Saturday, September 2, 2017

Weekend Open Thread

It hasn't gotten any easier.

This was a hard week. Maybe it gets better if you all talk about movies.

85 comments:

  1. All that we can do is try to make the week better. The news certainly has not made that easy.

    I just got back from a night at a drive-in theater an hour away from home. The program was three films on the theme of "Lethal Ladies", all shown on 35 mm prints. It was a first viewing of Abel Ferrara's MS. 45. This is terrific exploitation, successfully balancing entertainment and the disturbing elements. The second film was ANGEL, a film from 1984 about a teenage prostitute. Going into this one without much knowledge of the film, I was surprised by how strongly the characters and their world on Hollywood Boulevard are depicted. The story of the murder investigation is not as interesting as that aspect of the film. The last film of the night, ending around 2:00 A.M., was 1988's LADY TERMINATOR. This low-budget mix of Indonesian mythology and THE TERMINATOR rip-off induced a great deal of laughter on my part. I was flabbergasted by the extent THE TERMINATOR is literally copied. For example, the night club scene in LADY TERMINATOR is almost a shot-for-shot copy of the one in James Cameron's film. I burned a bit of gasoline to see them but had fun.

    If the rain holds off tonight, I will go back for bill featuring SWITCHBLADE SISTERS and SAVAGE STREETS. Looks like the rain might win, however.

    There was not much energy for movies this week. I only ended up watching a couple of films.

    WHAT? (1972) – Roman Polanski directed this oddity about Nancy, an American tourist hitchhiking through Italy, who finds herself in the bizarre world of a seaside villa. Strange is an apt description for the whole film. It is an Alice in Wonderland type of story with an arty sex farce element. Our heroine goes from one unusual situation or encounter to another, frequently being taken advantage of. The amount of clothing Nancy wears diminishes as the film goes on. The tone shifts dramatically throughout the film, but the overall vibe is one of playfulness. I am not sure what to think of this one.

    THE FACE OF FU MANCHU (1965) – Early Twentieth-Century pulp stories get the James Bond treatment in this entertaining and well produced film. Christopher Lee plays the Chinese international criminal who is hunted by a dogged Scotland Yard detective in 1920s London. Lee is one of many white actors portraying Asian characters, but there are more Asian actors than one would expect in a film from this period. There is a quaintness in this kind of story.


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    1. Sounds like an awesome triple feature. The only one of those I've seen is Lady Terminator (sought it out for Junesploitation one year), which is bonkers fun. I wish we had drive-in theaters in Finland.

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    2. Lady Terminator is lots of fun. As Casual said, half of it is low budget Terminator, and the Indonesian mythology bit adds the bonkers.

      Also, that reminds me that someone told me there actually is a drive-in theater here. Gotta look that up.

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    3. A double bill of Savage Streets and Switchblade Sisters sounds like the best night at the movies ever. Super jealous.

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    4. And just when I thought Switchblade Sisters was lacking some Linda Blair insanity, this double feature came along. I hope you managed to go!

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    5. Despite the rainy forecast, I went to the drive-in last night. It was the most fun I have had all summer. With the bad weather, a small crowd of movie die-hards showed up, creating a spirit of camaraderie. I was fortunate to have the chance to watch the movies under a rain tent another person brought. Adding to the excitement was the fact that I had never watched anything in the triple feature. Yes, it was another triple feature night.

      The first film was SWITCHBLADE SISTERS. This was undoubtedly my favorite film over the two nights. The dialogue crackles, the soundtrack is terrific, and the casting is perfect. Having my first watch of the film on a big screen was special. The movie industry was blessed to have Jack Hill working in it.

      SAVAGE STREETS is 1980s exploitation goodness. Whatever Linda Blair's feelings were about the project, she gave a forceful performance. Even by exploitation standards the shower room scene here is highly exploitative. Intercutting it with the rape only added to sleaziness of the film. While the fetishized violence of The Scars is not always easy to watch, it does make the moment when Linda Blair suits up for vengeance very satisfying. "Justice for one, Justice for all..."

