That there, that’s not me in the spotlight. “New Adventures in Hi-Fi (25th Anniversary Edition)” by R.E.M., “KID A MNESIA” by Radiohead, and the Return of the Blog
Here’s the hilarious thing: a major reason I started this blog, going disc by disc through my physical music collection, was to stop buying CDs for a while.
My shelves runneth over, jewel cases squeeze together like dead sardines, and as a freelancer, my employment is not always secure. I had already signed up for a Spotify Premium subscription as a way to “save money”– a 10 buck per month bundle of EVERYTHING EVER RECORDED (except for mysteriously grayed-out songs on nearly every pop soundtrack out there) instead of paying the same amount for each plastic pressing of an increasingly-unfashionable format. ‘Listen to what you’ve already got,’ went the mantra, ‘and then you can buy more.’ I was probably in the J’s before I caved.
Blog publishing-wise, far quicker than that. I gave myself a year for this project– that was in the halcyon days of 2017, when we could still feel shock at the News. Aw, how like babes in the woods we were, I just want to pinch our little cheeks! The idea of abstaining from the new and writing about what I owned was inspired by two columns on The A.V. Club: Noel Murray’s “Popless” and Josh Modell’s “Binge And Purge”. As professional pop culture writers, their work ethic was much stronger than mine has been– even setting aside the productivity-vaporizing neutron bomb of the year @0@0 (cursed date censored for the reader’s mental health), I ran out of steam 1,000 days ago.
Those opening paragraphs you just read? Written 10 months ago, rescued from another aborted attempt to reignite the blogging furnace. But it’s funny what will suddenly start the fire (or at least that little pilot light).
I’m midway through This Isn’t Happening: Radiohead’s “Kid A” and the Beginning of the 21st Century by Steven Hyden, yet another alumnus of A.V. Club (man, I used to enjoy that site, unfortunately it’s gone downhill). Stumbled upon and started just as the band in question released a curious, combined anniversary edition of the very L.P.s Hyden explores and contextualizes in his writing, it feels like kismet. It’s the same kind of accessible, measured, but still ultimately fannish prose that I attempt here (which has likely reached book length on its own.)
Now, I can’t work up as much enthusiasm for Kid A as Hyden does, and I regard Amnesiac with more warmth. The “difficult listens” are actually difficult in the way contemporary critics painted Kid A, yet the more straightforward melodic tracks hit me in the solar plexus so strongly that those bleeps and squealches all feel like necessary connective tissue. (One of my more heretical Radiohead opinions, along with my strong draw to Hail to the Thief).
Here’s the rub with KID A MNESIA: I’ve decided not to buy it in physical format. So I’m breaking my own theme! Put down the pitchforks, please. Not long before the set was announced, I upgraded my copy of Amnesiac to the 2009 special edition, full of b-sides that annoyingly do not make it on to this latest edition. But the previously unreleased tracks that comprise the new disc got me curious. Spotify payed for itself again (now if only it will pay artists as consistently).
They are largely more in line with the stolen, threatened-to-be-leaked, then swiftly officially “leaked” OK Computer tapes. Less polished b-sides than sketches in which one can discern the aural building blocks that became songs that formed unshakeable experiences for a lucky slice of the listening public.
“Like Spinning Plates – ‘Why Us?’ Version” is the lead-off of disc 3. It’s closer to the Bonnaroo 2006 live version I fell in love with, the looping piano figures recognizable as such and Thom’s vocals unaltered by Black Lodge time-reversal shenanigans. But he’s singing the verses in an alternate order, and his titular moan of “Why Us?” floats among the fluttering synth effect heard in the official album version. So it’s close but no cigar to my ideal recording of the song.
“If You Say The Word” is the standout unheard track. A dark, ominous shuffle jam with Johnny Greenwood’s beloved Ondes Martenot lifting Thom’s voice to queasy new heights: the hovering flying saucer that stalks the band finally nabbing them with a 1950’s tractor beam.
“Follow Me Around,” in contrast, never quite takes off. A wisp of a chorus, verses in search of a bridge– maybe try a nice bubblegum pop key change? I’m reaching, here! It feels like a bedroom demo with a stereo mix, and I’m honestly a little shocked they chose to build a music video around it. Appropriately for the song, the Guy Pierce-starring paranoia piece also finds its conceptual rut and stays there for 5+ minutes.
“Pulk/Pull – True Love Waits Version” seems more like a fan’s experimental mashup than a concept the band itself would toy with. But considering the many years in which the band struggled to commit those words & melody to a satisfactory recording (‘95 to 2016; world wars have been fought quicker), they were clearly willing to try any deconstuction necessary to shake something loose.
The alternate versions continue: a THIRD edition of "Morning Bell" (each album had their own pet imagining), this one subtitled "In The Dark." It’s the lullaby for a sleep paralysis episode, proving just how malleable a song can be. “How To Disappear Into Strings” closes the disc out, and it’s undeniably moving, even without Thom’s voice/acoustic strumming. A gentle 20-years-later reminder that Johnny Greenwood is becoming one of our Great film composers.
They are all ultimately curiosities, the result of digging into the Myth and finding the Truth: that a rock band writing in the studio will travel down blind alleys, stumble upon riffs or strangely pleasing sounds and then, one hopes, construct with them a sprawling tower. (A mix of the tedious and the divine that is likewise made plain in the new Get Back Beatles doc.)
This concept is given shape in perhaps the most evocative tie-in to the triple-disc release: Epic Games’ KID A MNESIA Exhibit, a trippy digital art installation in which Stanley Donwood’s iconic work for the albums (from the mixed-media covers to the beguiling little liner note sketches and snatches of lyrics) becomes an explorable 3D space.
It’s a video game where the goal is to be subsumed in the essence of the recordings. My favorite section is the “How To Disappear Completely” room, which offers the experience of floating through a snow globe while you seek out Yorke’s voice, represented as a discreet auditory object in space that you move your first-person avatar through the storm to face. Just like the albums themselves, it’s built for headphones, a dark room, and optionally, your favorite chemical substance.
It’s a similar surround-sound situation that inspired me to pick up the new anniversary edition of New Adventures in Hi Fi by R.E.M. (My favorite band, with Radiohead at #2 and The Beatles squeaking in at #3, so it’s been a very good fall for me). I’ve written at length about this soundtrack to my college years, so no need to repeat myself.
Though the second disk has its share of bonus tracks as well (mostly alternate live versions and one or two b-sides), the included Blu-ray disc was the selling point. The idea of mixing a quarter-century-old rock record into Dolby 5.1 can be called revisionist, but the prospect of having these tracks literally fill a room, of being able to sit inside the recordings… well it almost takes the sting out of never being able to witness these guys live.
