30 Days of Night (2007): cool comic, cool movie, cool Josh Hartnett. That overhead shot during the vampire attack is very cool.
30 Days of Night - Dark Days (2010): it's not good, but as a complement to the first movie, why not. The last shot is a bit stupid though.
Too Funny to Fail - The Life & Death of the Dana Carvey Show (2017): I hope JB saw this, feels like something he'd like. Look, this show was doomed to fail from the start, and not because of the Clinton sketch. It was just too out there for 'the normies', especially being shown after Home Improvement.
Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade (1989): I wanted to see the scene when Indiana Jones meet Adolf. Also, I started listening to the Blank Check podcast on Indiana Jones Raiders of the Lost Ark, so I skipped ahead a bit.
Also got my copy of the super-duper-cool-extra-collector-overprices-special boxset of Super Mario Bros. (1993) (i.e. the 1UP Edition). Does this movie deserve such a box? Of course not. But we live in a time where all Blu-ray releases are collector's edition, and sometimes super-duper-collector's-edition, so might as well go all the way (see the boxset for Neverending Story). The box contains actual books (yes plural, 2 books and a magazine reproduction to be exact). This is a heavy box.
Well thanks to Kunider, I've been upgrading more of my blurays to 4k and I haven't been disappointed.
Zero Dark Thirty 4k- I can finally see most of the ending sequence. I have an older tv which doesn't support Dolby Vision which is a bummer but the sequence still looked better than the bluray. Also, I really love everything about this movie.
Annihilation 4k- Kunider, you weren't kidding. This looks incredible. The otherworldly colors of the "shimmer" are hypnotizing. This is easily my favorite Alex Garland movie. I really want more masterfully done cosmic horror.
American Psycho 4k- This looks good, nothing to blow me away though However, with the new Atmos mix, Patrick Bateman's inner monologue plays over the height speakers which I think is a cool choice.
Don't Look Up (2021 Netflix) - First time watching this since it came out. I remember liking it when it came out and this time around it deeply affected me for its realistic depiction of our current reality. I don't really understand much of the criticism it received when it came out. It works as a satire and it works as a horror movie.
Zero Dark Thirty was a fantastic movie. I love Katherine Bigelow. Detroit, which wasn't very good, seems to have killed it. And only 3 movies away from best picture best director. Please, someone, give her money to make more movies.
LIVE...FROM NEW YORK.......ITS 50 YEARS OF SNL.....
Ladies and Gentleman..50 years of SNL Music (2025 Peacock +)
Huge thanks to Kunider on the heads up for this one. Honestly i might have skipped it as i was thinking itd just be music clips. Turns out i loved it..maybe moreso that the 4 part doc also recently released. Its such an incredible look at music and comedy music and more. Amazing.
Bram Stokers Dracula (1992 4k)
A Coppola blind spot for me. When it ranked high up on a recent Screen Draft podcast i purchased it. Unfortunately i dont really connect with the movie. I like the pieces: visuals, atmosphere, and naturally Gary Oldman (so good), but it doesnt fit together cohesively for me and im not really engaged with it. I will absolutely revisit and maybe find it better the 2nd time around.
Questlove did a damn good job on that music documentary. I was so glad that it doesn't skip over throwing Sinead O'Connor under the bus, though (and I know it's an SNL production) they could have dug into that a bit more.
I watched that Dracula recently and really loved it. It was a nice surprise. I hope you like it more next time if you ever rewatch. Oldman is really giving it all, which is expected.
So i rewatched a bunch of the SNL Ladies .n. Gentleman documentary. It transcends being a documentary on SNL music and becomes honestly one of the greatest documentaries about the power of music period. Its mind boggling how much they cover in 2 hrs. HIGHEST recommendation for those who love music.
The Fall (2006) is just as lush and weird and interesting as people have said. Hooray for self-indulgence! Also, it's kind of surprisingly funny at times.