      The bill concluded with EBONY, IVORY AND JADE, listed as SHE DEVILS IN CHAINS on IMDB. The story involves an American women's track team kidnapped in Hong Kong. The lead, Rosanne Katon, is fantastic in an otherwise nondescript 1970s Filipino production.

      All of the screenings were 35mm prints. In this era of the digital perfection of images, all the defects one encounters while watching a print can be very charming.

      An organization called Exhumed Films, which operates in Philadelphia, organized the screenings for the drive-in. I got the chance to talk with the man who runs Exhumed Film, who is a friendly fellow.

      I am looking forward to the next Exhumed screenings at the end of the month, which will include an uncut print of TENEBRE.






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  2. I watched The Smurfs (2011), mostly because of all the jokes John Oliver made about it on the old episodes of the Bugle podcast I've been listening to. Oliver has about four lines in the movie. It's exactly as vapid as I expected, but Jayma Mays was a total delight and almost made the movie worth seeing.

    Also saw Icarus, the Netflix doc about the Russian doping scandal, and tried to watch the Roger Stone documentary but got so depressed within 5 minutes, I had to turn it off and watched Betting on Zero, a doc about Herbalife's pyramid scheme, which made me less angry than the Stone one. And I rewatched Jason X and Back to the Future. Unsurprisingly, both still worked.

    And Helsinki International Film Festival released their full schedule yesterday, so I spent most of last night compiling my itinerary. Planning on seeing 14 movies (plus a couple of bands' gigs while I'm down there). Among those are Sally Potter's The Party, Kiyoshi Kurosawa's Before We Vanish, Lucky starring Harry Dean Stanton, and Personal Shopper, which didn't get a wide release here. I'm slightly excited.

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    1. Update: Now the HIFF plan is 17 movies (including s special 35mm screening of Creepshow) plus a collection of six short films. No telling what the plan is tomorrow.

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    2. Whatever the number of films you get around to watching will be, you are probably going to be very tired by the end.

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  3. Friends shot down the idea of seeing Close Encounters on the big screen. I may need to find new friends.

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  4. This happened last weekend but because of Tobe I felt it was disrespectful to celebrate


    IT'S HERE EVENTUALLY

    I just got my dream. Xtro deluxe edition Bluray. 5 discs. A film cell. A t shirt. And an amazing model. It's just as good as I always hoped it would be
    The restoration looks fantastic and a new interview with Harry is really enjoyable. There is also a brand new version. A 2017 Directors cut of the film re tinkered with by Harry kinda like when they digitally altered the Star wars films. Its does look better but its not the version i love. But i appreciate having a new version to watch. It's hard seeing a version with digitally altered scenes because I know the film so well. But with time I may learn to love the new version. It's all too fresh. The original looks epic. The best it has ever looked and that's what I wanted. And its amaxing to have a different take on the movie too

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    1. Extremely happy for you Dennis! Thanks for introducing me (us) to this strange gem.

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    2. That's so thoughtful of you, but I would never, ever want you to put off celebrating something you love so much. I'm so excited for you.

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    3. I'm glad to hear it was worth the wait. Amazon Germany shipped my copy (the version without the sculpture and other extra stuff) on Thursday, so might get it next week if I'm lucky.

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    4. I certainly look forward to watching it someday on a better format than YouTube.

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    5. YES!! Should be called the DA Edition.

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    6. WOOO! This days for you Dennis! It's like they made a box set specifically for you. That's amazing!

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  5. watching the new Kino release of The Good The Bad And The Ugly. still a fantastic movie even if the new transfer is not quite what the fans expected.

