by Adam Riske and Patrick Bromley
Double Feature 1:
Adam: #1: Scrooged (1988)
Patrick: #2: The Toy (1982)
Patrick: Trailers/Shorts: The Goonies, Maverick, Lethal Weapon 4, Tales from the Crypt Episode “Dig That Cat…He’s Real Gone”
Patrick: Theme: Richard Donner Comedies (?)
Patrick: I like Richard Donner a lot as a director, but I recognize he’s not necessarily a great comedy director. Case(s) in point, this double feature: I’m not the biggest Scrooged guy (I need to rewatch given its fervent fandom) and The Toy is one of those movies you can’t believe ever saw the light of day. He was much better suited to action movies. The trailers are barely comedy – more action/adventure comedy – and I’m cheating by sneaking in an episode of Crypt because Richard Donner was such a big part of that show and because I can. I believe it’s your favorite episode, right?
Adam: I like the Joey Pants Crypt episode a lot but no, it’s not my favorite. Probably my second favorite from Season 1, though. I share your take on Comedy Donner. The closest he made to one I like is probably Maverick, which I haven’t seen in a very long time. I want to like Scrooged but Bill Murray not acting reformed and instead playing it like a manic psycho at the end sort of ruins it for me. I don’t say this often, but what a selfish performance choice. It’s A Christmas Carol, dude, know the rules.
Double Feature 2:
Patrick: #1: Rear Window (1954)
Adam: #2: Body Double (1984)
Adam: Trailers/Shorts: Windows, The Bedroom Window, Disturbia, Tales from the Crypt episode “Mute Witness to Murder”
Adam: Theme: Window Terror
Adam: I just revisited Rear Window (1954) a few weeks ago and, while I’ve always liked it, this was the first time I thought that it might be my favorite Hitchcock movie. I especially love the set design. I thought pairing it with Body Double would be fun because the theme has similarities but they’re of very different eras (era) and energy. Plus, this theme gives me an excuse to program the Patricia Clarkson Tales episode, which is solid but more importantly good lord 1990 Patricia Clarkson step on my throat.
Patrick: I haven’t had the magic screening of Rear Window yet, but a recently acquired and very cheap 4K is calling my name for the revisit and maybe this will be the one! Thank you for pairing it with Body Double, one of my favorite movies from one of my favorite directors. De Palma is Hitchcock if the times had let him be a pervert. I’m excited for more Crypt too! I know this episode but not well. I suspect I’ll mostly be concerned about how you’re doing while we watch it.
Adam: Now I feel like a pig. I better go herd these sheep. You just have to ask them politely.
Double Feature 3:
Patrick: #2: Red Sonja (1985)
Patrick: Trailers/Shorts: Sabotage, End of Days, Last Action Hero
Patrick: Theme: Domestic Schwarzenegger Bombs
Patrick: Junior is one of the only – maybe the only? – Schwarzenegger movie I still have never seen, so this is a great chance to check it off the list with a Cinemarink screening. His movies rarely missed at the box office, so finding ones that bombed in the U.S. was actually kind of difficult – they mostly came from the first part or the last part of his career. I know I shouldn’t like Red Sonja but I do in a cheap Conan knock-off way. It’s not a Cannon movie but it has major Cannon energy. I’m excited to finally see it on the big screen!
Adam: I like this double because it’ll give me an opportunity to revisit Junior (which I’ve tried before but bailed every time) and see Red Sonja (1985) for the first time. My memory is that Junior isn’t THAT bad but it’s a big stepdown from Twins for Arnold/DeVito/Reitman. P.S. I’ve always been surprised that Last Action Hero was a bomb. I thought the residual Terminator 2 goodwill would’ve pushed it over $100M domestic even if people (at the time) didn’t like it.
Double Feature 4:
Patrick: #1: True Romance (1993)
Adam: #2: One False Move (1992)
Adam: Trailers/Shorts: Bad Company, Waiting to Exhale, Soul Food, Live performance by Milestone
Adam: Theme: Day at the Beach
Adam: My favorite thing to come out of our recent FNDF podcast was the elevation of Michael Beach (via Faith) as FTM folk hero. Let’s honor him with a celebratory night of his work. He’s not in True Romance much, but that’s okay because any opportunity to watch that movie in a theater is one people should take. I love One False Move and Beach is super creepy and good in it in a supporting performance. Plus, Milestone is in the house, which automatically means Vanessa Williams will not be.
Patrick: The Beach! This is just a great pairing of movies even without the Beach connection but his participation and live appearance at our theater makes it so much better. I just hope he’s able to finish making that CD. If we’re showing One False Move can we also get Cynda Williams to come out? She can cosplay as Cousin Faith. OMG.
Adam: We must! I saw her at an autograph appearance once (back when Rosemont had Hollywood Collector’s Shows) but I didn’t have anything to get signed. I regret not planning ahead.
Double Feature 5:
Patrick: #2: A Star is Born (2018)
Patrick: Trailers/Shorts: Movie Star + Pop Star
Patrick: Theme: Shanghai Surprise, Mad Max Beyond Thunderdome, Romeo Must Die
Patrick: I like The Bodyguard. It’s so old-fashioned, which makes sense because I believe it was written for Steve McQueen in the 1970s. I thought it might be cool to double it with another pop star pair up, but I think I messed up because even though Bradley Cooper’s remake of A Star is Born was the first one that came to mind, it probably shouldn’t run second in our lineup. That’s kind of a downer. I haven’t been able to revisit it since 2018. Does it hold up to repeat viewings?