Paddington in Peru (2024): Gotta admit, I didn't care for it. It's as sweet as the other 2, everybody's good, but it just didn't work for me. Maybe it's been too long since the last one.
I haven't seen it, but am looking forward to it (which happens less and less it seems). I agree that it has felt like a long time since the last one. Oh my, I just looked and it HAS been a long time. I wished it was made again by Paul King. But, and I can't say this enough, I fucking love boat going into the jungle movies. I love them. So I'm tentatively excited for this. I even loved Jungle Cruise.
BETTER OFF DEAD (1985) More a series of skits than a feature, really. But I must admit it got some big laughs out of me.
COMPANION (2025) Why do relationships always gotta get so complicated?
GREMLINS 2: THE NEW BATCH (1990) I watched this instead of watching the Super Bowl.
CAPTAIN AMERICA: BRAVE NEW WORLD (2025) Harrison Ford smash!
ZEIRAM (1991) Super-fun Terminator ripoff from Japan. A great example of filmmakers doing a lot with a tiny budget. The two comic relief guys take over the whole movie at times, but it's still all good.
Captain America is a very middle of the road movie, easily forgettable. I enjoyed it, but i will forget it pretty quick i'm sure. Though i'm a hulk fan, so the red-hulk fight at the end was definitely the highlight for me
Mac: not sure if its on your radar, but if you enjoyed Better Off Dead, its worth checking out One Crazy Summer. Its definitely the lesser of the two but its the same director and return of Cusack. (editors note1: i adore the director Savage Steve Hollands quirkiness. regrettably he only directed a few features and has gone on to a successful TV directing career. ) (editors note2: theres a fair amount of stories out there that Cusack HATED Better Off Dead when it was released. I think the gist is that he did not know it would be that Savage Steve qurikiness and thought it would hurt his career. He was contractually obligated for One Crazy Summer but i believe he was difficult on the set. Always found that surprising as Better Off Dead is an absolute stone cold classic for so many that were the right age when it released).
@Paul Calvert, I followed your recommendation from last week and watched Gods of Egypt. I agree with you, the movie is delightfully gonzo. None of the actors are particularly good, but i'm not sure of it's the script fault or theirs. Plus, we get a surprise Chadwick. Perfect double bill with The Rock's Hercules
I'm glad you enjoyed it. It's very heavy with the cgi, but certainly is going for a visual tone, which I think it achieves. Better or at least on par with most of the DC or Marvel nonsense we get. Shame that it seems to have ended Alex Proyas's career. I liked his work.
I watched Threads (1984). Very...I don't have an adjective. It was a bit of a difficult watch because how horrifying everything was. It's a British for TV movie about the day or 2 preceding a nuclear attack, and for a few years afterwards. I was shaken from watching this. It's very sad.
I watched a bunch of boat movies. The Cruel Sea (1953, dir. Charles Frend) was SO good. It’s very British. It follows a Captain and his 1st throughout the war. They’re accompanying convoys across the Atlantic. One of the best movies I’ve seen in a while. I liked how it could be a counterpoint to Das Boot.
Battleship (2012) is as great fun movie. USS Indianapolis: Men of Courage (2016) I actually liked a lot, it's such a great story that I could ignore Nicolas Cage acting like he's completely checked out. I liked how it was written to celebrate a lot of the "lower decks" stuff. Annapolis (2006). wtf. There are no boats
Annapolis is a boxing movie. But the actual boxing is all quick cutting and shaky cam stuff. Also, James Franco is a boxer? wtf. I wanted to see boats braving the North Atlantic and instead I have Franco pretending to be bad ass. I was so disappointed. I want boats, the ocean, boats and ocean crashing into one another!
If you like Battleship, you might enjoy the TNT show The Last Ship, which is sort of like a cross between that and The West Wing, with legitimately great writing, acting, and production values (for a two-fisted action show, that is). The story is outlandish, and wildly implausible in a thousand ways, but there's nothing completely outside the bounds of reality like aliens or zombies or what-not. I recommend the first three seasons unreservedly (each season tells a mostly complete story), with a collective A- grade; the fourth and fifth seasons (both B-) are still pretty good, but start to become a bit grim, so I'd recommend them for completists only.
