Saturday, April 17, 2021

Weekend Open Thread

14 comments:

  1. What movie is that picture from?

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    1. Love Sneakers! One of my go-to comfort movies.

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    2. I actually watched it for the first time a few weeks ago, but i brain farted on that photo. Very good movie

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  2. A good weekend to all! Stay safe out there!

    Palm Springs, which was finally released here a while ago, really got to me. What started out as a hilarious comedy slowly developed into something a lot deeper (while still remaining funny). Loved the movie, and reading Rob's (spoilery) interpretation of it enriched the movie even more.

    Turist Ömer Uzay Yolu'nda (aka Ömer the Tourist in Star Trek) from 1973 brings a popular Turkish comedy character, Ömer the Tourist, into the starship Enterprise, and hilarity ensues. At least I assume it does, because there's no English subtitles available. Still, the plot was quite easy to follow, because it's pretty much the plot of the ST episode The Man Trap, with a few added elements lifted whole cloth from other episodes. Only Ömer's comedy routines remain a mystery to me, but you can infer enough from his body language. It's on YouTube if anyone wants to check it out.

    Star Trek: Enterprise is comfort food for me, and I've been rewatching it (again). On the show, the crew occasionally have a movie night, and one of their selections looked fun, so I googled its name, then found it was streaming on Prime. The Court Jester (1955) is a really fun musical comedy starring Danny Kaye, who I wasn't really familiar before, but might have to check some of his other starring vehicles now. It was also bizarre seeing Angela "Murder She Wrote" Lansbury as a young woman.

    Land of the Free is an entirely forgettable action thriller with a silly plot whose only highlights are William Shatner as a villainous congressional candidate, a few okay stunts, and a climactic final confrontation between action star Jeff Speakman and Shatner, almost three decades his elder. And Sexy Beast is hilarious and has amazing performances from Ray Winstone and Ben Kingsley.

    So all in all, not a bad movie week.

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    1. "Land of the Free" was a great find for me a while back during a Junesploitation! month. It's PM Entertainment to its core, plus a "Die Hard" clone (that stunt with the rope and the exploding roof!) during spots. But yeah, the build-up to the mano-a-mano between Capt. Kirk and The Perfect Weapon was worth sitting through the entertaining crap of the previous 75 minutes. :-D

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  3. For the first time since March 2020, I set foot in a movie theater. There were a couple of retro events at the local theater, a screening of SHIVERS with Lynn Lowry in attendance and a screening of TREMORS with a member of the special effects crew, Nick Benson, in attendance. Both nights were a lot of fun. I got the chance to talk with both of them. Sadly, neither event was well attended, particularly Tremors. The DCP version of that looked great. Shivers and an unexpected second feature with SOCIETY were all on disc. Those nights made up for some of the disappointment of work preventing me from going to the Mahoning Drive-In. (I am getting up too early to last the night.)

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    1. Welcome back to the world of theaters. And yes, sparse attendance to anything other than blockbusters ("Godzilla vs. Kong," "Tom & Jerry," etc.) is the norm in these early days of post-pandemic theatrical screenings. :-( Gotta crawl before walking, and then walk before running.

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  4. Panic Fest was a blast! Out of the 21 full feature films I watched, here are my favorites to keep an eye out for: Caveat, The Last Matinee, Vicious Fun, Benny Loves You, The Blazing World and The Djinn.

    Jakob's Wife - Barbara Crampton still needs to be recognized as a great actor, not just a great genre film actor.

    Nobody - Lots of fun. Exactly what I anticipated.

    The Hackers (1988) (not to be confused with "Hackers") - revisited this micro budget slasher gem that still has no modern physical release aside from a limited initial run on VHS (rare tape) and a more recent DVD rip direct from Camelot Studios though their website looks shady or defunct so I wouldn't mess with that. Has recently made it's way to Amazon VOD. Here's the link https://www.amazon.com/Hackers-Howard-Coburn/dp/B08WCNW99D/ref=sr_1_3?dchild=1&keywords=the+hackers&qid=1618715058&sr=8-3







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  5. Visiting my retired folks in Arizona, first time since the Pandemic put the brakes on a pre-planned visit a year prior. They're not movie watchers, but we've snuck a few movie under our belt.

    Zack Snyder's 300 (2006, Blu-ray) was a big hit with my father, who is a hardcore fan of Greek mythology. A little too bloody and violent for his tastes, but he actually expressed regret for ignoring the many times he noticed it was being shown on cable TV.

    Jason Reitman's TULLY (2018, Blu-ray) wasn't that well liked by my step-mother, but dad dug it. They were thrown off by "the twist" (thank God they didn't see it coming), but both agree Charlize Theron is one hell of an actress. They were both weirded out my Mackenzie Davis' Tully, though. :-P

    Dad is a big fan of Tommy Lee Jones ("Double Jeopardy" and "No Country For Old Men" are his favorites), so after introducing him to "Under Siege" for the first time a few weeks back it was time for Andrew Davis' THE FUGITIVE (1993, HD-DVD). Though old school and with a final act that gets a little too convoluted, Harrison Ford's acting and the T.L. Jones show in full swing kept all three of us entertained. Terrific flick that even my father noted made Chicago look good. :-P

    I decided to try a movie none of us had seen, and since dad enjoyed "Speed" for the first time a while back we tried 2006's THE LAKE HOUSE (free on YouTube with easily-skippable ads). While we had fun exchanging ideas of what was happening with that mailbox, the premise and distance between the central couple made us feel the movie was trying too hard. "It's fine," but nobody here will rush out to rewatch "The Lake House" any time soon.

