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Saturday Evening Movie Thread 02-15-2020 [Hosted By: Moviegique]
COLOR OUT OF SPACE
A strength of the written word over visual media is that it can convey abstractions that extend or even violate literal description. In a comically broad example, a writer can tell you "To all outward appearance it was a happy scene—but horror lurked underneath!" (And when filmmakers do this, as in Blue Velvet, it can be just as ridiculously ham-handed.) Personally, I can seldom bring myself to watch filmings of Ray Bradbury stories because, in my mind, those stories are always wondrous and emotionally vibrant, and that seldom comes out on screen. But in the area of abstraction, the Waukegan poet had nothing on the Providence patrician, Howard Phillips Lovecraft, who was fond of defining things in terms of impossibilities: Non-Euclidean geometry meaning "things that don't conform to the laws of natural space", sound unlike any sounds a human could comprehend, and of course, weird alien colours (with the affected English spelling). And he managed (not always but often enough to persist over 100 years) to create a wondrous, weird, malignant universe with impossibly abstract visuals and a few choice details. Which is damned hard to film. (I'm reminded of Adriane Lyne's query to Bruce Joel Rubin over a script direction in Jacob's Ladder: "The walls crack open revealing the unfathomable void." Lyne asked him, "How many carpenters will it take to build the unfathomable void?")
These days you could do it with a half-dozen doughy middle-aged dudes and a case of Monster.
Horror films generally are plagued by Joyce's "ineluctable modality of the visible"—that's an in-joke I'll explain in the comments—but what I'm getting at is that the instant you show something, it becomes defined and you lose some of the horror. The original theatrical cut of Alien does an excellent job of teasing the alien, showing hints and having the human crew chase around clues that fill in the picture. Then, by the end, when you see it in all its glory, you're suitably awed by it.
When the threat is known and clearly defined in a film, it becomes more an action/adventure picture no matter how many horror effects it borrows. The label "Survival Horror" sometimes get applied to such films, but one isn't usually scared by, e.g., the Resident Evil movies. Or, say, Tremors, a fine film with a lot of suspenseful moments, but not scary. You can also contrast Alien to Aliens, or Night of the Living Dead to Day of the Dead. Particularly the latter: Zombies don't even seem like much of a threat once you know their "rules". But zombies are easy to do, and even Alien just needed a very tall, very skinny dude in an (excellently designed) rubber suit. Now, get your costume designers on Yog-Sothoth:"Imagination called up the shocking form of fabulous Yog-Sothoth – only a congeries of iridescent globes, yet stupendous in its malign suggestiveness."The very first (and still one of the best) adaptations of H.P. Lovecraft's stories is Roger Corman's The Haunted Palace, featuring said Yog-Sothoth. It recapitulates the mood of his successful, broody Poe stories, but with a somewhat different flavor, all to build up to one of the great cinematic disappointments:
It's actually worse in the movie, as they do a "wavy vision" effect over this static picture, and you've been built up to something dramatically that's...well, you feel like the movie—and the world—deserves better. (Coincidentally, Alien screenwriter Dan O'Bannon directed a version of this story in 1991.) Five-hundred words is a lot of preamble for any movie review (though not my record) but I think it's important to understand the mindset of the HPL fan in going to a mainstream-ish feature based on his works: You hope (without much hopefulness) that it manages to capture some of the characteristics of the writing and that it does so without some utterly embarrassing issue cropping up. On that front, this movie is a resounding success. For the most part, the CGI reminds me of the Eastern movies we see: It's not the best technically, but it's not trying to fool you—it's trying to win you over. So let's get into the deets: The story is updated from the sullen New England family to modern-day refugees from city life. This is savvy: Our characters are isolated by choice, and instead of being ignorant, moody farmers, they're all-too-hip post-hippie homeschoolers. Another great aspect is that they're not cartoon cutouts. Our scarcely involved narrator Ward (Elliot Knight) first meets daughter Lavinia—an irritable poseur—as she's casting a spell that she hopes will take her out of the forest life but also will cure her mother's cancer. Nicholas Cage plays Nathan, who's brought his brood back to the family farm, out of the city to a safe, sane place where you drink water from the well, grow organic produce, and emotionally support your financial wizard wife (Joely Richardson, The Patriot, The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo) who's recovering from cancer, and raise your three kids who aren't entirely sold on this whole hicksville thing. The movie does a good job getting you to like these people which, well, it's kind of a shame what happens to them. (Contrast with the 1987 version of this story starring Claude Akins and Wil Wheaton, The Curse, or even the recent Annihilation.)
"What the HELL is that?"
What happens is that a meteor strikes their small farm. This is where we first get a taste of the movie's regard for the source material: The meteor doesn't just hit. There's a build-up. Again, contrasted with other versions of the story (like the Creepshow entry "The Lonesome Death of Jordy Verrill"), director Richard Stanley infuses the scene with an alien intelligence. As such, when the horrifying transmogrification begins, the plot feels almost like a sci-fi invasion story. Tonally, this is spot-on: HPL's universe was cold and hostile, and his monsters flew through (or lived in) the vacuum of space or sat at the bottom of the ocean for eons. The aesthetic is also spot-on: Given the limitation of having to present an actual color, the choice of the sort of purple-pink never-occurs-in-nature oddly-saturated hue works well. The color shows up in glints and flashes everywhere, though more and more prominently as the poison from the well spreads. The family experiences the meteor differently as well, the two teenagers (played by Brendan Meyer and Madeleine Arthur, both of whom have appeared in R.L. Stine material in the past, amusingly enough) seem to be the least affected, though they experience time shifts/loss, while young Jack Jack (Julian Hiliard) seems to commune with the voices only he can hear coming from the well. Meanwhile Nathan is assaulted by a smell no one else seems to be able to detect and Theresa (Richardson) seems to be semi-possessed. We won't even go into the alpacas.
Concerned reader "Al" writes in to ask "WHY? WHAT HAPPENS TO THE ALPACAS?!"
A nice thing is that the characters' behaviors are understandable. If I recall the original story, the transformation takes quite some time whereas here it happens in days. It's not that everyone acts rationally—they are, after all, under the influence of a malignant space disease—but that you could see how a mildly diminished capacity would result in misunderstandings which result in fatal delays. So we are spared from the whole "Why don't they just...?" syndrome common to horror films. Some good spooky moments. No jump scares. A lot of disturbing things that felt Lovecraftian. Therese and Jack Jack have an encounter with The Color that is positively upsetting. A brief glimpse of an alien world. Another scene has Lavinia casting a spell by carving letters into herself with a box-cutter but you're not sure whether this is the influence of the meteor or her attempt to fight that influence. A nice updating of the parental characters going mad: They start acting like their parents. (So to those who wonder, yes, Nic Cage does go crazy but it's a different kind of crazy.) One scene rips off John Carpenter's The Thing which, you know, steal from the best. Tommy Chong has a role as paranoiac hermit Ezra (another rather savvy update to "the crazy old coot who lives in the woods" trope) whose exeunt is very effectively done. Producer Josh C. Waller (who also produced Mandy) plays a sheriff who, if I'm not mistaken, has a run in with a Shuggoth.
Prince lives.
I'm not sure about the Shuggoth, but easter eggs abound: The narrator is a hydrologist from Arkham (the nearest big town) and wears a Miskatonic University shirt. He reads Algernon Blackwood's The Willows, considered by HPL to be the finest horror in the English language. And his name is "Ward". (I think they say "Philip Ward" at some point but I may have misheard that.) The weather report is for Arkham and surrounding cities like Dunwich and Innsmouth. The book Lavinia tries to cast her spell from is the Necronomicon, (but it's the Necronomicon you can buy on Amazon, not HPL's version). Fortunately, the references settle down as the action picks up. The Boy and I had to catch it separately but we both agreed that we liked it, that it was solid, but no Mandy, a comment which isn't meant derogatorily because I probably liked this more. As good as the atmosphere is in most respects, we couldn't help but wonder if it might not have benefited from a little more of Mandy's surrealism. Nonetheless, for a guy whose last feature directing job was being thrown off Island of Dr. Moreau 20 years ago, Richard Stanley has shown a very sure hand here and I'm looking forward to the next movie in the trilogy: The Dunwich Horror.
Comments
(Jump to bottom of comments)Posted by: Moon Moon Blutarski at February 15, 2020 08:02 PM (VNfwt)
Posted by: Tonypete at February 15, 2020 08:02 PM (Y4EXg)
"the ineluctible modality of the visible"
I set a project for myself a few years back of reading the significant portion of the 1,200 books in my library that I haven't yet read. For fiction, I'll take an author whose lasst name begins with "A", then move on to one with "B" and so on.