Podcast reviews: Cult Movies Podcast. Glad you're back! Another podcast that I really loved, World War II Movie Night, announced that he is ending. It was a good one. With Friendly Fire and WW2 Movie Night done, all I have left is Danger Close (for war movie podcasts), which only puts out an episode every 2-3 months. I keep thinking they're ended, but then they put out another episode.
There's a lot of time that goes into making these podcasts. I appreciate all the time you've spent Patrick. Fthismovie has been a big fixture in my life and I can't thank you enough.
Between work and life the past two weeks, I have not had much energy for movies. I did at least push myself to watch one this weekend, but I chose something not at all demanding. Piranhaconda (2012) is one of those CGI-heavy creature features churned out by Roger Corman for cable channels like SyFy. As low-quality as everything is in the film, I cannot say that I disliked it. Piranhaconda possesses enough B-movie charm to get me to the conclusion. There is a lot of plot, the Hawaiian locations are quite scenic, and veteran director Jim Wynorski keeps the film moving along at a quick pace. The dumb factor did wear me down a little by the conclusion, though, and the lack of nudity is very striking to someone (like me) accustomed to Roger Corman's productions from the 1970s and '80s.
When Piranhaconda was over, I pondered whether these 2010s-era B-movies are any worse than the low-budget schlock Corman and others made in the 1950s. Time has granted a certain charm to the flaws of those 1950s productions. Maybe that will happen with Piranhaconda and its ilk.
OOOOOO thanks A Casual. I pretty much dismissed every single "this combined with this" movie shortly after the first few. (i wonder what the first one was? Sharktapus?). That being said, my kid is really getting into horror and monster flicks and said movies have a certain cheezeball appeal. I seem to recall that we actually laughed a bunch and kinda enjoyed Lavalantula. Wasnt sure i would watch more but this sounds fun. will check it out.
Finally watched UNSTOPPABLE (2010). Loved it. Loved how the movie doesn't take itself seriously at all and just busies itself checking all the boxes. Competent! I had some goofy idea that maybe if you have a runaway train and you can't really divert it, you could put stuff on the track to slow it down somehow? Haha. I don't know.
Then TAKEN (2008) came on and so I watched my first Liam Neeson action movie. It was OK. Also competent. I like this kind of action movie in the background while I'm working because the fight scenes are long and I can just tune out until they show who wins a fight, who's alive/dead, and you miss no plot. But I like Denzel Washington disaster movies best. And any Denzel Washington movies. He my guy.
Woot! i, too loved Unstoppable. Saw it for the first time last year as i was catching up with some Tony Scott/Denzel flicks. Super entertaining and well made and fun characters within.
30 Days of Night (2007): cool comic, cool movie, cool Josh Hartnett. That overhead shot during the vampire attack is very cool.
ReplyDelete30 Days of Night - Dark Days (2010): it's not good, but as a complement to the first movie, why not. The last shot is a bit stupid though.
Too Funny to Fail - The Life & Death of the Dana Carvey Show (2017): I hope JB saw this, feels like something he'd like. Look, this show was doomed to fail from the start, and not because of the Clinton sketch. It was just too out there for 'the normies', especially being shown after Home Improvement.
Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade (1989): I wanted to see the scene when Indiana Jones meet Adolf. Also, I started listening to the Blank Check podcast on Indiana Jones Raiders of the Lost Ark, so I skipped ahead a bit.
Also got my copy of the super-duper-cool-extra-collector-overprices-special boxset of Super Mario Bros. (1993) (i.e. the 1UP Edition). Does this movie deserve such a box? Of course not. But we live in a time where all Blu-ray releases are collector's edition, and sometimes super-duper-collector's-edition, so might as well go all the way (see the boxset for Neverending Story). The box contains actual books (yes plural, 2 books and a magazine reproduction to be exact). This is a heavy box.
