Saturday, September 12, 2015

Weekend Open Thread

If I can change and you can change, everybody can change!

Have you noticed we're less than 20 days away from #ScaryMovieMonth?

74 comments:

  1. Got my tickets for Helsinki International Film Festival! Bought tickets for 14 movies across four days, so I'll have something to occupy me while waiting for October to start.

    Here's a list of what I'm gonna see. So excited, especially for Turbo Kid!

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    1. I'd lower my expectation for "Turbo Kid" if I were you. "It's fine"(TM), but Patrick is overhyping it IMHO.

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    2. *danielsheartbreaking* Turbo Kid is probably my favorite movie of the year. I really love it.

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    3. It's OK, you can love Turbo Kid and Apple all you want. Me? I'll watch a Rachel Dratch 'Debbie Downer' sketch marathon on "SNL." :-) Seriously, that's all I could think of anytime Laurence Leboeuf smiled and opened her mouth.

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    4. So is Gizmo from "Gremlins" and the Blue Demons from "Galaxy Quest," but we all know the evil that lurks beneath the dorky smile and Amy Pohler-wannabe acting. :-)

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    5. There is no such thing as overhyping Turbo Kid, as it is impossible.

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    6. Thank you, good sir. It's a special flick.

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  2. Had plans for tonight but now I'm really tempted to throw them out the window and just watch Rocky IV. Gorbachev giving Rocky a standing ovation is one of my favorite movie moments ever.

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  3. As I'm quite new to be active in the comment section I have a question about handling this kind of site: If I write a comment on anything here, how do I recognize that someone responded? The "recent comment" section is small and so I could miss a respond - especially if I wrote a comment on an older entry. Or is this site geared to new topics, so that we all just have to be "up to date" and move on, when the time passes by? (I apologize for grammar and vocabulary mistakes).

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    1. This comment has been removed by the author.

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    2. There is one thing you can do to keep track of comments on a particular comment thread: Down in the lower right, next to the "publish" button on the comment box, three is a check box that says "notify me." If you check that, you will recieve an email every time someone makes a comment on that particular thread. I hope this helps! :)

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    3. Many thanks for your fast answer. Is it possible that I just see this button if I have an account on google plus or one of the other listed services?

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  4. Hey everyone, go see The Visit! it's fantastic.

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  5. Looks like the Ion channel is marathoning most of the Rocky series again today. My prediction for today? PAIN.

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    1. Pain don't hurt, but you know what does? "Rocky III-V." ;-)

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    2. You're in a fighting mood today, huh, JM? First you reduce Daniel to tears and now you insult Rockys III and IV. That don't fly.

      I love Rocky IV. I know there's no reason to, but I just do. I know it's ridiculous, but it's just so earnest it sucks me in every time (and a big part of it is nostalgia, of course). Apollo's *spoilers* demise. Rocky running through the snow while Drago trains at his high tech facility. "I must break you." The crowd turning. Gorbachev's standing ovation. I love every minute of it.

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    3. ^^^ I'll grant you that Stallone's command of the tools of cinema (camera angles, editing, music as part of a montage, etc.) is at its height in "Rocky III" and "IV." The young stupid me fell for the jingolistic vibe (even though I wasn't American when I first saw them) and so-stupid-it's-funny 'us vs. them' mentality guiding the audience like lemmings toward lapping it all up. The story-biased present day me sees these movies (I saw "Rocky IV" a few days ago for the first time in years; click my name to read my review if you dare! :-P) and can't stand the shameful audience manipulation on the part of Stallone. I love Dolph Lundgren as Drago and Tony Burton's Duke (the unsung supporting character of the franchise, IMHO), but to see them reduced to clogs in Sly's 'we can all change' manipulation machine is just sad.

      As far as I'm concerned the "Rocky" franchise took a long hiatus between "Rocky II" and "Rocky Balboa." "III-V" are the "Superman III-IV" of the "Rocky" franchise, IMHO.

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  6. I'm preparing my list for Scary Movie Month. I'm going to attempt two things. One is I'm making every Wednesday my Wes Craven Wednesday. Only Wes movies on Wednesdays. I'm also going to attempt 100 horror movies in October. After that, I'll probably go on some sort of murder spree...or watch a Bond movie.

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    1. I'd go for the Bond movie, but you know that's just me. Also, your goal is super ambitious and I give you much respect.

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  7. After having my mind blown by Queen of Earth I decided to watch both The Color Wheel and Listen Up, Phillip. I love all three films and it reminded me of when I first discovered Hartley and Jarmusch. Cross has a very distinct voice and it's one that I'm personally fascinated by.

    Watched two docs on Amazon Prime -
    We Don't Care About Music Anyway - about the Japanese Noise music scene. I dug it.
    Magician: The Astonishing Life and Work of Orson Welles - Very informative and well done documentary for anyone interested in Welles' work.

