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

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I don't really care for this one all that much. Though a much easier watch than it was for me back when it was first released, it's still a film with a lot of lulls and not much in the way of story. Sure, there are some good moments but there's a lot of boring material and some downright annoying moments to get through first. Also, a lot of the visual effects are terrible. For a film that was made as one big project, they really skimped out on this one's post-production.

In short, this movie is the reason why I like the Hobbit trilogy more. It might be heretic but at least that one didn't have 226 minutes in the middle where not much happens.

Up next: The Wedding Singer.

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I guess with 80's nostalgia nearing its slow and torturous death, it's perfectly fine to watch the movie that started the whole thing without constantly being told about how nothing bad ever happened in the 80's (total lies). Much like Troop Beverly Hills, it's a film that sums up everything that was big at the time. It's also got some of Adam Sandler's best work as an actor rather than a comedian. It shouldn't come as a surprise that Sandler and Drew Barrymore became a legitimate acting team after this as both really show a lot of appreciation towards each other and have fun working together. You also notice with this one that many of Sandler's future regulars appear for the first time (some also appear in Happy Gilmore but The Wedding Singer when Sandler really began to get creative control).

The film also feels somewhat like an answer to the criticisms of the romantic comedy. Sure, you have the usual "boy gets girl" formula but it's done in a way where it doesn't feel cliche. The characters are formed and relatable, the situations are done differently, and we get some humor mined from the 80's references. Kind of Sleepless in Seattle but if Tom Hanks was Bruce Springsteen by way of a man who can do a really good impression of him.

Up next: The Color Purple/Punch-Drunk Love (double feature).

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Because sometimes, things end up like this.



First, The Color Purple. I have no idea how I was allowed to see this movie when I was in elementary school, other than it was PG-13. This is a dark movie but easily one of Spielberg's more ambitious. The performances in this historical epic are excellent and it's daring to tell a story with its stark elements but also remain so hopeful in its tone in that even through all of the heartbreak and anger, there's still that light at the end of the tunnel. Sure, films like The Shawshank Redemption are better but among Spielberg's awards fare, it's one of the better ones.

Followed by Punch-Drunk Love, a title I got to pick for our area Film Club. Perhaps Paul Thomas Anderson's most mainstream film, this was what really showed the world that Adam Sandler can act. A fast-paced love story spanning from Hawaii to Provo, Utah, Anderson balances humor and intensity in telling the story of Barry Egan, a small business owner whose fragile existence becomes even more fragmented as a piano left near his business office turns into a whirlwind of an adventure that takes him to the brink of his own life. Anderson is one of the few people who could make a story like this, mixing emotion with anger but also making it a beautiful romance. I don't think the rest of the club liked it so much but a lot of them liked VHYes so call it a quiet revenge.

And Film Club was fun, as we talked about Anger Management (Sandler's next film), Parasite, The Photograph, Queen & Slim, The Hunt, Emma, Peterloo, The Thing, Just Mercy, Clemency, Kevin Spacey, Jackson Pollock, and to cap off the night, a pitch to show the Don Johnson/Jason Robards movie A Boy and His Dog (it began as a pitch for a state Bicentennial series, it ended talking about pre-Miami Vice Don, funny that I trashed Knives Out in a previous meeting).

Up next: Spartacus.

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This seems to be more my style in terms of Agatha Christie stories. Rather than a whodunit, Witness for the Prosecution is one of the templates for nearly every courtroom drama today. Charles Laughton is excellent as the barrister who defends a man accused of murder despite his fading health but finds that something is not quite right in the accusation of his client and that the case goes deeper. Known for its big twist (as Christie was known for), it's a bit obvious when you figure it out but it's more believable that some of Christie's other twists. But what makes this film, one of the few adaptations Christie personally approved of, so good is the acting and the choice of Billy Wilder as director. Wilder not only was a great director of actors but is also able to inject comedy into the story without it feeling intrusive. Most directors would have simply focus on the drama and made it too serious but Wilder is able to create a moving and engaging thriller that is still among the best of its genre today.

