Viva (Anna Biller, 2007)

Regular readers of House of Self Indulgence likely saw the review of Anna Biller's retro homage Viva. I do not aspire to outdo Yum Yum's review, but wanted to spread the word after seeing the film.

Viva is remarkable if only for the attention to detail. This movie was made in 2007, but is nearly indistinguishable from those early '70s sex comedies it parodies. The look of the film, the costuming, the acting style are nearly perfect. Biller, who stars, directs, and writes the film (aside from producing and costume direction) puts on her best Jan Brady voice to bring Barbie/Viva to life. The only anachronism I spotted was in a song which mentions letting your "freak flag fly" which is an expression of dubious origin, but one I would think is contemporary... However, not being one of the cool kids, I am not positive.

The film is a sex comedy, so there is a lot of nudity, full-frontal male and female, but it is not an overly dirty movie. The sex is much like the films of the time, being more implied than presented. The most difficult part of the sex is that Barbie/Viva is never a willing participant, but rather is drugged before each encounter.

The film follows William Rostler's The Agony of Love (1966 starring Pat Barrington) or a less surreal Belle de Jour (Luis Buñuel, 1967, starring Catherine Deneuve). Barbie is married to Rick Smith who seems unwilling to touch her. He is constantly away on business and ignores his wife except for the times she is doted upon by other men. This leads Barbie to become "Viva" and seek a life of adventure, which turn out to be a life of prostitution. Barbie is too naive to realize this.

This film is for '70s sleaze enthusiasts only. As far as dirty movies go, you could do better. The acting mimics the high school drama club style so prevalent in the '70s, and if you don't recognize this you will find it incredibly annoying (just ask my wife ;-). It is funny how bad some of the men's wigs are. Is it possible that most men cannot pull off the '70s hair styles any longer? Is Michael Imperioli blessed or cursed in this regard?

I don't use Netflix, and do not want to pimp for them, but I know many of you are Netflix users, so if this sounds like your cup of tea find it here: Viva on Netflix

Sorry folks...

I do most of my blogging during downtime at work, and this week they decided to block Blogger. I know. They blocked Google too. WTF?

So, I hope to get my schedule to where blogging from home is easier. I have some things in mind, but am a creature of habit.

John Carter: Warlord of Mars

In anticipation of Disney's John Cater movies, I decided to re-read some of the books, and decided to begin at, well, the beginning. The first three books, for the uninitiated, are:

1. A Princess of Mars
2. Gods of Mars
3. Warlord of Mars

These three books are the beginning trilogy.

These books are primarily a lot of fun, considering how early they come in the sci-fi genre. The first two are superior. Warlord of Mars is my least favorite so far. Burroughs gets a bit ham-handed with the mystery elements. Items that should build tension instead make the hero look stupid. Between Princess and Gods is a hard choice for me. Princess is very swashbuckling, but Gods has a lovely Atheist quality where Carter brings down a cruel and malign religion.

There are definitely better entries in the sci-fi genre, but remember that these books were written early in the twentieth century, and some of the science is ludicrous. Taken for what they are meant to be, they are very enjoyable. A cross between the King Arthur tales and Treasure Island. Also, they are short and in the public domain, so they are available on Project Gutenberg.

Premature Book Review: The Mysterious Benedict Society and the Perilous Journey

Trenton Lee Stewart's Mysterious Benedict Society was supposed to be a one shot book, but is now on its third title. The Perilous Journey is the second in the series, and reunites the children with their former mentor.

For those unfamiliar, four orphan children with remarkable talents were identified and put to work by Mr. Benedict, a scientist and freelance government agent. They were sent on a mission to defeat Benedict's brother, Mr. Curtain, who had devised a machine that would facilitate world domination. The machine required children to operate it, so Benedict needed children to infiltrate Curtain's organization.

If this sounds dark, it is. This is a children's book, but it is not lighthearted. Similar to A Series of Unfortunate Events, it confronts a lot of issues, and is very scary at times, even for an adult.

Initially, this book seemed less in the mold of the original. It was less dark, and more child-friendly, but at around the halfway point things took a serious turn. There are a lot of very vicious villains, beside the returned Mr. Curtain, and there are many life-and-death situations to be dealt with.

If you enjoy children's literature, or have a, maybe twelve-year old (I'm not sure, as I have no kids), both these books are excellent. They are not corny, and do not patronize. The children are gifted, but flawed. The villains are ruthless, and tend to undercut and/or fear each other. I would put this in the class with Treasure Island in being for 'tween to adult readers. Definitely read the first book to catch much of what is going on in the second.