Friday, June 26, 2015

Netflix This Movie! Vol. 135

The final round of Junesploitation picks! The end is almost here!

Adam Riske:
High Fidelity (2000, dir. Stephen Frears) Just one to close out Junesploitation and a great movie for Rock and Roll day. I'm sure most of you have seen High Fidelity already, but if you haven't this is one of the best rock n' roll movies I've seen in a long time. It's a personal favorite of mine and a terrific podcast to boot. If you haven't listened to Patrick and JB's High Fidelity show, check it out!
Adam Thas:
June 26th: Cannibals! Snowpiercer (2013, dir. Joon-ho Bong) If you haven’t seen Snowpiercer yet you are obviously new to F This Movie! One of my favorite sci-fi movies and a breath of fresh air for originality.

June 27th: Cars! Stretch (2014, dir. Joe Carnahan) Stretch received A LOT of bad press, and while it is a mess of a movie, there are things to like about it. There are some genuinely funny scenes and an uncredited Chris Pine is very entertaining. I liked enough of it to question why it got panned so much; my guess is it rhymes with "Med Melms," who is just the most annoying thing in the movie.

June 28th: Free Space! Tarzan (1999, dir. Chris Buck, Kevin Lima) This was one of the last good animated features that Disney studios produced before Disney decided to disband it’s 2-D animation department. It’s an interesting movie to me in the sense that the animation, colors, action sequences are some of the best you will ever see out of an animated movie, but the movie does show how out of touch Disney had become with its audiences at the time.

June 29th: Rock and Roll! The Last Waltz (1978, dir. Martin Scorsese) It’s a pretty straight up concert film documenting the last show from The Band. If you are a fan of Rock and Roll history, you will enjoy the steady stream of guest appearances by multiple musicians that come and play with them. It’s pretty fantastic and great to just sit back and relax and experience.

June 30th: '80s Horror! The Toxic Avenger (1985, dir. Lloyd Kaufman) The first time I saw this movie was with my best friend Mike Pomaro and he was IN LOVE with this movie. Another super violent, over the top movie from the people of Troma. This is probably my favorite of all the Troma movies, which is why I didn’t recommend it during the Troma! day, because I want to end up Junesploitation with a BANG!
Heath Holland:
June 26: Cannibals! Cannibal! The Musical (1996, dir. Trey Parker) This movie keeps popping up over and over again here for a reason. It's a hilarious musical with awesome songs from the mind of Trey Parker. When I watch it, my heart's as full as a baked potato.

June 27: Cars! Dirty Mary, Crazy Larry (1974, dir. John Hough) Peter Fonda stars in this getaway movie about a racecar driver and a mechanic as they outrun their pursuers in some awesome cars, including a supercharged 1966 Chevy Impala and a 1969 Dodge Charger (like the Dukes of Hazzard drive!).

June 28: Free Space! Invasion of the Bee Girls (1973, dir. Denis Sanders) This movie was penned by Nicholas Meyer (the man who brought us the best Star Trek movies) way back in 1973. Meyer claims that he's never seen it, so here's your chance to get a leg up on the man who directed Wrath of Kahn. I wrote a whole tribute to Nicholas Meyer, but I somehow never mentioned this horny little gem.

June 29: Rock and Roll! Tapeheads (1988, Bill Fishman) I just recommended this movie in May, but now is a great time to check it out if you've never seen it. Tapeheads is such an odd little movie, but I think it's awesome. John Cusack and Tim Robbins are slimy rock music video producers, and...well, just watch it. There's nothing else like it. It's perfect for Junesploitation.

June 30: '80s Horror! A Nightmare on Elm Street 2: Freddy's Revenge (1985, Jack Sholder) Might as well go out with a (finger)bang. The only Nightmare on Elm Street movie on Netflix is the first sequel, the most fascinating entry in the whole series. It's full of subtext that most of the creators somehow still swear they weren't aware of, which I think makes it a perfect choice to close out Junesploitation.
JB:
Week Five: Your reward will be great in heaven.