Let that siren loop from “Leave” scar your eardrums and scare your cats. Patti Smith’s guest vocal on “E-Bow The Letter” will murmur over your shoulder as you stare out your living room window at the gray outdoors.
And join me for more entries in the future. The collection’s gotten bigger. projectalbum.tumblr.com/
All caps, bold: MOVIE
All caps, bold, asterisk: SHORT*
All caps: TV SERIES
Italics: Book
Quotation marks: “Play”
Italics, quotation marks: “Short Story”
06/01 THE MATRIX REVISITED, KNOWING ME, KNOWING YOU, ITALIANAMERICAN*, FARGO, THE BIG LEBOWSKI, MYSTERY SCIENCE THEATER 3000: THE MOVIE, THE STORY OF FILM
06/02 ARCHER (2), RICK AND MORTY, MEAN STREETS (Commentary)
06/03 THE NICE GUYS, KILLER OF SHEEP
06/04 UNCUT GEMS, AGENTS OF SHIELD, THE MARTIAN
06/05 KNOWING ME, KNOWING YOU, MUCH ADO ABOUT NOTHING (2012)
06/06 WHAT WE DO IN THE SHADOWS, ARCHER, MST3K: DIABOLIK, O BROTHER WHERE ART THOU?, NASHVILLE
06/07 THE SIMPSONS (2), ARCHER (2), ORIGINAL CAST ALBUM: COMPANY, DOCUMENTARY NOW!, PANIC ROOM, NEVER LET ME GO
06/08 NO COUNTRY FOR OLD MEN, FARGO, MST3K: THE AMAZING TRANSPARENT MAN
06/09 THE PRINCESS BRIDE, FARSCAPE
06/10 How To Disappear: Notes on Invisibility in a Time of Transparency, Akiko Busch, CLOSE ENCOUNTERS OF THE THIRD KIND, THE STORY OF FILM
06/11 AGENTS OF SHIELD, CHINATOWN
06/12 CHINATOWN (Commentary), THE STORY OF FILM, ONCE UPON A TIME… IN HOLLYWOOD
06/13 WHAT WE DO IN THE SHADOWS, ARCHER, PHANTOM THREAD, GET ON THE BUS
06/14 I’M ALAN PARTRIDGE, THE PLAYER
06/15 POPSTAR: NEVER STOP NEVER STOPPING
06/16 THE PRESTIGE
06/17 PULP FICTION, FARSCAPE
06/18 AGENTS OF SHIELD, ARCHER, CHILDRENS HOSPITAL (5), ZODIAC, MULHOLLAND DR.
06/19 PUNCH-DRUNK LOVE
06/20 THE SIMPSONS (2), NEW YORK, NEW YORK, RUSHMORE, BLACK PANTHERS*
06/21 ROBOCOP, THE TRUMAN SHOW
06/22 HAPPY-GO-LUCKY, SCOTT PILGRIM VS THE WORLD, THE SIMPSONS, THE STORY OF FILM
06/23 THE STORY OF FILM, SEVEN PSYCHOPATHS, THE FITS
06/24 FARGO, THE STORY OF FILM, SHORT CUTS
06/25 AGENTS OF SHIELD, THE SILENCE OF THE LAMBS
06/26 EXTRAS,THE STORY OF FILM, SKYFALL
06/27 EXTRAS, AMADEUS, AMERICAN BOY*
06/28 EXTRAS, THE SIMPSONS MOVIE, I’M ALAN PARTRIDGE, ETERNAL SUNSHINE OF THE SPOTLESS MIND
06/29 I AM NOT YOUR NEGRO, I’LL BE GONE IN THE DARK, THE SOCIAL NETWORK, SLEEPER
06/30 SOUTH PARK: BIGGER, LONGER, AND UNCUT, HIGHLANDER: THE SERIES
07/01 WINTER LIGHT, FARGO (2), THE WRONG GUY, SPACE COP (Commentary)
07/02 MST3K: THE SPACE CHILDREN, MONTY PYTHON: ALMOST THE TRUTH – THE LAWYER’S CUT
07/03 HAMILTON, BUT I’M A CHEERLEADER, POLTERGEIST
07/04 MONTY PYTHON: ALMOST THE TRUTH, THE SIMPSONS
07/05 MONTY PYTHON: ALMOST THE TRUTH, LIVING IN OBLIVION
07/06 “Eyes Wide Shut,” Stanley Kubrick and Frederick Raphael, ALI
07/07 I’LL BE GONE IN THE DARK
07/08 MONTY PYTHON: ALMOST THE TRUTH
07/09 THE SIMPSONS (2), A SEPARATION
07/10 MONTY PYTHON: ALMOST THE TRUTH
07/11 AGENTS OF SHIELD, ALL THAT JAZZ, HAMILTON
07/12 DO THE RIGHT THING, MONTY PYTHON: ALMOST THE TRUTH
07/13 I’LL BE GONE IN THE DARK
07/14 Dream Story, Arthur Schnitzler
07/16 THE SIMPSONS (2), SHOWBIZ KIDS
07/17 CHILDRENS HOSPITAL (2)
07/18 THE EYES OF ORSON WELLES, THE SIMPSONS, KING ARTHUR (2004), MONTY PYTHON AND THE HOLY GRAIL, CHILDRENS HOSPITAL (2), UNDER THE SILVER LAKE (Drunk)
07/19 UNDER THE SILVER LAKE (Sober)
07/20I’LL BE GONE IN THE DARK, CHILDRENS HOSPITAL (2)
07/21 BETWEEN THE LINES
07/24 MST3K: THE KILLER BEES, CHILD’S PLAY 2
07/25 24 HOUR PARTY PEOPLE, SCHITT’s CREEK (2), DIFFICULT PEOPLE (2)
07/26 DIFFICULT PEOPLE (2), EXOTICA
07/27I’LL BE GONE IN THE DARK, DIFFICULT PEOPLE
07/29 THE SIMPSONS, DIFFICULT PEOPLE
07/30 DIFFICULT PEOPLE
07/31 Twenty Five Mystery Science Theater 3000 Films That Changed My Life in No Way Whatsoever, Frank Conniff, PALM SPRINGS, DIFFICULT PEOPLE
08/01 MOANA
08/02 AMERICAN GRAFFITI, THE YEAR OF LIVING DANGEROUSLY, DIFFICULT PEOPLE, MST3K: FUTURE WAR, ME AND YOU AND EVERYONE WE KNOW
08/03I’LL BE GONE IN THE DARK
08/04 Crash, J.G. Ballard, DIFFICULT PEOPLE
08/06 MST3K: QUEST OF THE DELTA KNIGHTS
08/07 HARLEY QUINN (2)
08/08 BURDEN OF DREAMS (Commentary), THE PARALLAX VIEW, FLIRTING WITH DISASTER, DIFFICULT PEOPLE
08/09 THE SIMPSONS (2), ANGELS IN AMERICA, PUTNEY SWOPE
08/10 ANGELS IN AMERICA
08/11 ANGELS IN AMERICA
08/12 THE SIMPSONS, ANGELS IN AMERICA
08/13 ANGELS IN AMERICA
08/15 The Art and Making of Hannibal: The Television Series, Jesse McLean, STAR TREK II: THE WRATH OF KHAN, X-MEN
08/16 GADGET MAN, FANTASTIC MR. FOX
08/18 DIFFICULT PEOPLE
08/19 From Hell, Alan Moore and Eddie Campbell, THE TIMES OF HARVEY MILK, ANGELS IN AMERICA
