Friday, December 8, 2017

I Stream, You Stream Vol. 58

by Patrick Bromley
Let me introduce you to some more cool movies.

For a Good Time Call... (2012, dir. Jamie Travis) I was so happy to see Ari Graynor pop up in The Disaster Artist, first because it's brilliant casting (she plays "Lisa" in the reenactments of The Room) and second because I'm happy to see her show up in anything. She's so great and should have a much, much bigger career, which I say having not watched a single episode of that stand-up show that lasted one season on Showtime this year. I'm part of the problem. This movie, which was co-written by Graynor's co-star Lauren Miller, is not great. It's pleasant at best, with a few too many cameos and a bit too heavy a reliance on dirty talk to score laughs. But it is a good portrait of a female friendship and a movie that gets by on the charm of its two stars. There are way, way worse ways to spend 85 minutes. (Watch on Netflix)
Better Watch Out (2017, dir. Chris Peckover) It's the holiday season, so that means holiday horror movies. This is a nasty little effort from earlier this year, about which the less I say, the better. Go in knowing as little as possible, because it's a lot of super dark fun. After a limited theatrical and VOD release a few months ago, the movie just premiered exclusively on Shudder. (Watch on Shudder)
Hands of Steel (1986, dir. Sergio Martino) Every couple of month, I get together with Mike and Adam Thas and we watch crazy '80s and '90s action movies. This is one we checked out about a year ago (thanks to the Code Red Blu-ray) and it does not disappoint. The great Sergio Martino directs Daniel Greene (best known to most of us as the love interest from Elvira, Mistress of the Dark) playing a cyborg living in a post-apocalyptic future. More of the movie is about him working at a bar than you might expect, especially when George Eastman (the Big Ape himself!) comes to town and tries to start some shit. The final moments of this movie are required viewing, even if the rest of it leaves you cold. Also, I hope the movie does not leave you cold. It's awesome. (Watch on Amazon Prime Video)
Moonraker (1979, dir. Lewis Gilbert) No reason. (Watch on Hulu)
All Monsters Attack (1969, dir. Ishiro Honda) I know this isn't the best of the Godzilla movies, but it's one of my favorites. Really just a recut/greatest hits real of previous movies, All Monsters Attack features a little boy who dreams about visiting Monster Island, where he gets to watch all the big monsters fight one another (in footage from other films). There's no real plot outside of that and the tone is very, very goofy, but it gives me everything I want without any real dead space. (Watch on FilmStruck)
Married to the Mob (1988, dir. Jonathan Demme) We lost the great Jonathan Demme earlier this year, and the year has been so terrible and so many other greats have passed away that his loss is hardly talked about just eight months later. That breaks my heart. This is one of his most underrated movies, a screwball comedy that's eccentric and warm and features a killer cast. If you haven't seen it or haven't seen it in years, now is the time to revisit. This movie is way better than your memory of it (Watch free with ads on Vudu)

11 comments:

  1. HANDS OF STEEL is a fun movie. I remember being struck by how much George Eastman looked to be enjoying himself in the Raul Morales role. What a sore loser! For the budget he had, Sergio Martino got a lot of production values.

    I cannot say that the later part Roger Moore's Bond era is one I appreciate.

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    1. I've kinda come to appreciate the goofier Moore Bonds (namely Moonraker and A View to a Kill) lately, at least partly due to the James Bonding podcast's hosts' affinity to them. They're by no means good movies, but I still prefer them to some of the ones that are objectively better, like Thunderball or Skyfall.

      Also, era.

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    1. i like Moonraker. because i like crazy villain scheme. that's why i actually bought Die Another Day on blu-ray. give me a crazy laser from the sky any day. it makes no sense, i love it.

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  3. Have to add that Gleaming the Cube is now on Amazon Prime.

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    1. Thank god! I haven’t seen it in more than six months. #gleamingeverysolstice

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    2. This is important news. Chaybee, you're not the hero we deserve, but the hero we need.

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  4. Moonraker is one of two Bond films I've never seen. Part of me wants to keep it that way, as an "all but" -- but then with Roger Moore passing, I also feel like I should go back and celebrate all of his Bond work like I've done with the others recently.

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  5. Something else to stream

    From the Criterion Newsletter:

    Go on a viewing rampage with this collection of fourteen kaiju classics, featuring Ishiro Honda’s original Godzilla and a large helping of its many sequels. If you haven’t checked out FilmStruck, sign up for your free 14-day trial

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  6. I've got a recommendation! It's Larry Gaye: Renegade Male Flight Attendant, currently free on Amazon Prime, and endorsed by former AV Club star writer Nathan Rabin. Yes, there are lame and passé "Gaye" jokes, but there are also lots of genuine laughs, and also the enchanting Jayma Mays of Glee fame. If, like me, you totally love Hot Rod, Magruber, Your Highness, Fired Up! and other such low-key comedies in which the hero is at once a supremely cool and totally dopey man-child, you will almost certainly find this one a watch at the very least.

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