June 26: Cannibals! Cannibal! The Musical (1996, dir. Trey Parker) More fun from the South Park guys.

June 27: Cars! Hot Rod Gang (1958, dir. Lew Landers) Authentic Fifties Drive-In Cheese!

June 28: Free Space! Three Bad Sisters (1956, dir. Gilbert Kay) CHICK FIGHT!

June 29: Rock and Roll! Rock and Roll Fantasy (1992, dir. David Michael Latt) This raunchy breast-fest will make you question your own existence!

June 30: ‘80s Horror! Visiting Hours (1982, dir. Jean Claude Lord) Patients check in, but they don't check out!

Congratulations! It's July! I'll get the defibrillator!
Patrick:
June 26: Cannibals! Ravenous (1999, dir. Antonia Bird) Grisly, quirky cannibal movie with a great cast and strong snowy atmosphere. It's weird to think that this isn't the movie the late Antonia Bird set out to make, because it's still pretty cool. If you've already seen this and are looking for something new, check out We Are What We Are.

June 27: Cars! Drive Hard (2014, dir. Brian Trenchard-Smith) This buddy action comedy from last year isn't great, but it would be nice to fit some Brian Trenchard-Smith into #Junesploitation before it ends. Both John Cusack and Thomas Jane seem to be having a good time and the movie is an ok bit of brain dead fun.

June 28: Free Space! Bounty Killer (2014, dir. Henry Saine) This is one of the few intentional exploitation throwbacks made post-Grindhouse that actually works. Good energy, good violence and a star making turn by Christian Pitre as Mary Death.

June 29: Rock and Roll! We Are the Best! (2014, dir. Lukas Moodysson) This coming of age story about pre-teen three girls who form a punk band in 1980s Sweden was on my list of favorite movies last year. It's so sweet and fun and wonderful and really does have something to say about punk music and what it means to play it. It's a goddamn delight.

June 30: '80s Horror! Hellraiser (1987, dir. Clive Barker) The more years that go by, the more I become convinced that Hellraiser is one of the best horror movies of the '80s. Might as well end the month on a high note. Or you could watch Pet Sematary and end the month cowering in a corner. Your choice.

23 comments:

  1. Celebrate the Supreme Court decision legalizing gay marriage in the Union the 'F' head way: watch "NOES 2: Freddy's Revenge" on 80's Horror day! ;-)

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    1. Holy shit... that's perfect!

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  2. "Say hi to Zelda for me!"
    - the only coherent sentence in a string of babble, from the corner

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  3. I will always be grateful Patrick told me to watch Bounty Killer. So much fun.

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  4. Patrick, did you like Hellraiser the 1st time you saw it? I saw it for the first time last year and I didn't love it. I'm wondering if it's one of those that you had to see when you were younger or do I just need to watch it again?

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    1. I'll assume your silence means you actually hate it and it's terrible. Check.

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    2. I liked it enough when I first saw it back in the '90s, but it's a movie I like more with every passing year. I think it's a matter of seeing more stuff and realizing just how much Hellraiser stands out, both by being its own thing and by being really good at being that thing.

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    3. I'll give it another shot. I feel like I should like it. Maybe it's my Italian horror. Actually...Italian horror is still my Italian horror but whatever. I'll try it on Blu-ray.

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  5. Stretch isn't that bad to me. I had a good time with it. Its the perfect movie for Netflix.

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  6. Watched "Creep" tonight with Mark Duplass. Have had it on my watch list since it debuted at SXSW a year ago. Managed to still go in blind after a year, put the film on and it's fucking Found Footage! Oh shit, here we go again, I thought. Turns out - it's one of the best FF movies I've seen. Great example that good writing, a good story and acting can go a long way in the FF genre, it just only happens ever so often. It still has some flaws, based on FF technique and choices made in the FF universe, but I think it's really good.

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    1. I've come to the realization that the Found Footage isn't terrible. It's bad Found Footage movies that are terrible.