08/20 HALT AND CATCH FIRE (2)
08/22 ARCHER, THE SIMPSONS
08/23 THE BITTER TEARS OF PETRA VON KANT, AGENTS OF SHIELD, HALT AND CATCH FIRE, CLIFFORD
08/25 SULLIVAN’S TRAVELS
08/26 WR: MYSTERIES OF THE ORGANISM
08/28 LAKE MUNGO, 1BR
08/29 THE SIMPSONS, HANNIBAL, SPEND IT ALL, MAD MAX
08/30 THE SIMPSONS (2)
09/01 THE SIMPSONS
09/02 KATE PLAYS CHRISTINE, REAL LIFE
09/04 THE AMITYVILLE HORROR
09/05 GADGET MAN (2)
09/06 GADGET MAN, BILL & TED’S EXCELLENT ADVENTURE
09/07 BILL & TED’S BOGUS JOURNEY
09/08 GADGET MAN (2)
09/09 FIRST REFORMED, THE UNTOUCHABLES
09/10 EXTRAS (2)
09/11 HAMILTON, BRAM STOKER’S DRACULA
09/12 THE RED SHOES, BILL & TED FACE THE MUSIC, WALK HARD
09/13 GADGET MAN, HARLEY QUINN (2), THE ASSASSINATION OF JESSE JAMES BY THE COWARD ROBERT FORD
09/14 THE BRIDGE ON THE RIVER KWAI
09/15 GADGET MAN, I’M ALAN PARTRIDGE, HARLEY QUINN
09/16 ARCHER, THE TERMINATOR, HARVEY, NAKED LUNCH
09/19 ARCHER (2), TINKER TAILOR SOLDIER SPY, THE TENANT
09/20 DICK TRACY, THIS IS SPINAL TAP
09/21 THE SIMPSONS, GADGET MAN, YOUNG FRANKENSTEIN
09/23 THE WITCHES OF EASTWICK, TAXI DRIVER (Schrader Commentary)
09/24 ARCHER, HARLEY QUINN
09/25 SIN CITY, CATCH ME IF YOU CAN, PSYCH
09/26 GADGET MAN, TERMINATOR 2: JUDGMENT DAY, THE APARTMENT
09/27 I’M ALAN PARTRIDGE, SHERLOCK HOLMES (2009), THE DEAD ZONE
09/28 ED WOOD
09/30 READY OR NOT
10/01 THE DEVIL’S BACKBONE, ARCHER
10/02 THE THING (1982), SHERLOCK HOLMES: A GAME OF SHADOWS, THE TEXAS CHAIN SAW MASSACRE, THE BROOD
10/03 GADGET MAN, QUANTUM LEAP, SLEEPY HOLLOW
10/04 I’M ALAN PARTRIDGE, SWEENEY TODD: THE DEMON BARBER OF FLEET STREET, ONLY LOVERS LEFT ALIVE
10/05 THE BIRDS, MST3K: HOBGOBLINS
10/06 On Writing, Stephen King, MAD MEN, PSYCH (2)
10/07 THE SIMPSONS, HALLOWEEN 1978 (Commentary), FARGO (2)
10/08 THE SIMPSONS, FARGO, ARSENIC AND OLD LACE, BODY BAGS
10/09 THE SIMPSONS, THERE WILL BE BLOOD, MARNIE, LET’S SCARE JESSICA TO DEATH
10/10 MAD MEN, JAWS
10/11 ARCHER, BEETLEJUICE
10/14 FARGO, MAD MEN, VIDEODROME
10/15 THE SIMPSONS, MAD MEN
10/16 I MARRIED A WITCH, ROSEMARY’S BABY
10/17 ARCHER, DRACULA (1979)
10/18 MAD MEN, WHAT WE DO IN THE SHADOWS, HOUSE OF USHER, THE CRAZIES
10/19 CURSED FILMS (2), FARGO, TOAST OF LONDON (2), DON’T LOOK NOW
10/20 GARTH MARENGHI’S DARKPLACE, ATLANTA (3), THEM (ILS)
10/21 A WEST WING SPECIAL, ATLANTA (2)
10/22 THE SIMPSONS, DEEP RED, CURSED FILMS
10/23 WHAT WE DO IN THE SHADOWS
10/24 ARCHER, THE ROCKY HORROR PICTURE SHOW, SHOCK TREATMENT
10/25 MAD MEN, CLUE, ATLANTA (3), HAUSU
10/26 MAD MEN, FARGO, ATLANTA
10/27 SHAUN OF THE DEAD
10/28 DAWN OF THE DEAD (1978), MAD MEN (2), ATLANTA
10/29 ATLANTA, AN AMERICAN WEREWOLF IN LONDON
10/30 BRAZIL, TUCKER & DALE VS. EVIL, ATLANTA, SUSPIRIA (2018)
10/31 MAD MEN, SERIAL MOM, HALLOWEEN (1978)
11/01 THE SIMPSONS, A BRIDGE TOO FAR
11/02 THEY LIVE, MAD MEN, ATLANTA (2), MST3K: MERLIN’S SHOP OF MYSTICAL WONDERS
11/03 DARKMAN, GADGET MAN
11/04 THE SIMPSONS (2), DAVID BYRNE’S AMERICAN UTOPIA, WAITING FOR GUFFMAN, ATLANTA (2), W/ BOB & DAVID (2)
11/05 MAD MEN (2), HIGHLANDER
11/06 FISH TANK, W/ BOB & DAVID, MAD MEN, ATLANTA (2), THE COUNT OF MONTE CHRISTO (‘34)
11/07 MAD MEN
11/08 ARCHER, ATLANTA (2), I’M THINKING OF ENDING THINGS
11/09 ADAPTATION., FARGO, MAD MEN, PSYCH, RIFFTRAX: GLITTER
11/10 CURSED FILMS, ATLANTA
11/11 BAD TIMING, GADGET MAN, SONG EXPLODER (2), THE THIN RED LINE
11/12 DEAD MAN, ATLANTA, STEVE JOBS
11/13 POSSESSION
11/14 THE SIMPSONS (2), QUANTUM LEAP, MST3K: TERROR FROM THE YEAR 5000, AFTER HOURS, OLD BOYFRIENDS
11/15 TIM AND ERIC AWESOME SHOW GREAT JOB!, TROUBLE IN PARADISE, MANDY
11/16 The Real Frank Zappa Book, Frank Zappa with Peter Occhiogrosso, THE SIMPSONS (2), FARGO, MAD MEN, QUANTUM LEAP (2)
11/17 THE SIMPSONS, MAD MEN, BLACK CHRISTMAS (1974)
11/18 I’M ALAN PARTRIDGE, THOR: RAGNAROK, TIM AND ERIC
11/19 MAD MEN, DIE ANOTHER DAY, JANE EYRE (2011)
11/20 THE SIMPSONS, MAD MEN, AN EVENING WITH TIM HEIDECKER
11/21 THE SIMPSONS, ROXY THE MOVIE, LEAP OF FAITH: WILLIAM FRIEDKIN ON THE EXORCIST
11/22 GADGET MAN, THE MOTHMAN PROPHECIES
11/23 THE SIMPSONS, FARGO, MAD MEN, HIROSHIMA MON AMOUR
11/24 BUFFY THE VAMPIRE SLAYER, MAD MEN
11/25 THE SIMPSONS, THE CAR, BELL, BOOK, AND CANDLE, MST3K: THE GIANT SPIDER INVASION
11/26 WKRP IN CINCINNATI, HOME FOR THE HOLIDAYS, MONTY PYTHON’S FLYING CIRCUS
11/27 TRUE GRIT (2010), MIDNIGHT RUN, ZAPPA
11/28 GADGET MAN, THE TAKING OF PELHAM 123 (1974), PHANTOM OF THE PARADISE
11/29 BATMAN RETURNS, QUANTUM LEAP, PSYCH
11/30 THE SIMPSONS
12/1 THE SIMPSONS, WHAT’S YOUR NUMBER?
