Saturday, May 14, 2016

Weekend Open Thread

Some vampires will believe anything.

I'm out of stuff to say. Seen anything good lately?

65 comments:

  1. Watched Money Monster, which is fine I guess. Any fictional Wall Street conspiracy seems a bit quaint though in comparison to the shit that's actually happened. If I had to give it some sort of rating, I'd give it 20 minutes before Riske walks out of the theater.

    At home I've been on kind of a thing this week watching movies involving fictional musicians/bands. Having unintentionally watched a a number of them already this year (Inside Llewyn Davis, That Thing You Do, Top Secret, Once, Sing Street, Streets of Fire, Airheads, and This is Spinal Tap), I set out to watch a few more this past week.

    To that end I watched Almost Famous, School of Rock, Blues Brothers, A Mighty Wind, and then I finally got around to watching Frank for the first time which I found somewhat mesmerizing. I've watched Phantom of the Paradise and Scott Pilgrim enough that I haven't felt the need to revisit them yet this year, but I'm sure it will happen at some point. There are a few more movies I need to work my way through (I haven't forgotten you CB4 and Hustle & Flow) but we'll see if I can stop myself before I've worked my way down to Josie and the Pussycats. Not that it's unwatchable, but that would probably send me down a spiral of marathoning Rachael Leigh Cook movies next.

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    1. I'll have to check that out since it's on Netflix. Somehow a movie with Pete Postlethwaite and Ewan McGregor managed to pass me by.

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    2. It's a nice little movie. Back when Ewan McGregor was making movies I wanted to watch. And being hot. BACK in the day.

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    3. Well he's back working with Danny Boyle now so maybe that will help.

      But yeah, I watched Brassed Off earlier today and enjoyed it. Really good performance from Postlethwaite.

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    4. What movie made you a Postlethwaite fan? I should be less selfish and more encouraging of Ewan's choices. But with great gorgeousness comes great responsibility. No, jk.

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  2. Point Break has the best chase scene in the history of cinema

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  3. I watched The Keeping Room from your Netflix picks last week. It being from the women's perspective Is meaningful enough to me - I feel like I'm in a new world, full of less seen and less understood things and want to stay. It also, as you say, presented race in a different way, which was great. The last scene with Brit Marljng and Sam Worthington was well...beautiful. After the first scene I felt like the end couldn't come soon enough, but it ended up being a beautiful movie. Thank you, Patrick!

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    1. I really liked the Keeping Room too. Everyone was so good in it.

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    2. Me too me too! Yeah and the writing was excellent. All the choices and dialogue and monologues were poetic and full of insight. The juxtapositions in this movie are so crazy. The gentleness and insight and empathy in the women alongside the brutality, ignorance and apathy of the soldiers was beautifully executed. Then that ending with Brit and Sam. I've never watched a movie that had so much stuff I crave to see more of combined with stuff I find unwatchable (I put my hands over my laptop). If not for fthismovie I wouldn't have made it 5 minutes into this beautiful film. Lets watch Julia Hart's next movie, Miss Stevens! I'm looking for it.

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  4. I kind of really like Swamp Thing (1982). Adrienne BarBeau kicks major butt in that.
    Also, who's that Swamp Thing impersonator up top? And why would a swamp creature need to take a bath?

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  5. John Carpenter is going on a world tour! He's performing with a six-member band playing music from his movies and tracks from his Lost Themes albums. If only he'd come to Finland!

    Check out theofficialjohncarpenter.com

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    1. Also, I already posted this elsewhere that some of the FTM! crew already saw it, but check this out if you haven't yet.

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    2. Yeah, that's awesome! Thanks. I can't believe he went that whole song without smoking.

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    3. Or checking out if the Lakers were up :)

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  6. I now have a stack of new blu-rays, a long Netflix and Amazon watchlist, and I'm chomping at the bit for Junesploitation to come.

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  7. Unfortunately, "Most Likely To Die", Anthony DiBlasi's follow up to the surprisingly good "Last Shift", is so bad that I was confused. After seeing it I really had to think if I had missed something, like if the movie was a satire or parody. I don't think so, it was just that bad.

    I watched "The Trust" which was fine. Cage was a little more subdued for once (but not by much) and I wasn't cringing while watching his performance. There's some good tension at times but for the most part it's just whatever.

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    1. I almost watched both of these, ended up watching High Rise instead. I had heard surprisingly good things about The Trust out of SXSW. For what it's worth, Most Likely To Die has a good poster.

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    2. At least High Rise is interesting and gorgeous. MLTD was baffling how bad the writing was. The decisions they make and actions these characters take is so mind boggling. That's why I was confused - I couldn't believe it was a real movie.