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    2. *Found Footage genre

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    3. Hmmm...I've seen enough that I think for the most part they are absolutely terrible. I also think it's a bullshit excuse to stay on the cheap to make a movie. With all of the SOV films I've seen and some of my favorite films being zero budget but not FF, I don't see a need.

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    4. Matter of fact, I didn't think about it until now but Creep might have been so good to me in spite of the fact that it was FF! If it were filmed normally would I have thought it was fine? I dunno, the performance and the script would still be it's strongest parts so maybe this is a rare film where the actual way it's filmed didn't matter.

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    5. What I kind of think with Found Footage is that when it's good, it could have been just as good as filmed regularly. Only a few actually use the gimmick properly, I think of a few of the PARANORMAL ACTIVITY movies as decent examples. But honestly most found footage movies would be vastly improved by normal filmmaking with good use of perspective.

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    6. I'm thinking of THE STRANGERS as a movie that has some elements of found footage but is filmed normally and is much more effective because of it. There is a real long take from one angle of Liv Tyler in the kitchen that's coming to mind as something incredibly unnerving because it's filmed normally and we are expecting something to happen because this is such an unusual style of shot. In a found footage movie that shot wouldn't have had nearly the power it did.

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    7. I certainly agree with mostly everything the both of you are saying. Of course anything shot FF could be shot regularly and be all the better for it. Some FF works, some FF doesn't. I could say that about subgenre. Of course, if you were to compare he ratio of good to bad FF movies to the good to bad of any other subgenre, of course the ratio of good is much slimmer with FF, but I think that's just splitting hairs. It all depends on what's right for the story, but it's also what's financially feasible for the filmmaker too. However, if an independent filmmaker made a FF movie because that's all they could afford to make, and the movie was a piece of shit, well that's something else.

      I never thought that scene in The Strangers was so unusual. It's an audience "look behind you!" moment. I just think it hasn't been used as effectively as it was in The Strangers in a very long time. If it was done in a FF capacity, it would never work, I don't think, because more than likely, someone would be behind the lens or watching on a small monitor, and warn her immediately. I think The Strangers works because it's made in a 70s/80s style that we rarely see anymore.

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    8. I will say, although I have no ill will towards FF, I don't think I could watch more than one or two FF movies in one sitting. If it was a Paranormal Activity marathon, maybe, who knows. But I can say without a doubt, if Platinum Dunes had gone ahead with their FF Friday the 13th, damn right I'd be disappointed. I'd be down right pissed.

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    9. These are interesting perspectives. I don't think that "The Strangers" even comes into play with a FF discussion. It's not a FF movie to begin with and it was a brilliant example of a great horror film coming around at a time when dreck was coming out.

      Oddly enough, MIke G - I watched two FF movies back to back tonight and didn't know either was FF (I really like to go into new films knowing barely anything about them). The first I watched was Ghoul - it sucks, it's awful, don't waste your time and the second was Creep. When I saw it was FF I was like "Fuck"! but I'm glad I didn't dismiss it. That being said - it's going to rain like hell tomorrow here on the east coast so I can't wait to watch a bunch of non-FF movies!

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    10. On first viewings, that's happened to me too, Chaybee -- two FF movies in a row. I just don't know if I could watch more than one that I like in a row. That's probably when the aesthetic would tire me out, and I'd want to switch off for awhile.

      Creep is supposed to be hitting Netflix Instant in a couple weeks. I'm really excited to see it.

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    11. In my opinion, Creep is up there with some strong FF movies. It's all about the writing and delivery. Like I said, I have some issues but that's based on my personal criteria and criticism of FF movies. To me - if you're doing a FF movie - it better be fucking perfect within the rules of the genre. This one is pretty close.

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    12. Nice! I can't wait.

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    13. I watched creep last night and Its pretty good. Im not a fan of found footage either but this one works for me. Its has a very simple premise and it works. I wouldn't say its scary but its entertaining. Hopefully more people will see it.

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