What Are You Watching Right Now? Episode 3 - Turtles in Time

Discuss past, present, and future releases. This is the place for news, reviews, and your 'best' lists.

Moderators: Buscemi, BarcaRulz, Geezer, W

User avatar
Buscemi2
Mad Max
Posts: 6663
Joined: July 25th, 2017, 9:13 pm
Location: Neither here nor there.

Re: What Are You Watching Right Now? Episode 3 - Turtles in

Post by Buscemi2 »

Image

More private school genre wackiness. Donnie Darko is not as good as I remember it but watching it again made me forget Richard Kelly was the guy behind Southland Tales. It's funny to note that interference from the producers basically saved this film (though it's still a little long in its theatrical form at 113 minutes) as Kelly originally intended for another one of his self-congratulatory ego trips until cooler heads (such as Drew Barrymore) prevailed. I don't think anyone would have remembered this film had the 20 minutes that explained everything not been cut. It's better that you not think of the time travel and metaphysical elements and focus on the goings-on of this sleepy suburb (which though it's supposed to be Virginia is very obviously Southern California). It's better to think this is a Southeast Twin Peaks (the Darkos could easily be the Haywards or even the Hornes) rather than Back to the Future without a DeLorean. I'd also forgotten Katharine Ross was in this.

Meanwhile, I don't understand why people hate Maggie Gyllenhaal. She never seems to give a bad performance but so many people give her crap because of The Dark Knight. But then again, they didn't like Katie Holmes in that role either.

Up next: Princess Mononoke.
It's like what Lenin said...I am the walrus.

User avatar
Buscemi2
Mad Max
Posts: 6663
Joined: July 25th, 2017, 9:13 pm
Location: Neither here nor there.

Re: What Are You Watching Right Now? Episode 3 - Turtles in

Post by Buscemi2 »

Image

Miyazaki does a Kurosawa film, basically. After making a light comedy with Porco Rosso and before that embracing the fantasy genre, Miyazaki combined some of his favorite themes and put them into some ambitious filmmaking and an epic scale. The end result might be his best film (though his next film, Spirited Away, got him an Oscar thanks to the efforts of Disney and Pixar). I got to see this in the original Japanese and it is a much superior film in its original form than in its English dub (funny that it was dubbed to increase its commercial value in the States but the film still flopped in its original run). Watching anime the way it was shown in its original form really shows off how different things are between Japan and the U.S. Japan values artistic value over the almighty dollar and trusts the audience rather than pandering to them. The thing I admire most about this contrast is how Japanese cinema values serenity and beauty while American cinema enjoys chaos and vanity. Princess Mononoke is beautifully made and Miyazaki allows the audience to treasure every frame. He's not about wall-to-wall music accompanying constant action (there's plenty of action here but he lets the viewer know the characters as well and develops them). He caters to a more mature crowd while still keeping things accessible. No wonder why he's Japan's answer to Walt Disney.

Up next: Beetlejuice.
It's like what Lenin said...I am the walrus.

User avatar
Buscemi2
Mad Max
Posts: 6663
Joined: July 25th, 2017, 9:13 pm
Location: Neither here nor there.

Re: What Are You Watching Right Now? Episode 3 - Turtles in

Post by Buscemi2 »

Image

Now I enjoy Beetlejuice as much as the next person but this screening of the 4K restoration took me a while to get into. You see, the person seeing next to me just had to be an annoying, self-absorbed, "I have First Amendment rights to do what I want" type. Yes, I get that you love the movie but that doesn't mean you can have full volume conversations during the previews (I complained about this but no one would do anything), mention that you can do this because "it's previews" though the lights are down and there's a large screen projecting acted matter, and even though it's a Movie Party, proceed to get entire lines wrong or incomplete. At one point, the lady and her equally large husband/boyfriend/bloated carcass left the auditorium for a long period at different times. Hopefully, it wasn't to spin the story into making me out to be the villain. I only wanted to watch the movie, not listen to the annoying "I peaked in the 80's" couple.

Back to the movie. Michael Keaton is the star of the movie and the best moments are with him. Alec Baldwin and Geena Davis make a nice couple. The effects are excellent. I bet Surfer loved this movie as a 12-year-old. I'm not sure how I'd feel about Beetlejuice going Hawaiian. I would have loved to have seen him in New York during the Giuliani cleanup. Him and The Ghost of Christmas Past from Scrooged, teaming up and scaring yuppies into keeping Times Square weird. It would have been fun.

