Straight to Hell (1987)

This apparently (I say apparently because I honestly have no idea why this film was released, let alone made) was an attempt at a spoof of spaghetti westerns, something like Blazing Saddles, albeit with no discernible gags and no discernible plot. It looks like something you would get if you took a bunch of indie actors and post-punk musicians to a holiday resort, got them drunk, then asked them to improvise a series of disconnected sketches based around spaghetti westerns with "they're all addicted to coffee, ha ha ha" as the only direction given. Which for all I know, is probably exactly what happened. The cast at least look like they had a good time of the "Look at me I'm in a film" ilk. It is very much like watching amateur video of a private party, and about as much fun for the audience. I am a huge fan of the Clash and the Pogues and Jim Jarmusch, and this is truly an amazing cast, but a cast does not make a movie. I must admit, though, that it was fascinating to see Courtney Love of all people being plucked from obscurity years before she became famous and put into a leading role in this film, despite looking even more hideous in her youth than in middle age. Although she was even less talented an actress than she was a musician or stripper, for me the only laugh in this chode of a film came unintentionally, when one of the characters says, referring to Courtney Love: "You have a beautiful wife." The cast, and the excellent Pogues theme song "Rake at the Gates of Hell" were the only things I enjoyed about this movie, and are the only reason I'm not giving this a minimum score. The one good thing about this movie's release is that it killed the talentless Alex Cox's directorial career.

Alex Cox has brought the world a punk opus to fruition. This film truly exemplifies Cox's love for punk rock, D.I.Y. attitude and his love of the lens. Irreverent and loving, this film slam dances between obvious farce, and poetry. Equally a ridiculous and sincere ode to Sergio Leone westerns and "fuck you if you don't like it" story lines (inept bank robbers hiding out in an enclave of coffee addicted banditos with English accents in Almeria, Spain) this amazing film is hard to absorb for those that might want a linear storyline. Rated R for violence, (Peckinpaw would be proud) and language (there is actually no "obscene" language whatsoever, which shows you how much the ratings board actually watched this film), this satirical work of art needs to be viewed by any discerning film Normand. The cameos alone will give any indie film geek goosebumps!

This is a story of three desperadoes and a girl who accidentally go to a small town after screwing up an assassination job and robbing a bank. The town is owned by the McMahon family (the Pogues with a few others thrown in) all of whom are addicted to coffee and enjoy killing and being all in all bastards. There's tension, characters clashing and sexual. The film didn't have a whole lot of a plot, but that doesn't really matter much because it seems to be more of a spoof on spaghetti westerns and even the actors and actresses themselves. It takes repeated viewing to really get down what is going on and how the parties are related to each other, but that doesn't seem to matter quite so much. All in all, I recommend this film to those of you who love weird movies and everyone who remembers the 80's punk scene.

This movie is so amazing, and I deeply envy any fan of Repo Man who has yet to unearth this incredible gem. But there is very little middle-ground in terms of this film's audience. Either you get it, or you don't. You fall over laughing or you yawn. Just read the other comments for this title and you'll see what I mean. Maybe you have to be a punk (or to HAVE BEEN a punk) for this flick to really work, because that sensibility, and the New Wave, this wonderful amalgam of anarchy and spaghetti-western suffuses the entire film. I see so many comments that say things like "Weird, but interesting", as though anything "weird" ought to be regarded with suspicion. Well, if that's your attitude, STAY AWAY from this movie. This is not about perfectly narrative storytelling. This is not about special effects. This is a gleeful celebration of cinematic language, angry music and cultural icons. Fox Harris and Jennifer Balgobin are in it, for the love of god, and so are the Pogues!