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    1. taken from the review of this release on blu-ray.com


      The AVC encoded image (2.35:1 aspect ratio) presentation from Kino Lorber has decided to reverse the yellow fever, dialing down colors to help even out the viewing experience, giving it more of a natural appearance. Protests have greeted this alteration as well. So, here we are with yet another disc that isn't exactly what was originally intended, or even imagined, leaving the faithful with another piece of the puzzle that seems more impossible to solve with every passing year. The basics are simple: without the blazing yellow, the Kino disc looks colder, more restrained, returning everything to a less extreme palette. It's not unappealing, but it lacks urgency and the extremity Leone often favors, muting cinematographic achievements to a slight degree. It's hardly a black and white event, but it's missing a certain snap. Detail is satisfactory, securing rich facial particulars from Leone's beloved close-ups, and more panoramic shots maintain depth. More problematic are black levels, which come off a tad brightened, draining depth and restraining delineation. Compression issues are present as well, with posturization peeking through periodically.

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    2. as for the rest of the release, it's worth it. a bunch of special features not on the previous release and both cuts of the movie

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    3. I'm really curious about this new disc, but I just can't talk myself into buying this movie on Blu-ray yet again. This new release reminds me of Tommy Lee Jones' "White Album" joke from Men in Black. I am interested in the special features, though.

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    4. i think the price is fair, so it all depend on your interests in special features and if you want both cuts of the movie (i can't remember if the previous release had both cuts). i don't regret it, but then again i'm a crazy person.

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  6. Movie watching has been elusive for me lately. Last night I caught the first half of the American Masters: Richard Linklater doc. It's really awesome. Lots of behind the scenes Slacker stuff and about the formative years in general.
    Watched the bonus material on the Help! blu ray as well. Paul and Ringo don't show up in this kinda stuff after they laid it all out for the anthology, but it was really cool stuff. The restoration segment was cooler than most. I've always loved the colors and photography in this film and it was cool to learn a bit about it.

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    1. Help! is my personal favorite of the Beatles' movies. My dad rented it when I was a kid, and I had no interest in watching it, because I thought it was going to be a concert film. That it was actually a wacky comedy that flirted with surrealism was a pleasant shock! The slow-motion scene in the men's room, Paul's Adventures on the Floor, Act 2, etc., all still favorite movie moments!

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  7. Adam Riske revisiting Unlawful Entry inspired me to rewatch a bunch of movies that I've seen but barely remember. First up was Deceived (1991) and it is an absolute borefest. Goldie is moping around doing nothing the whole film, John Heard has nothing to work with and Thomas Newman's score is trying to be Bernard Herrmann and fails miserably at it.

    Next up was Miami Blues (1990). WOW! Nothing like I remembered and that movie is freakin' batshit insane. The tone is so off putting and Baldwin's portrayal of a career criminal/psychopath is wacky as shit. This film leads you to believe that there is a crime taking place every second on every street in Miami. Random stuff that happens makes no sense and I loved every minute of it.

    Also watched "It Comes at Night". Not as awful as I had been hearing but not very good.

    "Hitman's Bodyguard" is as awful as Riske and Rob said. It's like the script was written in 1995 and they finally got it made but didn't update it at all. Sam Jackson says "I'm gonna pop a cap in your ass" and "I got the 411 for you". hahaha. Awful.

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  8. I just ordered The Funhouse Blu-ray off Amazon. I'll be waiting until SMM for my first viewing!

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    1. Then you can watch it again with Patrick's wonderful commentary!

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  9. Plan to spend September busting through horror titles and franchises that I'd be embarrassed to admit to not having seen yet as a lead-up Scary Movie Month, so I can be free to really dive deep. (But I'm about to tell you about them, defeating the entire purpose of doing the thing, so go figure.) So far, that's meant getting through the entire Paranormal Activity franchise, which I'd never seen any installments of, and getting through the second half of the Saw franchise. These were movies that never held any appeal for me; found footage is my least favorite horror genre by a Portuguese mile, and the Saw movies are the filmic equivalent of bad death metal: repetitive, full of themselves, and obsessed with cumbersome vocabulary. The PA movies were a chore to get through, but it was interesting watching them force a continuity into place, and to see the scenarios get more and more unlikely and crazy. The Saw movies are just a goddamn waste of time. Knowing how things turned out for him in real life, and not knowing he would be in the final movie, though, seeing Chester Bennington tearing his own skin off to try and escape a trap was an unsettling experience.