Obviously, some letters have more books than others, but one I ran out of rather quickly is "J". The only book I have left in "J" is James Joyce, "Ulysses". I haven't read much Joyce, and I'm dubious generally about post-modern experimentation in punctuation and grammar, so I've been putting it off literally for two years.
But then I was reading a different book and it quoted "Ulysses": "the ineluctable modality of the visible". Just the phrase makes me groan, although I guess in context it makes sense. I think the characcter is trying to hold on to his sanity, or reality or whatever.
Anyway, since then, I've been saying that phrase, "the ineluctable modality of the visible." Then I punch myself in the nuts.
Posted by: moviegique at February 15, 2020 08:03 PM (CcUfv)
Posted by: Skip at February 15, 2020 08:03 PM (ZCEU2)
Posted by: JT at February 15, 2020 08:03 PM (arJlL)
Posted by: OregonMuse, AoSHQ Thought Leader, Pants Monitor & Austere Religious Scholar at February 15, 2020 08:05 PM (3Ame7)
Posted by: klaftern at February 15, 2020 08:05 PM (RuIsu)
Posted by: All Hail Eris, She-Wolf of the 'Ettes 'Ettes at February 15, 2020 08:06 PM (Dc2NZ)
Posted by: Cosmic Charli at February 15, 2020 08:07 PM (+fTAB)
Posted by: Moon Moon Blutarski at February 15, 2020 08:07 PM (VNfwt)
I saw the 1970 version with Sandra Dee and Dean Stockwell. All I really remember was thinking it was an odd choice of movies for Sandra Dee
Posted by: TheQuietMan at February 15, 2020 08:09 PM (ushxq)
Posted by: Moon Moon Blutarski at February 15, 2020 08:10 PM (VNfwt)
Posted by: DB- just DB at February 15, 2020 08:11 PM (iTXRQ)
I think the =third= movie in the planned trilogy is going to be the "Dunwich Horror".
TQM--
I think that the was at the end of Dee's shelf life...
Posted by: moviegique at February 15, 2020 08:11 PM (CcUfv)
-
I've heard from people more 29 than me that radio Jack Benny was better than TV Jack Benny because the sound of such things as him entering his vault was far more evocative than anything a picture could do.
Posted by: Anonosaurus Wrecks, Tyrannosaur Wrangler at February 15, 2020 08:11 PM (+y/Ru)
Posted by: All Hail Eris, She-Wolf of the 'Ettes 'Ettes at February 15, 2020 08:11 PM (Dc2NZ)
Yay movie thread! Thanks Moviegique!
Posted by: qdpsteve at February 15, 2020 08:11 PM (L2ZTs)
Posted by: Taro Tsujimoto at February 15, 2020 08:12 PM (j4zcI)
Posted by: Cosmic Charlie at February 15, 2020 08:12 PM (+fTAB)
Decades TV is running a weekend marathon of The Wild Wild West in memory of Robert Conrad. Their website also mentions that John Karlen, who played Willie Loomis on Dark Shadows, died last month. He was 86.
Posted by: TheQuietMan at February 15, 2020 08:12 PM (ushxq)
Posted by: Northernlurker at February 15, 2020 08:13 PM (Uu+Jp)
Posted by: sharon(willow's apprentice) at February 15, 2020 08:13 PM (QzF6i)
https://www.imdb.com/title/tt5952594/?ref_=nv_sr_srsg_0
Posted by: All Hail Eris, She-Wolf of the 'Ettes 'Ettes at February 15, 2020 08:14 PM (Dc2NZ)
Posted by: Hairyback Guy at February 15, 2020 08:14 PM (Z+IKu)
You could probably find those old radio shows and see if you agree.
My middle daughter ("The Flower") listens to "Dragnet" and when I've listened to it with her, I'm always impressed at how many chases and fights there are. I don't remember ANY of that from the series. =P
Posted by: moviegique at February 15, 2020 08:15 PM (CcUfv)
How else you gonna get them to wash your Bently?
Posted by: Mini Mike Bloomberg at February 15, 2020 08:15 PM (Pgcou)
Is that before or after "Leprechaun in Space"?
I got that whole collection on VHS back when video stores were a thing (and becoming not a thing).
Posted by: moviegique at February 15, 2020 08:16 PM (CcUfv)
Posted by: Mike Hammer, etc., etc. at February 15, 2020 08:16 PM (2kj6M)
I think that the was at the end of Dee's shelf life...
Posted by: moviegique at February 15, 2020 08:11 PM (CcUfv)
Her life seemed to unravel a bit after her divorce from Bobby Darin and Hollywood stopped making those kind of romance movies that were her bread and butter around that time too. I think she was trying to break typecasting with that role but she seemed out of place.
Posted by: TheQuietMan at February 15, 2020 08:16 PM (ushxq)
1.
Shout Factory will be releasing a 4k blu-ray combo pack of The Deer Hunter on May 26. I've already pre-ordered my copy.
...and 2.
I went ahead and bought the 4k of Ex Machina, so I'm giving away my blu-ray/DVD combo of it. It's an official release of the movie, I've only watched/played it once, and the packaging as well as the discs are in excellent like-new condition. Whomever emails me first gets it. :-)
Posted by: qdpsteve at February 15, 2020 08:17 PM (L2ZTs)
Posted by: qdpsteve at February 15, 2020 08:18 PM (L2ZTs)
Posted by: Eromero at February 15, 2020 08:18 PM (UUkQp)
I wonder if it would be more effective to show each victim of the horror see the horror as something else.
Posted by: Big V at February 15, 2020 08:19 PM (y/fJ4)
Posted by: Dalton's Bond at February 15, 2020 08:20 PM (X0nhL)
Posted by: sharon(willow's apprentice)
You've never seen Godzilla ?
Godzilla and Peter Boyle tap dance and sing Puttin' on the Ritz !
I'd vote for the book.
Posted by: JT at February 15, 2020 08:21 PM (arJlL)
You could probably find those old radio shows and see if you agree.
My middle daughter ("The Flower") listens to "Dragnet" and when I've listened to it with her, I'm always impressed at how many chases and fights there are. I don't remember ANY of that from the series. =P
Posted by: moviegique at February 15, 2020 08:15 PM (CcUfv)
I used to listen to AFN back in the 70's. They'd run Johnny Dollar, Insurance Investigator. It was awesome.
Posted by: Diogenes at February 15, 2020 08:21 PM (mBL57)
Best scene is the end of Moonstruck at the breakfast table. 'I'm Ronny Cammereri, Johnny's brotha.'
Right now, I'm watching First Blood for the twentieth time.
Posted by: squeakywheel at February 15, 2020 08:22 PM (n6wjb)
"Blade Runner" - when I saw it as a teen, I thought the replicants were the bad guys. Now I sympathize with them completely. They're humanity and Tyrell is an uncaring Creator.
"Stripes" - Murray and Ramis's characters were funny and cool when I was a kid. Now they're childish assholes and Sgt. Hulka is the good guy.
Posted by: Taro Tsujimoto at February 15, 2020 08:22 PM (j4zcI)
Posted by: Cosmic Charlie at February 15, 2020 08:22 PM (PUmDY)
Posted by: troyriser at February 15, 2020 08:23 PM (E2EAq)
Posted by: Diogenes
He started out as Johnny Nickel, and clawed his way to the top.
Posted by: JT at February 15, 2020 08:23 PM (arJlL)
Posted by: Alberta Oil Peon at February 15, 2020 08:23 PM (LxWV7)
Posted by: Anonosaurus Wrecks, Tyrannosaur Wrangler at February 15, 2020 08:24 PM (+y/Ru)
When I first saw Vertigo in a film class at Long Beach City College in 1987, as a 21-year-old, I didn't care for it at all and thought it was bo-ring.
When I watched it again for the first time 15 years later, and after I'd been screwed over by a few women in my life? It hit me hard. Now I love it.
Posted by: qdpsteve at February 15, 2020 08:24 PM (L2ZTs)
Because of that, I am working my way through Kobayashi's The Human Condition trilogy. 9 hours and 47 minutes total, what a film.
Stark and brutal, but extraordinary. Focuses on one man's journey from working as a reformed-minded supervisor at Japanese forced labor camp to soldering to POW.
Posted by: lizabth at February 15, 2020 08:24 PM (L3Rsz)
Posted by: Ahwoo Flu at February 15, 2020 08:25 PM (fRokw)
Posted by: Eromero at February 15, 2020 08:25 PM (UUkQp)
Criterion is coming out with their own edition of The Great Escape, starring Steve McQueen. That's also coming out in May.
I personally am now looking forward to when Full Metal Jacket comes out on a 4k disc. I'm not gonna upgrade everything, but I want all of Kubrick's films in the format.