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  8. Well, I saw The Visit. It was a weird experience for me. I spent most of the movie hating it, thinking it was one thing, and then the twist happens and I realize its not that thing. And I kind of liked the thing it was. It really has some genuinely scary moments, which is super impressive. Its still problematic though. The kids are nothing like human beings at all. I think the sister is just M Night writing his own pretentious self. But there really is stuff to like!

    The theater showed the trailer for Krampus, which I hadn't seen yet. Its a Christmas Monster movie with tons of actors i love. As Patrick says, it looks like a movie made just for me. I'm almost more excited for it than Star Wars!

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    1. My initial response towards The Visit was this: it's like watching good M. Night wrestling with bad M. Night for 94 minutes. When it's good, it's pretty damn good. When it's bad, ugh. Like whenever the little brother is rapping. Tonally, it's all over the place. I don't think it should have ended where it did. It should have ended when the kids ran outside. (And I won't say anymore about that, out of respect to those who haven't seen it yet.) I don't think it's terrible, but anyone calling it Shyamalan's comeback is being premature. Just because it's better than Lady in the Water, The Happening, The Last Airbender doesn't automatically put it in the same column as The Sixth Sense, Unbreakable, Signs and The Village. Yes, I understand some people would put The Village in the negative column. I'm not one of those people. But I do find it being much better than The Visit. I'm surprised I haven't seen anyone, critics included, point out the similarities between The Visit's marketing and The Village's marketing.

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    2. Interesting way to put it. In no way do I think it's his comeback. I just watched it as a low budget horror film. And for that, I think there's a lot to like.

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    3. I'd agree with that. It's entertaining. I mean, hell, even The Happening is entertaining, under particular conditions. With a couple beers in ya, The Happening would work as a great midnight movie. I wish drive-ins were still around, the way they were in the late 70s and early 80s. The Visit would fit in perfectly there.

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    4. Idk I think the movie worked rather well the children don't seem as human in the final final scene of the movie versus the rest of it, but otherwise the the brother seemed like a lot of kids I know. The sister was purposefully portentous to an albeit unbelievable degree but was made so for the sake of the movie to move forward with her seemingly I'm so book smart but totally clueless about the real world demeanor (I mean who the fuck would stay with those grandparents for so long?). And the twist at the end perfectly recreated the fear of the original "When a stranger calls." It had its scary moments, nothing really exceptionally flat in my mind and actually portrayed some mental illnesses, seriously I sound probably like a lying internet guy about now but my brother worked in a psych ward and some people believe some pretty fucking crazy things. The most M.Night Shamalmading-dong thing the film throws at you is the hame fisted approach of the children developing illnesses because of loss and their eventual triumph over it

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  9. I hate it when there's a midnight movie conflict between two new-to-me repertory flicks. In one corner, a 35mm screening of 1986's "Howard the Duck." On the other corner, a rare big-screen screening of 1997's anime "Perfect Blue." What to do, what to do? :-(

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    1. Dude.... how could you not pick Perfect Blue?

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    2. How could I not, indeed? You have chosen for me, DE... wisely. :-)

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    3. Shouldn't the words "Howard the Duck" mean that you immediately run the other way?

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  10. Whoa - did you guys see that Coppola is co-producing Jeepers Creepers 3? Weird.

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    1. I'm not surprised. He produced the first two.

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    2. Somehow that went completely over my head. I did not know that.

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    3. I'm sure I'll probably see the movie. I saw the other two. I still think he's a reprehensible piece of shit. In situations such as this, I refer back to something Stephen King has said: "It is the tale, not he who tells it." If I abstained from all movies made by people who fucked up in a way I found questionable in any way, shape, or form, I probably wouldn't be watching too many movies.

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    4. I should probably make it clear I was calling Victor Salva a reprehensible piece of shit. Not Francis Coppola. As far as my stance on seeing Salva's movies, I understand anyone who doesn't see his movies on the basis of his actions decades ago. On the other hand, some others may figure he did his prison time, and that may wipe the slate clean in their eyes. Hell, Roman Polanski hasn't even done his time yet. The way I look at it, Salva may have done his time, but now he's on the outside, and in the public court of opinion, that's better than all the prison time he has experienced. Because every time he walks out his door, he is going to be ridiculed, chastised, and probably even endures physical violence every single day. That's the price he has to pay, and it is well earned.

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    5. I understood you were talking about Salva. If you don't watch films because of peoples actions then no one should be watching any Bryan Singer movies. I understand if people choose not too and I struggle with it at times, but I believe in separating the art from the person. Plus, it helps that I don't personally know these assholes.

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    6. I'd need to see that documentary that's being made about sexual molestation in the business and then do a little of my own research before I can condemn or excuse Singer. With Salva, my opinion is simple and easy because he was actually arrested, convicted, and served time. There's proof. The guy who attacked and filed suit against Singer was exposed for being a fraud, so I'd need more to go on.

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  11. For those in Chicago: Music Box of Horrors or The Massacre?

