Tuesday, May 1, 2012
Religious Horror and Hong Kong Crap
Sunday I watched a double feature of religious horror: The Believers and Prince of Darkness, and MST3K's Master Ninja. Monday was Hong Kong movies Wait 'Til You're Older and Ultimate Vampire. Tuesday was TV movie A Cold Night's Death.
Sunday, April 29, 2012
Squirm
Yesterday I looked through this blog as if it was written by a stranger, it had been so long since I'd posted. And then I made the mistake of mentioning Warrior of the Lost World to my husband, so we ended up watching that again. With MST3K. Alvy Singer!
Then we tried to watch the 80s comedy Gorp, which was sold to me by my husband as "It's got Dennis Quaid! You like Dennis Quaid!" Well, Dennis Quaid, usually a cutie, was looking very much like Chet from Weird Science here, and for a comedy, it wasn't funny. Well, there was one funny part, when Fran Drescher said, "I'm Evie, and I do fuck." But that was the only part, so we turned it off.
But wait, isn't the title of this post "Squirm?" Yes, it is. Another movie we watched with MST3K enhancement, Squirm was filmed a couple of hours from where we live, in Port Wentworth, GA. Now, I've never heard of Port Wentworth, despite living in this area on and off my entire life, but my sources tell me it's basically in Savannah.
Now, if there's one thing I do know about Savannah, it's that they are eaten up with ghosts up there. And according to IMDb, Squirm director Jeff Lieberman said that the house where they filmed was one of the most haunted in Georgia. The trouble is, I couldn't find anything about the haunting online. What to do?
That's why I'm posting about Squirm. I'm hoping someone from Port Wentworth, or someone who worked on the movie, will come along and tell me the ghost story of the house in Squirm. Because I love me a ghost story. Won't you please help this ghoul out?
P.S. As B-movies from the 70s go, Squirm is actually good enough to watch without robot commentary. It's rare when that happens, isn't it?
Then we tried to watch the 80s comedy Gorp, which was sold to me by my husband as "It's got Dennis Quaid! You like Dennis Quaid!" Well, Dennis Quaid, usually a cutie, was looking very much like Chet from Weird Science here, and for a comedy, it wasn't funny. Well, there was one funny part, when Fran Drescher said, "I'm Evie, and I do fuck." But that was the only part, so we turned it off.
But wait, isn't the title of this post "Squirm?" Yes, it is. Another movie we watched with MST3K enhancement, Squirm was filmed a couple of hours from where we live, in Port Wentworth, GA. Now, I've never heard of Port Wentworth, despite living in this area on and off my entire life, but my sources tell me it's basically in Savannah.
Now, if there's one thing I do know about Savannah, it's that they are eaten up with ghosts up there. And according to IMDb, Squirm director Jeff Lieberman said that the house where they filmed was one of the most haunted in Georgia. The trouble is, I couldn't find anything about the haunting online. What to do?
That's why I'm posting about Squirm. I'm hoping someone from Port Wentworth, or someone who worked on the movie, will come along and tell me the ghost story of the house in Squirm. Because I love me a ghost story. Won't you please help this ghoul out?
P.S. As B-movies from the 70s go, Squirm is actually good enough to watch without robot commentary. It's rare when that happens, isn't it?
Saturday, April 28, 2012
Robert Altman's Nashville and Lucio Fulci's Zombie
It's a beautiful Saturday afternoon. My son is with his father this weekend, a necessary bi-weekly visitation that makes sure that my heart is always sprained. My lovely husband is out doing the shopping, and I'm here in a completely self-indulgent mood, watching Robert Altman's Nashville again. To make it even more indulgent, I'll just live blog my impressions.
I'm very disappointed to know that the Henry Gibson character represents Hank Snow, because I have always been a fan of Snow's music. I wonder if there will come a time when our society's cult of celebrity collapses under the burden of knowing that so many of our idols are complete assholes. Ironically, it's the worship that makes them into assholes, unless only assholes become famous. I wonder if by looking up to musicians all fans appear as grating, pathetic, and clueless as Geraldine Chaplin's possibly fake documentarian and starfucker. We tell ourselves we're admiring their work and not them in the best cases.