Posted by: qdpsteve at February 15, 2020 08:25 PM (L2ZTs)
Depressing crap about a lot of assholes I don't care about. I expect there's a reveal about the Not Rapture later, I assume aliens, but by the end of the third episode you don't care and are just waiting for the skull faced locusts already. And I mean in your living room, not in the show. This show is that soul-crushingly bad.
Posted by: boulder t'hobo at February 15, 2020 08:26 PM (/P984)
I guess I just don't want those images in my brain, where they can pop up anytime and be disturbing
Posted by: DB- just DB at February 15, 2020 08:26 PM (iTXRQ)
Depend which one. The Ferris Bueller one is bollocks, the recent one with Walter White is great.
Posted by: Flubber at February 15, 2020 08:26 PM (PQnIX)
Posted by: runner at February 15, 2020 08:27 PM (zr5Kq)
Posted by: qdpsteve at February 15, 2020 08:27 PM (L2ZTs)
I thought it looked like a good big screen movie - ie, overwhelming you with the "colour" would help it work in your mind.
But, it is not to be.
Posted by: naturalfake at February 15, 2020 08:27 PM (z0XD8)
Posted by: boulder t'hobo at February 15, 2020 08:27 PM (/P984)
I got that whole collection on VHS back when video stores were a thing (and becoming not a thing).
Posted by: moviegique at February 15, 2020 08:16 PM (CcUfv)
After I think......2000 was "In the Hood".
The little fella was bustin rhymes and bustin caps.
Posted by: Hairyback Guy at February 15, 2020 08:27 PM (Z+IKu)
The Boy's girl was genuinely upset by what I vaguely alluded to as an "encounter" that the mother and young son have with The Color. It's more of a gut-punch than you expect from a horror flick.
Taro --
Maybe! I've done a lot of stuff like that on my blog where I review a movie that I saw recently, that I'd also seen years ago, but I'm re-watching with my kids.
"Blade Runner" is tricky because there are so many cuts and nobody can agree what's going on. =P
Posted by: moviegique at February 15, 2020 08:27 PM (CcUfv)
Posted by: boulder t'hobo at February 15, 2020 08:27 PM (/P984)
My middle daughter ("The Flower") listens to "Dragnet" and when I've
listened to it with her, I'm always impressed at how many chases and
fights there are. I don't remember ANY of that from the series. =P
Posted by: moviegique at February 15, 2020 08:15 PM (CcUfv)
In Chicago, Chuck Schaden used to host a radio show on Saturday mornings called Those Were The Days which were the old radio shows like Jack Benny. He's got a website now with the radio shows on there
Posted by: TheQuietMan at February 15, 2020 08:28 PM (ushxq)
Posted by: runner at February 15, 2020 08:28 PM (zr5Kq)
Posted by: Farmer Bob at February 15, 2020 08:29 PM (87EdW)
I went ahead and got the "retro blu-ray", where the packaging makes it look like a video rental store VHS copy. :-)
Posted by: qdpsteve at February 15, 2020 08:29 PM (L2ZTs)
It has Bill Murray in it.
The French Dispatch
https://youtu.be/TcPk2p0Zaw4
Posted by: Kindltot at February 15, 2020 08:29 PM (6rS3m)
totally agree-
I remember us junior high school friends going to see "Billy Jack" and thinking it was the coolest movie ever- saw it again a few years ago and found it ridiculous
Posted by: DB- just DB at February 15, 2020 08:29 PM (iTXRQ)
Posted by: Sebastian Melmoth at February 15, 2020 08:29 PM (2DOZq)
Posted by: Cosmic Charlie at February 15, 2020 08:29 PM (PUmDY)
If the movie doesn't do this I will be disappointed.
Posted by: Bill Clendineng at February 15, 2020 08:30 PM (xT+Lj)
Posted by: sharon(willow's apprentice) at February 15, 2020 08:30 PM (QzF6i)
Posted by: boulder t'hobo at February 15, 2020 08:30 PM (/P984)
You could probably find those old radio shows and see if you agree.
archive.org has a flaming metric shit-tonne of the old radio dramas & stuff
Posted by: AltonJackson at February 15, 2020 08:30 PM (LIsfA)
Posted by: boulder t'hobo at February 15, 2020 08:31 PM (/P984)
Depressing crap about a lot of assholes I don't care about. I expect there's a reveal about the Not Rapture later, I assume aliens, but by the end of the third episode you don't care and are just waiting for the skull faced locusts already. And I mean in your living room, not in the show. This show is that soul-crushingly bad.
Posted by: boulder t'hobo at February 15, 2020 08:26 PM (/P984)
I watched it after surgery recovering for a couple of weeks on good pain meds. It came off as made for a female audience. I made it through all 3 seasons on pain meds.
Posted by: Ahwoo Flu at February 15, 2020 08:31 PM (+Iryr)
And OMG, you're so right about "Stripes". The last time I saw it, I took the kids and they did NOT care for it. I had a hard time watching it in parts, too.
http://moviegique.com/2018/08/stripes-1981/
Someone online asked "What movie character should've died but didn't?" and most people said Rose in Titanic. I said, "Every character Bill Murray ever played."
Posted by: moviegique at February 15, 2020 08:31 PM (CcUfv)
Don't know if they're still doing any though. If they are they're probably dramatizing the Twilight books or something. :-P
Posted by: qdpsteve at February 15, 2020 08:31 PM (L2ZTs)
Posted by: Diogenes
-----
'Your's Truly, Johnny Dollar'
He was my favorite radio 'detective'. I have his shows on pre-recorded cassettes.
I listened to him on a crystal radio. S'true.
More info: https://tinyurl.com/y5doubxu
Posted by: Mike Hammer, etc., etc. at February 15, 2020 08:31 PM (HTHlp)
Depressing crap about a lot of assholes I don't care about. I expect there's a reveal about the Not Rapture later, I assume aliens, but by the end of the third episode you don't care and are just waiting for the skull faced locusts already. And I mean in your living room, not in the show. This show is that soul-crushingly bad.
Posted by: boulder t'hobo at February 15, 2020 08:26 PM (/P984)
Just awful. I bailed after 5(?) episodes.
The central premise and subsequent action barely made sense anyway.
(esp. if you think about things like the Black Death,and 1918 flu - things happened because the writer needed things to happen, not organically from the events and story)
I caught the last 3-4 episodes to see how it ended.
You didn't miss anything.
Posted by: naturalfake at February 15, 2020 08:32 PM (z0XD8)
Posted by: Sebastian Melmoth at February 15, 2020 08:32 PM (2DOZq)
Posted by: qdpsteve at February 15, 2020 08:32 PM (L2ZTs)
Posted by: sharon(willow's apprentice)
OK.
Let us know if Godzilla opens a dress shop.
Posted by: JT at February 15, 2020 08:33 PM (arJlL)
Posted by: boulder t'hobo at February 15, 2020 08:33 PM (/P984)
Posted by: qdpsteve at February 15, 2020 08:33 PM (L2ZTs)
Posted by: Mr. Peebles at February 15, 2020 08:34 PM (oVJmc)
Part of the trend of shows and movies that feature miserable anti-heroes you can't give a shit about.
Posted by: bear with asymmetrical balls at February 15, 2020 08:34 PM (H5knJ)
--------
If it's the one with Bryan Cranston (who's hardly in it), go for it. The lead actor is dull as dishwater, but there's enough fun kaiju-on-kaiju action to make it worth a watch. Same for the "King of the Monsters" sequel.
The Matthew Brodrick version sucks balls.
Posted by: Taro Tsujimoto at February 15, 2020 08:34 PM (j4zcI)
Posted by: Ben Had at February 15, 2020 08:34 PM (fyf7W)
Posted by: sharon(willow's apprentice)
OK.
Let us know if Godzilla opens a dress shop.
To start with, now he's trans.
Posted by: Mr. Peebles at February 15, 2020 08:35 PM (oVJmc)
Posted by: qdpsteve at February 15, 2020 08:35 PM (L2ZTs)
It was so over-the-top Wes Anderson'd that it felt oppressive.
And I really enjoyed Fantastic Mr. Fox.
Posted by: squeakywheel at February 15, 2020 08:35 PM (n6wjb)
Posted by: qdpsteve at February 15, 2020 08:33 PM (L2ZTs)
Godzillxhe was one of the lesser deities of the ancient Yucatan. I think he was in charge of yams, but not a particularly notable variety.
Posted by: hogmartin at February 15, 2020 08:36 PM (t+qrx)
BTW, the entire H.P. Lovecraft oeuvre is available for free on the interwebs.
