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

[Buscemi2]

I got to see this in 35mm tonight. Too bad the people in my row had to kind of ruin the viewing of one of my favorite movies by talking. The old lady on my left would not stop saying "uh oh" or "oh no" every five minutes. The guy on my right with his much younger girlfriend wouldn't stop talking about the most random things. And there was another guy in a cap (by the way, stop wearing your cap in the theatre) who was trying to make the experience like that of Rocky Horror. But yeah, there's not much to mention about Back to the Future other than what we already know. I hope that if the sequels ever play, I don't have put up with distractions no one will do a damn thing about.

Up next: The Phantom Carriage.

[Buscemi2]

This is a much superior film than the similar Seven Brides for Seven Brothers. Both films are on the National Film Registry but Brides gets more attention despite its uncomfortable premise. Oklahoma! is better on both a filmmaking scale and as entertainment. The cinematography is some of the best on a film, using 70mm cameras and perhaps the earliest example of higher frame rates (the Todd-AO version is presented at 30fps). It's much like 3-D without the glasses. And the story, though simple, has a lot of charm to it. Though Gordon MacRae and Shirley Jones are the stars, the standout is Rod Steiger as Jud, a hired hand with a violent past and pent up anger. Fred Zinnemann directed the film and though not talked about on the level of other directors thrived in this time like George Cukor, Vincente Minnelli, or William Wyler, should be included in that upper echelon of classic Hollywood directors.

[Buscemi2]

I recently saw the new restoration of this documentary, which not only serves as a really good time capsule of LGBT culture but of the 1980's in general as well. So much has changed since the 1987-89 period this documentary was shot in, as much of the culture depicted has become mainstream through shows like RuPaul's Drag Race and Pose and films such as The Adventures of Priscilla, Queen of the Desert and Hedwig and the Angry Inch, but at the same time, much of it has remained the same as the fight for equality and acceptance is still ongoing (even the financing of the film was criticized by hate/anti-LGBT groups such as the American Family Association). The figures in the story are larger than life and multi-layered. You get to know them and understand them to the point where you get emotional at the end. It makes you wish it was longer than 76 minutes.

[Buscemi2]

I got to see this performed with a live band, who gave it a score that was somewhat of a cross between Brian Eno, Bernard Herrmann, freeform jazz, and Metallica. As for the film, this is an interesting story about morality and how one will do anything to cheat death. Told in five parts (I'm wondering if this was a serial initially), the film was a major influence of Ingmar Bergman and Stanley Kubrick's The Shining and was also Charlie Chaplin's favorite film. The imagery is beautiful and the concepts of death are mesmerizing. David Holm (played by the director) is an multi-layered character and much of the action focuses on him having to seek redemption. I have to wonder if Frank Capra saw this as well and decided to split the one character as two, figuring that Jimmy Stewart couldn't possibly play an asshole.

Up next: Dismember the Alamo.

[Buscemi2]

This year's Dismember the Alamo.



The theme involved an edible theme and started with a pair of Texas-set 70's films. Eaten Alive is more or less The Texas Chain Saw Massacre if the latter was scuzzier and involved a crocodile eating tourists. The film is a mixed bag but Neville Brand's performance as the unhinged motel owner makes this an interesting curiosity in Tobe Hooper's filmography.

Piranha is the film that put Joe Dante on the track to bigger and better things and helped get John Sayles' foot in the door. Intended as a ripoff of Jaws, it is much more than that. It's a horror film, a dark comedy, a critique of the U.S. military, and a satire of the travel industry. The remake might be the more fun one but don't sit on the original.

Ice Cream Man was a late inclusion (originally, the recent Chance the Rapper vehicle flop Slice was going to go here) and I must wonder how this isn't the 90's version of The Room. This film is so bonkers and inept as a film that it becomes absolutely hilarious. In places, it might be the funniest film of 1995. Clint Howard plays an incompetent ice cream truck driver who kills on the side and serves up his victims in hardpacks. Meanwhile, you have a group of kids called The Rocketeers (I'm not sure if that's a reference to the Dave Stevens character and his 1991 movie) trying to stop him. This is a bad movie but a good kind of bad that we don't see much of anymore.

Lastly, there's the best of the lot. Raw is the kind of horror film Hollywood doesn't make. A cross between good old fashioned cannibalism, a criticism of how hazing culture dehumanizes people, and a feminist narrative, this Belgian film deserved a bigger release than it got. Controversy should have gotten horror and non-horror audiences to show up but somehow, Focus had no idea how to release the film. The film didn't even get a Blu-ray release domestically, which is unusual for a Universal release. Julia Ducorenau makes a memorable, intense, and fearless film that wisely avoids the modern indie film cliches and is much superior to say, something like The Witch.

I have to wonder what's in store for 2020. It's a market-by-market thing so maybe there will be something unique.

Up next: Vampire Hunter D.