I wonder if the Lily Tomlin character was meant to be a bad singer, and whether Lily Tomlin can actually sing.
I remind myself that Geraldine Chaplin must be a great talent to be able to play someone so annoying. The first time I saw her was in Jodie Foster's Home For the Holidays, where she also played a woman who could make the viewer black their own eye facepalming so hard. We tell ourselves we're admiring their work and not them in the best cases.
It's as if Altman predicted the Tea Party with the ubiquitous candidate on the loudspeaker in the van.
For once, Jeff Goldblum doesn't play an annoying character here.
There's a news man in a maroon sportcoat, in case anyone doesn't believe the spot-on satire contained in Anchorman. Men really dressed like that in 1975.
So sad to see Bill of Bill, Tom and Mary trying too hard at the airport.
Oh wow, is Tom horrible for asking Scott Glenn if he killed anyone this week. I'm a bit ashamed to be a liberal during that exchange.
When I get to heaven, I hope there is not need for lawyers. That does not mean I don't want any lawyers to get into heaven. I just hope they all get reassigned to jobs as college professors. In my heaven people have assignments.
When I lived in the Nashville area, I met too many country people who were afraid to drive in the city. I thought that they should call me after they'd lived and driven in Atlanta.
Did Lily Tomlin really just give the first passerby she saw some money to get her an ice cream, or was Ned Beatty near her in a separate car and came to check on her? I wonder if it's meant to say something about her character making the best of situations, eating ice cream while waiting for the wreck to clear.
Is Barbara Harris's character the bravest person in the film? She could be the least neurotic. Or is it that she just won't admit the possibility of failure? Maybe she is delusional, and there is no correlation between her intent and the way she ends up.
Sueleen Gay is definitely delusional. Cynically, I wonder if in today's age of autotune and manufactured country whether she would have become a singer after all. Why are she and Barbara Harris (Winifred) set up to contrast? They must be linked purposely by the filmmaker, the way that Winifred has to run from her husband in the same bar where Sueleen is singing, during Sueleen's "song."
Is there some cruel humor involved with Lily's character being a bad singer and her children being deaf? It's remarkable that the deaf boy still has a thick Southern accent.
It's important that Winifred causes another car wreck, does not notice, keeps on walking, and isn't even blamed by the drivers.
How did Jeff Goldblum end up with both Geraldine and Barbara on his bike when he takes them to the Hamilton party?
Haven Hamilton's son Buddy is one of the best singers in the film. How funny that Hamilton puts Geraldine in her place without even knowing how she just insulted his son by running off during Buddy's beautiful song.
I will finish my thoughts on Nashville at another time, as I stopped the movie at the Grand Old Opry scene.
My husband came in with the food and we switched to Fulci's Zombie. We had the last half hour left over from our viewing of the night before. Things I noticed upon this viewing: the last 15 minutes of this movie make me mark out. I love the way the theme song starts up as the majority of the zombies in the old cemetery sit up. Another great use of music is the rock guitar that plays as we see the zombies eating the doctor's wife. It's shocked faces of the four main characters, the dead body, the shocked faces, then the music and the zombies eating. Both my husband and I simultaneously wondered what the zombies were actually eating; we also thought at the same time to compare Brian's reaction to Susan's death to the annoying girl in 1981's My Bloody Valentine who is in denial of their situation and doesn't want to climb the ladder. But the best insight I took from this viewing, in keeping with my earlier thoughts of Nashville and the cult of celebrity: Tisa Farrow is unknown to most moviegoers. That's because she stopped acting and became an ICU nurse many years ago. In my opinion, her contribution to the world has therefore been far greater than her uber-famous sister's. brood of adopted kids notwithstanding.