Posted by: TANSTAAFL at February 15, 2020 08:37 PM (T09ml)
And OMG, you're so right about "Stripes". The last time I saw it, I took the kids and they did NOT care for it. I had a hard time watching it in parts, too.
http://moviegique.com/2018/08/stripes-1981/
Someone online asked "What movie character should've died but didn't?" and most people said Rose in Titanic. I said, "Every character Bill Murray ever played."
Posted by: moviegique at February 15, 2020 08:31 PM (CcUfv)
I can't agree with that. I think Murray's non comedy movies St Vincent and Broken Flowers were excellent. ( you'd be happy to know Murray died in St Vincent)
Posted by: Sebastian Melmoth at February 15, 2020 08:38 PM (2DOZq)
Posted by: boulder t'hobo at February 15, 2020 08:38 PM (/P984)
-
Well, isn't that special?
Posted by: Anonosaurus Wrecks, Tyrannosaur Wrangler at February 15, 2020 08:38 PM (+y/Ru)
It has Bill Murray in it.
The French Dispatch
Throw out your hands,
Stick out your tush...
Posted by: Mr. Peebles at February 15, 2020 08:38 PM (oVJmc)
Posted by: qdpsteve
It ended about as perfect as you can get for a TV show. Justified and Breaking Bad are the other 2 that come to mind.
Posted by: Puddleglum at February 15, 2020 08:38 PM (DTP+F)
Absolutely: "When A Stranger Calls" is one of the better post-"Halloween" slashers. Carol Kane as the babysitter. Charles Durning as the cop. Basically takes the hoary old campfire tale of "The Call Is Coming From Inside The House!" and builds out a good story.
The sequel was all right, too, actually. Done a good decade later.
Posted by: moviegique at February 15, 2020 08:38 PM (CcUfv)
Posted by: Cosmic Charlie at February 15, 2020 08:39 PM (PUmDY)
Posted by: Mr. Peebles at February 15, 2020 08:39 PM (oVJmc)
I was worried the show would sell out to the left in the end and make the lead couple the 'good guys' all along somehow.
Posted by: qdpsteve at February 15, 2020 08:39 PM (L2ZTs)
I think they were Hammer Films? Professor Quatermass was an eccentric scientist who always meddled with stuff best left unmeddled.
Posted by: Alberta Oil Peon at February 15, 2020 08:39 PM (LxWV7)
Posted by: All Hail Eris, She-Wolf of the 'Ettes 'Ettes at February 15, 2020 08:40 PM (Dc2NZ)
Posted by: Taro Tsujimoto at February 15, 2020 08:22 PM (j4zcI)
-------------------------------
I watch this again recently. Murray and Ramis were childish, but I didn't get the impression that Hulka was meant to be the bad guy. Larroquette's character was the bad guy.
Posted by: No One of Consequence at February 15, 2020 08:40 PM (CAJOC)
I also went ahead and got Vibes, which is also done up in its packaging like a beat-up video store rental VHS.
Posted by: qdpsteve at February 15, 2020 08:40 PM (L2ZTs)
-
Hey, my fire-breathing snout is up here!
Posted by: Godzillxhe at February 15, 2020 08:40 PM (+y/Ru)
The movie does this EXCELLENTLY. I forgot to mention. The ending is HPL style "The world is on the verge of ending..." without getting too ham-handed.
Posted by: moviegique at February 15, 2020 08:40 PM (CcUfv)
Posted by: not so at February 15, 2020 08:41 PM (HALdu)
The movies were based on the TV versions. I've never heard Nigel Kneale credit Lovecraft as an inspiration.
Posted by: Mr. Peebles at February 15, 2020 08:41 PM (oVJmc)
When that came out, I thought, "Adrien Brody in an action movie? No way." But I rather enjoyed it. Except for Fishburne's character. Nearly sunk the film.
"I may be crazy but I enjoyed Predators more than Predator."
OK, that IS crazy.
"The Predator" ( the latest one) was roundly panned. But once I realized it was a comedy, it worked for me.
Posted by: Taro Tsujimoto at February 15, 2020 08:42 PM (j4zcI)
With these things you have to be careful. C.A. Smith and R.E. Howard published to pulp magazines and their editors made a hash of their work as often as not. Howard further suffered posthumously by Lin Carter and Sprague De Camp writing fanfic based on Howard's notes ... usually awful... and passing it off as Authentic Conan.
Lovecraft, I think, is in the same boat.
It is still recommended to find modern published editions, by fans of actual Smith, Lovecraft, and Howard. Nightshade Press did well with Smith IMO.
Posted by: boulder t'hobo at February 15, 2020 08:42 PM (/P984)
Yeah, upon re-watching the pre-Reagan Era snarking about the military seems jarring now.
Posted by: Mr. Peebles at February 15, 2020 08:42 PM (oVJmc)
Posted by: bear with asymmetrical balls at February 15, 2020 08:43 PM (H5knJ)
Posted by: OregonMuse, AoSHQ Thought Leader, Pants Monitor Austere Religious Scholar at February 15, 2020 08:05 PM (3Ame7)
Would you accept a bad music video?
https://vimeo.com/109827523
Posted by: Kindltot at February 15, 2020 08:43 PM (6rS3m)
Posted by: boulder t'hobo at February 15, 2020 08:43 PM (/P984)
Posted by: All Hail Eris, She-Wolf of the 'Ettes 'Ettes at February 15, 2020 08:40 PM (Dc2NZ)
If you like stories about inexplicable and in-your-face impossibilities becoming the new reality, you really ought to see if Les Revenants is still on Netflix.
And it's got a killer score too, says the guy who just won't shut the hell up about movie/show music.
Posted by: hogmartin at February 15, 2020 08:43 PM (t+qrx)
One writer (sorry can't remember who) had a terrible case of writers block.
Heinlein whipped up a dozen ideas and sent them to him.
The one I always remember was "a Martian ghost"
Don't know if the recipient did anything with it but....
"Stranger In A Strange Land", anyone?
Posted by: TANSTAAFL at February 15, 2020 08:43 PM (T09ml)
I was worried the show would sell out to the left in the end and make the lead couple the 'good guys' all along somehow.
Posted by: qdpsteve
No, they aren't the 'Good Guys'. The 2 main characters can be best described as damaged and twisted and it's due to all the choices they made for Service to the Glorious Revolution. You can see that, under different circumstances, they could be decent people. They are not though because they serve something monstereous. A very well acted TV show. Great writing too.
Posted by: Puddleglum at February 15, 2020 08:43 PM (DTP+F)
"I can't agree with that. I think Murray's non comedy movies St Vincent and Broken Flowers were excellent. ( you'd be happy to know Murray died in St Vincent)"
Yeah, I'm being snarky about it. I thought his "Broken Flowers" was a bit too derivative of his mopey "Lost in Translation", but I'd agree generally that his later stuff has relied a whole lot less on him being insufferable.
Posted by: moviegique at February 15, 2020 08:44 PM (CcUfv)
Posted by: Taro Tsujimoto at February 15, 2020 08:22 PM (j4zcI)
-------------------------------
I watch this again recently. Murray and Ramis were childish, but I didn't get the impression that Hulka was meant to be the bad guy. Larroquette's character was the bad guy.
Posted by: No One of Consequence at February 15, 2020 08:40 PM (CAJOC)
Agree. And also it was established that Murray was childish. That was the premise of the movie. He became better and stepped up to rescue his brothers in arms. That said, after boot camp the movie sucked.
Posted by: Sebastian Melmoth at February 15, 2020 08:44 PM (2DOZq)
There's an episode where a heartbroken Klinger wants to re-enlist, and insists Col Potter do it, so Potter gives him the oath... the POTUS oath. :-)
Posted by: qdpsteve at February 15, 2020 08:44 PM (L2ZTs)
Posted by: Mr. Peebles at February 15, 2020 08:41 PM (oVJmc)
The movies I'm referring to were made in the 1960's or 1970's.
Posted by: Alberta Oil Peon at February 15, 2020 08:44 PM (LxWV7)
Posted by: qdpsteve at February 15, 2020 08:45 PM (L2ZTs)
You would think I wouldn't like Broken Flowers since I wasn't a fan of Lost in Translation.
Posted by: Sebastian Melmoth at February 15, 2020 08:45 PM (2DOZq)
Posted by: Eromero at February 15, 2020 08:46 PM (UUkQp)
Posted by: Kindltot at February 15, 2020 08:46 PM (6rS3m)
Agree. And also it was established that Murray was childish. That was the premise of the movie. He became better and stepped up to rescue his brothers in arms. That said, after boot camp the movie sucked.
There's a case to be made that Stripes and Full Metal Jacket are the same film.
Posted by: Mr. Peebles at February 15, 2020 08:47 PM (oVJmc)
One writer (sorry can't remember who) had a terrible case of writers block.
Heinlein whipped up a dozen ideas and sent them to him.