[Buscemi2]

Originally a straight-to-video anime, Vampire Hunter D got a belated theatrical release stateside in 1993 and seemed to remain somewhat obscure until the release of its theatrical sequel, Bloodlust, in 2001. The first film, though simple and featuring a number of cliches prevalent in newer anime, is still a fast-paced ride that shows what the Underworld series should have been. A post-apocalyptic world where a dhamphir similar to Blade walks the earth to help victims against other vampires, it's inventive to have humans share this universe with vampires, werewolves, dragons, and robotic horses. And unlike Underworld, you have some of these species actually helping each other. Vampires' contempt for others is limited to the villains (this was my biggest problem with Underworld, as it seemed to make Selene some sort of eugenics proponent despite being the heroine) while the village's fear of Doris' fate seemed to feel like an allegory for the AIDS epidemic. Maybe I'm reading too much into things here.

Up next: Dracula (the Spanish version).

[Buscemi2]

The second and much superior of the two 1931 Draculas. Shot at night on the same sets as the more well-known Tod Browning version, the main advantages of this version is the 30 extra minutes of story that fleshes out the characters and its less-campy approach to the material (though the Dracula here based his performance on Lugosi's). But the really fascinating aspect of this free screening was that the film was shown without subtitles. This made a number of patrons angry and led to a few walkouts but personally, this did not detract from the showing. As long as you have basic knowledge of Spanish and are familiar with Dracula (I've read the book and seen probably most of the adaptations), it's not a hard movie to follow without subtitles. Now if it were Pedro Almodovar's Dracula, we might need those subtitles.

Up next: Halloween (1978).

[Buscemi2]

Not as good as I remember it being but there is still a lot of charm in this self-financed action film from star/producer/scenarist Rudy Ray Moore. The fact that Moore was even able to get the film made and be able to see it become a massive success (grossing $12 million on a $100,000 budget) is impressive on its own. The acting isn't the best and the low budget shows but that's a lot of the appeal. You watch a film like Dolemite due to the camp value. Is it The Mack? Is it Sweet Sweetback? No on both counts. But Dolemite is on the higher end of the era's exploitation films. You have a defined protagonist, an objective to fight back against evil, and lots of fighting and pretty ladies. I'd say it's a successful enough film.

[Buscemi2]

John Carpenter's franchise starter still holds up as a well-made horror film that goes beyond its low budget. Using tension rather than kills to tell its story of an escaped killer terrorizing his old street, its simplicity and unpretentious nature allows it to go beyond its later imitators. Also using to its advantage is its sympathetic characters, which are much more developed than other films of its kind, and chilling electronic score. Watching this in a movie theatre also gets you to pay attention to the cinematography, which is expertly done and up there with a studio film of its time. It's no surprise that 41 years later, Michael Myers is still one of the most feared modern horror villains.

Up next: Joe Versus the Volcano.

[Ron Burgundy]

are we seriously waiting until page 100 again?

Im gettin to old for this shit...

ANYHOO-

Watched a few while i was sick from food poisoning....some good, some not so...

Bedtime Stories (1964)
So close to Dirty Rotten Scoundrels in every way- which has now made that movie worse for me Marlon Brando and David Niven are terrific though.
7/10

Pink Flamingos (1972)
Bad taste cinema....or just bad cinema? Maybe more shocking back then but now its just dated and gross. I didn't quite finish it. Still, now at least im looking forward to seeing HairSpray
3/10

A Monster Calls (2016)
No wonder it didn't make much of splash at the box office. Theres loads of wonder, but no joy. Great cinematography, for what is essentially a big kids film. Solid acting, but who gives two shits cause its all so bloody bland?
4.5/10

Keanu (2016)
Not sure why i didn't watch this sooner, theres some great bits in here. Key and Peele are great as two guys getting over their little problems with one big bad weekend posing as crims. The cat is almost not there...
7/10

Les Miserables (2012)
Been putting this one off for a while now, perhaps should have waited a bit longer. Like 48 years longer, cause theres no way im old enough to enjoy musicals or russell crowe singing. Just how was this deemed any good? Sacha Baron Cohen steals his scenes most easily.
5/10

Lion (2016)
One of the few odd new movies that my mother watched before i did. About an indian boy who gets lost in India, gets adopted by an aussie couple and then 25 years later seeks his real family back home. SO weird they had to throw in Rooney Mara and not a real australian actress, though im just guessing the true story had her character as an aussie. I'll take it back if im wrong and the Indian boy really did meet an American chick.
6/10

Thoroughbreads (2017)
Classic case of style over substance. Sad cause this was Anton Yelchin's last role and he acts pretty well. Two uppity girls decide to start doing what they want, how they want, including breaking the law...meh
4/10

The Art of Self defence (2019)
Surprisingly fresh. Jesse Eisenberg had been typecasting himself into that smarmy arrogant oddball but here he takes a slightly different direction more in the vein of zombieland and it works.
6.5/10

Under the Silver Lake (2018)
Dammit i had too high expectations for this. I liked It Follows. This has an epic scope but just can't bridge the tension throughout this modern noir slow burn thriller with a slice of black comedy. Bummer
5/10

The Handmaiden (2016)
And now, this best movie of this little bunch is: this! This one snuck under my radar, not sure why or how cause i was a big fan of Oldboy (same director). Describing the film in 4 words: captivating, erotic, nonlinear and bizzare.
8/10

Mother (2009)
And the runner up of this bunch is: another Korean movie!? A mother's dumb son gets wrongfully accused of murder, mother then seeks justice. After seeing Parasite i had to delve through the directors other stuff, gonna have to find Okja now.
7.5/10

[JohnErle]

And the runner up of this bunch is: another Korean movie!?

