Movies I Watched in October, Part 3 (Finally!)

Thanksgiving is over, and Halloween is a distant memory, so it seems like a good time to complete this never-ending recap of whatever the hell it was I watched way back in the still-promising days of October 2016. Here we go...


Not a bad little comedy from Christopher Guest, but nothing that approaches the greatness of "Waiting for Guffman" or "Best in Show," either. That's unfortunate, because its promising premise combines elements of both movies -- a diverse group of people (in this case, professional sports mascots) brought together to a single location to perform. Trouble is, "Mascots" just never goes quite as far as you get the sense it could, and while it's consistently amusing, it's almost never laugh-out-loud funny. I didn't feel like I was short-changed watching it on Netflix, but if I had paid money to see this in the theater, I would've been disappointed. "Mascots" feels more like a TV special (which I guess it is) than an actual movie. Maybe he should've gone all out and focused on furry culture instead. At least that would have been more memorable.


If you're the sort of person who thinks the acting, writing and production values in Rudy Ray Moore movies are a little too good, "Supersoul Brother" is the film for you. It's quite possibly the cheapest blaxploitation movie ever made  -- and, even at its best, blaxploitation was not a genre known for its extravagance. This film, made in Miami in 1978, was a showcase for a comedian named "Wildman Steve" Gallon who plays the title character, also named "Steve." He's a local wino who is injected with a mysterious serum by a short-statured scientist with the completely believable name of "Dr. Dippy." It's all part of a needlessly complex plot to have a super-powered patsy who can rob a safe from a jewelry store, but 99 percent of the movie's mercifully short running time is devoted to our hero acting incredulous at every single thing that happens to him, spiced with bits of low-rent nudity and bargain basement fight scenes. If you're a trash film fan (like yours truly), you might find it fascinating in a bizarre way, but at no point does this movie come within a thousand miles of being "good." Also, it was originally released as, ahem, "The Six Thousand Dollar N----r," except the decorum of those dashes was replaced by the actual letters. Ah, the 1970s. What a magical time.


Thankfully, I was able to end the month with a movie that was (a) fitting for the Halloween season and (b) actually good. "Bedlam" is one of the handful of movies that Val Lewton made for RKO in the 1940s, and though it never reaches the sheer weird brilliance of "Cat People" or "The Seventh Victim," it's still damned good. Boris Karloff stars as Master George Sims, head of the notorious St. Mary's of Bethlehem Asylum (aka Bedlam). He's more than happy to abuse his patients for either his own sick amusement or to curry the favor of the rich, and though Nell Bowen (Anna Lee) is originally one of those rich jerks, she eventually fights for the inmates ... until she becomes one herself. Like all Lewton's films, it combines a smart script, offbeat characters and genuine heart with beautiful filmmaking and more than a few imaginative touches. (One of the inmates predicts the rise of moviemaking -- back in the late 18th century.) "Bedlam" is available as part of the excellent Lewton DVD set Warner Bros. released about a decade ago, and it airs every so often on TCM. Check it out next time it does -- it packs more entertainment into 79 minutes than most other movies ever made.