The one I always remember was "a Martian ghost"
Don't know if the recipient did anything with it but....
"Stranger In A Strange Land", anyone?
Posted by: TANSTAAFL
He helped Philip K Dick out quite a bit.
Posted by: Puddleglum at February 15, 2020 08:47 PM (DTP+F)
I have the "Conan" series where Lin Carter and L. Sprague de Camp's stories are put in alongside of Howards, to fill in the gaps based on REH's notes and...yeah...as I have said, "Whatever demons possessed Howard were unknown to de Camp and Carter". Falls flat. Hard to recommend even for a completist.
Posted by: moviegique at February 15, 2020 08:47 PM (CcUfv)
They're based on the BBC serials made in the 50s.
Posted by: Mr. Peebles at February 15, 2020 08:48 PM (oVJmc)
Even M*A*S*H the series gave its due to the military occasionally.
My greatest hope for that show was that one episode the North Koreans would overrun the camp and brutally torture and kill Alan Alda and Mike Farrell and put us out of our misery
Posted by: TheQuietMan at February 15, 2020 08:48 PM (ushxq)
Posted by: boulder t'hobo at February 15, 2020 08:48 PM (/P984)
Billy the Indian is on the bridge. The others flee as he turns to face off against the Predator. He takes off his shirt... yanks his totem necklace from his neck and grips it tightly in his hand... pulls his giant Bowie and carves a cut in his own chest... oh, God DAMN, this is going to be an epic battle!
Annnnnd... jump cut to the other survivors as they hear Billy's girlish scream in the distance.
I've referred to him ever after as "Speed Bump Billy."
Posted by: Taro Tsujimoto at February 15, 2020 08:50 PM (j4zcI)
Agree. And also it was established that Murray was childish. That was the premise of the movie. He became better and stepped up to rescue his brothers in arms. That said, after boot camp the movie sucked.
There's a case to be made that Stripes and Full Metal Jacket are the same film.
Posted by: Mr. Peebles at February 15, 2020 08:47 PM (oVJmc)
Heh I was thinking the same thing when I wrote that.
Posted by: Sebastian Melmoth at February 15, 2020 08:50 PM (2DOZq)
And I liked LiT a lot more than BF. I think there's only room to like =one= sad sack Bill Murray performance.
Posted by: moviegique at February 15, 2020 08:50 PM (CcUfv)
Posted by: Mr. Peebles at February 15, 2020 08:48 PM (oVJmc)
Ah, OK. I was not aware of the existence of the BBC serials. But I still seem to remember some of the concepts in the movies looking like they had been cribbed from HPL's works.
Posted by: Alberta Oil Peon at February 15, 2020 08:50 PM (LxWV7)
Just reminding the lady to get the dry cleaning done.
People overreact so much these days.
Posted by: boulder t'hobo at February 15, 2020 08:51 PM (/P984)
Godzillxhe: Well, if you don't know, I can't tell you.
Posted by: Anonosaurus Wrecks, Tyrannosaur Wrangler at February 15, 2020 08:51 PM (+y/Ru)
Posted by: Jake Holenhead at February 15, 2020 08:51 PM (P1GvV)
Posted by: boulder t'hobo at February 15, 2020 08:48 PM (/P984)
------------------------------------
I liked both parts, but it did feel very disjointed, almost like it was a movie and its sequel rolled into one.
Posted by: No One of Consequence at February 15, 2020 08:52 PM (CAJOC)
Billy the Indian is on the bridge. The others flee as he turns to face off against the Predator. He takes off his shirt... yanks his totem necklace from his neck and grips it tightly in his hand... pulls his giant Bowie and carves a cut in his own chest... oh, God DAMN, this is going to be an epic battle!
Annnnnd... jump cut to the other survivors as they hear Billy's girlish scream in the distance.
I've referred to him ever after as "Speed Bump Billy."
Posted by: Taro Tsujimoto
You'd scream like a girl too if the Predator ripped your spinal cord out of your body while disemboweling you. The Predator was a bad ass.
Posted by: Puddleglum at February 15, 2020 08:53 PM (DTP+F)
Posted by: Cosmic Charlie at February 15, 2020 08:53 PM (PUmDY)
I saw "Knives Out", eh, okay. Not great, not awful.
The rich are bastards. Though we were more told than shown that. (Movie 101 - failure)
The final attempt to kill the ultimate protagonist by the killer made zero sense.
I'm surprised they're making a sequel. Daniel Craig's detective is a suckhole of non-characterization.
Next up, "Parasite", which I enjoyed a lot.
It's actually more complex than the SJW critics seem to think.
The movie does not pose the question, who is the parasite? That's stupid.
The question it poses is basically how much of your human dignity are you willing to give up to make a living?
I know. Stupid question, but it's cleverly posed in a layered manner and in surprising ways.
A very well made dark comedy.
Unlike this director's movie "Snowpiercer" which is a huge pile o'commie poo.
Last, but not least..."The Gentlemen".
Guy Richie is back in his familiar milieu of Brit gangsters and scumbags and in the process makes a great movie.
I enjoyed this one the most of the 3 I've talked about.
Hugely entertaining. And really that's all it wants to do as a movie...entertain you.
Some SJW a-holes are calling it racist.
No, it's not racist, dim bulbs.
Apparently, we now entered a phase that if all minorities aren't portrayed as super-moral superhero Mary Sues then your movie is racist.
What a stupid time filled with stupid people.
Short version:
See "The Gentlemen"
See "Parasite"
Think about seeing "Knives Out" then wait for it to come on Netflix.
Posted by: naturalfake at February 15, 2020 08:54 PM (z0XD8)
Posted by: Lurking Guy at February 15, 2020 08:54 PM (Rs1MW)
Posted by: moviegique at February 15, 2020 08:54 PM (CcUfv)
Problem: alien is picking off hardcore military agents. You want the alien to remain alien until the climax; but at the same time you want the agents to remain badass.
The movie did poorly with this scene but how would you handle it instead?
Posted by: boulder t'hobo at February 15, 2020 08:54 PM (/P984)
Posted by: Puddleglum
Oh.
I thought he screamed when he felt the amount of shit that filled his pants.
Posted by: JT at February 15, 2020 08:55 PM (arJlL)
Posted by: Jake Holenhead
And no blood or gore. I don't like slasher films, but I do like scary films like this. There really aren't many of them that work.
That said, one of the scariest scenes I've ever seen is in Exorcist III: Legion with George C. Scott. A long shot that builds tension, then springs it.
Posted by: Moon Moon Blutarski at February 15, 2020 08:56 PM (VNfwt)
Posted by: Cosmic Charlie
I really liked that movie. The feeling of dread and things being not quite right was all through that movie. I enjoyed it.
Posted by: Puddleglum at February 15, 2020 08:57 PM (DTP+F)
Posted by: bear with asymmetrical balls at February 15, 2020 08:58 PM (H5knJ)
Posted by: boulder t'hobo at February 15, 2020 08:58 PM (/P984)
Posted by: Sebastian Melmoth at February 15, 2020 08:58 PM (2DOZq)
In the meantime, someone mentioned a new Bill Murray film is coming out, which reminded me of the fact that Amazon Prime really jacked their rental rates. Bill did a zombie film, The Dead Don't Die. Reviewers on IMDB said it basically sucked a bag of dicks.
So, says I, why not see if I can see it on the cheap on Prime. Checks and sees $6 to rent in HD.
YOU HAVE GOT TO BE SHITTING ME, PYLE!
Posted by: Gabby Johnson at February 15, 2020 08:59 PM (7s3Gx)
Posted by: Puddleglum at February 15, 2020 09:00 PM (DTP+F)
Another one that Siskel and Ebert trashed when it came out for being "gory" was "The Hitcher" (Rutger Hauer, C. Thomas Howell, Jennifer Jason-Leigh). The violence is entirely implied or done off-screen.
Posted by: moviegique at February 15, 2020 09:00 PM (CcUfv)
Posted by: Anonosaurus Wrecks, Tyrannosaur Wrangler at February 15, 2020 09:00 PM (+y/Ru)
Posted by: Eromero at February 15, 2020 09:01 PM (UUkQp)
Posted by: Gabby Johnson at February 15, 2020 08:59 PM (7s3Gx)
Bezos has a lot of Democrat politicians to support.
Posted by: Alberta Oil Peon at February 15, 2020 09:01 PM (LxWV7)
As long as it isn't the one from last year that ends in Boston. That one is a hot mess.
Posted by: Lizzy at February 15, 2020 09:01 PM (bDqIh)
Posted by: boulder t'hobo at February 15, 2020 09:01 PM (/P984)
Well, if you're going to do a bad-ass build-up, ya gotta show some badassery. If ya can't, then skip it.
