Saturday, July 23, 2022

Weekend Open Thread

9 comments:

  1. Am l the only one whose repeated attempts to post comments are getting deleted by the system? πŸ₯ΊπŸ˜­

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    1. Sorry to hear about your problems with the software continuing, J.M. A couple weeks ago I had a lot of issues posting. On that Sunday all of my failed posts suddenly appeared. The software is behaving in some strange ways.

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    2. Casual, your post above just erased my post with reviews. πŸ₯ΊπŸ˜­ Not your fault, just proof how effed up the comments software has been for a while. 😐☹️

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  2. Hey everyone! I've been catching up on some new films this week.

    First up was NOPE. Like most everyone, I'm a big fan of Jordan Peele. It seems to be a bit decisive lately amd I'm here to say: It's good! (Sorry Rob) Peele has gotten himself into the Shamaylan conundrum. Audiences have come to expect big ideas and cutting social commentary from his films. While I think there are some big ideas running throughout the film, the social commentary here is much smaller than race relations in Get Out and social capital in Us. Nope appears to be about Hollywood exploitation and non-consentual commodification, among other things. But most of all, it's kind of just a big summer blockbuster. You could completely miss all the subtext (you'd still be horribly confused by the monkey scenes.)

    Next up was The Gray Man. I'll be honest, I only watched this because of Gosling. He almost always picks projects that i enjoy. And oh boy, this wasnt one of them. I do not care for the Russo's direction here, it's kinetic and distracting. Chris Evans is fun, but not enough to keep me engaged.

    Last up was Texas Chainsaw Massacre. Probably the worst movie of the year. Hard pass.

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  3. It was another week of seeing films from Turner Classic Movies. I have found a lot that interests me on the channel this month. My intention to get some of things in my collection has not worked out at all.

    PERFORMANCE (1970, dirs. Nicholas Roeg and Donald Cammell) – What begins as a gritty gangster film evolves into an arthouse identity swap tale involving a reclusive rock star played by Mick Jagger. Does the mash-up of gangster film and psychedelia work? As someone fascinated by the era the film comes out of, I was enjoying the cinematic journey. The details of the plot have nothing to do with the experience of the film. The visuals get very trippy, and the unbridled hedonism of the characters is both repellent and attractive.

    MASTER OF THE WORLD (1961) – I knew nothing going into this film besides Vincent Price and Charles Bronson starred in it. When the film was over, I could understand why it is obscure. Based on a couple of Jules Verne stories and set in the late 1800s, MASTER is about a man (Price) trying to bring peace to the world by persuading countries to give up their weapons and military. His tool for achieving this is an airship armed with bombs and missiles. The script is simultaneously too simplistic and too ambitious. AIP did not work its magic here.

    WHERE THE SIDEWALK ENDS (1950, dir. Otto Preminger) – Dana Andrews is a New York cop prone to violence in this film noir drama about the murder of a man at an illegal craps game. Andrews is very intense as a man at war with himself as he tries to keep control of himself as the investigation proceeds. Though the film does loose steam near the conclusion, there are plenty of classic noir elements to enjoy. The crisp dialogue keeps the film moving along.

    JUBILEE (1978, dir. Derek Jarman) – 1977 was the year the U.K. celebrated the Silver Jubilee of Elizabeth II’s reign. It was also the height of the punk movement, and the country was experiencing a lot of economic difficulties. Jarman channels all of these trends and events into a plotless, arty screed about the state of the country. You get Shakespearean-type scenes, punk music and fashions, plenty of nudity, music business satire, and anti-establishment speeches. I was completely in the right state of mind (rebellious anger) for Jubilee, but it can easily seem like a pretentious cinematic exercise.

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  4. This week I received my Severin order from last month's sale. I now have the folk horror box set to add to my arsenal for Scary Movie Month. I got a few other titles (Siege, Santa Sangre) with it. I also had a recent order from Kino's sale, adding another short pile to my collection. Figuring out how I am going to watch everything I have is getting increasingly complicated as the number of discs increases.

    Next week I am doing some pet sitting at a house where several streaming services are available. I am thinking about watching some more modern things for once. Last Night in Soho on HBO Max and RRR on Netflix interest me. Any other suggestions?

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  5. Yo F This Familia! Hope ya all are dandy!

    lots of random viewage this week but ill stick with something that just dropped:

    This is GWAR (2022, Shudder)

    A documentary about the history behind the band GWAR. Full disclosure...im not particularly a fan of their music and have wanted to see them live forever but for some reason havent yet. Totally enjoyed the doc as it relies heavily on footage filmed throughout their creation and rise as well as interviews with most primary living members. Most of all its filled with snippets that give the viewer a smidge of a feel of what the live shows are like...BATSH@TCRAZYPANTS. I dug it and it makes me wanna see them live even more.

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    1. I am theoretically able to see GWAR at the Wacken Open Air this very week. Maybe I'll check them out. :D

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