I'm very disappointed to know that the Henry Gibson character represents Hank Snow, because I have always been a fan of Snow's music. I wonder if there will come a time when our society's cult of celebrity collapses under the burden of knowing that so many of our idols are complete assholes. Ironically, it's the worship that makes them into assholes, unless only assholes become famous. I wonder if by looking up to musicians all fans appear as grating, pathetic, and clueless as Geraldine Chaplin's possibly fake documentarian and starfucker. We tell ourselves we're admiring their work and not them in the best cases.
I wonder if the Lily Tomlin character was meant to be a bad singer, and whether Lily Tomlin can actually sing.
I remind myself that Geraldine Chaplin must be a great talent to be able to play someone so annoying. The first time I saw her was in Jodie Foster's Home For the Holidays, where she also played a woman who could make the viewer black their own eye facepalming so hard. We tell ourselves we're admiring their work and not them in the best cases.
It's as if Altman predicted the Tea Party with the ubiquitous candidate on the loudspeaker in the van.
For once, Jeff Goldblum doesn't play an annoying character here.
There's a news man in a maroon sportcoat, in case anyone doesn't believe the spot-on satire contained in Anchorman. Men really dressed like that in 1975.
So sad to see Bill of Bill, Tom and Mary trying too hard at the airport.
Oh wow, is Tom horrible for asking Scott Glenn if he killed anyone this week. I'm a bit ashamed to be a liberal during that exchange.
When I get to heaven, I hope there is not need for lawyers. That does not mean I don't want any lawyers to get into heaven. I just hope they all get reassigned to jobs as college professors. In my heaven people have assignments.
When I lived in the Nashville area, I met too many country people who were afraid to drive in the city. I thought that they should call me after they'd lived and driven in Atlanta.
Did Lily Tomlin really just give the first passerby she saw some money to get her an ice cream, or was Ned Beatty near her in a separate car and came to check on her? I wonder if it's meant to say something about her character making the best of situations, eating ice cream while waiting for the wreck to clear.
Is Barbara Harris's character the bravest person in the film? She could be the least neurotic. Or is it that she just won't admit the possibility of failure? Maybe she is delusional, and there is no correlation between her intent and the way she ends up.
Sueleen Gay is definitely delusional. Cynically, I wonder if in today's age of autotune and manufactured country whether she would have become a singer after all. Why are she and Barbara Harris (Winifred) set up to contrast? They must be linked purposely by the filmmaker, the way that Winifred has to run from her husband in the same bar where Sueleen is singing, during Sueleen's "song."
Is there some cruel humor involved with Lily's character being a bad singer and her children being deaf? It's remarkable that the deaf boy still has a thick Southern accent.
It's important that Winifred causes another car wreck, does not notice, keeps on walking, and isn't even blamed by the drivers.
How did Jeff Goldblum end up with both Geraldine and Barbara on his bike when he takes them to the Hamilton party?
Haven Hamilton's son Buddy is one of the best singers in the film. How funny that Hamilton puts Geraldine in her place without even knowing how she just insulted his son by running off during Buddy's beautiful song.
I will finish my thoughts on Nashville at another time, as I stopped the movie at the Grand Old Opry scene.
My husband came in with the food and we switched to Fulci's Zombie. We had the last half hour left over from our viewing of the night before. Things I noticed upon this viewing: the last 15 minutes of this movie make me mark out. I love the way the theme song starts up as the majority of the zombies in the old cemetery sit up. Another great use of music is the rock guitar that plays as we see the zombies eating the doctor's wife. It's shocked faces of the four main characters, the dead body, the shocked faces, then the music and the zombies eating. Both my husband and I simultaneously wondered what the zombies were actually eating; we also thought at the same time to compare Brian's reaction to Susan's death to the annoying girl in 1981's My Bloody Valentine who is in denial of their situation and doesn't want to climb the ladder. But the best insight I took from this viewing, in keeping with my earlier thoughts of Nashville and the cult of celebrity: Tisa Farrow is unknown to most moviegoers. That's because she stopped acting and became an ICU nurse many years ago. In my opinion, her contribution to the world has therefore been far greater than her uber-famous sister's. brood of adopted kids notwithstanding.