Up next: Dismember the Alamo marathon. I'll do a blow-by-blow recap on Saturday night (and maybe some Instagram photos, I don't want Mr. Shitty Photoshop and A24 Blu-rays Guy stealing the thunder).
It's like what Lenin said...I am the walrus.

User avatar
numbersix
Darth Vader
Posts: 11545
Joined: October 21st, 2009, 2:34 pm

Re: What Are You Watching Right Now? Episode 3 - Turtles in

Post by numbersix »

Yeah, that's a bit of a grey area. It bugs me that people talk during the previews but I hold my tongue, because they kinda can get away with it. But man if they do anything during a film they're going to face the full onslaught of my passive-aggressive shushing powers.

User avatar
BanksIsDaFuture
Jack Torrance
Posts: 6513
Joined: October 23rd, 2009, 4:09 pm

Re: What Are You Watching Right Now? Episode 3 - Turtles in

Post by BanksIsDaFuture »

It's a Movie Party at the Alamo - people are encouraged to quote the lines and generally be involved with the film.
Alexandra Daddario: Eyes of a Demon, Face of My Future Ex-Wife

User avatar
Buscemi2
Mad Max
Posts: 6663
Joined: July 25th, 2017, 9:13 pm
Location: Neither here nor there.

Re: What Are You Watching Right Now? Episode 3 - Turtles in

Post by Buscemi2 »

But they don't like chit chat or misquoting lines. If you can't get it right, hold your peace.

Image

Before Dismember the Alamo, I went to AMC's reissue of Hocus Pocus. I'm getting the idea that this was to promote the special edition Blu-ray (you might have seen the Best Buy steelbook based on the spell book) as Disney kind of snuck it out there with almost no advance word (there was a decent crowd for a Friday afternoon, though). Oddly, I didn't seem to find any improvements with the DCP compared to the older Blu-ray that I have. The audio also sounded like a downmix from the original 5.1 (this was an earlier film with Dolby Digital). The difference between the Hocus Pocus DCP and the Beetlejuice DCP (of which Warner Bros. did a lot of work on for its reissue) seem like night and day.

As for the movie, I miss this era when studios weren't afraid of scaring children. But even though the horror elements are strong, the film also does camp well. Hocus Pocus is the film cult films like Elvira, Mistress of the Dark five years earlier wished it could be, a strong mix of horror and comedy, high production values (though some of the Binx CGI doesn't hold up), and a sense of fun without being too far in one direction. This also might have the best performance Sarah Jessica Parker's ever given. I also admire that they actually filmed in Salem, Massachusetts, giving the film a sense of authenticity that the later ParaNorman (also about a Halloween-obsessed town and an outcast communicating with spirits) lacked.

I hope that AMC and Disney do more of these and not just the same four or five recent Princess movies and the Marvels during dead weeks. December would be a golden opportunity to show the original Mary Poppins to build up the new one, Dumbo and Aladdin could run next year to market the remakes, maybe do a national version of the Cinemark experiment a few years back where they four-walled a screen and ran four movies a week for a single admission.
It's like what Lenin said...I am the walrus.

User avatar
Buscemi2
Mad Max
Posts: 6663
Joined: July 25th, 2017, 9:13 pm
Location: Neither here nor there.

Re: What Are You Watching Right Now? Episode 3 - Turtles in

Post by Buscemi2 »

Dismember the Alamo time!

This was my first visit to the yearly horror marathon (mainly because it had never been offered here before) and for its area debut, things were kept simple with three titles whose theatrical rights are held by the AGFA (edit: Demons is actually with Synapse) and a newer film that hadn't played locally.

Image

Thanks to the Alamo Drafthouse, I can now say I've seen two Jack Hill films in the theatre this year (Coffy was the other). Part psychological horror, part black comedy, this stars Lon Chaney Jr. as a chauffeur who watches the three children of a well-off estate, each one stranger than the other. When relatives come to town in hopes of getting their hands on some of the money, chaos ensues. Though the intro before the film made note of Chaney and Sid Haig (as the brother who thinks he's a dog), I was quite taken by Jill Banner as the titular character, a girl who thinks she's a spider. It's sad that Banner never had much of a film career as she could have had one similar to Mary Elizabeth Winstead now, appearing in big genre films and developing a cult following among fans. Sure, it might not be the most polished of films but its mix of macabre and drive-in camp makes it appealing.