I'd have had Billy nod for them to go ahead without him, then turn to face the Predator. More of a "I'll try to buy you some time" vibe. Cut the over-promising theatrics.
Posted by: Taro Tsujimoto at February 15, 2020 09:01 PM (j4zcI)
Posted by: Gabby Johnson at February 15, 2020 09:01 PM (7s3Gx)
Posted by: boulder t'hobo at February 15, 2020 09:02 PM (/P984)
"The Dead Don't Die" was a Jim Jarmusch film (we've been talking "Broken Flowers" here, which is another JJ film) and I really wanted to see it--but he's the king of low-key, and if critics weren't digging it, I'm not sure who WOULD like it.
Posted by: moviegique at February 15, 2020 09:02 PM (CcUfv)
Posted by: Sebastian Melmoth at February 15, 2020 09:03 PM (2DOZq)
There's a German version of the film from (I think) 2006 that's also very well done. It was on Amazon Prime when I had that.
But there's definitely a jump scare. Tommy Chong's feline definitely provided what Jabootu calls the "spring-loaded cat."
Posted by: BeckoningChasm at February 15, 2020 09:03 PM (l9m7l)
Posted by: RedMindBlueState at February 15, 2020 09:03 PM (aetXb)
Posted by: Puddleglum at February 15, 2020 09:04 PM (DTP+F)
That's not the worst of it. Under recommendations, I see the UHD version of Zombieland Double Tap.
$8
Posted by: Gabby Johnson at February 15, 2020 09:04 PM (7s3Gx)
Finally saw 1917. It was good, but I wouldn't call it great.
Posted by: WOPR at February 15, 2020 09:04 PM (jCrj/)
As long as it isn't the one from last year that ends in Boston. That one is a hot mess.
Posted by: Lizzy
Godzilla loses the World Series ?
Posted by: JT at February 15, 2020 09:04 PM (arJlL)
Posted by: Trimegistus at February 15, 2020 09:05 PM (5WULv)
Posted by: Puddleglum at February 15, 2020 09:04 PM (DTP+F)
It was a hell of a lot better the first time I saw it, in the theater, than it was a few years ago. Not sure what about it didn't hold up.
Posted by: hogmartin at February 15, 2020 09:06 PM (t+qrx)
Half way through "Anthropoid". Have never read any actual accounts beyond the operation (not sure there are any really solid ones - everyone involved was killed pretty quickly), so of course wondering whether the obligatory romantic stuff is 100% invention or not. Lazy/stupid movie-making leads to a default assumption that *all* romantic crap in real stories is made-up.
And they've already done the hit on Heydrich and about to go into hiding in the church - how can I only be half-way through? I'm not feeling driven to see the rest of it. Have been re-watching The Pacific, might do that instead.
Posted by: rhomboid at February 15, 2020 09:06 PM (El6T/)
Posted by: Cosmic Charlie at February 15, 2020 09:06 PM (PUmDY)
Posted by: Puddleglum at February 15, 2020 09:04 PM (DTP+F)
Character: The horror is unimaginable.
Following scene shows typical horror tropes.
Event Horizon would have worked far better with psychological horror. Instead it went for gore.
Posted by: WOPR at February 15, 2020 09:07 PM (jCrj/)
Yeah, it's the user reviews on the IMDB that indicate a substantial degree of displeasure. It's at the level where I'd take a peek but no way in hell am I going to pay that kind of money.
Posted by: Gabby Johnson at February 15, 2020 09:07 PM (7s3Gx)
Posted by: Tom Servo at February 15, 2020 09:07 PM (V2Yro)
Screw it, Imma watch it now. Thanks for the suggestion.
Posted by: Moon Moon Blutarski at February 15, 2020 09:08 PM (VNfwt)
Posted by: Eromero at February 15, 2020 09:08 PM (UUkQp)
Archive.org has a bunch.
Posted by: Mr. Peebles at February 15, 2020 09:09 PM (oVJmc)
Posted by: Lizzy at February 15, 2020 09:09 PM (bDqIh)
Posted by: WOPR at February 15, 2020 09:09 PM (jCrj/)
And still hoping for the oft-promised At The Mountains Of Madness
It could be the start of a Lovecraft Cinematic Universe!
Posted by: Retard Strength Trumps Smart Power at February 15, 2020 09:10 PM (RKQ/v)
Spoiler alert: 'the green monster' loses vs. Godzilla
Posted by: Lizzy
Godzilla lets a grounder roll through his legs while playing first .
Posted by: JT at February 15, 2020 09:10 PM (arJlL)
Posted by: Cosmic Charlie at February 15, 2020 09:10 PM (PUmDY)
It's . . . It is just the Alpacalypse.
Posted by: Kindltot at February 15, 2020 09:11 PM (6rS3m)
Character: The horror is unimaginable.
Following scene shows typical horror tropes.
Event Horizon would have worked far better with psychological horror. Instead it went for gore.
My wife still complains about the line "A universe of chaos...and evil!"
Well, is it chaos, or is it evil? One is complete disorganization, the other is very organized.
Posted by: Mr. Peebles at February 15, 2020 09:12 PM (oVJmc)
Posted by: Eromero at February 15, 2020 09:12 PM (UUkQp)
Posted by: Kindltot at February 15, 2020 09:11 PM (6rS3m)
Damn! Good one. Hear the llamantations of their wimmenz.
Posted by: Alberta Oil Peon at February 15, 2020 09:12 PM (LxWV7)
Posted by: All Hail Eris, She-Wolf of the 'Ettes 'Ettes at February 15, 2020 09:12 PM (Dc2NZ)
Posted by: bear with asymmetrical balls at February 15, 2020 09:12 PM (H5knJ)
The label definitely doesn't apply well to the movies, which are more straightforward action-adventure.
Posted by: Ian S. at February 15, 2020 09:13 PM (6XLoz)
Moon--"Shudder" has "The Changeling" and Joe Bob hosting it, so you can watch it straight and with commentary.
Posted by: moviegique at February 15, 2020 09:13 PM (CcUfv)
Posted by: Regular joe at February 15, 2020 09:14 PM (6/uwW)
Posted by: moviegique
Thank you, sir!
Posted by: Moon Moon Blutarski at February 15, 2020 09:14 PM (VNfwt)
And I'm looking at Robert Duvall as a clean-cut network exec, and I'm remembering him as Gus McCrae in Lonesome Dove and realizing his range as an actor !
Posted by: JT at February 15, 2020 09:14 PM (arJlL)
Posted by: Sebastian Melmoth at February 15, 2020 09:03 PM (2DOZq)
-------------------------------
Sam Neill was in a psychological thriller called Dead Calm with Nicole Kidman. Been a while since I've seen it, but I recall it being a pretty good movie.
Posted by: No One of Consequence at February 15, 2020 09:14 PM (CAJOC)
Posted by: Sebastian Melmoth at February 15, 2020 08:58 PM (2DOZq)
We enjoyed it as well. It is an interesting take on ghost movies.
Posted by: DR.WTF at February 15, 2020 09:16 PM (aS1PU)
Posted by: rhomboid at February 15, 2020 09:06 PM (El6T/)
I loved the scene in 'Anthropoid' where they're going over the plan and one of the men asked about escape routes after they assassinate Heydrich. The rest gathered around the table all get quiet and look at him funny. They knew any escape plan would just be going through the motions.
However it played out in real-life, those men had balls of stone.
Posted by: troyriser at February 15, 2020 09:16 PM (E2EAq)
Posted by: Moon Moon Blutarski at February 15, 2020 09:17 PM (VNfwt)
Hobbes would disagree. He would define 'evil' as 'chaos' and accept almost any form of law as preferable to chaos.
Posted by: boulder t'hobo at February 15, 2020 09:17 PM (/P984)
Posted by: Eromero at February 15, 2020 09:17 PM (UUkQp)
Well, is it chaos, or is it evil? One is complete disorganization, the other is very organized.
Posted by: Mr. Peebles at February 15, 2020 09:12 PM (oVJmc)
Maybe it should have been KAOS and evil
Posted by: TheQuietMan at February 15, 2020 09:18 PM (mXpBS)
Who was Willie Loomis in Dark Shadows? At a certain age I used to watch that show after coming home from school. Didn't the guy that played Barnabas Collins die?
Posted by: Farmer at February 15, 2020 09:18 PM (fGGzC)
Posted by: Trimegistus at February 15, 2020 09:18 PM (5WULv)
A good script can't save a bad soundtrack.
Posted by: navybrat, at large at February 15, 2020 09:19 PM (w7KSn)
Diablero, a Mexican demon hunting show (kind of like Supernatural I guess )
before that hubby was watchung this Chinese kungfu fantasy series called Handsome Siblings, long but quite entertaining
Posted by: vmom 2020 at February 15, 2020 09:20 PM (G546f)
Problem: alien is picking off hardcore military agents. You want the alien to remain alien until the climax; but at the same time you want the agents to remain badass.