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    3. I agree with the gorgeous part.

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  8. What are your thoughts on Shockwaves? I don't understand the point of the reboot. Don't get me wrong, the first episode was fantastic and I loved it, as I also love Killer POV. But why did they need to switch to a different title? It's almost the exact same show, just with a couple extra segments. I do love that Ryan Turek is going to be a regular though, because I'm a BloodCast fan and I've always liked that guy. I don't really care that it's a "new show" I just don't get the point.

    Also, I saw Friday the 13th at a midnight screening last night. It was pretty fun, but I sure do like almost all the sequels better.

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    1. I think it is nothing to do with the title but moving from Geeknation to Blumhouse, for me it is just the same show, this week was a little different with the introduction stuff, I'm sure next week with Scream factory will be just as usual excellent stuff, I like Ryan on the show too, its now just a Blumhouse podcast but the magic is still there

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    2. Good point! It's the same show to me too and it's still great.

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  9. I'm sure I'm crazy late to this, but I just discovered Archive.org and their database of public domain stuff including a massive collection of films. Holy crap there is such a ton of great stuff! It's a bit overwhelming. Had no idea that Silent Night, Bloody Night and Messiah of Evil are Public Domain! The old Horror radio shows on there are fantastic as well.

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    1. Whoa! I hadn't heard of that! I've really been wanted to see Messiah of Evil. I've heard it talked up so much.

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    2. It's great! Really moody - perfect example of a semi-arty 70's under-appreciated Horror film. Some may find it boring, I loved the vibe of it.

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    3. That sounds like my jam. I usually don't find movies scary unless they're artsy and bizaare. I'm looking at you Under the Skin...

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    4. When you need a break from the movies and such there are lots of issues of Starlog on there as well.

      My guilty pleasure when it comes to archive.org is when I'm talking about some movie I found on there on a Facebook page and some somebody starts freaking out "THAT'S NOT IN THE PUBLIC DOMAIN!!!" like they're the producer or the director's Mom or something... Yes..of course, Perry Mason...because you'd know so much better than they would...

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    5. Thanks sincerely for this. I predict I'll be watching a lot of "Not Public Domain" movies in the near future.

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  10. I grew up and live in the Southern U.S., and despite that I feel like my knowledge of films set in the Deep South is kind of lacking, so I've been trying to rectify that recently. For instance, I've still never seen Gone With the Wind, A Streetcar Named Desire, In the Heat of the Night, etc. Anyway, I ended up wanting something lighthearted so I decided to rewatch My Cousin Vinny for the first time in a while, and I just wanted to publicly express how much I love that damn movie. It seems like such a meaningless trifling thing on the surface, built around stereotypes of southerners and northern Italian Americans, but it's actually really funny and tightly written. It's also one of my personal exploding heart movies, with the final court scene always making me want to stand up and cheer. If anyone hasn't seen it I can't recommend it enough.

    Also, if you have any recommendations for movies set in the South, send them my way.

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    1. Southern Comfort. Trust me (and I'm sure Albert Muller will back me up on this).

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    2. Southern Comfort is what immediately came to mind. That last act!

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    3. Shame be on me I guess, but I've never even heard of Southern Comfort. It's definitely going on the list though based on the brief description I read.

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    4. You've most likely seen this one but I've always had a soft spot for Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil.

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    5. I back JP up as completely as a person can. That's a fantastic flick, Andy.

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    6. Never seen Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil either, but I guess I've always hesitated because of the length, and because I've always kind of heard mixed reviews about it. But mostly the length haha.

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    7. I'm not saying it's for everybody, I can't believe it's for me. Don't go out of your way but if it crosses your path give it the benefit of the doubt. Have fun with your southern movie experience.

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    8. If that's a no go there's always Hard Target, Interview with a Vampire and the epic Sweet Home Alabama. :)

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  11. Greetings from Tim Buckley. If you are a Tim and/or Jeff Buckely fan, I think you will enjoy. I found it incredibly moving and, even if there is another Jeff Buckley biography, I think this will always be the definitive one.
    Penn Badgley and Ben Rosenfeld are both absolutely tremendous and it just has this haunted melancholic sense hanging over it that guves all of the scenes a heightened sense of importance. Best film I have seen this year.

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    1. That's really good to hear. I know Mary gave it her blessing but I was still skeptical. I love Jeff Buckley.

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    2. Oh yeah I heard about this many years ago but never got around to seeing it. I love Tim Buckley, he was so sadly soulful. Would love to see. Thanks!