Image

The camp continued with a film that was originally released unrated due to its graphic violence. Dario Argento returned to Germany to produce this zombie film about a group of theatregoers trapped in a mysterious cinema where a virus transmitted by a film prop causes a zombie outbreak while the same events occur on-screen. The camp, unintentional or not, is sourced from its English dub (the film was shot without sound and with actors speaking different languages, making a true original language hard to determine) and some of the screenplay's elements but you can't help but enjoy a movie where a guy kills zombies in a movie theatre, dueling a katana while riding a motorcycle through the aisles while Motorhead plays in the background. One of the better "trapped in a room" movies.

After a ten-minute intermission...

Image

Frank Henenlotter's other 1980's horror film about a man and a monster. I might have been the only person in the theatre that had seen this previously (on an old VHS tape I found for a dollar years ago) as it seemed that most of the audience was weirded out by the concept of Aylmer and chose not to accept the film being an allegory for heroin addiction. The film is very 80's and quite low budget but I believe this adds to its appeal (and like Basket Case, it was filmed on location in New York City). It's also a case where a blue tint works for the story as you can tell the mood was projected on set and not done in post. I wonder if it would be wrong to say that this is Requiem for a Dream but as a horror comedy?

Image

Last and certainly least comes this recent Sundance film. The filmmakers of the overrated Turbo Kid somehow made a worse film by remaking Stranger Things...if Stranger Things consisted of obnoxious characters who can't stop talking about sex and instead of finding aliens, redid the plot of Disturbia. It's less a film and more a self-indulgent love letter to the 80's (like Stranger Things). Three directors are credited for this film and none of them can give any idea of what to do with the story. Also, the film pads its run time with multiple false endings in addition to the overemphasis on misplaced nostalgia. I'm convinced this only played because one person in our film club kept requesting it. There's a reason why Hereditiary got all the attention at Sundance. It didn't exist solely to pander to people who see everything in rose-colored glasses.

Three good ones, one terrible one. That's a .750 win percentage. I'll be back next year.

Up next: The Fog.
It's like what Lenin said...I am the walrus.

User avatar
Buscemi2
Mad Max
Posts: 6663
Joined: July 25th, 2017, 9:13 pm
Location: Neither here nor there.

Re: What Are You Watching Right Now? Episode 3 - Turtles in

Post by Buscemi2 »

Image

Recently restored in 4K, John Carpenter's follow-up made a one night stop-through here while getting a whole week in bigger markets. On the restoration, it's not going to look like a new movie like some of these do but it's a satisfactory restoration. I imagine this how a fresh print of this would have looked back in 1980.

As for the film itself, it's funny how quickly things changed for horror that year. Carpenter makes this a deliberate slow burn as despite its short run time (the opening sequence with John Houseman was added to bump up the length to 90 minutes), he chooses to build on the terror and doesn't truly reveal the nature of the titular force until halfway in. Three months later, Friday the 13th opened and the name of the game changed forever (sure, you can say Halloween did the slasher first but it was a more traditional and classy horror film than what the slasher became). Carpenter also focuses more on atmosphere and genuine scares than many of the horror films later on. Despite the R rating, the film doesn't need to be gory or follow a checklist to be effective. In a way, it's kind of an updated version of the old dark house theme that appeared in a lot of the horror films of the old studio system.

With all of the different horror genres and themes being dissected through books (I just got a coffee table book on 80's horror movie ads) and essays, I'm surprised no one's done one on the Avco Embassy entries from the 70's and 80's. Having seen both this and Phantasm recently, it would be of interest to learn more about how some of these films got into their hands and became successes just as home video and cable was beginning to kill the regional distribution platform.

Up next: Evil Dead II.
It's like what Lenin said...I am the walrus.

User avatar
Buscemi2
Mad Max
Posts: 6663
Joined: July 25th, 2017, 9:13 pm
Location: Neither here nor there.

Re: What Are You Watching Right Now? Episode 3 - Turtles in

Post by Buscemi2 »

Image

The best horror film of the 80's. Also a new 4K restoration showing in theatres, for some reason the theatre got the idea this was a scope film and therefore ran the entire thing with the top and bottom chopped off (this was most noticeable when the logo for Rosebud Releasing, the shell company Dino de Laurentiis co-created to release the film unrated, had its letters cut off). But outside of a few things, I eventually got used to it. The restoration is quite good, with extra detail to be noticed. However, I just wish the theatre hadn't projected it incorrectly.