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A love letter to the Elvis and JFK conspiracy theories as well as an enjoyably campy ride, Don Coscarelli's rare foray into comedy (based on a story by Joe R. Lansdale) is a showcase for Bruce Campbell and Ossie Davis as they play the famous historical figures, living in an East Texas retirement home in this alternate timeline, having to fight off a mummy that is stealing the souls of the other residents before they are next. The fact that this film was able to get a theatrical release and become a well-regarded cult film while most other films of its type would get written off is quite impressive but the reason is simple. This was a project that the director and cast truly believed in. Unlike other recent horror comedies built around the absurd, it goes for humor but also makes the story work. There's plenty of ridiculous elements but it's a well-thought premise and both Campbell and Davis do very well in their performances (I actually recall there was an attempt to do an Oscar campaign for Davis's performance and he certainly deserved it).

It's too bad we never got the prequel where Elvis fights a hillbilly Nosferatu but I guess nothing gold can stay.



The least Kubrickian of Kubrick's films is still quite brilliant. Being more or less the same story as Gladiator forty years later, a lot of the elements are similar but this one is much more powerful as it has more emotion and has a bigger scale. Rather than focusing on the action, Spartacus is more story-driven and despite its three-hour plus length, envelops you and feels a lot shorter. Kirk Douglas is perhaps at his most memorable as the slave turned hero of the lower class while the rest of the cast is stacked with lots of talent, from Laurence Olivier and Tony Curtis to Peter Ustinov (who won an Oscar for his performance) to Charles Laughton. And it might also be one of the best of the classic epics from a technical standpoint. The 2015 restoration is handsome and shows how good a 65mm-shot film can look on a movie screen. And how didn't Alex North's score win an Oscar?

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A much superior Civil War Confederacy film than Gone with the Wind, mainly because it's funny and doesn't take itself seriously. It's also much less political, being less about the war and more about an engineer who goes through hell and back to get the girl he loves back and ends up thwarting a spy mission. And incredibly, it's based on a true story. Also, excellent stunts and set pieces.

I got to watch the film with a live orchestra (Peacherine Ragtime Society Orchestra, who does a lot of these touring shows with silent movies in addition to doing concerts and albums) and it was set up like how one would have seen the film in 1926. You got some opening music, the film performed with the orchestra (an intermission was included so to let the orchestra have a break), and some outro music as well. It was a movie and a concert put together and totally worth the $30 I paid.

Up next: The Birdcage.

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While the uncertainty over whether or not the TCM Classic Film Festival is still happens lingers (the network says its still happening and while the effects of Coronavirus on Los Angeles County have been minimal, WarnerMedia canceling a number of events is a worrying sign, however, I will get a full refund if it's canceled and many attendees are working on organizing a Plan B if the worst case scenario happens), I'm going to be attending a local festival later this month to get in the festival spirit.

The Rated SGF Film Festival is a small two-day affair with a few movies shown in a restored downtown theatre much like the one I saw The General (as well as the Star Wars Trilogy last year) in. In the past, David Lowery came and screened some films while last year, the real Warren Lipka presented a screening of American Animals while Period, End of Sentence was screened as well. For my first time attending, I bought tickets to two of the three movies screening, Minding the Gap and Thunder Road. Both movies have Q&A's with people who worked on the films and never played near me during their original theatrical runs.

And speaking of festivals, I'm looking into attending Noir City Chicago in August. Since I've been watching a lot of Eddie Muller on TCM and didn't go to the Music Box the last time I was in Chicago, I'd figure I should have a few more days of classic cinema.

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The rare case when an Americanized remake turns out to be every bit as good as the original subtitled film. Mike Nichols, working from a script by Elaine May (with lots of improv by the stars), directs an impressive cast in a film that is both funny and sweet. Though the main focus is a culture clash tale in an era that was very divisive politically but seems quaint now (though the many references to 90's politics and culture are entertaining), deep down inside it's a story of love. The love parents give their kids, the love kids give their parents, but most importantly, loving everyone, no matter who you are. I guess one could view it like one of Shakespeare's comedies but May mixed with the ad-libbing of Robin Williams and Nathan Lane (And how was Lane not nominated for an Oscar?) does way better writing than The Bard of Avon.