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    1. I'm going to the Massacre for the first time this year. I can't even process how excited I am.

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    2. Both for me. See you guys there.

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  12. Interesting video of Kimberly Peirce on trying to make an original take on "Carrie" while dealing with studio executives who couldn't even say the word "vagina"....

    http://io9.com/kimberly-peirces-remake-of-carrie-struggled-with-vagina-1730106711

    Article even mentions that it's interesting in light of how many female directors have reconsiderd doing studio films of late.

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    1. That's a fascinating read. I'd want to see that restored version.

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  13. Guys, maybe I'm way behind and everyone knows this already, but do yourselves a favour and watch John Frankenheimer's Seconds. It's critique of the American Dream is still super-relevant, it's gorgeously and very interestingly shot - it's like an extended, more cinematic and even more biting episode of "The Twilight Zone". Rock Hudson's performance is great and the ending...

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    1. I saw this when they reissued it on DVD years ago. I agree, it's really, really good!

      Btw Sol, your Jays embarrassed the shit out of my Yanks this weekend.

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    2. Seconded... get it? ;-) Har, Har,you're so cool, Brewster!

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    3. Ooph, yeah, sorry Chaybee, hope to embarrass you one more time before the weekend's out!

      I bought the Criterion blu-ray on eBay just because it was the cheapest Criterion blu on there at the time and it was a very nice surprise.

      Speaking of 80s horror, I also watched Night of the Creeps for the first time yesterday - great fun! And Tom Atkins is so awesome in it - I'm probably the only one who hasn't seen it but I'd recommend it for SMM fo sho.

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    4. You guys are the better team, clearly. Eovaldi was the only one really holding our team from being what we expected. I went into this season with zero expectations so it's been a pleasant surprise of super-over-performance this season. I would have bet we would have been in last place this year with our line-up.

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    5. The Tulo thing was a little embarrassing...but yeah, we got a crazy good team this year - we'll see if we're '92/'93 good! The Yankees can take a few years off every once in awhile, huh?

      Adam - was checking out a $5 blu-ray bin at a bargain store here and what was right on top but a copy of Saturday Night Fever - it's kismet - I'll watch it soon!

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    6. I'm glad you got a deal but it makes me sad that a movie that great is bin worthy

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    7. Heheh - aww, I never thought of that being a bit of a dis - I don't know why/how this weird store can do such low prices but there were tons of great movies in there. I also picked up Blue Thunder cuz I'm a Roy Scheider completist.

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    8. I just checked out Saturday Night Fever last night. Its funny, I had always associated it with Footloose and flash dance in my head. Nope. Now that I've seen it I know its really terrific. Man, I love the '70s for film.

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    9. So cool that people are checking out Saturday Night Fever. Thanks all!

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  14. I was home sick over the weekend so I watched A TON of horror movies - Never Sleep Again, Dark Summer, How to Make a Monster, You're Next, Hatchet III, Bloodsucking Bastards and Tourist Trap. It was a fun little pre-October burst.

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    1. Tourist Trap - one of the best rated PG Horror movies ever!

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    2. Tourist trap is the shit

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    3. It's a ripoff of House of Wax (2005) :-)

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    4. Vice Versa...with Judge Reinhold? I love that movie :-)

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    5. Tourist Trap ('79) That's all I meant

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    6. Shit...I get the joke! Waaaaay late, my fault.

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  15. I just wanted to mention that Dolph Lundgren is set to appear in the Coen's next film. Thought everyone should know. Have a nice Sunday.

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  16. I watched The Killing on Friday. It was amazing and completely holds up 60 years later. I have finally completed Kubrick's filmography. Made me feel a little better when I watched Under Siege 2: Dark Territory for probably the 10th time last night...

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    1. The Killing is so F-ing good, right?!

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    2. Under Siege 2: Dark Territory is so F-ing good, right?!

      Hmm, déjà vu. :-P

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    3. Nice! I won The Killing on DVD from this very site a few years back and loved it so much I picked up the Criterion blu. I still have a couple to go to be a Kubrick completist but he's definitely one of my Top 3 favourite directors. I watched Eyes Wide Shut for the first time a couple weeks ago and I even loved that!

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    4. I will never not be impressed watching Kubrick's movies. And I will always enjoy Eric Bogosion in Under Siege 2. Rybaaaaaack!

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    5. Steven Seagal running in slow motion away from the blue-screened incoming train for the win! :-D

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  17. I know im a bit late to the party- sadly the only movie I got to watch this weekend was the Milla Jovovich/Pierce Brosnan flick Survivor- which is the ultimate in tedium. How James Mcteigue director of the smart V for Vendetta and crazy time of Ninja Assassin directed something so damn boring I'll never know. One minor positive Pierce Brosnan is keeping himself in shape- would love to see him have a throwdown with Liam Neeson in a cool grandpa action flick.

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    1. Yeah, I saw November Man and that mess kept me away from this. That's probably not fair, but that's the way it is. haha

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