As for the movie, this is how to do a fun horror movie. Despite the heaps of gore, it has a certain cheekiness to it. Rather than base all the humor on references or sadism, it is deeply rooted in slapstick humor. But I'm sure we've all seen this enough times to get what Sam Raimi was saying. Being that the horror comedy is now box office poison unless you have a name attached or pander heavily to a certain audience (see Zombieland and The Cabin in the Woods), projects like Evil Dead II are either reduced to one showing a night or straight-to-DVD and often made by people far less talented than Raimi. We should praise not only Raimi but de Laurentiis for putting up the $3.6 million to make the film when wasn't getting burned by Million Dollar Mystery (I tried to find a picture of the game card given away with tickets for that film with his face on it but no dice).

Up next: The Lost Boys.
It's like what Lenin said...I am the walrus.

User avatar
Buscemi2
Mad Max
Posts: 6663
Joined: July 25th, 2017, 9:13 pm
Location: Neither here nor there.

Re: What Are You Watching Right Now? Episode 3 - Turtles in

Post by Buscemi2 »

Image

"And if you say you're a vampire, you get a free small soda at the movies!"

Oh, wait. That's from the Simpsons parody of The Lost Boys. Anyway, this isn't as good as Near Dark but Joel Schumacher's vampire epic is enjoyable camp. Where else will you see a vampire get killed by a stereo, an orchestral version of La Cucaracha, a pair of vampire hunters heavily influenced by comic books (it's no surprise that Richard Donner produced this), vampires that bleed glittery blood (Stephenie Meyer must have a thing for 1987, seeing how Twilight had the exact same plot as Near Dark), a concert scene with a muscle-bound saxophone player, and the best mullet ever. Camp might have been wrong for Batman but it was so right here. Also, Edward Herrmann does an excellent impression of John Lithgow.

And I won a free ticket for getting a trivia question right. I don't know what I'll use it on.

Up next: Mr. Smith Goes to Washington.
It's like what Lenin said...I am the walrus.

User avatar
Buscemi2
Mad Max
Posts: 6663
Joined: July 25th, 2017, 9:13 pm
Location: Neither here nor there.

Re: What Are You Watching Right Now? Episode 3 - Turtles in

Post by Buscemi2 »

Image

The Capra formula often seems to be disregarded as a dated style of filmmaking nowadays (but those same people are probably the types that loved Venom and think any negative review of that film is an attack) but this film is still very relevant. Sure, one could just focus on the wide-eyed idealism of the main character and write it off as naivety but the themes of corruption, political compromise, and yellow journalism are truer than ever. This probably says more about politics than any episode of House of Cards could. It also shows us why smart people don't go into politics. They know better than to get into a mess they didn't start and could never possibly clean up (by the way, have you ever noticed that a lot of the people that say they'll clean up Washington never do because they are connected to those that began the mess in the first place?).

Meanwhile, James Stewart is fantastic but I don't think Jean Arthur's performance gets enough talk. It's pretty amazing that there was a time when the film industry could actually write and direct women as well as men. What happened to those filmmakers who saw men and women as equals? Was it the effects of conservatives targeting Hollywood and forcing their views onto everything (things had already been hobbled by the Hays Code but it got worse even after the fall of the Code)? It would explain certain filmmakers.

Up next: Goodfellas.
It's like what Lenin said...I am the walrus.

User avatar
Buscemi2
Mad Max
Posts: 6663
Joined: July 25th, 2017, 9:13 pm
Location: Neither here nor there.

Re: What Are You Watching Right Now? Episode 3 - Turtles in

Post by Buscemi2 »

Image

A toss-up between this or Taxi Driver as Scorsese's best film. While Taxi Driver is his grittiest and toughest film, Goodfellas might be his most accomplished film. It's a slick film but it's also an exhilarating film, showing the highs and lows of Henry Hill's life and the dangers of getting in too deep in a dirty business. The third act might be the best ever in a film, with its rapid-fire action and quick descent into terror. This also has some amazing performances and I will still never understand how Ray Liotta wasn't nominated for a Best Actor Oscar. Many films have tried to imitate Goodfellas but few have succeeded like Scorsese did here.

Up next: The Godfather.
It's like what Lenin said...I am the walrus.

User avatar
Buscemi2
Mad Max
Posts: 6663
Joined: July 25th, 2017, 9:13 pm
Location: Neither here nor there.