I'm glad that Blank Check is covering the early Spielberg. There are a few movies that I've been meaning to see.
DeleteI have seen Too Funny To Fail. It’s terrific. “Leftover Beatles Memories” is one of my favorite sketches of all time.
DeleteWell thanks to Kunider, I've been upgrading more of my blurays to 4k and I haven't been disappointed.
ReplyDeleteZero Dark Thirty 4k- I can finally see most of the ending sequence. I have an older tv which doesn't support Dolby Vision which is a bummer but the sequence still looked better than the bluray. Also, I really love everything about this movie.
Annihilation 4k- Kunider, you weren't kidding. This looks incredible. The otherworldly colors of the "shimmer" are hypnotizing. This is easily my favorite Alex Garland movie. I really want more masterfully done cosmic horror.
American Psycho 4k- This looks good, nothing to blow me away though However, with the new Atmos mix, Patrick Bateman's inner monologue plays over the height speakers which I think is a cool choice.
Don't Look Up (2021 Netflix) - First time watching this since it came out. I remember liking it when it came out and this time around it deeply affected me for its realistic depiction of our current reality. I don't really understand much of the criticism it received when it came out. It works as a satire and it works as a horror movie.
ZDT is not DV anyway, only HDR10, so you're fine. I'd be curious to have a new release with a new transfer, especially for that sequence
DeleteZero Dark Thirty was a fantastic movie. I love Katherine Bigelow. Detroit, which wasn't very good, seems to have killed it. And only 3 movies away from best picture best director. Please, someone, give her money to make more movies.
DeleteLIVE...FROM NEW YORK.......ITS 50 YEARS OF SNL.....
ReplyDeleteLadies and Gentleman..50 years of SNL Music (2025 Peacock +)
Huge thanks to Kunider on the heads up for this one. Honestly i might have skipped it as i was thinking itd just be music clips. Turns out i loved it..maybe moreso that the 4 part doc also recently released. Its such an incredible look at music and comedy music and more. Amazing.
Bram Stokers Dracula (1992 4k)
A Coppola blind spot for me. When it ranked high up on a recent Screen Draft podcast i purchased it. Unfortunately i dont really connect with the movie. I like the pieces: visuals, atmosphere, and naturally Gary Oldman (so good), but it doesnt fit together cohesively for me and im not really engaged with it. I will absolutely revisit and maybe find it better the 2nd time around.
I'd love to see all the special shows and events they've been doing for the 50th anniversary
DeleteQuestlove did a damn good job on that music documentary. I was so glad that it doesn't skip over throwing Sinead O'Connor under the bus, though (and I know it's an SNL production) they could have dug into that a bit more.
DeleteI watched that Dracula recently and really loved it. It was a nice surprise. I hope you like it more next time if you ever rewatch. Oldman is really giving it all, which is expected.
DeleteSo i rewatched a bunch of the SNL Ladies .n. Gentleman documentary. It transcends being a documentary on SNL music and becomes honestly one of the greatest documentaries about the power of music period. Its mind boggling how much they cover in 2 hrs. HIGHEST recommendation for those who love music.
DeleteThe Fall (2006) is just as lush and weird and interesting as people have said. Hooray for self-indulgence! Also, it's kind of surprisingly funny at times.
ReplyDeleteAlready pre-ordered the 4k. Can't wait to watch it again
DeleteI liked The Fall a lot. Lush and weird are an interesting combo.
DeleteAnd the cutest little girl. During filming they made her believe Lee Pace actually couldn't walk and so she genuinely felt bad for him.
DeletePaddington in Peru (2024): Gotta admit, I didn't care for it. It's as sweet as the other 2, everybody's good, but it just didn't work for me. Maybe it's been too long since the last one.
