Saturday, February 3, 2018

Weekend Open Thread

Let Women in Horror Month cast its spell on you!

32 comments:

  1. Wanted to give a heads up regarding an old friend of mine who's film "72 Hours: A Brooklyn Love Story" which toured festivals for the last year and a half was picked up for distribution and will be on VOD February 13th. Here is a link to the trailer: https://vimeo.com/149212950

    Also, one of my favorite indie directors, Damon Packard (Reflections of Evil) who directed the three Brahm videos for my last record as well, has his collection of shorts "Tales Beyond Madness" on Amazon Prime as of yesterday. The first short is "John Carpenter's Corpse" which is great. I love all of his films so it's worth checking out if you are interested. Here is the link:
    https://www.amazon.com/Tales-Beyond-Madness-Billy-Burke/dp/B079H36DV2/ref=sr_1_4?ie=UTF8&qid=1517679824&sr=8-4&keywords=damon+packard

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  2. Hot Take: Groundhog Day is a really great movie. Hadn't seen it since it came out when I was a teenager, at which time I certainly only really appreciated the gimmick, but yeah that movie's got a lot going on. With enough marijuana I could probably write a book on the implications of what's happening with time (are the repeated days ADDING to time or simply overwriting themselves every day?) and everyone who isn't Bill Murray (are they automatons at some point or what? Do they have any free will anymore?) but fortunately there is not enough pot and if I checked, probably millions of websites about it already.

    That being said, this movie has a pretty glaring issue (as seen now because time's up). Acknowledging that my straight, white, cis-male privilege affords me the ability to brush off Phil's sexual transgressions against many women in this movie, especially Rita ("You can fall asleep, I won't touch you...much." erm...), as "different times", can a modern audience sit comfortably with this behaviour? Or has this movie lost its place as a classic?

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    1. It's my favorite movie still and forever probably. After Phil's transformation- and he like saves that kid every day and the kid never thanks him- and he helps people for nothing in return all day every day- and he seems so happy and free despite his major life time problem- I'm like already ready to marry him in the last party scene. No one else in movies is more my dream guy than him. And in regards to the "I won't touch you much" scene- I didn't get any funny feeling from it. I DID feel like Rita was amazing to rightly call him out in their previous scene together in front of the fireplace. I wish I was as clear and articulate as her in that scene when I find myself in similar situations in real life. So glad you like it anyway, Sol!!

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    2. Nice - I can see how it's your favourite movie - it's up there for me for sure!

      Now I'm actually rethinking how problematic it is. I mean, it does seem like one of the first thing he does with his new "superpower" is use it to manipulate women, but what's he really doing? Listening to them, finding out what they like and what they're interested in and then using that information to build better rapport/chemistry...he's certainly cheating at the Game of Love but it's nothing criminal. Especially when you consider that he's doing it within the parameters of his new reality. Prior to that I guess he's guilty of a little workplace flirting but it's pretty innocuous. I don't know, like I said, it wasn't anything I found personally offensive but I do find myself paying more attention to what other people may find offensive and was just wondering if this was a movie that perhaps wasn't aging so gracefully. I hope it is - I was watching a Harold Ramis interview in the Special Features and was touched by how proud of it he was.

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    3. It's very cool of you to want to be conscientious! Groundhog Day for me is so much about the laws of karma and evolvement that no matter how bad they made him in the beginning, no matter what he even did to the women, he could never get away with it. Justice always comes one way or another. "You have to pay for everything in this world one way or another. Nothing is free except the grace of God" I think that was the quote in the title cards of True Grit (instantly my favorite quote).

      And, yeah, obviously it goes beyond our normal held beliefs in the western world that your karma ends after death. :)

      Soooo much thinking you could do about this one, you're right!

      Although I haven't had time to watch this in months, Ive been thinking a lot recently about that fireplace moment when Rita says "I could never love you bevause you never love anyone but yourself." And Phil says "I don't even like myself!". It's a simple dialogue but it's everything. I feel that way all the time- like I'm so self centered, but actually, I don't even like myself! And then, yea, Phil has to learn to LIKE...and appreciate...his life.
      That's like me every day. Trying to make that shift I believe everything depends on.

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  3. among other things, i did a re-watch of Uzumaki earlier this week. this movie is great and should be watched by everybody who likes japanese horror. it's not a a ghost story, like most of the well known japanese horror tend to be. around the time the movie came out, i also had the chance to buy the manga from which this movie is based on and it's even weirder.

    the dvd might be hard to find, but if you can get it, you won't regret it

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    1. I've got that DVD but haven't revisited it since I bought it new. Great to hear it still holds up. That movies visuals are fantastic!

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  5. I'm re-watching Eerie Indiana on Amazon Prime. I remember liking the show back when I was a kid. Dear God, I think it's been like literally 25 years since I've watched this show.

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  6. Been mostly catching up on the Oscar baits that always come out in Finland in January and February (saw Darkest Hour, Call Me by Your Name and The Post this week) but had to balance it with something decidedly different, so I also watched Valerie and Her Week of Wonders, a Czechoslovakian fantasy film from 1970. The movie's all symbolism and allegory and dream logic and non-sequiturs. It's beautiful and fascinating and I probably understood less than half of what they were trying to say with it. But it's a nice change of pace after the Oscar bait.

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    1. VALERIE is a one of the films at the top of my To-Watch list. Unfortunately, Netflix's rental service does not offer it at the moment.

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  7. There was not a lot going with movies this week. Not being able to settle down long enough to watch much, I mostly caught up with podcasts. What I did see was not very demanding.