Monday, September 26, 2011
Sunday, September 25, 2011
Friday, September 23, 2011
It's Fri-eee-day
This week I watched:
Ghostbusters
Joseph Campbell: Sukhavati
Suspiria
Profondo Rosso
The Black Cat
Ghostbusters
Joseph Campbell: Sukhavati
Suspiria
Profondo Rosso
The Black Cat
Monday, September 19, 2011
Weekend Wrapup
Joysticks - Unfunny sex comedy, in which the kids beat the big bad businessman and then one of them fucks the bad guy's wife at the end. Good shots of classic video games though, and Napoleon Dynamite's Uncle Rico as a punk named King Vidiot.
Fraternity Vacation - You can look at Tim Robbins and think, "that guy's going far." Not really. It's a much better movie than Joysticks, though.
Carnival of Souls - Before I started watching horror movies every day and posting in my horror blog, this was my favorite horror film. That's not to take anything away from Carnival, it's just that I've seen so many now that I can't pick a favorite. It's definitely my favorite 60s horror that's not 2000 Maniacs or The Whip and the Body.
Watched it in color, with the Mike Nelson commentary. Herk Harvey is scary when the movie is in color; he really looks other worldly and you can see how the makeup influenced so many other films. The ghouls contrast so much more creepily when they are the only ones in black and white (well, greenish white anyway). Not my favorite Mike commentary, but still good as at this point he's like an old friend.
The Social Network - Finally got around to watching this one; took me a couple of days as I started it Wednesday and finished it today (Monday). At first I felt sorry for Mark Zuckerberg (I have a soft spot for aspies, being the mother of one) and then I didn't when I saw how vengeful he was. Aspies can be taught to be responsible for their actions and to consider other people's feelings.
On the other hand, it was refreshing to watch someone screw someone over in business for personal reasons rather than greed. I can empathize with hurt feelings, but not with the mindset that there is no amount of money that is enough. The "nothing personal, just business" way of thinking puts flames on the sides of my face. What kind of world do we live in where a guy can rob one bank and get life in jail, but a bank exec can rob thousands of people and get a tax break? If Jesus is coming, he'd better come on.
Back to the movie, the best part was that I discovered that "California Love" was a cover of a kickass song called "West Coast Poplock" which played during the ziplining off the roof scene and which I can't stop listening to. Even my cat loves that song. He goes and lies down right in front of the speaker and grooves on the bass.
Fraternity Vacation - You can look at Tim Robbins and think, "that guy's going far." Not really. It's a much better movie than Joysticks, though.
Carnival of Souls - Before I started watching horror movies every day and posting in my horror blog, this was my favorite horror film. That's not to take anything away from Carnival, it's just that I've seen so many now that I can't pick a favorite. It's definitely my favorite 60s horror that's not 2000 Maniacs or The Whip and the Body.
Watched it in color, with the Mike Nelson commentary. Herk Harvey is scary when the movie is in color; he really looks other worldly and you can see how the makeup influenced so many other films. The ghouls contrast so much more creepily when they are the only ones in black and white (well, greenish white anyway). Not my favorite Mike commentary, but still good as at this point he's like an old friend.
The Social Network - Finally got around to watching this one; took me a couple of days as I started it Wednesday and finished it today (Monday). At first I felt sorry for Mark Zuckerberg (I have a soft spot for aspies, being the mother of one) and then I didn't when I saw how vengeful he was. Aspies can be taught to be responsible for their actions and to consider other people's feelings.
On the other hand, it was refreshing to watch someone screw someone over in business for personal reasons rather than greed. I can empathize with hurt feelings, but not with the mindset that there is no amount of money that is enough. The "nothing personal, just business" way of thinking puts flames on the sides of my face. What kind of world do we live in where a guy can rob one bank and get life in jail, but a bank exec can rob thousands of people and get a tax break? If Jesus is coming, he'd better come on.
Back to the movie, the best part was that I discovered that "California Love" was a cover of a kickass song called "West Coast Poplock" which played during the ziplining off the roof scene and which I can't stop listening to. Even my cat loves that song. He goes and lies down right in front of the speaker and grooves on the bass.
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