    Unfortunately I pushed my luck with Mick Garris' L.A. STORY (1991, DVD). After about an hour dad and stepmom got off and said they've had enough and couldn't take it anymore. Had to watch the final 35 minutes (which are the best part of the movie, especially the use of Enya songs in the story) alone. For my money this is Steve Martin's second best work as a performer and writer (after 1992's "Leap of Faith"... he sure was on a roll in the early 90's), and the only role I can watch Sarah Jessica Parker play without hating on her.

    Alas, my folks have now retreated to not wanting to watch movies with me anymore. :'( So last Thursday I was dropped at an AMC complex to watch Neil Burger's VOYAGERS and Ben Wheatley's IN THE EARTH (both 2021). Talk about an unexpectedly excellent double feature, and not just because both have a main bad guy named "Zac" (Fionn Whitehead) or "Zach" (Reece Shearsmith) and because I was alone at each screening. "Voyagers" is serious science fiction, like "Gattaca" meets "Lord of the Flies" with asexual young people. It gets preachy and predictable toward the end, but Tye Sheridan and Lily-Rose Depp make an engaging lead couple despite playing emotionless human clones.

    "In the Earth" is classic Ben Wheatley, right down to artsy closing credits and an editing style (also done by Ben) that almost challenges viewers to look away from the screen. Lots of weird stuff, and performances by unknown actors that'll stay with you for a long time. "In the Earth" sure earns the pre-title warning for potential epilepsy seizures for its overreliance on flashing lights that I wouldn't trade for any other mise-en-scene. There are even nods to COVID pandemic distancing measures even though the low-budget production caters to so much more than the obvious tropes of people trapped in the woods. "Voyagers" is for the mainstream and it's fine, but "In the Earth" appeals to the hardcore horror fan willing to take a leap on the wild side of Ben Wheatley's mind trips. Both are worth seeing.

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    1. Oh. crap! Mashke's review of "Willy's Wonderland" below reminded me of two more movies I watched with my folks. First is a $20 Amazon premium rental for THE FATHER (2021). Since they're retired senior citizens that often joke about being institutionalized when they become too old to care for themselves I thought this masterclass in acting (from Anthony Hopkins and the two Olivias, Colman and Williams) would be right up my alley. Shame only my father saw "The Father" from start to finish and loved it since stepmom (a very nice lady) couldn't take the revolving narrative and the many references to the "chicken dinner." Hell, she got off and left JUST as Hopkins was about to open the door to you-know-where that would have revealed what the mise-en-scene was all about. Shoot, soooo close! :'(

      The other was one of stepmom's favorite movies, Martin Ritt's MURPHY'S ROMANCE (1985, TCM). A May-December romance gradually builds in the background between small town pharmacist Murphy Jones (James Garner) and divorced single mother Emma (Sally Field, re-teaming with her "Norma Rae" director) while the latter tries to make a living caring for horses in a ranch farm. The return of Emma's ex-husband (Brian Kerwin) complicates things between Murphy, Emma and her kid (a pre-"Lucas" and pre-"Lost Boys'" Corey Haim), which just provides more chances for Garner to steal the movie with his charm and old-school star power. It takes almost the entire two hours, but when Murphy finally shows his true feelings to Emma Garner pulls it off like a boss! :-D The scene where the main cast makes fun of "Friday the 13th: Part 3" (in a 2D theatrical screening?!?!) is a clear sign "Murphy's Romance" is a movie meant for grown-ups who dislike typical Hollywood movies. Ironically this is both an old-school typical romance flick (older gentleman falls for much-younger gal) and a gentile story for adults that has fallen out of flavor. Highly recommended.

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  6. Willy's Wonderland: For those of you who were interested in the insane looking Nic Cage Vs A Faux Chuck E Cheese restaurant after viewing the trailer...here's the spoiler free skinny....

    How to View: It dropped over a month ago on VOD but i balked at the $20 rental price. I get it and understand the landscape but it was too much for a blind rental. That being said, the price has dropped for online rental...i think its around 5 bucks...and if you're an old timer like me who clings to rental-store-mentality and visits redbox regularly..good news, the dvd version is avail at redbox.

    Movie: Its a cheezy funny goofy midnight flick. The concept and execution would probably be better served in a shorter format...maybe a 45m Creepshow episode....but one thing elevates it above that for me and its numerous BANANAS choices they made with the Nic Cage character. Honestly to discuss any of them would diminish from viewing. I think they did some really creative stuff in this department, moreso in that the movie makes no attempt to explain or rationalize the choices. This one's a late nite hoot. Enjoy!

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  7. Shudder Viewers: THE RETURN OF JOE BOBS LAST DRIVE IN! S3! thats all you need to know

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