The movie did poorly with this scene but how would you handle it instead?
Posted by: boulder t'hobo at February 15, 2020 08:54 PM (/P984)
He rides the alien off the bridge like the last buffalo jump!!
Posted by: Cicero Kaboom! Kid. at February 15, 2020 09:20 PM (Vy7tf)
Posted by: Puddleglum at February 15, 2020 09:04 PM (DTP+F)
Solid concept, uneven execution.
Posted by: Insomniac - Ex Cineribus Resurgo at February 15, 2020 09:21 PM (NWiLs)
age I used to watch that show after coming home from school. Didn't the
guy that played Barnabas Collins die?
Posted by: Farmer at February 15, 2020 09:18 PM (fGGzC)
He was kind of a Renfield character to Barnabas Collins. Jonathan Frid (Barnabas) died years ago
Posted by: TheQuietMan at February 15, 2020 09:22 PM (mXpBS)
Posted by: vmom 2020 at February 15, 2020 09:20 PM (G546f)
El Rey network plays a lot of kung fu movies including The Handsome series.
Posted by: DR.WTF at February 15, 2020 09:22 PM (aS1PU)
Posted by: Moon Moon Blutarski at February 15, 2020 08:56 PM
During the long buildup to that scene you knew something was going to happen. It was either going to be lame, or what you actually saw.
Posted by: Jake Holenhead at February 15, 2020 09:22 PM (P1GvV)
And I'm looking at Robert Duvall as a clean-cut network exec, and I'm remembering him as Gus McCrae in Lonesome Dove and realizing his range as an actor !
Posted by: JT at February 15, 2020 09:14 PM (arJlL)
Have you seen Tender Mercies? He's great in that movie. And it's a great movie.
Posted by: Insomniac - Ex Cineribus Resurgo at February 15, 2020 09:23 PM (NWiLs)
Who was Willie Loomis in Dark Shadows? At a certain age I used to watch that show after coming home from school. Didn't the guy that played Barnabas Collins die?
John Karlen played Willie Loomis.
Jonathan Frid (Barnabas Collins) is dead.
Posted by: Mr. Peebles at February 15, 2020 09:23 PM (oVJmc)
Posted by: Abby at February 15, 2020 09:23 PM (6w6ke)
El Rey network plays a lot of kung fu movies including The Handsome series.
Posted by: DR.WTF at February 15, 2020 09:22 PM (aS1PU)
apparently it was a book, so there have been a few movie/tv versions
it was fun - twin brothers separated at birth and brought up as enemies
Posted by: vmom 2020 at February 15, 2020 09:23 PM (G546f)
Posted by: Eromero
I remember reading about Jack Palance on a talk show, talking about Shane.
He said people always talked about his riding into town slowly, exuding menace.
" the director wanted me to ride in fast, but, I'm not a good rider, and I fell off the horse."
"Then, I was supposed to just trot in, and I was bouncing up and down in the saddle"
"And that's why I rode into town slowly"
Posted by: JT at February 15, 2020 09:25 PM (arJlL)
Per @213 and the IMDB, the very recently deceased John Karlen. You might know him better as the husband of Tyne Daly's character Mary Beth Lacey in Cagney and Lacey...
Posted by: Gabby Johnson at February 15, 2020 09:26 PM (7s3Gx)
Does Mike Bloomberg have any kids? I thought he'd never been married? Isn't he closeted? Not that there's anything wrong with that.
Posted by: Farmer at February 15, 2020 09:26 PM (fGGzC)
Huh...apparently he died on Jan 22, only about three weeks ago.
Posted by: Mr. Peebles at February 15, 2020 09:26 PM (oVJmc)
Posted by: Ghost of zombie Lovecraft at February 15, 2020 09:26 PM (ldmQR)
Who was Willie Loomis in Dark Shadows? At a certain age I used to watch that show after coming home from school. Didn't the guy that played Barnabas Collins die?
Posted by: Farmer at February 15, 2020 09:18 PM (fGGzC)
duh, like 200 years ago.
Posted by: Tom Servo at February 15, 2020 09:27 PM (V2Yro)
Posted by: Jake Holenhead at February 15, 2020 09:27 PM (P1GvV)
The Resident Evil movies are called "survival horror" mostly because the
RE games gave themselves that moniker, and earned it. The atmosphere
is done really well (the RE1/2/3 games in particular had very effective
original scores that helped with that), and there's not enough ammo to
just blast everything even if you wanted to. Trying to is an easy way
to die.
The label definitely doesn't apply well to the movies, which are more straightforward action-adventure.
Posted by: Ian S. at February 15, 2020 09:13 PM (6XLoz)
I played the shit out of those games. Survival horror was a pretty accurate description. You definitely had 2 things in the back of your mind constantly, finding ammo, because yeah there was barely enough, and finding an ink ribbon for the typewriter to save your progress.
Posted by: Berserker-Dragonheads Division at February 15, 2020 09:27 PM (9Om/r)
Sadly, what could have otherwise been a pretty good movie showcasing some awesome Nameless Creeping Horror From The Depths Of Insanity's Cavern has one fatal flaw:
Nicholas Cage.
Blech.
Posted by: Sharkman at February 15, 2020 09:28 PM (Hn8E7)
Posted by: Insomniac - Ex Cineribus Resurgo
Nope !
Doesn't he sing in that ?
Ooooookaaaayy, since you recommended it, I'll get around to it someday.
Posted by: JT at February 15, 2020 09:29 PM (arJlL)
This. Tender Mercies is outstanding. Great movie.
Posted by: Puddleglum at February 15, 2020 09:29 PM (DTP+F)
Little Evil and the Babysitter are also funny, though not as great as Tucker & Dale
Posted by: vmom 2020 at February 15, 2020 09:31 PM (G546f)
Posted by: Farmer at February 15, 2020 09:32 PM (fGGzC)
Sharkman...yeah, if you don't like the Rage Cage, you're not gonna like this.
Posted by: moviegique at February 15, 2020 09:32 PM (CcUfv)
http://www.hello-cthulhu.com/?date=2003-11-30
Posted by: RedMindBlueState at February 15, 2020 09:32 PM (aetXb)
Released on Friday are the top two "must sees" on my moviegoing list: The Korean horror "Closet" and the Chinese (?) comedy-action flick "Enter The Fat Dragon".
Posted by: moviegique at February 15, 2020 09:33 PM (CcUfv)
Posted by: Alberta Oil Peon at February 15, 2020 09:33 PM (LxWV7)
Dale: [the sheriff is stumbling around with a board nailed to his skull] How is he even walking right now, Tuck?
Tucker: He looks like he's gonna walk it off, he's gonna be fine!
Posted by: Gabby Johnson at February 15, 2020 09:35 PM (7s3Gx)
Posted by: boulder t'hobo at February 15, 2020 08:54 PM (/P984)
I don't think you could. First, by that point, did anyone think Billy was going to stop the Predator with a knife? Of course he wasn't. Having a fight scene would simply dull the chase. Him being a speed bump added to the sense that the Predator was still coming.
Posted by: WOPR at February 15, 2020 09:37 PM (jCrj/)
Posted by: runner at February 15, 2020 09:38 PM (zr5Kq)
Posted by: runner at February 15, 2020 09:39 PM (zr5Kq)
So what came out as the Final Cut of Event Horizon is a weird amalgamation of the work of 2 teams with 2 completely different ideas about what they wanted the movie to be.
Posted by: Tom Servo at February 15, 2020 09:39 PM (V2Yro)
Posted by: Insomniac - Ex Cineribus Resurgo
Nope !
Doesn't he sing in that ?
Ooooookaaaayy, since you recommended it, I'll get around to it someday.
Posted by: JT at February 15, 2020 09:29 PM (arJlL)
Yes, he plays a washed-up country-western singer. Very strong themes of redemption and faith.
Posted by: Insomniac - Ex Cineribus Resurgo at February 15, 2020 09:39 PM (NWiLs)
The movie actually managed to be disturbing, like a proper Lovecraft story should be, rather than going for all out gore and cheap scares.
As for the family going insane, that was also neatly done. You could almost see the failed SAN checks as they went further and further off the deep end.
And yes, the hydrologist is named Ward Phillips, a named used for a character, a background tome author, and even as a pen name by Lovecraft at one time, so lots of call back there.
Posted by: Sam at February 15, 2020 09:41 PM (ohyxL)
is a weird amalgamation of the work of 2 teams with 2 completely
different ideas about what they wanted the movie to be.