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    1. Hey, what happened to the Watching Machine podcast? I was really enjoying it. Alright if everyone moved on to other stuff, but wanted to check it didn't just change namesor something. Was looking forward to the Planet of the Apes episode.

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    2. Thanks for the kind words, Paul! The Apes episode is recorded but I did a lousy job with the recording, so it requires a bunch of technical noodling around that I never feel like doing. I'll get it up asap. The biggest challenge is getting people in to guest. I can't do episodes solo because it would just be a bitter loser venting about stuff, but asking people to come over and record when they've got no reason to besides to be nice can be daunting. I'll get my act together.

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    3. All the guests have been fantastic so far, but understand that people wouldn't be super enthusiastic about recording stuff that is only heard by a small number of people. I've recommended it so my small circle of friends, but none of them listen to podcasts, so...

      Solo episodes would be weird...I hope your collaborators get as enthusiastic about movies as you again.

      But, it's not always to be. I'm very lucky to have my childhood best friend (and still best friend) living in the same city as me. I lent him my DVD of Dark City about 3 years ago, and he still hasn't watched it. He complained that he got the directors commentary, instead of the .....
      Jesus, dude watches full baseball games, like 80 games per season, but says he has no time to watch movies. OK, sorry for the rant. I love Dark City, and want my DVD back, but I mostly just want him to watch it, goddamit!

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    4. Thanks for letting your friends know about the show, Paul! That's actually a truly great bit of motivation to get off my duff and get more made, even if they're probably not going to listen. Gracias!

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    5. Hey, it's just me, so you have at least one listener. The Get Out episode was fantastic. Split and Silence were great, but I have't seen the movies, so I didn't listen the whole way through. The Alien one was good too.

      Being honest, the x vs x episodes, didn't really like them.

      Mostly, keep contributing here!

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    6. Thank you, thank you! Ha ha, not liking the Fan vs. Noob episodes is actually a compliment, because those were recorded before I became part of the show. Neither Justin or Andrew are really part of it anymore. Unless you meant the Movie Exchanges, in which case, thanks for saying so! Even though the show is tiny, I still want to make the best version of it I'm capable of. Again, thanks for the encouragement, Paul!

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  10. Forgive me as I don't remember who it was, but Patrick played a fellow F-Heads band before the 400th podcast and I bought all of their stuff. Have been listening this week and it's really good! The band is: Fugu Dal Bronx

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    1. That was me! Well not "me", I'm just a mere messenger, Fugu is not my band but a loved one's.
      Thank you very much, Chaybee! And how generous of you to mention it again here. (and thanks again to Patrick, too)
      You can watch an extra track on their Youtube channel, "Une Montagne", which they only play live.
      Also, the frontman (and composer) has his own bandcamp: https://rurik.bandcamp.com/
      There! You know everything.

      Could you remind me where to find your own music? I know a link was posted at some point, possibly by Patrick, but I can't find it...

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    2. Thanks! Yeah, it's really good! Reminds me of Mono (The Japanese band), early The Rachel's, Mogwai and Russian Circles. I dig it! You can find my stuff at www.brahmbroadcasting.bandcamp.com and you can catch me at The Roadhouse every Sunday night ;-)

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    3. Speaking of Brahm, that sample from Messiah of Evil has a whole new meaning now, after Twin Peaks Part 18, right?

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  11. Watched Girl, Interrupted yesterday. Funny how Winona Ryder looked like she was 22 at age 16, and then kept looking the same age for 10 years. Anyway, I liked it. It's not a movie I have a lot to say about, but with the lonely period I've been in, I find comfort in movies that are relatable to the core, regardless of how uplifting the movie actually is. It feels like a very honest performance from Ryder as well, knowing what would happen to her after this movie. Angelina Jolie's lips are distracting as always though. And not in a good way. I always feel like they're about to burst, which makes me very uncomfortable whenever I stare at them. Probably should stop doing that.