ReplyDeleteI haven't seen it, but am looking forward to it (which happens less and less it seems). I agree that it has felt like a long time since the last one. Oh my, I just looked and it HAS been a long time. I wished it was made again by Paul King. But, and I can't say this enough, I fucking love boat going into the jungle movies. I love them. So I'm tentatively excited for this. I even loved Jungle Cruise.
DeleteBETTER OFF DEAD (1985)
ReplyDeleteMore a series of skits than a feature, really. But I must admit it got some big laughs out of me.
COMPANION (2025)
Why do relationships always gotta get so complicated?
GREMLINS 2: THE NEW BATCH (1990)
I watched this instead of watching the Super Bowl.
CAPTAIN AMERICA: BRAVE NEW WORLD (2025)
Harrison Ford smash!
ZEIRAM (1991)
Super-fun Terminator ripoff from Japan. A great example of filmmakers doing a lot with a tiny budget. The two comic relief guys take over the whole movie at times, but it's still all good.
I'm so looking forward to watching Gremlins 2 during Fthismoviefest sometime in the future.
DeleteMac/Paul: if you've never seen it, check out the Key n Peele Gremlins 2 sketch on youtube. It is absolute brilliance.
DeleteThis comment has been removed by the author.
DeleteCaptain America is a very middle of the road movie, easily forgettable. I enjoyed it, but i will forget it pretty quick i'm sure. Though i'm a hulk fan, so the red-hulk fight at the end was definitely the highlight for me
DeleteWhere's my two dollars, Mac?
DeleteMac: not sure if its on your radar, but if you enjoyed Better Off Dead, its worth checking out One Crazy Summer. Its definitely the lesser of the two but its the same director and return of Cusack.
Delete(editors note1: i adore the director Savage Steve Hollands quirkiness. regrettably he only directed a few features and has gone on to a successful TV directing career. )
(editors note2: theres a fair amount of stories out there that Cusack HATED Better Off Dead when it was released. I think the gist is that he did not know it would be that Savage Steve qurikiness and thought it would hurt his career. He was contractually obligated for One Crazy Summer but i believe he was difficult on the set. Always found that surprising as Better Off Dead is an absolute stone cold classic for so many that were the right age when it released).
@Paul Calvert, I followed your recommendation from last week and watched Gods of Egypt. I agree with you, the movie is delightfully gonzo. None of the actors are particularly good, but i'm not sure of it's the script fault or theirs. Plus, we get a surprise Chadwick. Perfect double bill with The Rock's Hercules
ReplyDeleteI'm glad you enjoyed it. It's very heavy with the cgi, but certainly is going for a visual tone, which I think it achieves. Better or at least on par with most of the DC or Marvel nonsense we get. Shame that it seems to have ended Alex Proyas's career. I liked his work.
DeleteI watched Threads (1984). Very...I don't have an adjective. It was a bit of a difficult watch because how horrifying everything was. It's a British for TV movie about the day or 2 preceding a nuclear attack, and for a few years afterwards. I was shaken from watching this. It's very sad.
ReplyDeleteI watched a bunch of boat movies. The Cruel Sea (1953, dir. Charles Frend) was SO good. It’s very British. It follows a Captain and his 1st throughout the war. They’re accompanying convoys across the Atlantic. One of the best movies I’ve seen in a while. I liked how it could be a counterpoint to Das Boot.
ReplyDeleteBattleship (2012) is as great fun movie. USS Indianapolis: Men of Courage (2016) I actually liked a lot, it's such a great story that I could ignore Nicolas Cage acting like he's completely checked out. I liked how it was written to celebrate a lot of the "lower decks" stuff. Annapolis (2006). wtf. There are no boats
DeleteAnnapolis is a boxing movie. But the actual boxing is all quick cutting and shaky cam stuff. Also, James Franco is a boxer? wtf. I wanted to see boats braving the North Atlantic and instead I have Franco pretending to be bad ass. I was so disappointed. I want boats, the ocean, boats and ocean crashing into one another!
