I watched a couple of documentaries on Prime related to horror. The first one is BIRTH OF THE LIVING DEAD from 2013. George Romero’s reminiscing on the creation of the miracle that is Night of the Living Dead is completely delightful. Perhaps the most striking aspect of his interview is the smile on his face, even when less than pleasant subjects come up. I was also fascinated by the reactions to NIGHT when it was first released. The other film, VAMPIRA AND ME, from 2012, does it best to recount the life of Maila Nurmi and her famous creation, Vampira, the first television horror host. The best sections of the film are undoubtedly Nurmi’s interview from the 1990s. The sequences that attempt to tell the story of her life after Vampira’s brief heyday do not always work, however. Some of the information felt speculative, for Maila Nurmi changed greatly over the decades and rarely allowed people to get close to her. For anyone who is not a fan of Vampira or without an interest in horror hosts, this might be a slog to get through.
I'm sure everyone already knows about it, but the Netflix doc Abducted in Plain Sight is the kind of story that I'd dismiss as stupid and unbelievable if it were fiction. But it's not.
Also, The Judge (2014) is pretty bad and Tully isn't the best when it's been spoiled for you in advance.
At the moment, I'm about 50-50 whether I should bother and go see Ralph Breaks the Internet tonight or not.
Not weekend related, but I went and saw Serenity again on Wednesday before it left theaters. 2nd time proved it wasnt a fluke for me, love that movie! I saw a sneak-preview of Battle Angel Alita on Thursday that had a live Q&A with Robert Rodriguez afterward where he talked about James "Jim" Cameron the entire time. The crowd started laughing at how many times he said "Jim" or would return to talking about "Jim" when seemingly he would move on. (this was a simulcast event at Alamo Draft House theaters).
Plus there is always people saying: "Working with Bob was such a delight" and its about Robert DeNiro, and its Rene Russo talking about the Rocky & Bullwinkle movie or something.
The "Jim" thing with Robert Rodriguez got so ridiculous because he said it SO MANY times, he talked about Avatar for most of the Q&A, and how he saw Avatar animatics in like 1995, etc.
Oh, and if your are interested in Battle Angel Alita you can expect to get what you would want out of it. But if you arent excited, the reasons you probably arent excited are right there too.
Last night I watched the 2006 creature feature ABOMINABLE. There was much I appreciated about the film, particularly concerning the creation of the yeti/Sasquatch, but I was not completely drawn into the film. Despite it daft moments, I was entertained.
Watched The Man Who Killed Hitler and Then The Bigfoot. Not nearly as over the top or crazy as the title might make it seem. A bit more of a slow burn about getting old and the decisions regrets in life. Great Sam Elliott performance as always. That guy brings such gravitas to whatever he is working on.
It definitely is.
ReplyDeleteI watched a couple of documentaries on Prime related to horror. The first one is BIRTH OF THE LIVING DEAD from 2013. George Romero’s reminiscing on the creation of the miracle that is Night of the Living Dead is completely delightful. Perhaps the most striking aspect of his interview is the smile on his face, even when less than pleasant subjects come up. I was also fascinated by the reactions to NIGHT when it was first released. The other film, VAMPIRA AND ME, from 2012, does it best to recount the life of Maila Nurmi and her famous creation, Vampira, the first television horror host. The best sections of the film are undoubtedly Nurmi’s interview from the 1990s. The sequences that attempt to tell the story of her life after Vampira’s brief heyday do not always work, however. Some of the information felt speculative, for Maila Nurmi changed greatly over the decades and rarely allowed people to get close to her. For anyone who is not a fan of Vampira or without an interest in horror hosts, this might be a slog to get through.
I'm sure everyone already knows about it, but the Netflix doc Abducted in Plain Sight is the kind of story that I'd dismiss as stupid and unbelievable if it were fiction. But it's not.
ReplyDeleteAlso, The Judge (2014) is pretty bad and Tully isn't the best when it's been spoiled for you in advance.
At the moment, I'm about 50-50 whether I should bother and go see Ralph Breaks the Internet tonight or not.
We had Moneyball for baseball and Draft Day for football, now we have High Flying Bird for baseketball.
ReplyDeleteI liked it a lot. Soderberg knows how to make a good movie and keep us entertained.
Not weekend related, but I went and saw Serenity again on Wednesday before it left theaters. 2nd time proved it wasnt a fluke for me, love that movie! I saw a sneak-preview of Battle Angel Alita on Thursday that had a live Q&A with Robert Rodriguez afterward where he talked about James "Jim" Cameron the entire time. The crowd started laughing at how many times he said "Jim" or would return to talking about "Jim" when seemingly he would move on. (this was a simulcast event at Alamo Draft House theaters).
ReplyDeleteI listened to some podcast one time where they constantly referred to him as "Jim" Cameron. It was weird.
DeleteReminds me of Patrick's thoughts on people saying "Chris" Nolan.
Plus there is always people saying: "Working with Bob was such a delight" and its about Robert DeNiro, and its Rene Russo talking about the Rocky & Bullwinkle movie or something.
DeleteThe "Jim" thing with Robert Rodriguez got so ridiculous because he said it SO MANY times, he talked about Avatar for most of the Q&A, and how he saw Avatar animatics in like 1995, etc.
Oh, and if your are interested in Battle Angel Alita you can expect to get what you would want out of it. But if you arent excited, the reasons you probably arent excited are right there too.
ReplyDeleteFinally saw Bumblebee. Liked the robot stuff, hated the rest. But it's clear people liked the movie because it's not Bayformer
ReplyDeleteLast night I watched the 2006 creature feature ABOMINABLE. There was much I appreciated about the film, particularly concerning the creation of the yeti/Sasquatch, but I was not completely drawn into the film. Despite it daft moments, I was entertained.
ReplyDeleteWatched The Man Who Killed Hitler and Then The Bigfoot. Not nearly as over the top or crazy as the title might make it seem. A bit more of a slow burn about getting old and the decisions regrets in life. Great Sam Elliott performance as always. That guy brings such gravitas to whatever he is working on.
ReplyDelete