    After reading Patrick's Hooper recommendations list, I was surprised to find Lifeforce on Netflix (we have a pretty bad and predictable selection in my country usually). I'm not particularly fond of older horror, but I might give it a shot tomorrow in support of Patrick.

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  12. Berlin Syndrome on Netflix is a movie only informed by other women in captivity movies. But boy, Teresa Palmer.

    Saw II - some works really well, some parts obviously don't. Donnie Wahlbergers is aight tho.

    Friday the 13th part IV - incredibly boring first 2/3rds. Like, I was stunned. It's been awhile since I've watched it. Besides Feldman, a bad group of characters. The last third is of course pretty good with the kills and the gore effects and Feldman.

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    1. Yeah, I came in about 20 minutes in when my mom was watching Berlin Syndrome the other night, and all we said to each other the entire run time was, "why are we still watching this?"

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  13. Watch "Jackals", old school Horror film making. I loved it.
    Don't watch "The Hatred". Boring as all hell.

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  14. The Minus Man: boring movie with bad editing, writing, cinematography. Full of good actors. Too bad, i had high expectation

    Barton Fink: a classic, must watch. The new Kino release is great and full of good extras

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    1. Finally watched Barton Fink for the first time on Netflix. I really loved it. The Coen Brothers are god damn experts with writing dialogue. I honestly think I'd put them at the top.

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    2. I also just watched Fink on netflix! It's terrific. Really funny and really interesting. John Goodman is amazing in it.

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  15. I watched Ace Ventura.....uhhh. Not as funny as the first (and only) time I watched it. Actually, not very many laughs at all. The "I need to shower because I just realized someone is a transvestite" scene is fucking cringe worthy.

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    1. For me, Ace Ventura still work. It's still hilarious.

      About the shower scene, you know it's a parody of The Crying Game. But i agree it was done in a time when these kind of jokes were 'accepted'. Now it would never happen

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    2. Thanks, I didn't realize it was a parody. I was mostly disappointed because I remembered it as being really funny (although I remember the 2nd as being even better). There is only so much of Ace snapping his head around, until it grows old. Maybe it's just me. I'm not 19 anymore.

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    3. But then I watched Tropic Thunder (first time). That was very funny, and maybe one Ben Stiller's best movies. There was a bunch of stuff (blackface?) I was flabbergasted was in it, but it was super well done.

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    4. jamie foxx talked about the black face thing on the joe rogan podcast and he said it was fine and liked it.

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  16. Still in a bit of a transition period while I finish out the last couple weeks at my current theater, but I've had time to watch a few things:

    The Idolmaker (1980): The question has been asked in these circles before to what extent directors' or actors' personal lives influence our enjoyment or willingness to watch movies they're involved in. I never have a solid answer for that, but The Idolmaker is a movie I used to really love but has become a lot harder for me to watch after learning that lead actor Ray Sharkey continued to have unprotected sex with possibly dozens of women after having been diagnosed with HIV. It's something I had only read about after just buying the blu-ray and instantly made me regret the purchase.

    Everything else I watched this week was a first time viewing:


    Taste the Blood of Dracula (1970): The fifth of the Hammer Dracula movies, it drags quite a bit in the middle but I do like the atmosphere particularly in the first third of the movie.

    Chained Heat (1983): Patrick had a lot to say about this movie in the Sybilthon episode he did with Elric Kane and everything he said about it was right.

    Opera (1987): Some good Dario Argento, and it's semi-autobiographical in a way with the production of Macbeth. Those needles under the eyes make me feel incredibly uneasy.