12/2 THE AWFUL TRUTH, MAD MEN, PSYCH
12/3 MAD MEN
12/4 THE ADJUSTER, HAROLD AND MAUDE, MAD MEN, NETWORK
12/5 MANK, THE SOCIAL NETWORK, THE SHOP AROUND THE CORNER
12/6 THE SIMPSONS (2), GADGET MAN, IN BRUGES
12/7 GADGET MAN, MAD MEN (2), SEINFELD
12/8 THE SIMPSONS (2), MAD MEN
12/9 BROKEN FLOWERS, PSYCH (2), THE LION IN WINTER
12/10 MAD MEN, PRISONERS
12/11 TRUE STORIES, SCROOGED, MST3K: THE HORROR OF PARTY BEACH
12/12 ALL THAT JAZZ, KISS KISS BANG BANG
12/13 GADGET MAN, THE BISHOP’S WIFE
12/14 Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy, John Le Carré, CACHÉ, MAD MEN (2), MST3K: TRACK OF THE MOON BEAST, THE SILENT PARTNER
12/15 GADGET MAN, MAD MEN
12/16 MAD MEN (2), OCEAN’S 11 (2001)
12/17 MAD MEN, RIFFTRAX: SANTA AND THE ICE CREAM BUNNY
12/18 THE SIMPSONS, TENET, EYES WIDE SHUT
12/19 MARIO PUZO’S THE GODFATHER CODA: THE DEATH OF MICHAEL CORLEONE, TIM AND ERIC AWESOME SHOW, GREAT JOB! CHRIMBUS SPECIAL
12/20 DIE HARD
12/21 COMMUNITY (4),THE X-FILES
12/22 MAD MEN
12/23 THE SPY WHO CAME IN FROM THE COLD, THE LORD OF THE RINGS: THE FELLOWSHIP OF THE RING
12/24 THE LORD OF THE RINGS: THE TWO TOWERS, MST3K: SPACE MUTINY
12/25 WONDER WOMAN 1984
12/26 THE LORD OF THE RINGS: RETURN OF THE KING
12/27 GADGET MAN, MAD MEN (2), NAKED
12/28 CHARADE
12/29 MAD MEN, PSYCH
12/30 WHEN HARRY MET SALLY…, MONTY PYTHON LIVE AT THE HOLLYWOOD BOWL
12/31 MAD MEN (2), SOUND OF METAL
CDs
WOMEN IN MUSIC PART III Haim
COURT AND SPARK Joni Mitchell
TITANIC RISING Weyes Blood
THE SUNSET TREE The Mountain Goats
FETCH THE BOLT CUTTERS Fiona Apple
DIGITAL
RTJ4 Run The Jewels
THE JORDAN LAKE SESSIONS The Mountain Goats
The post Seein’, Red 2020 Pt 2 first appeared on GuntonFilm.]]>
In 2019, watching 31 creepy or campy films in 31 days seemed like a formidable challenge. In 2*2*, the Age of Societally Responsible Binging, I had to whittle down my smorgasbord. Days meant nothing anymore: a Tuesday could easily mean setting up and knocking back a triple feature.
With public spaces lookin’ to this paranoid lad like the DVD cover to The Fog, fictional spooks and startles often failed to make a dent in my default dread. So in the home stretch of this month I leaned on some favorites. Hit the jump to feast on my brain-thoughts.
The Devil’s Backbone (2001)
First official film of the spooky season! Del Toro’s whole thing in the Spanish-language films and Crimson Peak is using the supernatural as the backbone (yep) of the melodrama instead of the main event. I’m not as enchanted by his style as some, but I think this is my favorite of the ones I’ve seen. This is Del Toro and Navarro on a real John Ford’s The Searchers kick, and those Spanish landscapes beyond the school look great.
The Thing (1982)
“If a small particle of this thing is enough to take over an entire organism, then everyone should prepare their own meals. And I suggest we only eat out of cans.”
Whoops, and here I am still ordering takeout.
The Texas Chain Saw Massacre (1974)
Boy, I hope nobody remakes this three times in less than 20 years, that would be so embarrassing!
The Brood (1979)
The “killer little people in red coats” genre is a proud storytelling tradition stretching back from the late 1970’s all the way to the early 1970’s (see Don’t Look Now below).
Sleepy Hollow (1999)
or The Head, She Hollow. Doesn’t hold up to my eyes as well as it once did, unfortunately. Though Burton’s every stylistic impulse seems engaged by the opportunity to channel the Hammer Horror he no doubt grew up with, the rote revenge machinations, florid dialogue, and camp performances raise the question of whether using a blockbuster budget to inflate a pastiche is particularly worth it.
The fun still resides in Depp’s, at-the-time, subversively fey investigator, his fearful twitches and tendency to faint pitched to the people in the back row. He was at the height of his youthful beauty and already sick of playing the People Magazine sex symbol, but a few years off from making bank as a fey pirate and falling into self-parody as a series of fey characters with white stuff on their face.
Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street (2007)
I haven’t been to a barber since February. *tugging collar* Ggg looks like I made the right choice!
Only Lovers Left Alive (2013)
or Night On Earth 2: Bite Harder. Tilda Swinton lets a documentary crew follow her around.
The Birds (1963)
Far fewer driving and parking scenes than Birdemic, so one could make the argument that this is a better film?
Arsenic and Old Lace (1944)
Cary Grant could have taken over for Curly and Shemp. He’s doing some world-class Stooge work here.
Body Bags (1993)
This was clearly a ‘lil in-joke movie for horror fans, with all the director cameos (Wes Craven, Sam Raimi, Tobe Hooper) and John Carpenter in the lead role as a Cryptkeeper-lite punster in the wraparound segments. Fitfully amusing in that regard.
Let’s Scare Jessica To Death (1971)
or: Let’s Bore Kirk To Death!
Jaws (1975)
My review of this film is that it is Jaws, and to back up all the parallels Twitter people made between the Mayor keeping the beaches open for THE ECONOMY and what we’re going through.
Beetlejuice (1988)
The Blu-ray is one of a few discs in my collection with an isolated music track (in this case, both Elfman’s score and all the Harry Belafonte source cues). I started the movie with music-only audio and subtitles, it sounded great, then I went the extra mile by switching my TV to high-contrast, silver-toned B&W. It may have stepped on the comedy a bit (though of course I’ve seen this enough that my brain fills in Keaton and Catherine O’Hara’s most iconic line readings), but the Cabinet of Dr. Caligari vibes were all over this mother. A recommended Halloween viewing for fans looking for a new way to experience an old favorite.
Videodrome (1983)
I appreciate that Cronenberg’s Canadian films resolutely announce that they take place in Canada— no attempt to pull a fast one on us. We can always tell.
I also appreciate that this is a fleet 88 minutes, so it’s chockablock with greasy, pulsating Rick Baker body horror specials and zero drag.
Woods is perfectly cast as a scuzzy, unscrupulous, lecherous TV development exec (I know, there’s no other kind), but the film falls into the Trippy Cult Film trap of mythology-building that relegates its protagonist into a puppet and a cipher.
Rosemary’s Baby (1968)
Everyone ignores the credible accusations of a beleaguered Mia Farrow to avoid besmirching the reputation of a man who’s a respected New York institution.
I Married A Witch (1942)
Veronica Lake, tho
Dracula (1979)
For a few decades, this was the paragon of swooningly horny Dracula movies, until, according to my unpublished research culled from my millennial lady friends, Gary Oldman’s ‘lil Van Dyke supplanted it.
You can tell they wanted this to be in black-and-white, but Universal chickened out, so they settled for this super-desaturated color version that’s murky and kind of looks like shit.
GOAT John Williams cooks up another instantly memorable ’70s theme that I somehow knew despite never having seen this before!
House of Usher (1960)
Vincent Price was the best at this stuff.
The Crazies (1973)
Me, every few minutes: “Do these people work for the military? Wish the score would give me some kind of audio clue to work it out.”
The score: “I got you! constant looping library music of marching drums“
Don’t Look Now (1973)
I first watched this movie before I’d ever been to Venice and IT DID NOT DISSUADE ME. Ladies, tune in for all the hot Donald Sutherland action you could ever need.
Them (ils, 2006)
A French couple living in a big spooky house in Romania are terrorized by assailants with noisemakers. I have little to say about this one except that it exists. Sound design and performances are quite good, but the story’s paper-thin and the end title aims for “This really happened!” in a very campfire-story silly way. Cut that and you’re better off.
Deep Red (1975)
Argento is a stylist, I get that that’s his appeal. The Goblin music was genuinely unsettling in Suspiria, but whatever they’re doing here is distracting and amusingly dated. The problem that arises from my preoccupation with documentaries and essay films ABOUT movies is that I get spoiled with glimpses of iconic shocks. The “puppet moment,” which relies entirely on visual misdirection and surprise, was neutralized for me.
What We Do in the Shadows (2014)
A few years ago, a friend approached me about collaborating on scripts for a vampire web series. I explained that I was happy to offer guidance, but that frankly, I thought the bloodsucker mythos had been drained bone-dry. Since then I’ve seen Only Lovers Left Alive, A Girl Walks Home Alone at Night, and this delightfully silly mockumentary, and now I realize that I suffer from a lack of imagination. And also I believe that after these three films, all the new takes on the vampire mythos are covered. Whoops!
The Rocky Horror Picture Show (1975) / Shock Treatment (1981)
Rocky Horror might come across as quaint to a Zoomer-aged Tumblr user (or whatever the uncensored replacement platform is), but for all the overexposure this still comes through like a good-natured lightning bolt in our age of completely neuter blockbusters. Time has collapsed RKO, 50’s b-movies, and the 70’s repertory cult scene into a single bygone era, so that RHPS’s references and subversions are now commingled and indistinguishable from each other.
Shock Treatment is “mine” in the same way Richard O’Brien/Jim Sharman’s earlier film belongs to my mother— each of us discovered the other flick first, and we can appreciate the other but not with the same fervency.
Where RHPS’ musical identity- forged on the stage- draws from the same late-50’s rock n’ roll source as its contemporary Grease, Shock Treatment was written expressly for the screen of 1981, and slots into the early New Wave and “garage sound” that mainstreamed the punk scene. The new Brad and Janet’s voices are rougher and deeper: I don’t think Cliff de Young had ever professionally sung before, while Jessica Harper is continuing her Star On The Rise archetype established in Suspiria and Phantom of the Paradise.
What this film lacks, if you’re comparing it to Rocky Horror (which, don’t bother, its tone and aim is closer to de Palma’s Phantom) is a character/performance as iconic as Tim Curry’s Frankenfurter, and a message of liberation as graspable as “Don’t Dream It, Be It.” Instead, it’s a sardonic little satire about the quest for fame and what is now called “vertical integration.”
Clue (1985)
Wish I were as confident about anything as the writers of this were about opening their film with the “someone stepped in smelly dog doo” runner
House (Hausu, 1977)
This damn thing has been in my queue since Criterion films were only streaming on damn Hulu, and gets added to every watchlist for each new streaming service, without me ever taking the plunge on the Play button. Even this week, when I committed to finally watching, my viewings have been constantly interrupted by late-night droopy eyes syndrome, ill-timed phone calls, the works.
But this month I crossed the finish line, and I’m feeling like a floating decapitated head— fancy-free and searching for a bite to eat.
Unbreakable (2000)
The most suspense I felt watching movies this month? Showing this to a friend that had never seen it, anticipating her reaction. (Spoiler: She nitpicked it from moment one.)