Somewhere in France, Chien just got a boner and he has no idea why.

[Buscemi2]

One of the best third acts in cinema history. But before that, we get some of the best that the Marx Brothers had to offer, going from Groucho (as Otis B. Driftwood) trying to woo a society lady to hijinks on a cruise ship to a case of mistaken identity. In the process, there's also a love triangle involving opera singers (as typical with many of the classic 30's comedy team movies, I guess you had to give the audience a bit of everything). Even though Groucho is perhaps the most well-known of the Marx's, it's Harpo that does it for me. The way that he was able to be funny without even needing to speak always seems to bring a smile to me.

The film was unofficially remade as 1992's Brain Donors (with John Turturro in the Groucho role) but that's one wasn't as good.

[Ron Burgundy]

Lol @ Johnerle!!
Ive still yet to properly watch a Marx bros movie, for some reason. It seems like its a bit too old.

The Brood (1979)
Watched this early David Cronenberg flick at a mates house. Not quite Scanners or Videodrome level but still once it got going it was entertaining- albeit pretty difficult to piece together.
5.5/10

The Pawnbroker (1964)
Must say, Sidney Lumet was an absolute gun. I will be checking out more of his stuff. A former Nazi prisoner turned pawnbroker becomes entangled in a sea of crime, unwittingly and yet he should know better.
6.5/10

Slap Shot (1977)
Paul Newman was so good he could do any genre with ease. Here he charms his way through a comedy as captain-coach of ragtag ice hockey team. I think the director here (George Roy Hill) had much influence over the comedy in film for the next 20 years. Bit of a hidden gem.
7/10

[BanksIsDaFuture]

Two international flights last week means I saw a bunch of movies on the plane-

Booksmart - A

This was way better than I expected. An updated Superbad for today's teens, full of heart and humor. Feels like vintage Apatow, except it's not an hour too long. Beanie Feldstein could definitely be as big as her brother one day, she was the highlight here for me.

Minding The Gap - B

A documentary focusing on young adults and how they deal with poverty, family abuse, and domestic violence in small town Illinois was an interesting watch. It's surprisingly the first feature from one of the subjects of the film itself. It was filmed over 12 years and is extremely well directed and edited. It's not necessarily new ground covered, but still a glimpse into a life I'm not familiar with to this level.

Stuber - C

Meh.

A Quiet Place - B+

Not sure why I avoided this for so long, it's as good as I've heard for the past year and a half. Not sure where the sequel can go though.

Happy Death Day 2U - B

I couldn't even get through the first movie years ago, it was so generic. Somehow, they convinced Blumhouse to let them make the sequel into a time-travel sci-fi comedy, with almost no horror elements at all. It's not particularly great, but the main girl is funny and charismastic enough to carry the entire film.

The LEGO Movie 2 - A

I have no idea why this did so poorly compared to the first, since it's just as good. Once again, the entire movie is an allegory for growing up for the live-action children and it works.

Teen Spirit - A-

A quiet, simmering performance from Elle Fanning supports this entire film. I enjoyed it immensely. The music video aesthitic of the live performances are a great creative choice.

The Hustle - C+

I'm a sucker for Anne Hathaway, even when she's slumming it in a Rebel Wilson "comedy". I would've loved to see her opposite an actual comedic actress, like Rose Byrne or even Melissa McCarthy. As generic and "funny" as Stuber....read into that what you will.

Hellboy (2019) - F

I turned it off 15 minutes in. Couldn't even stomach it being locked in a metal tube over the Atlantic ocean.

[Buscemi2]

A movie I used to rent all the time that I finally got to see in the theatre. I guess I must have missed a lot of the existential elements and themes of death the first several times. Back then, I just saw Tom Hanks being funny. But now, I really see the film for what it is: a film about following your dreams and living life, no matter what the circumstances. The plot is purely fantasy, with the volcano and Joe having a rich benefactor. But the way John Patrick Shanley (in one of only two films he's directed to date) tells the story, he livens things up by contrasting Joe's Brazil-like dead end life with the dream world that is sent to fulfill. And you have Meg Ryan playing three different characters in probably her best work. And you have to admire a film where all of the things that Joe possesses or buys for the trip gets some sort of use.

A wacky but meaningful journey of self.

Up next: Saving Private Ryan.