    Virgin Witch (1972): Just came to Prime this month and it's a bit of a sexploitation film to put it mildly. You can see that it might have possibly been an influence on Anna Biller for The Love Witch. It's the story of two sisters brought to a property called Wychwood ostensibly so one can become a model, but with the real purpose being to initiate her into a coven of white witches. Eager to join after finding out about the coven, she proceeds to manipulate the others in a bid to become the high priestess. There's a ton of nudity here, but also some intriguing performances as well. Real life sisters Ann and Vicki Michelle star, and Ann would follow this performance with appearances in movies like Psychomania (1973) and House of Whipcord (1974) (neither being great movies but worth a viewing).

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    1. Are you excited to move onto the new theatre Ross? I imagine you'll get to see a lot of stuff it would be difficult to see otherwise at the new theatre.

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    2. What do you think about the ending of OPERA, Ross? That was the one wrong note of a great film, but it was a significant wrong note for me.

      CHAINED HEAT is a recent acquisition. After watching SAVAGE STREETS, I am looking forward to seeing a little more exploitation Linda Blair.

      HOUSE OF WHIPCORD was a pleasant surprise to me. Although this may sound strange, I found it enjoyable because it is such an unrelentingly grim film. It was my introduction to Pete Walker's work. His film FRIGHTMARE, which also came out in 1974, is also an effective grim film.

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    3. I kinda loved Virgin Witch. A genuinely great looking movie and definitely seems like a Love Witch influencer. If I remember right, a really good song performed in a bar at some point. I dunno. A little hazy

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    4. I'm a little bit excited and a little bit nervous about the transition. I don't officially start there for at least another week and a half but I'll be going in for a bit tomorrow to do a walk-through with the outgoing general manager so I'll have a better idea what to expect.

      Casual, the end of Opera does feel tacked on and somewhat out of place. I'm not sure what purpose it serves exactly. I didn't hate that it was there, but it was an oddity.

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  17. Friday the 13 th 5

    Last night I had a great time with Patrick and Heather and the film with commentary
    Chocolate face gets me Every time. It's a pity about the guy in reality as it ruins a brilliant strange choice for a character
    I keep laughing thinking about getting an action figure from the film and it is a Sweaty Tommy Jarvis

    Top commentary guys

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  18. I watched the Marx Bros. A Night in Casablanca. In it a Nazi calls Harpo a "dork." That is all.

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  19. Ronin: great movie. fun anecdote, first time i watched it, when it first came out on home video, was a french dub. so everybody was speaking the same language with the same accent, but sometimes they were subtitled in french. i was a bit confused to say the least. i learned soon after they were originally speaking different languages with different accent. go read Mr. Bromley's review if you're curious, or just watch it. another great release from Arrow

    Dying Laughing: a bunch of comedians talk about they're craft. the ups, the downs, and everything in between. strickly talking heads, it's interesting, but maybe a bit repetitive toward the end.

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  20. Man, I'm lagging behind you fellow movie nerds really hard lately. I've been incredibly busy with a (relatively) new job and helping family and stuff. I've barely watched anything this week. Maybe getting back into talking to you folks here will get me motivated to watch more movies.

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    1. Life always seems to get in the way of movie watching hey? Anything on your list you're dying to see?

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    2. I got CLOSE ENCOUNTERS on the docket tomorrow night, seeing that on the big screen is exciting. But I've got a whole stack waiting at home.

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    3. Getting busy inevitably happens, yet the movies will be there when you are ready to watch them.

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  21. I got in a few movies this weekend!

    Logan Lucky: I had a lot of fun with this! I'm a sucker for a good heist movie and it seemed like Soderbergh was having a good time making it, it's good to have him back. The southern setting felt fresh even if the actors didn't have their accents quite down pat. It was good to see Macon Blaire in there but Hillary Swanks voice was so raspy my throat hurt just listening to her.

    Bone Tomahawk: Rewatched this again... so so good. I want a replica of Kurts moustache.

