Cinema Wellman's Best & Worst of July

Cinema Wellman's Best & Worst of July

Hello and welcome to Cinema Wellman. I am your host, David, and we may have a record-breaking episode for you today since I have a feeling this will be one of our shortest ever. 

It’s not that we didn’t watch anything (god forbid!) - we screened 33 films during the month, but…

Once again, our Cinema Wellman projects impacted the list of movies since 11 of the 33 (or 33% of this month’s movies) were part of either our Shark(Nado) episode or our Cinema Wellman Book Club episode.

Since all of those films have previously been covered here, it leaves us with fewer to choose from than usual.

This smaller than usual sample size has led us to a Cinema Wellman FIRST!!!!

For the first time in the history of our Best & Worst of the Month episodes, I don’t have ANY bombs for you!

Nothing to trash.

Nothing to ridicule.

Nothing to warn you to stay away from.

I’m a little disappointed in that, but I do have four films I’d like to mention and put on your radar screen in case you’d be interested in seeing them.

One of the services we provide here at Cinema Wellman.

With no bombs to drop, let’s get to the good stuff!

I Am Frankelda (2025: Mexico)

PG/114 min/IMDb: 6.9/directed by Arturo & Roy Ambriz 

IMDb: “Frankelda, a determined 19th-century Mexican writer, journeys into her subconscious to face the monsters she’s written about. Guided by a tormented prince, she must restore the balance between fiction and reality before it’s too late.”

This Mexican stop-motion fantasy film had me thinking of Guillermo del Toro for obvious reasons.

He wasn’t directly involved in this production, but you can see his influence all over I Am Frankelda.

This film’s animation was magical, and they pulled off a couple of things that I didn’t think were possible in stop-motion animation.

The models were unbelievably intricate, and some were quite grotesque while the colors and color combinations used were spellbinding.

The animation was so strong that I found myself straying from the story at times since I was so focused on the movements of the characters.

The closing credits featured a behind the scenes look at how the filmmakers created this dazzling film, and it actually made me cry.

The closing credits made me cry. 

Breakdown: 1975 (2025)

R/92 min/IMDb: 6.8/directed by Morgan Neville

IMDb: “An essay on the year 1975, looking at the classic movies all released in that year.”

This film made me very nervous to watch because of our very recent Cinema Wellman Wayback Machine episode.

We just did our Top 10/Bottom 5 from 1976, and I was kind of upset that THIS documentary featured many of those films even though it’s about 1975.

They explained that many of those films were SHOT in 1975 which is why they were being discussed, and that made me feel a little better.

Jodi Foster narrates this, and I would listen to her speak all day. Every day.

Jodi was 13 years old in 1975 (as was I), but she was making groundbreaking films while I was playing wiffle ball and thinking about Rose Scully.

Breakdown: 1975 is jam-packed with clips of iconic films that are now part of film history.

1975 was a turbulent time, and that’s absolutely reflected in its movies.

Which happens to be an excellent segue to…

Truck Turner (1974)

R/91 min/IMDb: 6.9/directed by Jonathan Kaplan

IMDb: “While tracking a strong-armed pimp who has skipped bail, a bounty hunter discovers a contract has been put out on him and must go on the run.”

Truck Turner was released by American International Pictures, and one of the genres AIP churned out was what’s known as “Blaxploitation” films.

Blaxploitation was an independent film movement of the 70s of exploitation films primarily made by black filmmakers for black audiences. 

I remember seeing an interview with a prominent black filmmaker of the 70s who took issue with the term “Blaxploitation” or referring to them as “exploitation” films when there was really no one being exploited.

I always agreed with that argument.

I, for one, love these films and think the genre is underappreciated.

Black filmmakers making movies for black audiences allowed black stories to be told on a regular basis for what I’m guessing is the first time in the history of film.

In the Blaxploitation action sub-genre, “Whitey” was always the enemy, and for good reason.

The white gangsters were as stereotypically outrageous in these black films as the black gangsters had been stereotypically outrageous in white films for years.

I kind of like it.

These movies were packed with action, violence, and sex featuring titles such as; Disco Godfather, Blackenstein, Blackula, Black Shampoo, Dr. Black, Mr. Hyde, The Black Gestapo, Hammer, Sweet Jesus, Preacherman, Cleopatra Jones and the Casino of Gold, Friday Foster, Coffy, Foxy Brown, Shaft, and Superfly.

Some of my favorite stars of the genre include Isaac Hayes, Yaphet Kotto, Jim Kelly, Rudy Ray Moore, Fred Williamson, Jim Brown, Tamara Dobson, and my all-time favorite, Pam Grier. 

Truck Turner was a lot of fun and checked every one of the boxes laid out for you when you’re looking for a good time at the movies. 

And Isaac Hayes composed the music for this film as well.

Undertone (2025: Canada)

R/94 min/IMDb: 5.9/directed by Ian Tuason

IMDb: “Evy Babic, a skeptical paranormal podcaster caring for her comatose mother, receives disturbing recordings tied to a folkloric threat, and every new file pulls her closer to fears she can no longer explain away.”

The poster tagline for this film was “The Scariest Movie You’ll Ever Hear” and I think I agree with that statement after watching Undertone.

This film was shot entirely inside director Ian Tuason’s childhood home in a Toronto suburb - the same house in which he cared for both his dying parents. 

So, there’s that. 

And that’s a lot being added to a production from all sorts of angles. 

Evy co-hosts her podcast with a friend, but the only characters we really see in this film are Evy and her comatose mother.

There isn’t much in Undertone that is visually scary, but there is so much unsettling audio in it that makes it a very different kind of horror movie. 

Parts of this film were absolutely chilling, and it wasn’t anything I saw, it was everything I heard.

Well, that is a wrap from here at Cinema Wellman for our Best & Worst of July episode.

We hope you’re with us next time and I haven’t decided what’s going to be next. Our next two episodes will be “Revenge Movies” and “Disaster Movies,” but we’re not sure what the order will be.

Whatever it is, until then, take care.