DeleteThe Cruel Sea is coming out on blu-ray in april. I'll have to check it out.
DeleteI'm assuming you already saw Greyhound, with Tom Hanks?
If you like Battleship, you might enjoy the TNT show The Last Ship, which is sort of like a cross between that and The West Wing, with legitimately great writing, acting, and production values (for a two-fisted action show, that is). The story is outlandish, and wildly implausible in a thousand ways, but there's nothing completely outside the bounds of reality like aliens or zombies or what-not. I recommend the first three seasons unreservedly (each season tells a mostly complete story), with a collective A- grade; the fourth and fifth seasons (both B-) are still pretty good, but start to become a bit grim, so I'd recommend them for completists only.
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DeleteThe Last Ship, seconded. I don't think I ever watched beyond season 3. Back then watching tv was complicated 😁
DeleteYes! Greyhound was my favourite movie of that year. I watched it again recently and enjoyed it just as much.
DeleteThanks for recommendation Gaith. I don't have much time to get through TV shows these days, but I'll definitely keep it in mind.
Podcast reviews: Cult Movies Podcast. Glad you're back!
ReplyDeleteAnother podcast that I really loved, World War II Movie Night, announced that he is ending. It was a good one. With Friendly Fire and WW2 Movie Night done, all I have left is Danger Close (for war movie podcasts), which only puts out an episode every 2-3 months. I keep thinking they're ended, but then they put out another episode.
There's a lot of time that goes into making these podcasts. I appreciate all the time you've spent Patrick. Fthismovie has been a big fixture in my life and I can't thank you enough.
FTM is the only podcast i listen to regularly, for more than 10 years now. All the others end up annoying or boring me. But never FTM.
DeleteBetween work and life the past two weeks, I have not had much energy for movies. I did at least push myself to watch one this weekend, but I chose something not at all demanding. Piranhaconda (2012) is one of those CGI-heavy creature features churned out by Roger Corman for cable channels like SyFy. As low-quality as everything is in the film, I cannot say that I disliked it. Piranhaconda possesses enough B-movie charm to get me to the conclusion. There is a lot of plot, the Hawaiian locations are quite scenic, and veteran director Jim Wynorski keeps the film moving along at a quick pace. The dumb factor did wear me down a little by the conclusion, though, and the lack of nudity is very striking to someone (like me) accustomed to Roger Corman's productions from the 1970s and '80s.
ReplyDeleteWhen Piranhaconda was over, I pondered whether these 2010s-era B-movies are any worse than the low-budget schlock Corman and others made in the 1950s. Time has granted a certain charm to the flaws of those 1950s productions. Maybe that will happen with Piranhaconda and its ilk.
OOOOOO thanks A Casual. I pretty much dismissed every single "this combined with this" movie shortly after the first few. (i wonder what the first one was? Sharktapus?). That being said, my kid is really getting into horror and monster flicks and said movies have a certain cheezeball appeal. I seem to recall that we actually laughed a bunch and kinda enjoyed Lavalantula. Wasnt sure i would watch more but this sounds fun. will check it out.
DeleteFinally watched UNSTOPPABLE (2010). Loved it. Loved how the movie doesn't take itself seriously at all and just busies itself checking all the boxes. Competent! I had some goofy idea that maybe if you have a runaway train and you can't really divert it, you could put stuff on the track to slow it down somehow? Haha. I don't know.
ReplyDeleteThen TAKEN (2008) came on and so I watched my first Liam Neeson action movie. It was OK. Also competent. I like this kind of action movie in the background while I'm working because the fight scenes are long and I can just tune out until they show who wins a fight, who's alive/dead, and you miss no plot. But I like Denzel Washington disaster movies best. And any Denzel Washington movies. He my guy.
Woot! i, too loved Unstoppable. Saw it for the first time last year as i was catching up with some Tony Scott/Denzel flicks. Super entertaining and well made and fun characters within.
Delete