This film is too close to my heart for an accurate or useful review. It, and the James Newton Howard score, has been swirling around my brain for 20 (!) years now, surviving the onslaught of superhero fatigue as Marvel and DC pump out endless product. It’s kept even Nolan’s Bat-films from jostling it out of the top spot for the genre. My affection for it made Sixth Sense retroactively even better, gave critic-armor to Signs, polished the rough edges of The Village, and got me morbidly curious about Split and Glass (the latter is not worth anyone’s time).
“You know what the scariest thing is? To not know your place in this world. To not know why you’re here.”
Shaun of the Dead (2004)
At this many viewings, I have picked up on seemingly all the callbacks and background jokes except the really obvious, not-so-background ones. I finally connected with the setup/punchline of Peter Serafinowicz’s supremely condescending “That’s not too hard, is it? Writing something on a scrap of paper?” and finding that, yes, Ed can in fact use several scraps to spell out “I Am A Prick.” Sometimes we don’t see what’s in front of us. Or taped behind us.
Dawn of the Dead (1978)
First time seeing this in full. It’s free on YouTube in 4K, so the time is right. There’s nothing I could possibly add to the discourse about this (except that it’s a fun time), so enjoy this article about the crazy bright blood in 70’s movies.
An American Werewolf in London (1981)
Re-watching this, I noticed three things that go on for a weirdly long time: the Van Morrison-scored sex scene, the scene of David Naughton watching television, and John Landis’ career after murdering those people.
Suspiria (2018)
Sorry, I live for this shit. Drizzly gray cities haunted by the specter of mass death? Scheming and infighting among ancient witches? A “sleeper must awaken” story with swelling Thom Yorke accompaniment? Stark and gorgeous dream sequences cut with truly nerve-rattling sound design? Grotesque practical effects perfectly integrated with CG? Ari Aster could never.
Halloween (1978)
Let’s all go to the drive-in
Let’s all go to the drive-in
Let’s all go to the drive-innnnn
And breathe our separate air!
All caps, bold: MOVIE
All caps, bold, asterisk: SHORT*
All caps: TV SERIES
Italics: Book
Quotation marks: “Play”
Italics, quotation marks: “Short Story”
01/01 LOCAL HERO, Watchmen, Alan Moore & Dave McKean
01/02 BARRY (2), KEY AND PEELE (2)
01/03 THE KING OF MARVIN GARDENS, ARMY OF DARKNESS, ASH VS. EVIL DEAD (2)
01/04 “Pretty Maggie Moneyeyes,” Harlan Ellison, ARRIVAL, BABY DRIVER, KEY AND PEELE (3)
01/05 BACK TO THE FUTURE, BACK TO THE FUTURE PART II, THE SIMPSONS (2)
01/06 The Deeper Meaning of Liff, Douglas Adams & John Lloyd
01/07 The Inferno, Dante Alighieri, BACK TO THE FUTURE PART III, THE ITALIAN JOB (’69), DRACULA (2020)
01/08 BARRY LYNDON
01/09 TRAVEL MAN (2), BARTON FINK
01/10 Memoirs of an Invisible Man, H.F. Saint, TWIN PEAKS: THE RETURN, BATMAN (’89), THE GOOD PLACE, DRACULA, BATMAN BEGINS
01/11 APOCALYPSE NOW, DRACULA, TRAVEL MAN, KEY & PEELE (2)
01/12 BATMAN: THE DARK KNIGHT RETURNS, THE PHILADELPHIA STORY, MEDICAL POLICE (2)
01/14 MEDICAL POLICE (3), VENTURE BROTHERS (2)
01/15 I THINK YOU SHOULD LEAVE (2)
01/16 MEDICAL POLICE, I THINK YOU SHOULD LEAVE, MST3K: GIANT SPIDER INVASION
01/17 I THINK YOU SHOULD LEAVE (2)
01/18 JOKER, BEFORE SUNRISE, ROB DELANEY: JACKIE
01/19 THE SIMPSONS (2), BEFORE SUNSET, UNTIL THE END OF THE WORLD
01/20 Slaughterhouse-Five, Kurt Vonnegut, THE GOOD PLACE, TRAVEL MAN (2), KEY AND PEELE, BEFORE MIDNIGHT
01/21 TRAVEL MAN, AVENUE 5, KEY AND PEELE, UNTIL THE END OF THE WORLD (Cont’d)
01/22 UNTIL THE END OF THE WORLD (Finished), WHAT DID JACK DO?*, BLUE VELVET
01/23 THE OUTSIDER (2)
01/24 THE OUTSIDER
01/28 TWIN PEAKS: FIRE WALK WITH ME (Q2 FAN EDIT), THE OUTSIDER
02/03 THE GOOD PLACE (2)
02/04 THE OUTSIDER
02/06 VANYA ON 42ND STREET, VENTURE BROS (2)
02/07 FIREFLY, KEY AND PEELE (2)
02/08 AVENUE 5, FIREFLY, BODY HEAT, BLADE RUNNER: ‘82 Theatrical Cut
02/09 FIREFLY (2), BROADCAST NEWS
02/10 THE SIMPSONS (2), THE OUTSIDER, FIREFLY (2), CABIN BOY (Commentary)
02/11 Harlan Ellison’s Watching, RICK AND MORTY
02/12 PARASITE
02/13 CLOUD ATLAS
02/14 COLLATERAL
02/15 THE GRADUATE, THE CONVERSATION
02/16 DARK CITY, ATLANTIC CITY
02/17 THE DARK KNIGHT
02/18 THE DARK KNIGHT RISES
02/19 THE OUTSIDER
02/20 DAVID LYNCH: THE ART LIFE, FIREFLY (2), KEY AND PEELE (2)
02/22 DEAD RINGERS, KIDS IN THE HALL, FIREFLY (2), KEY AND PEELE, TRAVEL MAN (2)
02/23 FIREFLY (4)
02/24 BETTER CALL SAUL
02/25 THE OUTSIDER, BETTER CALL SAUL
02/27 LA GRANDE ILLUSION
02/28 THE LONG GOOD FRIDAY
02/29 SEVEN SAMURAI, VENTURE BROS (2)
03/01 “No Exit,” Jean-Paul Sartre
03/02 IN COLD BLOOD
03/03 BETTER CALL SAUL
03/04 THE OUTSIDER
03/06 THE LADY VANISHES (‘38)
03/07 AMARCORD, VENTURE BROS (2)
03/09 THE VIRGIN SPRING
03/10 THE OUTSIDER, BETTER CALL SAUL
03/11 “The Flies,” Jean-Paul Sartre, LA BELLE ET LA BÊTE
03/12 SAFE
03/13 THE LAST PICTURE SHOW
03/14 MURDER ON THE ORIENT EXPRESS (’74)
03/16 SERENITY, HANNIBAL (2)
03/17 HANNIBAL (2), BETTER CALL SAUL
03/18 “Dirty Hands,” Jean-Paul Sartre, HANNIBAL (3), KEY AND PEELE, WKRP IN CINCINNATI