Adam: I’ve seen A Star Is Born (2018) maybe two or three times and it holds up but it’s never a movie I want to revisit because (as you said) it’s a huge downer. I sold my copy to Half Price Books awhile back. This is a good pairing. Maybe we should flip the order and make it more wistful and less devastating? This is a good formula for a star vehicle. Always been a fan of this format.
Double Feature 6:
Patrick: #1: The Last Starfighter (1984)
Adam: #2: The Neverending Story (1984)
Adam: Trailers/Shorts: Purple Rain, Revenge of the Nerds, The Muppets Take Manhattan
Adam: Theme: July 1984
Adam: This one’s for you, bud. I think it’s just because I was pre-K in 1984, but early '80s fantasy isn’t always my wheelhouse despite there being some examples I enjoy. I think you’re a fan of both movies, so I wanted to program the double feature this way for ya. Did you know The Muppets Take Manhattan was the first movie I ever saw in a theater? Did you know the first time I ever said “motherf**ker” was because my parents showed me Purple Rain on video when I was little?
Patrick: You’re a good friend. This is a double feature made in “It Came from the ‘80s” heaven – the kind of movie that was often made and made well during the first half of the decade and then mostly disappeared. Even the trailer block rules. We really had it good once upon a time. I grew up on all of these except Purple Rain because I wasn’t allowed to see it despite constant begging. I think it was the “Darling Nikki” of it all. Bunch of prudes.
Double Feature 7:
Patrick: #2: Running Scared (1986)
Patrick: Trailers/Shorts: Everly, Invasion USA, Reindeer Games
Patrick: Theme: Action Christmas
Patrick: I love a Christmas action movie, and I love both of these, which I don’t think get talked about as much as other Christmas actioners like Die Hard or anything written or directed by Shane Black. Maybe we can get Benben to come out and bring Stowe with him. Maybe Michael McDonald will come and sing “Sweet Freedom” live while Dolph Lundgren accompanies him on sax. Anything can happen at the Cinemarink.
Adam: Flat out amazing. I was just planning to rewatch I Come in Peace soon and Running Scared is a top 5 all-time buddy cop movie in my book. Long live Action Christmas! P.S. I looked up Benben merch on eBay and someone’s selling an assortment of 40+ clippings about the show Dream On. I was shocked you’re getting rid of those haha.
Double Feature 8:
Patrick: #1: Freejack (1992)
Adam: #2: Eve of Destruction (1991)
Adam: Trailers/Shorts: Total Recall, Terminator 2: Judgment Day, Universal Soldier
Adam: Theme: Early '90s Sci Fi Action
Adam: A night of Tubi classics. I’ve been meaning to see both Freejack and Eve of Destruction for over 30 years so this will finally be my excuse. I started watching Freejack in recent years but didn’t make it past the shot where Rene Russo towers over Emilio Estevez as they walk side by side. Are you a fan of these two movies?
Patrick: It’s hard to decide if I like this double or the previous double more. Like, the Christmas action double has better movies, but I love the fact that when you add Freejack and Eve of Destruction together you still get a two-and-a-half-star movie. I love Freejack on paper, less so in practice. I’m more of an Eve of Destruction guy, which I think is pretty underrated and, like Running Scared, has a great star turn from Gregory Hines.
Double Feature 9:
Patrick: #2: National Lampoon’s Loaded Weapon I (1993)
Patrick: Trailers/Shorts: Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles III, Jason Goes to Hell: The Final Friday, Sunset Grill, Three of Hearts
Patrick: Theme: New Line ‘93
Patrick: These aren’t necessarily your movies, but this is more your era (era). I just discovered Man’s Best Friend this year and kind of loved it but wanted to pair something that would lean more into the first movie’s silliness rather than the horror. Loaded Weapon I isn’t a great comedy, but it has its moments and is a super easy watch.
Adam: I need to revisit Man’s Best Friend considering your enthusiasm for it. I’ve seen it but I’m not familiar with it enough, so a rewatch at the Linderground couldn’t hurt. Not sure if you know, this but I’m a huge fan of Loaded Weapon I. I rewatched it a few years ago and thought it was so damn funny now, maybe even more than in 1993 when I had seen fewer action movies. Great double! I’ll be there even if it was just this trailer block. I miss vintage New Line Cinema.
Double Feature 10:
Patrick: #1: The Hateful Eight (2015)
Adam: #2: Curse of Chucky (2013)
Adam: Trailers/Shorts: Good Burger, Ratatouille, Love Lights Hanukkah “Feast of the Seven Fishes” scenes, Tales from the Crypt episode “What’s Cookin”
Adam: Theme: Food Fetish
Adam: In honor of Minnie’s stew and Curse of Chucky’s chili, I wanted to put together a night of movies that fetishize a single dish of food to the point of near parody. This was a fun double feature to put together although I wonder if these two will play well together at all. Plus, more Crypt! And it’s one of the best ones! This is a night Ben Savage would write a book about (that’s a joke only for my fellow Love Lights Hanukkah-eads). P.S. I remember seeing The Hateful Eight at the Alamo Drafthouse Ritz (RIP) in Austin in early 2016 and they had Minnie’s Stew on the menu and when I tried to order it they told me they ran out and I was like “How many peppermint sticks I get for a nickel?”
Patrick: This double is so funny. I know Hateful Eight is hard to pair with anything, so I like that you went with a very specific theme and didn’t try to pair it with another western or another cold movie or anything. Our kitchen will be so busy the night of this one! Do we have a kitchen?
Adam: Yeah. It’s like the short-lived Mickey’s Kitchen restaurant inside the Disney Store.
No comments:
Post a Comment