    RIDE IN THE WHIRLWIND (1966) – A western starring Jack Nicholson, who also produced the film and co-wrote the screenplay. Directed by Monte Hellman. The focus on the mundane details and actions of life creates an unusual vibe for a western. It features FThisMovie! favorite Harry Dean Stanton in a small but not insignificant part.

    HOLLYWOOD HOTEL (1937)- A musical satire about Hollywood that is probably best known- if known at all- as the source for the song 'Hooray for Hollywood'. It is not anything special but does feature the work of Busby Berkeley, one of most creative studio directors of that era. Nobody could stage crowd scenes and dance numbers as impressively.

    I also got around to watching a couple of films made by Radley Metzger. I have enjoyed his work for many years, and his death last year prompted me to see what he did in the hardcore realm under the name of 'Henry Paris'. THE OPENING OF MISTY BEETHOVEN certainly lives up to its reputation as a clever and urbane adult film. NAKED CAME THE STRANGER is a curious mix of cinematic homages in between the sex. Overall, I was impressed with the care that Metzger put into making adult cinema.


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  8. I watched another installment of the 'Up' series. 35 Up. I loved it and it's really hard to decide if I want to watch 42 now or wait seven years.

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    1. I wrote a column on this amazing series. You can find it here: http://www.fthismovie.net/2016/06/cinema-bestius-up-series.html#more

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    2. The Pope of Film wrote a column on this amazing series: http://www.fthismovie.net/2016/06/cinema-bestius-up-series.html#more

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    3. oh yeah, i know what that is. thanks JB

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  9. DILLINGER (1973)- One of a stream of 1930s era crime films to come out in the wake of Bonnie and Clyde. At moments Dillinger seems to be in dialogue with the previous film. The trademarks of John Milius are all over this one: the dialogue, the mythologizing, and the machismo. It all feels so early 1970s, too. With a terrific cast, there is something to appreciate about it even during the slow parts. Yet another appearance of Harry D. Stanton in my viewing this week.

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  10. Finished reading Easy Riders, Raging Bulls earlier this week so have been plowing through some New Hollywood classics:

    EASY RIDER: Although it is about the end of an era, it still feels as fresh and incendiary as I'm sure it was in 1969. Jack Nicholson's funny, tragic George Hanson is the standout, not to mention the killer soundtrack and portrayal of the American South.

    THE LAST DETAIL: One thing I love about movies from this era is that they refuse cheap sentimentality. The gravity of ending is overt only because of how strong the characters are. One of the best buddy movies of all time.

    Melvin and Howard: I think Paul Le Mat might be my favorite actor. It's a shame he was never able to escape the cultural monster that is AMERICAN GRAFFITI. He's so goddamn natural in this movie, along with Mary Steenburgen, and Jonathan Demme is so in tune with working class America. A classic.

    I also watched a couple of older movies as well.

    WINCHESTER '73: My introduction to Anthony Mann. Jimmy Stewart is great, but it was even better to see guys such as John McEntire, Jay C. Flippen, Rock Hudson (regrettably playing a Native American) and Tony Curtis fill out the supporting cast. Interesting plot structure and exciting climax.

    SWEET SMELL OF SUCCESS: Absolutely deflating ending, accented by stark B&W photography and realistic New York locations. Tony Curtis and Elmer Bernstein are great.

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    1. Although I did not experience the 1970s, the filmmaking of that decade has become the cinematic output I enjoy the most now. What I appreciate about that period is that the stories did not always wrap up with tidy conclusions about everything turning out for the best. Life is fundamentally a messy experience.

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    2. i have to admit the 70s might be my favorite decade in movies

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  11. Finished Boyka: Undisputed - I'd watched a third of it a month ago, then put it aside because I wanted to stretch it out; anybody else do that with movies they are really digging? I get like a kid who's had too much sugar and gets SO EXCITED about something that they make me go lie down for a while.

    I had a grin on my face the whole time. I'll watch anything from MyBoyfriendScottAdkins, but truly some are painful (i'm looking at you, Close Range). I'm hoping he's getting more traction in some better movies; Accident Man looks good, and I'm drooling over Triple Threat, even tho they might not let him kick anything since he looks to be a soldier, which is just - I can only cover my eyes and sigh.

    But Boyka feels like a role he gets to lean into and be crazy, his eyes all lit up (is he wearing mascara? whatever, I love it), and his wild bloodied rage face, and the fights just get bonkers at the end. Happy sigh.

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  12. Is anyone else excited for the new Cloverfield movie coming to Netflix tonight after the Superbowl?

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    1. heck yeah, though i have to wait until tomorrow night to watch it

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  13. I had such a great time watching Den of Thieves today. It's so damn entertaining. I loved Gerard Butler's crazy performance as the biggest piece of garbage.

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  14. oh yeah, i almost forgot, and i have nowhere else to put it.

    they're re-releasing the Friday The 13th blu-ray box set tomorrow. it's 28$. i want it only to get Jason X

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    1. Great price, thanks for the heads up!

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    2. ah damnit, and Jason X is the 10th one

      motherf***ers!!!!!!!!

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    3. and they have the balls to call it the ultimate collection

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  15. I know it's not the weekend anymore, but I just watched Batman: Gotham by Gaslight and it is fan-flipping-tastic. I typed the movie's title into the search bar, hoping that you guys had spoken about it, and was met with "No posts matching the query".

    Watch this superb animated film, eff-heads; I implore you. It's my favourite movie so far of 2018. The Sherlock Holmes 'Dancing Men' reference would have made me love it even if I were not already falling.

    Absolutely awesome.

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