Re: What Are You Watching Right Now? Episode 3 - Turtles in

Post by Buscemi2 »

Image

The mob movie that made most others happen. This was the first time (I think) the Coppola Restoration had shown here and though it's gotten complaints for how blown out the colors look, I'm sure this is how the film looked back in 1972 (also, Coppola and Gordon Willis would have better knowledge of this than a casual viewer who wants everything to look recent). A lot of films of the era have bright color palettes (I hate how most newer movies look so dark or have their color schemes tinkered heavily in post and end up looking too grey or blue) and film stock wasn't as good then.

As for the film, it's still one of the best ever made and makes for an interesting contrast with Goodfellas. While Goodfellas is like a high-speed car chase, The Godfather is like an all-night road trip with some fascinating people. Coppola and Mario Puzo's screenplay (adapted from Puzo's novel, of course) is detailed and builds on the subject and its players (funny that Paramount initially wanted it cut to 90 minutes until they realized Coppola was forced to cut so much good material). It's also interesting to see Al Pacino in such a restrained role, especially seeing how he's better known now for his overacting. I sat next to a pair of people who had never seen the film and it kind of reminded me of my first viewing many years ago (it was the first DVD release when all three were in that solid black box).

I'm hoping Part II gets shown sooner than later (Part III was ruled out, sadly) but since there wasn't much of a turnout tonight, it looks to be unlikely.

Up next: This is Spinal Tap.
It's like what Lenin said...I am the walrus.

User avatar
Buscemi2
Mad Max
Posts: 6663
Joined: July 25th, 2017, 9:13 pm
Location: Neither here nor there.

Re: What Are You Watching Right Now? Episode 3 - Turtles in

Post by Buscemi2 »

A double bill of comedies.

Image

and

Image

After seeing Spaceballs a couple months back, it's interesting to get to compare it with It Happened One Night. Take away the Star Wars elements and they are more or less the same movie with a few differences. It Happened One Night might also be one of the first road movies. So many films that mine its storylines from traveling by vehicle, such as Rain Man, Tommy Boy, or Sideways, might not have possible without this film and its considerable success. Getting away from the storyline, a lot of why the film works is from the two leads and how well they work with Frank Capra's screenplay. Gable and Colbert do the mismatched partners who grow to love each other amazingly well. Today, most think of Clark Gable as Rhett Butler but he was a hell of a comedic actor. And Claudette Colbert excels as Gable's polar opposite.

And I followed it with the most influential mockumentary ever made. Rob Reiner kicked off his directorial career by helping create the current blueprint of the documentary parody with a group and their misadventures during a 1982 tour. The film still works and it's fun to see not just the careers of Guest, McKean, and Shearer evolve (it's amusing how much Shearer's character resembles a younger version of Eugene Levy's character in A Mighty Wind) but all of the familiar names making small appearances (Billy Crystal and Dana Carvey play mime waiters, Anjelica Huston appears as a set designer, Paul Shaffer is the Chicago PR guy, Fran Drescher and Patrick MacNee play record executives, etc.). Strangely, I might not even call it the best of the Christopher Guest mockumentaries as Waiting for Guffman exists.

Up next: Austin Powers: International Man of Mystery.
It's like what Lenin said...I am the walrus.

User avatar
Buscemi2
Mad Max
Posts: 6663
Joined: July 25th, 2017, 9:13 pm
Location: Neither here nor there.

Re: What Are You Watching Right Now? Episode 3 - Turtles in

Post by Buscemi2 »

Image

One of the most quotable movies of the 90's is also one of the biggest examples of a film's audience truly growing after it left theatres. Though it was a serviceable word-of-mouth hit theatrically, it became a massive success once it hit home video and refused to die. And much like fellow cult hit The Rocky Horror Picture Show, it was a film its studio didn't expect much from due to terrible test screening reaction and the decision to recut the film at the last minute (the international version has a number of extra scenes).

Anyway, much like Mike Myers' earlier Wayne's World, though Austin Powers is the main character, it's Dr. Evil that makes everything work. You appreciate Austin for his mojo but it's Dr. Evil's escapades that keep you wanting more. He's so evil but also so incompetent. I will also forever see Lorne Michaels as Dr. Evil because that's who he was based on (along with Blofeld, of course). You can tell while watching that Myers and director Jay Roach did their homework with the situations and dissecting the various villain plots from the Bond series and their many imitators. And wow, Elizabeth Hurley was quite attractive.

Up next: Planes, Trains and Automobiles.
It's like what Lenin said...I am the walrus.

Post Reply