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    3. I highly recommend it. I was resistant to giving it a go as I didn't want it to be some throw away fluff piece but they played it perfectly. Using the tribute concert at St. Ann's is a great framing device for all that follows and flows. Penn Badgley is shockingly great. I was taken aback by the talent level as I had stupidly dismissed him as some inch filler on the gossip columns. After this, I am surprised he is not considered for bigger roles or, if he is, why he doesn't get them. Perhaps the people who make those decisions had the same knee jerk reaction towards him as I did.

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  12. I don't know what people want from Action films. London Has Fallen has the adrenaline of fuckin' Wolfman testicles. I loved it!

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    1. This quote should be on the Blu Ray cover.

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    2. If it's not on the cover, then they deserve low sales for their stupidity.

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    3. Wolfman's got Gerards

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  13. Watched Bob Clark's Black Christmas last night (BCBC). It was great! I'll just pile on the love for that one. Of particular delight was Margot Kidder being awesome, and Olivia Hussey's voice. Really creepy.

    Also, rewatched Raimi's Spiderman 2, and that movie is fucking amazing. It doubles down so hard on the Peter's life sucks stuff and it's hilarious and sad at the same time. It deepens his understanding of responsibility, and also explores loss in a really profound way I thought with all the main characters suffering from it in some way, except MJ, who I found a teensy bit problematic. I get that the running from the altar thing is a sort of trope, it's very melodramatic and over the top but it's also sort of an asshole thing to do. Anywayyyy, overall love the movie (and Alfred Molina!!!!)

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  14. Max Landis' script for Mr. Right is fantastic. It's charming, sweet, funny and not trying to be more than it is. I just finished watching it and I thought it was great. Perfect double feature tonight of this and London has Fallen.

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    1. Glad to hear Mr Right is good! I have to check it out. My Anna Kendrick crush is strong. #MGAK

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  15. Man oh man, I had a great horror double feature tonight! I watched SOUTHBOUND which I thought was incredible. Outside of some CGI I didn't love at the beginning and end, I pretty much loved the whole thing. 'The Accident' I thought was the obvious winner of all the stories. Great score, really well done, and the segments flowed into each other so well. Dug it!

    I've decided to finally watch the films of Eli Roth. I've never seen one before, but I recently listened to his interview on Kevin Polak's show. I loved the episode and found him a really interesting guy. So tonight I watched CABIN FEVER. Now that is one heck of a fun film! I already can't wait to revisit it! Also, fthismovie's podcast on the film is probably one of their most entertaining episodes. Check it out if you haven't!

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    1. Southbound is hanging tough in my top ten of the year so far!

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    2. That is hard to argue against. I am super impressed with the horror this year.

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    3. I've never watched any of Eli Roth's movies, but I listened to the Hostel episode, and I'm going to check his work out. Will also visit the Cabin Fever episode and the movie itself.

      Southbound I really liked. The way they melded from piece to piece, I think I liked more than the individual pieces themselves.

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  16. I rewatched Shanghai Knights this weekend and while it gets a bit too cute with all the historical figures being inserted in the film (watch Jack the Ripper get thrown into a river, whoopee) but on the action side of things Jackie is really in top form with the action, nothing as good as he's done in Asia but a far cry better then Rush Hour (shut up Chris Tucker!) I say check it out if you need a Chan hit.

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  17. If you watch one Kubrick movie every month, you can go through the man's entire career in one year. (If you skip Spartacus). Also, if you watch all twelve in a row, it'll take about 24 hours. That has got to be one great 24 hour movie marathon!

    I know of no other place where to post this insight.

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    1. Do you watch them in order or would you mix it up?

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    2. That would be a great 24 hours! I've not seen many of his movies, ashamedly enough. Instead of watching those I've not seen, I keep going back to 2001 and Clockwork.

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  18. Anyone see The Family Fang?

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    1. Nope. I don't know if I want to watch Nicole Kidman anymore. Let us know if it's good, k?

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  19. 99 Homes is now on Amazon prime video, and it is definitely worth the watch. I actually like Andrew Garfield again, and Michael Shannon scares the crap out of me.

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    1. Started watching it last night and completely agree. The first half (that's all I was able to get through) was pretty heart breaking and yes, Andrew Garfield back on good form after Spider-Man debacle (maybe a little harsh there). If you want to see him in full flow check out a fantastic series of films made for TV called the red riding trilogy in the states. He is in the first installment which is great, though the second installment with Sean Bean and Paddy Constantine is the best of the three. Third one with Mark Addy is also pretty tremendous.

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    2. For a really heartbreaking Andrew Garfield performance watch John Crowley´s "Boy A" from 2007. There Garfield gives a performance that may be one of the best movie debuts I`ve ever seen.

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