    Shogun Assasin: This has been on the list for years ever since I saw Kill Bill! Listening to PCP's Tarantino episode the other day finally reminded me to watch it. So glad I did. This movie is so far up my alley it hurts, I felt like a giddy kid watching it. The scene where they fight on the damn was so amazing. Does anyone know if the Shadows of Death were used as inspiration as the inspiration for the 3 Storms in Bug Trouble? Adding a connection to my favourite movie would only solidify my love for Shogun Assasin.

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    1. I so much want to watch Shogun Assassin. But it isn't June? Can I?

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    2. You can, and then you can always watch it again for June! And July! And August!

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  22. Also planning on seeing Close Encounters on the holiday. It's one of the movies I've been waiting to watch again until I get to see it in a theatre. I missed 2001 and Lawrence of Arabia at local theatres this year so I'll be damned if I miss this!

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    1. I would murder (only half seriously, maybe someone old and sick) someone too see 2001 on the big screen.

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    2. It played twice this year at the Rio in Vancouver. Twice! And I couldn't make it either time. They even did a double feature with a Clockwork Orange...

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  23. Do you guys think they chose Nicole Kidman for Far and Away bc they saw Riverdance first? She and that woman are IDENTICAL WOMEN

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  24. Broken Arrow (1950): probably the first western to portray native american indians a people and not just as faceless monsters. they had to have that movie in mind when they made Dances With Wolves. James Stewart is as good as he always is. it's full of white americans playing native americans, but it is a movie of its time and it's full of good intentions, which is saying a lot for the 50s.

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  25. TWIN PEAKS. Holy fuck. That was shattering.

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    1. My friend and me are not that impressed with Twin Peaks. The last 2 minutes was intense, but i feel it should be the halfway point of the season. And Dougie dragged way too long. But that's just me i guess, because people are loosing their minds over this new season

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    2. Lynch is kind of his own genre, and if you don't react to his stuff positively immediately, you probably just won't enjoy it. The moment you're watching at any given time is always more important than where the overall story itself might be going, so looking to Lynch for a satisfying story is always going to be a disappointment. (He's kind of a like a portrait artist who only paints the clothing and hair of the person he's portraying.) However, I of course can't go into it without spoiling things, so I won't attempt to explain my statement here, by I think the completed Twin Peaks story is now iconically the ultimate television story; Lynch more explicitly (because it always has been about this, to some degree) refocused the story from being about its characters to about television itself. The starting point for this idea is (at least, if not established earlier) the glass box in episode 1, empty, monitored and cataloged pointlessly, destroying its audience when they have things too plainly laid out for them (Judy (The Experiment) aka "jiao de", Chinese for "to know, to understand" attacking them from the glass box, and Chinese translation of the name being a valid reference point based on Cole and Cooper's reliance on mystic Buddhist techniques in their investigations, and the referral to the dopplegangers as Tulpas, Tibetan spirits of a sort.) Keeping that likely analogy in mind, the final two episodes pull some apocalyptic developments on their characters. Anyone reading this is probably rolling their eyes, especially at me busting out the Chinese, but I think this is the way you're expected to think while watching Lynch's work (Fire Walk With Me begins with a detuned television being smashed apart, an image which speaks for itself.) Lynch is an honest-to-goodness Surrealist, in that sometimes sequences he films are recreated from his dreams unaltered (as was the original version of the Red Room scene in Episode 2 of the first season.) So, if you don't feel surrealism is a valid style for narrative art to traffic in, you're going to be kind of unsellable on the show from the outset.

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  26. Watched Cool Runnings with the kids yesterday. I love that movie. It was one of the handful of stuff we had on VHS as a kid. It played super well with the kids too. They're lucky, not having to rely on stuff recorded to VHS off of the UHF antenna. What a glorious world we live in.

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  27. Good weekend for movies at home. I watched (for the first time) Jaws, The Witch, and Bruiser, and enjoyed all three. I knew virtually every beat of Jaws going into it, and it still completely worked.

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