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2020 MOVIE DISCUSSION


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STRAY CAT ROCK: WILD JUMBO is pretty boring, and a disappointing follow up to the first in the series.

Still might blow some cash and blind buy the PRISONER CONVICT SCORPION box, though.

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I'm ashamed to admit that I was today years old when I found out that John Hughes was involved in some of my favorite movies ever as a kid. I always thought of him as just the director of Sixteen Candles or The Breakfast Club, but apparently he wrote the Vacation movies, Weird Science, the Home Alone movies, Beethoven, Dennis the Menace, Flubber, Ferris Bueller's Day Off... Goddamn. Vaction/European/Christmas were staples in my house when I was a kid, although my favorite is actually Vegas - fuck off - and didn't involve Hughes in any way. But, yeah, wow. Honestly didn't realize any of those movies involved him at all. Obviously I'm not a super big film nerd. ?

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Had lots of alone time this week, so I hit up a bunch of horror movies I've been meaning to watch

Hereditary: was awesome.  Just 2+ hours of menace and dread that I was 100% was going to go.

 

SWERVE: It's all in her head or Someone's just messing with her but instead we get that batshit insane summoning one of the kings of Hell ending!


It's kind of impossible to explain without giving away important plot points, but it deals with a family with a history of mental illness that's left reeling after the passing of one of its members. Toni Collette was robbed of an Oscar nomination.  There were so many great creepy things going on in the background that I wonder if I may have missed some.

The Babadook: This might have even been better.  I mean, the latter was a more expertly put together and all-around better executed movie, but there was something more visceral about this one.  A widow grows increasingly frustrated with her timid, scared son and the situation is only exacerbated when a mysterious children's book turns up that makes him even more terrified.  

Doctor Sleep: There is one scene in this one, the sequel to 'The Shining', that really affected me

 

The gang of bad guys, who steal the steam from fear, abduct and stab and slowly kill a young boy in order to feast on his steam.  And it's too much.  Part of the problem might b that the boy is played by Jacob Tremblay, and that little guy is a really great actor.  But it just is so overwhelmingly sad and upsetting that I think it kind of wrecks the film, in all honesty.  There's no other scene quite so viscerally graphic; most of the rest of the deaths are shown offscreen, in less detail, or consist of not-so-human characters that it just really stays with you and not in a good way.


There's some really neat stuff in here, at some points, like the bad girl projecting herself through the sky, searching for another powerful person with The Shining and the whole recreation of The Overlook from the first film, but the above spoiler kind of coloured the whole film in a negative way for me.  Plus, I found the supernatural abilities of the characters were really inconsistent.  One moment a character is the most powerful in the world, able to battle others to a standstill, the next they are unable to do anything.  Other characters with seemingly limited power, suddenly grow stronger.  Maybe a lot was lost in the adaptation from the book, but I just felt the whole thing was a little half-baked.

Edited by caley
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I watched DOCTOR SLEEP over the weekend, and I was surprised how much I enjoyed it, even though, with the exception of the scene @caley mentioned (which is an extreme outlier in terms of being gruesome and distributing), it really isn’t much of a horror film at all.  It’s really more of a grounded fantasy film.

I think the problem with the film, much as it was in the novel, is that the True Knot come off like a bunch of jobbers, who get their ass kicked constantly.  They’re not a threat to the main characters at all, so there isn’t much tension. The film actually adds a few names to their body count, but it doesn’t help much.

Of course, the climax actually taking place in the Overlook really elevates everything (it’s burned down in the novels).  It’s a really strong finish.  And Flanagan takes out the shitty part in the novel where King makes himself the hero.  I’m honestly surprised King seemed to like the movie as much as he did, given that Flanagan undid much of what King specifically put in the novel to counteract the legacy of Kubrick’s film.

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I loved The Babadook.  It's just this perfect metaphor for guilt, grief, and loss.  People I've met who didn't like it are typically the ones who took the whole thing literally and have no idea why the Babadook is living in the basement in the end.

At my job, there's a long hallway where the bathrooms are that dead ends at some cubicles and a coat rack.  In the winter, someone without fail hangs a long black coat there.  So every time I go to the bathroom, I think I see the Babadook like 100 feet away ?

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In defense of the power variance of the villains in Doctor Sleep, the members of the True Knot are not always at full strength as they have not fed regularly on the souls they require to maintain their abilities.  Rose The Hat is the only one that feeds regularly on the reserves so it explains why her powers are usually the strongest.

The disturbing scene in question is pretty much taken literally from the book.  It is a bit excessive, yes, but there are far worse examples of Stephen King venturing into avenues best left untraveled.  Ultimately, I think the scene serves an important purpose as it shows exactly what lengths the True Knot will go through to maintain their immortality.  

It also gives you a grisly image of what really happened to the poor girl they abducted at the beginning of the film.  There is no doubt that the True Knot are the monsters of this movie.

My problems with the movie ultimately stem from my misgivings about Kubrick's adaptation.  It is truly a classic, but the divides between movie and novel are both subtle and vast and that divergence also separates Mike Flannagan's adaptation of Doctor Sleep from the novel in various ways that I both like and dislike.