03/19 HANNIBAL (2), BETTER CALL SAUL, DR. HORRIBLE’S SING-ALONG BLOG (COMMENTARY! THE MUSICAL)
03/20 BETTER CALL SAUL, SHAUN OF THE DEAD
03/21 KEY AND PEELE, HANNIBAL (2), BETTER CALL SAUL (2)
03/22 TRAVEL MAN (2), HANNIBAL (3)
03/23 “The Respectful Prostitute,” Jean-Paul Sartre, HANNIBAL (2), DONT LOOK BACK
03/24 The Gunslinger, Stephen King, HANNIBAL (2), JOHN MULANEY AND THE SACK LUNCH BUNCH
03/25 HOT FUZZ
03/26 HANNIBAL (2)
03/27 HANNIBAL (2)
03/28 KEY AND PEELE, DR. STRANGELOVE, BETTER CALL SAUL, PAPER MOON, DEFENDING YOUR LIFE
03/29 TRAVEL MAN (2), HANNIBAL, DRIVE
03/30 KNIVES OUT (Commentary), HANNIBAL (2), KEY AND PEELE (2), HARDCORE
03/31 HOT FUZZ (Commentary), HANNIBAL (2), KEY AND PEELE (2), PORTRAIT OF A LADY ON FIRE
04/01 THE WORLD’S END, IRMA VEP
04/02 HANNIBAL (2), BLUE VELVET REVISITED
04/03 HANNIBAL (Commentary), HANNIBAL (2), DIE HARD WITH A VENGEANCE
04/04 BETTER CALL SAUL, HANNIBAL (2)
04/05 The Drawing of the Three, Stephen King, TRAVEL MAN (2), BEEF HOUSE
04/06 THE SIMPSONS (2), HANNIBAL (2), CACTUS FLOWER
04/07 DUNKIRK (2017), HANNIBAL (2), THE HAMSTER FACTOR AND OTHER TALES OF TWELVE MONKEYS
04/08 HANNIBAL (2)
04/09 DEUS EX MACHINA: THE PHILOSOPHY OF DONNIE DARKO, EVIL DEAD 2
04/10 EX MACHINA, BETTER CALL SAUL, KEY AND PEELE (2), FLEABAG (NATIONAL THEATRE LIVE)
04/11 THE SIMPSONS (2), WHAT’S UP, DOC?, EARTH GIRLS ARE EASY, COMEDY BANG BANG (2)
04/12 STOP MAKING SENSE, TRAVEL MAN (2), RAGING BULL (Commentary), COMEDY BANG BANG, MARC MARON: END TIMES FUN
04/13 BEFORE THE DEVIL KNOWS YOU’RE DEAD, FARGO, LOOK AROUND YOU
04/14 BETTER CALL SAUL, THE FAVOURITE
04/15 FEAR AND LOATHING IN LAS VEGAS
04/16 WHAT WE DO IN THE SHADOWS (2), MEMOIRS OF AN INVISIBLE MAN, KEY AND PEELE (2)
04/17 THE SIMPSONS (2), DEVS, TRAVEL MAN, THE FISHER KING, RIFFTRAX SHORTS (2)
04/18 TRAVEL MAN (2), FROM RUSSIA WITH LOVE, MUSIC VIDEOS BY PAUL THOMAS ANDERSON*, Mike Nelson’s Mind Over Matters
04/19 KEY AND PEELE, TRAVEL MAN, THE GAME (1997)
04/20 EYES OF LAURA MARS, DEVS, THE TRIP (2010)
04/21 TWIN PEAKS: THE RETURN (2), BETTER CALL SAUL, GHOSTBUSTERS (1984)
04/22 HAIM: VALENTINE*, TRAVEL MAN (2), GLENGARRY GLEN ROSS, SALESMAN
04/23 TWIN PEAKS: THE RETURN (2), THE GODFATHER
04/24 TWIN PEAKS: THE RETURN, THE GODFATHER PART II
04/25 ANATOMY OF A MURDER, THE TRIP TO ITALY, AND EVERYTHING IS GOING FINE, MST3K: PARTS – THE CLONUS HORROR
04/26 THE SIMPSONS (2), WHAT WE DO IN THE SHADOWS, KEY AND PEELE
04/27 GOLDFINGER, BEEF HOUSE, FAMILY GUY
04/28 GONE GIRL, RIFFTRAX LIVE: TIME CHASERS
04/29 KEY AND PEELE, GOODFELLAS
04/30 TWIN PEAKS: THE RETURN, GOODFELLAS (Commentary), THE GRAND BUDAPEST HOTEL, NIGHT ON EARTH
05/01 THE SIMPSONS (2), GROUNDHOG DAY
05/02 Role Models, John Waters, KEY AND PEELE (2), A HARD DAY’S NIGHT, THE TRIP TO SPAIN, SPALDING GRAY: SEX AND DEATH TO THE AGE 14
05/03 KNOWING ME, KNOWING YOU WITH ALAN PARTRIDGE
05/04 RICK AND MORTY, THE RUTLES: ALL YOU NEED IS CASH, KNOWING ME, KNOWING YOU, CERTIFIED COPY
05/05 TWIN PEAKS: THE RETURN (2), HEAT
05/06 HER, INCEPTION
05/07 INDIANA JONES AND THE LAST CRUSADE, BLITHE SPIRIT (’45)
05/08 INHERENT VICE, INSIDE LLEWYN DAVIS, ANOTHER DAY, ANOTHER TIME: CELEBRATING THE MUSIC OF “ILD”
05/09 INSOMNIA
05/10 WHAT WE DO IN THE SHADOWS (2), THE STORY OF FILM: AN ODYSSEY, RAISING ARIZONA, FARGO (2)
05/11 THE STORY OF FILM, RICK AND MORTY, FARGO, I’M NOT THERE
05/12 THE JERK, KEY AND PEELE, THE STORY OF FILM
05/13 JOE VERSUS THE VOLCANO, FARGO, THE STORY OF FILM
05/14 THE LIFE AQUATIC WITH STEVE ZISSOU
05/15 L.A. CONFIDENTIAL
05/16 WHAT WE DO IN THE SHADOWS, NOTES ON AN AMERICAN FILM DIRECTOR AT WORK: MARTIN SCORSESE*, INTERSTELLAR
05/17 Going Somewhere Soon: Collected Stories & Drawings, Brian Andreas, KEY AND PEELE, THE LIMEY, UNBREAKABLE KIMMY SCHMIDT: KIMMY VS. THE REVEREND
05/18 COMMUNITY VIRTUAL TABLE READ, KEY AND PEELE, THE LONG GOODBYE, CRASH (1996)
05/19 KEANU, FARGO, PATTON OSWALT: I LOVE EVERYTHING, THE STORY OF FILM
05/20 Stranger Music, Leonard Cohen, RICK AND MORTY, LOOPER, MAUVAIS SANG, HORSE GIRL
05/21 THE MAN WHO WASN’T THERE, METROPOLITAN
05/22 THE TRIP TO GREECE, “National Theatre Live: A Streetcar Named Desire”
05/23 MOONRISE KINGDOM, MOONSTRUCK, MST3K: RIDING WITH DEATH
05/24 KNOWING ME, KNOWING YOU, WHAT WE DO IN THE SHADOWS, CALIFORNIA SPLIT
05/25 RICK AND MORTY, PLATOON, THE STORY OF FILM (2)
05/26 THE ANDERSON TAPES, JACOB’S LADDER
05/27 KNOWING ME, KNOWING YOU, MANHUNTER, SPICE WORLD
05/28 MARVEL’S AGENTS OF SHIELD, ARCHER, THE STORY OF FILM
05/29 THE CHANGELING (1980)
05/30 ARCHER, WENDY AND LUCY, MEEK’S CUTOFF, THE X-FILES (2), TREMORS
05/31 WHAT WE DO IN THE SHADOWS, THE PASSENGER, THE STORY OF FILM, THE MATRIX, THE MASTER
ALBUMS PURCHASED
OFF-KEY IN HAMBURG Father John Misty
GHOSTS V-VI Nine Inch Nails
SONGS FOR PIERRE CHUVIN The Mountain Goats
The post Seein’, Red 2020 Part I first appeared on GuntonFilm.]]>
The urge to make a capital-E event of Halloween is an almost overpowering annual occurrence for me. It starts once the leaves turn and the skies go gray (and is tied to an irrational desire for the chill and the dampness that Nature procrastinates on more and more every year.) It’s also inevitably a set up for disappointment. The parties get old quick, and only the Internet appreciates whatever budget cosplay I pull together. But one thing I can largely control: ingesting a balanced diet of psychopathic cinema, with none of the stomachache inherent in candy-cramming or booze-swigging.