Also, is it me or does Calista Flockhart in this look a lot like Lana Del Rey?

Up next: The Thing.

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I've never seen the American remake of La Cage aux Folles. You make me want to give it a look.

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It was a big movie in its day. I'm surprised you've never seen it.

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The original is such a huge film in France, that generated sequels, it was perceived as just Another remake.

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Lately, Contagion has been considered the Coronavirus movie. But I think The Thing is more fitting considering the film's themes of paranoia and violence being caused by the results of a biological attack and the cabin fever that begins when you are inside too long. And besides, I have a feeling people with their lack of patience and penchant for guns would resort to anger over waiting for a vaccine to materialize (on an unrelated tangent, I think that is one of the few things Idiocracy got right about society).

But as a movie, John Carpenter's remake of The Thing from Another World is an impressive horror film with plenty of chills and some excellent practical effects from Rob Bottin. The film was initially written off during its release (opening two weeks after E.T. didn't help) but a following has built up and it deserves it. Not many 80's horror films truly deserve the love they get but The Thing certainly does.

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Maybe it's the nostalgia talking, but I don't understand why this movie's hated so much. It's more or less an expanded episode of the TV show in live-action. You have all of the trademarks and the Stone Age puns (I finally got a lot of them too seeing it as an adult) and though I've seen complaints that the plot is too complex for a family film, remember that the show was a prime time sitcom that parents watched with their kids. It's also of note that the film is cast remarkably well. Even Rosie O'Donnell, who's usually considered miscast as Betty, manages to fit the character.

Sure, some of the CGI doesn't age well (the animatronics, however, still look impressive) but I think it holds up.

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Back to the classics. Though we had plenty of monster movies before this one, this might have been the first film to really create what we view as the modern-day blockbuster. We have the high concept (giant ape goes to Manhattan), the action, the fantastical elements, thrills, special effects, and even a romantic subplot. But also of note, King Kong seems to be a film mainly about historic evolution. King Kong represents the world of old, where beast ruled and society was primitive. Hell, even dinosaurs still survive in Skull Island. Meanwhile, Carl, Ann, and Jack represent modern society, where man rules and technological innovation allows for progress. As the film progresses to Kong's capture, we soon begin to realize no matter how scary Kong is (and for a pre-Code film, this one gets dark at times), he cannot win in a world away from his own.

They say that it was beauty killed the beast but I feel the airplanes also played a part.

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With the world being on lockdown, I decided to come up with my own solution to get away from it all. I made my garage into a screening room and with cars inside, I can just sit in the car and watch movies from my portable Blu-ray player or laptop like it's a drive-in. As a result, I can still self-quarantine while entertaining myself.

Welcome to the Corona Drive-In.

Last night's double feature...



Die Hard 2 is a film that have mixed feelings on. It was the first Die Hard I ever saw (the infamous TV edit when I was five) and the last time I saw it, I found it silly. Well, Die Hard 2 is still silly but it plays better than it did the last time I watched it. The film at least has the advantage of being fast-paced and being able to find itself in a new situation after the last one with no time for the viewer to catch their breath. It also perhaps holds up better due to the last two films being how they were.

Die Hard with a Vengeance meanwhile is the best of the sequels. John McClane returning home gives it a meaning while the addition of Zeus leads to new ideas for the franchise. Once again, it's a non-stop thrill ride but with the added bonus that it's New York, giving the film a wide open canvas of action. And it's a smart action film with the villain plot being based around riddles. Also, I never realized how buff Jeremy Irons was. And it's amusing to see a young Aldis Hodge as Zeus' younger nephew. One of the best action films of the 90's.

Tonight's lineup: X-Men & The Black Cauldron.