation with the local criminal gang, he decides to take hold of not only justice but also a large wooden club. Based on the true story of a Tennessee sheriff, the movie charts the efforts of a determined man who, despite many setbacks, pursues his goal of eradicating a criminal organization in a small southern district, even if he does have to pay a high price later. Although at times the storyline is a bit oversimplified, it’s a worthwhile watch that more than holds your attention for two hours. Once in a while, it is necessary to keep your fingers crossed for a vigilante who is not afraid to take on a couple of criminals with a club when the normal law enforcement lets you down.

I had not yet seen a slasher movie about fishing, so I was quite looking forward to this horror-comedy. Seeing it on a big screen at The Shockproof Film Festival gave necessary added value to this distinctive movie. It's a pretty incoherent spectacle with a comparatively rather crazy idea behind the killer's motivation, which in itself is quite a hilarious and an off the wall idea. The movie itself is illogical and goofy. The characters appear in the story and disappear again, according to the whims of the screenwriters. They behave irrationally, and in the second half, there are even a few explicitly "WTF" scenes, like when the main hero suddenly and inexplicably goes to bed at the point there should be the final confrontation with the killer which then continues as a whole scene the next day (I watched the extended 111-minute version, the shortened version certainly won't be as much fun). It's not non-stop fun-packed entertainment, but as B-movie semi-comedy nonsense, it's quite interesting. [The Shockproof Film Festival 2020]

Five years after the first viewing, I forgot how intricately constructed the storyline of Homicidal is. Apparently, the creators deliberately tried to confuse the audience as much as possible with the relationships within the family of the main characters, so that no one figures out the deep mystery the movie is rooted in. The final dumbed-down explanation from the scientist thereafter only acts to secretly mock the viewer who may have been trying to find a logical thread running through the storyline. However, if we ignore the stilted add-on to the plotline aside, the movie has a lot to offer mainly thanks to its solid directing - William Castle, although attacking mainly with black humour, can jump-scare you quite unexpectedly with gory bloody scenes (brave for 1961) and a well built-up mysterious atmosphere. Homicidal is a very playful movie following the classic Psycho and definitely has its own charm. [The Shockproof Film Festival 2020]

The launch of the domestic post-apocalyptic short movie riding the wave of Mad Max was promising, which, however, fails due to inept screenwriting and inability to end the story meaningfully and give it at least some kind of idea to make it gel as a piece. All that remains is a cheap visual exhibition without much meaning, which is annoying when one sees the potential that was there. And after the first half, I thought to myself that if a stylized-yet-bizarre advertisement for Czech Railways emerged from it, I would be satisfied. [The Shockproof Film Festival 2020]

This is probably one of the most underrated and strangest Czechoslovak movies I've ever come across. The Visitors from the Arkana Galaxy is, of course, a very bizarre and difficult-to-class spectacle that operates on a rather peculiar range of creative approaches to comedy. From very family-friendly scenes with naughty little blonde aliens, it then jumps into a lascivious episode with a crowd of naked people and, last but not least, into relatively frantic scenes of a rampaging space monster that spews fire and rips off people’s heads (with special effects by Jan Švankmajer). A playful and cheerful spectacle that many audiences may not be able to get their heads around. [The Shockproof Film Festival 2020]

Battle for the Lost Planet is a great example of so-called cheap cardboard science fiction movies. I have to appreciate the effort of the creators to make a serious movie on a very low budget and make use of such a large number of miniatures from the cheapest materials. Although the miniatures are often just cute, the movie definitely has its charm and some stop-motion effects are actually quite decent. On the contrary, the pig villains’ make-up leaves a lot to be desired, they look utterly ridiculous and there’s no sense of immediate danger from them - also the movie is sorely lacking a decent main villainous character to bring it all together. Thus, a group of (anti)heroes grabs all the attention in their campaign to save the planet, although their adventurous journey is not very dynamic, which is due to the clumsy direction and hobbled screenplay. At times, the Battle for the Lost Planet slips into being a comedy, which is not helped by the presence of Joe Gentissi, who seriously looks like Sylvester Stallone's double. In the end it is a mediocre adventure movie that can possibly satisfy some fans of lesser known sci-fi movies. [The Shockproof Film Festival 2020]

A Woman's Torment is a very colourful and nourishing probe into the soul of a troubled woman, ignored by her surroundings and hidden from a hypocritical society. We don't know the causes of her mental disorder, but they are brought to mind in Freudian style during the entire first third of the movie (but then the storyline doesn't return to them at all). The plot premise is simple - the mentally troubled main heroine Karen (Tara Chung) is "cleaned up" by her relatives in an empty house on the beach of a sparsely populated island, where instead of the planned rest, she suffers greater and greater psychosis, culminating in her killing spree. And, well, there are a few sex scenes here and there. In addition to the very shallow psychology of the characters, the movie very ambitiously embarks on the difficult topics of feminism, motherhood, and career dilemmas. In other words, it’s a complex slasher movie and also a completely transcendental experience, which doesn’t suffer from the fact that the main actress ran away with a lighting guy during the filming and had to be replaced in some scenes by the director. [The Shockproof Film Festival 2020]