And yeah, Hereditary is all kinds of awesome.  We discussed it at length in the Horror thread when it came out.  If you liked Hereditary, you will probably enjoy Midsommar, but it's really fucking long and detailed so watch it during the day when you are less likely to fall the fuck asleep.

Edited by J.T.
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Leaving this here to come back to later. Lucio Fulci's only Spaghetti Western. I remember LOVING it when I rented it years ago and immediately put it up there with any of his horror classics. 

Besides, with Morricone dying, maybe somebody wants to watch something he could have easily scored.

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In defense of the power variance of the villains in Doctor Sleep, the members of the True Knot are not always at full strength as they have not fed regularly on the souls they require to maintain their abilities.  Rose The Hat is the only one that feeds regularly on the reserves so it explains why her powers are usually the strongest.

My biggest gripe on this front is that Rose the Hat comes to visit Abra in her head, and Abra psychically whoops her ass while Danny is portrayed as kind of a lesser psychic-warrior.  After the True Knot is wiped out, Danny says to Abra about Rose that she's more powerful than both of them put together, despite the fact they just recently established that Abra can hold her own with Rose.  Then at the Overlook, Danny battles Rose to a near-draw and she says "Where have you been hiding all these years?" and Abra is kind of afterthought in the showdown.  So Abra goes from strongest to playing second fiddle to Rose and Danny.

The disturbing scene in question is pretty much taken literally from the book.  It is a bit excessive, yes, but there are far worse examples of Stephen King venturing into avenues best left untraveled.  Ultimately, I think the scene serves an important purpose as it shows exactly what lengths the True Knot will go through to maintain their immortality. 

I think it could have been handled more artfully, less viscerally.  Like, you could show him being terrified, then cut away to the sound of his screams.  The way it's done, though, it kind of overpowers the film, I think.  Like it pushes you into a more intense horror film vibe, but as EVA says, it's really more of a fantasy film outside of this sequence.

If you liked Hereditary, you will probably enjoy Midsommar, but it's really fucking long and detailed so watch it during the day when you are less likely to fall the fuck asleep.

I actually saw 'Midsommar' first and came away from it liking it, but maybe not loving it.  But it took up residency in my head and the further I've gotten away from it, the more I find myself admiring it.  I also love that when they auctioned off the flower robe and Halsey and Arianna Grande were fighting over which of them would get it (Apparently the Academy ultimately purchased it).  Grande must have been a huge fan as she recently had a Midsommar-themed birthday party.

https://ew.com/movies/ariana-grande-midsommar-themed-birthday-party/

 

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7 hours ago, caley said:

My biggest gripe on this front is that Rose the Hat comes to visit Abra in her head, and Abra psychically whoops her ass while Danny is portrayed as kind of a lesser psychic-warrior.  After the True Knot is wiped out, Danny says to Abra about Rose that she's more powerful than both of them put together, despite the fact they just recently established that Abra can hold her own with Rose.  Then at the Overlook, Danny battles Rose to a near-draw and she says "Where have you been hiding all these years?" and Abra is kind of afterthought in the showdown.  So Abra goes from strongest to playing second fiddle to Rose and Danny.

Rose says that to Danny because she's never been able to detect Danny over the years because his alcoholism has diminished his capacity.  Now that he's sober and using his talent to it's fullest extent, Rose realizes how powerful he actually is and is puzzled by why he hasn't shown up on her radar sooner.  It's not a ding on Abra's power and Rose knows that if the feasts on Danny's power, she may be powerful enough to take Abra on herself.  

Rose feasted on several souls before the final showdown, so her powers are greatly augmented and she is probably more than a match for Danny in a one on one contest.

7 hours ago, caley said:

I think it could have been handled more artfully, less viscerally.  Like, you could show him being terrified, then cut away to the sound of his screams.  The way it's done, though, it kind of overpowers the film, I think.  Like it pushes you into a more intense horror film vibe, but as EVA says, it's really more of a fantasy film outside of this sequence.

I agree that it is a overkill, but my defense is merely that it was not Mike's fault that the scene turned out the way it did.  The scene is pretty much lifted directly from the book, so the blame lies with Stephen King.

7 hours ago, caley said:

I actually saw 'Midsommar' first and came away from it liking it, but maybe not loving it.  But it took up residency in my head and the further I've gotten away from it, the more I find myself admiring it.  I also love that when they auctioned off the flower robe and Halsey and Arianna Grande were fighting over which of them would get it (Apparently the Academy ultimately purchased it).  Grande must have been a huge fan as she recently had a Midsommar-themed birthday party.

Midsommar had some of the most disturbing scenes I've seen in a long time and they were all in one movie.  Arianna Grande having a MIdsommar-themed party makes me think there is something wrong with that kid.

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El Rey Network's LUCHA LIBRE THEATER begins this Saturday night @ 10 PM EDT with El Santo & Blue Demon vs Dracula & the Wolfman!

I am under the impression that this is a new regular thing for the network and they'll show more classics like Blue Demon vs. THE INFERNAL BRAIN~! on Saturday nights at the same time.