Posted by: Tom Servo at February 15, 2020 09:39 PM (V2Yro)
I never heard that. I wonder how the first movie would have turned out?
Posted by: WOPR at February 15, 2020 09:42 PM (jCrj/)
Posted by: Cosmic Charlie at February 15, 2020 09:43 PM (PUmDY)
http://www.hello-cthulhu.com/?date=2003-11-30
Posted by: RedMindBlueState at February 15, 2020 09:32 PM (aetXb)
Are we? We are, aren't we. Here you go.
https://stoatnet.org/nolivesmatter.jpg
https://stoatnet.org/oldones/
Posted by: hogmartin at February 15, 2020 09:44 PM (t+qrx)
Posted by: Mr. Peebles at February 15, 2020 09:44 PM (oVJmc)
now bareback riding, that is hard - I only did that a couple of times, and was glad to escape with my life after the horse broke into a run.
Posted by: Tom Servo at February 15, 2020 09:45 PM (V2Yro)
I did see it. My review:
http://moviegique.com/2014/07/snowpiercer/
The tldr is: It's batshit. I enjoyed it. My kid (who's way more conservative than I) =loved= it. But we agreed, it's completely bananas, and if you can't get past that, you're not going to like it.
Posted by: moviegique at February 15, 2020 09:46 PM (CcUfv)
Posted by: boulder t'hobo at February 15, 2020 09:47 PM (/P984)
Posted by: Bertram Cabot, Jr. at February 15, 2020 09:47 PM (aKsyK)
Bloomie's strategy is to flood the zone with his own personal spin so that no one can tell you any different.
Posted by: Mr. Peebles at February 15, 2020 09:48 PM (oVJmc)
The '80s "From Beyond" is a...well, it's not a sequel to the '80s "Reanimator", but it's by the same cast and crew. In this one, instead of being the damsel-in-distress, Barbara Crampton gets to go full-on dominatrix to wimpy Jeffrey Combs. (Combs, of course, was the mad scientist in "Reanimator".)
I don't really connect them to HPL, but I do enjoy them.
The third one, "Castle Freak" is a hard watch but it has some very, very fine acting.
Posted by: moviegique at February 15, 2020 09:49 PM (CcUfv)
Barbara Crampton at her finest!
Posted by: Gabby Johnson at February 15, 2020 09:50 PM (7s3Gx)
Posted by: Sharkman at February 15, 2020 09:50 PM (Hn8E7)
we rewatched The Professional and Kick Ass tonite with the kids. both hold up well, and have a lot of similarities! we realized we need to show them some John Woo movies - where those two got their best ideas.
Posted by: THE_BlackOrchid_STATE! (DlsPn) at February 15, 2020 09:51 PM (j9HX3)
Posted by: vmom 2020 at February 15, 2020 09:53 PM (G546f)
Posted by: moviegique at February 15, 2020 09:46 PM (CcUfv)
The James Madison and I have been kicking around the theory that SnowPiercer is the sequel to Willy Wonka.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jEX52h1TvuA
Posted by: Tom Servo at February 15, 2020 09:53 PM (V2Yro)
Posted by: Northernlurker at February 15, 2020 09:53 PM (Uu+Jp)
Posted by: Cosmic Charlie at February 15, 2020 09:54 PM (PUmDY)
is a weird amalgamation of the work of 2 teams with 2 completely
different ideas about what they wanted the movie to be.
Posted by: Tom Servo at February 15, 2020 09:39 PM (V2Yro)
I never heard that. I wonder how the first movie would have turned out?
Posted by: WOPR at February 15, 2020 09:42 PM (jCrj/)
I never heard that either. I really liked that movie. I was expecting it to be pretty much a horror movie right from the start when the damned thing appears out of nowhere after it was missing for 8 years. I'm also curious how it would have been originally.
Posted by: Berserker-Dragonheads Division at February 15, 2020 09:56 PM (9Om/r)
What messed up Event Horizon is that it started off as a serious hard Sci-Fi movie
That's what I was expecting rather than the blood stuff.
Posted by: Bertram Cabot, Jr. at February 15, 2020 09:56 PM (aKsyK)
Posted by: runner at February 15, 2020 09:56 PM (zr5Kq)
Posted by: Northernlurker at February 15, 2020 09:53 PM (Uu+Jp)
Oh, he's not an elder god, he's one of the great old ones. Another common misconception. He's pretty easygoing about it. Doesn't take it personally.
Posted by: hogmartin at February 15, 2020 09:57 PM (t+qrx)
The tldr is: It's batshit. I enjoyed it. My kid (who's way more
conservative than I) =loved= it. But we agreed, it's completely bananas,
and if you can't get past that, you're not going to like it.
Yeah, not my kind of batsh#t. Tilda Swinton in that, ugh.
Posted by: Lizzy at February 15, 2020 09:57 PM (bDqIh)
Well, is it chaos, or is it evil? One is complete disorganization, the other is very organized.
Posted by: Mr. Peebles at February 15, 2020 09:12 PM (oVJmc)
Chaotic Evil is both chaotic, and evil. QED.
Posted by: hogmartin at February 15, 2020 09:59 PM (t+qrx)
Posted by: moviegique at February 15, 2020 10:00 PM (CcUfv)
Posted by: TheQuietMan at February 15, 2020 09:22 PM (mXpBS)
--------
What happened to Angelique? She was hot, in a kind of dead-eyed zombie way.
Posted by: Cicero (@cicero) at February 15, 2020 10:00 PM (XVuno)
Posted by: Moon Moon Blutarski at February 15, 2020 10:00 PM (VNfwt)
Posted by: runner at February 15, 2020 10:01 PM (zr5Kq)
Oh, yeah, I say, in all earnestness, movies produced in Communist China are less repressed and rigid than those that come out of Hollywood.
Posted by: moviegique at February 15, 2020 10:02 PM (CcUfv)
Posted by: moviegique at February 15, 2020 10:02 PM (CcUfv)
yeah, and humorous to some extent too. humor is completely dead in Hollywood.
Posted by: runner at February 15, 2020 10:04 PM (zr5Kq)
Posted by: boulder t'hobo at February 15, 2020 10:04 PM (/P984)
Although the Korean "Secret Zoo" was cute and charming.
Posted by: moviegique at February 15, 2020 10:05 PM (CcUfv)
Posted by: Grump928(C) at February 15, 2020 10:07 PM (yQpMk)
Posted by: Grump928(C) at February 15, 2020 10:17 PM (yQpMk)
Posted by: Grump928(C) at February 15, 2020 10:17 PM (yQpMk)
=====
Amen.
Although I understand that Bill Murray is a stand up guy IRL whenever I see him in a movie his character invariably is the kind of sleazy arrogant asshole who needs a visit from SMOD
Posted by: Vlad the impaler,whittling away like mad at February 15, 2020 10:21 PM (d6mdH)
Posted by: Richard McEnroe at February 15, 2020 10:30 PM (ABuva)
Posted by: RNB at February 15, 2020 10:58 PM (DjjZJ)
Also, it really looked fake. Like a cat out of "The Nightmare Before Christmas."
(Love that film, of course.)
Posted by: BeckoningChasm at February 15, 2020 10:59 PM (l9m7l)
Posted by: Grump928(C) at February 15, 2020 11:02 PM (yQpMk)
Posted by: Cosmic Charlie at February 15, 2020 11:06 PM (PUmDY)
Posted by: BeckoningChasm at February 15, 2020 11:07 PM (l9m7l)
Have a day off from work tomorrow Hallelujah. But I'll probably be working harder around home and I would it work. Plumbing issues to deal with and figuring out all these medical bills. Ugh I'd almost rather go to work but I know this needs to be dealt with.
Sleep well all tonight. Surprisingly last night I have some nightmare where I was going to die oh, maybe somewhere around 3 in the morning. Very disconcerting but I don't remember details. May you all have restful sleep tonight.
Posted by: Farmer at February 15, 2020 11:34 PM (fGGzC)
Posted by: Byzantine General at February 15, 2020 11:47 PM (B1JrQ)
I've had a blast with some of the Wisconsin morons and the get-together in Vegas was awesome. But you two are on my list of people I really need to meet in person. Along with several others.
Posted by: Farmer at February 15, 2020 11:52 PM (fGGzC)
Posted by: Richard McEnroe at February 16, 2020 12:35 AM (ABuva)
BTW...the Willows by Algernon Blackwood IS about the best horror story ever written. I was an adult before I re-read it and realized it.
Posted by: Cleopatra's Asp at February 16, 2020 02:00 PM (xZjSg)
Posted by: moviegique at February 15, 2020 08:31 PM (CcUfv)
My very own Groundhog Day.
Posted by: Bill Murray's Ethereal Spirit at February 16, 2020 10:44 PM (X/P8e)
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