SET YOUR DVRS~!

Edited by J.T.
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21 hours ago, J.T. said:

 

Midsommar had some of the most disturbing scenes I've seen in a long time and they were all in one movie.  Arianna Grande having a MIdsommar-themed party makes me think there is something wrong with that kid.

I dunno, I'd imagine there are a fair of amount of women who might enjoy wearing a robe of flowers while

watching their cheating, awful ex-boyfriend burn to death

?

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This is not hyperbole...Psychos in Love may be the greatest movie ever made. Funny, low budget gore, enough nudity without getting gross about it, weirdly charming...it's like a Troma movie without the mean-spiritedness. Elevator pitch for those that haven't seen it: a bar owner and a manicurist fall in love, but then find out that they are both serial killers. Clever dialogue with some documentary-style talking head interviews interspersed that eventually leads to more and more fourth wall breaking.

The two leads have some fun chemistry and I'm adding Debi Thibeault to my list with LeAnne Baker of amazing 80s B-movie actresses that made a handful of films in one year and then left the industry. If you like Molly Ringwald, but wish she did schlock movies instead, Thibeault is for you.

Also watched Cemetery High, by the same creative team, pretty great as well though not as good (3 high school girls are sick of being raped and harassed by jocks and go on a killing spree, get all the town's women on their side and become folk heroes). Seems to have even less of a budget than Psychos or at least has a much bigger cast so the money mostly went there. Too bad, because it wastes the Gore Gong gimmick to warn people when something bloody is about to occur (usually just someone getting shot out of frame). Also has a Hooters Honk for nudity.

Anyway 78 thumbs up for Psychos in Love.

Only 23 thumbs up for Cemetery High.

Just need to find Galactic Gigolo to complete the trilogy.

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Psychos In Love was the surprise final entrant in the next-to-last ever Halloween horror festival at the Art Theater in Champaign, IL. Preceding it were Nekromantik, Patrick, and something that started the fest off that I can't remember (funny enough the only entry that was announced). I think I remember it being terrible, but I was really tired and really tanked. So maybe I really liked it instead. It was four in the morning, who knows.

EDIT: Well hey guess what I posted about it here back in 2018. The fest was Patrick, The Driller Killer, Nekromantik, Psychos In Love, The Undertaker. I called Psychos "a long Curb episode, only about serial killers". 

Edited by Curt McGirt
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So, Mechanic Resurrection isn't very good. It's not awful, it's just bland and generic. The skyscraper bit is probably the highlight, way better than the Mission Impossible skyscraper thingy. Later there's a bit on a boat that's like playing GTA. But if you're watching Statham, you want to be watching something OTT like the Crank movies. Also I'd somehow convinced myself it co-starred Jessica Biel and not Jessica Alba, so I kept waiting for her to turn up and she didn't.

Now Green Room, that's really good. It's about a Punk band who get a couple of bad bookings, in non-spoiler terms.

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That Green Room comment reminds me about a thing going around on Facebook with my friends right now where you describe your favorite film in the most boring way possible. Mine ended up being "a group of people in a house argue about something important happening outside" (Night of the Living Dead). 

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21 hours ago, Curt McGirt said:

That Green Room comment reminds me about a thing going around on Facebook with my friends right now where you describe your favorite film in the most boring way possible. Mine ended up being "a group of people in a house argue about something important happening outside" (Night of the Living Dead). 

ooooh I wanna try that.

It's about Will Smith welcoming aliens to Earth.

nope. too exciting. how about....

It's about Randy Quaid being an alcoholic crop duster and then redeeming himself by blowing up an alien warship.

fuck.

It's about Jeff Goldblum decoding an alien transmission hiding in our satellite communications systems, and then later infecting their mothership with a "virus" that I guess he wrote for their operating system.

goddamnit. wait no I got it. Bill Pullman is kinda boring surely.....

It's about Bill Pullman finding out Area 51 is real and then rallying devastated Americans to kick some alien ass.

fuck it I can't do it.  It's too exciting.

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9 minutes ago, jaedmc said:

ooooh I wanna try that.

It's about Will Smith welcoming aliens to Earth.

nope. too exciting. how about....

It's about Randy Quaid being an alcoholic crop duster and then redeeming himself by blowing up an alien warship.

fuck.

It's about Jeff Goldblum decoding an alien transmission hiding in our satellite communications systems, and then later infecting their mothership with a "virus" that I guess he wrote for their operating system.

goddamnit. wait no I got it. Bill Pullman is kinda boring surely.....

It's about Bill Pullman finding out Area 51 is real and then rallying devastated Americans to kick some alien ass.

fuck it I can't do it.  It's too exciting.

A Vietnam War veteran is reunited with some old friends.

g8cmbAW.gif

Edited by EVA
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22 hours ago, Curt McGirt said:

That Green Room comment reminds me about a thing going around on Facebook with my friends right now where you describe your favorite film in the most boring way possible. Mine ended up being "a group of people in a house argue about something important happening outside" (Night of the Living Dead). 

An old man reads his sick grandson a story.

 

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