This year was my most ambitious yet: 31 days, 31 films. It wasn’t easy to fill the slate: I can be boxed-in by my specific tastes (How many times can I watch a story about 2 women merging personalities, as the formal framework of the film itself twists and distorts, and still expect a new take?*) I’m also not interested in revisiting the multi-chapter slasher franchises, so no luck there. Luckily, just by following the whims of each day, I soon had a calendar full.
In the Mouth of Madness (1994)
If you want the world and the worlds beyond it, date a girl who reads Sutter Kane.
Army of Darkness (1992)
Supremely silly. Never noticed before how bloodless this is for an Evil Dead (apparently they were aiming for PG-13). But I saw it on cable as a kid, way before the others, and spent my first viewings of 1 and 2 waiting impatiently for Ash to origin story himself into a wise-cracking badass. Now I rightly recognize Dead By Dawn as the classic of the bunch, and have yet to catch up with the final 2 seasons of the TV show that put the jokes & Deadite-dismemberment front-and-center.
Halloween III: Season of the Witch (1982)
Android Assistant: “Can I ask a practical question at this point? Are we gonna do Stonehenge tomorrow night?”
Cochran: “OF COURSE WE’RE GOING TO DO FUCKING STONEHENGE TOMORROW NIGHT!”
Bram Stoker’s Dracula (1992)
This is becoming the closest thing to a perennial for me. The level of crazy visual invention doesn’t come along very often anymore (or even in ’92). Also, shocker! My newly purchased 4K remastered Blu-Ray looks better than the 20-year-old DVD I’ve had until now? Plus the behind the scenes tidbits are indispensable if you have even an inkling of affection for this one.
Shutter Island (2010)
The Ted Levine Rule
If a mustache ye see, a swell Cop he be!
If his upper lip’s bare, Hero beware!
Raising Cain (1992)
If you were to make a High Anxiety-esque parody of De Palma’s tropes, you’d probably get something like this nutso mess.
I watched the director-stanned “Recut” fan edit without being familiar with the theatrical cut, so the new flashback structure, living alongside dreams-within-dreams and hallucinatory fantasies, was frustratingly confusing at every turn. Except when it had actors delivering pages of exposition (to the point of seeming self-aware at how droning and shameless it was).
Take Shelter (2011)
A film about how dismantling macho stoicism will go a long way toward destigmatizing men’s mental illness.
The ending is too cute, though. The one I wrote in my head had Shannon and family coming out of the storm shelter to find the world at large intact, but their house destroyed by a twister.
DOUBLE FEATURE: The Exorcist (1973) / The Exorcist III (1990)
A bummer that the theatrical cut is only available on Blu-Ray in the $30 set. I grabbed the single-disc “Version You’ve Never Seen” for cheap, and as good as the transfer looks, the added scenes, superimposed demon faces, and digitally-recorded sound effects feel too revisionist. Followed it up by revisiting III (adapted by Blatty from his novel Legion), which has gained the kind of cult following that only flicks with weirdo touches and narratives that don’t totally track get. It’s supernatural serial killer stuff with somewhat tenuous connections to the original. George C. Scott is great, and Brad Dourif does some of his best scenery chewing. Nice creeping dread and slick cinematography. There’s one jump scare that shouldn’t work as well as it does.
Horror Noire: A History of Black Horror (2019)
Tales of the Brothers Quay (1987)
Bought a Roku recently, and while I was hoping to find Halloween III in the correct aspect ratio by signing up for a free week of Shudder (no luck), what I DID find were gems like this original doc and the nightmarish stop motion of the Brothers Quay.
Se7en (1995)
One of those things where I haven’t updated from DVD to Blu-Ray because the packaging on the standard def set is SO much nicer than a plastic box. This one has 4! different! commentaries, but despite my best efforts, it was impossible not to just switch to the film audio halfway through and soak in the nihilistic grime all over again.
The Witch (2015)
I’m so pleased to see that there’s still an audience out there for an uplifting coming-of-age drama.
The Love Witch (2016)
I don’t consider myself a Camp aficionado or a Grindhouse devotee, but I can appreciate a note-perfect pastiche. I actually found the self-aware softcore Aesthetic weirdly comforting. I wasn’t sure if it would sustain my attention for 2 hours, but only the nature circle wedding scene really dragged for me.
A Field in England (2013)
It’s a horticultural double feature! Hallucinatory spell-craft abounds again, but where Love Witch gets off on pastel Giallo, Ben Wheatley does sharp B&W tableau. And then throttles up the editing to “Motion Sickness.” Speaking of…
Vertigo (1958)
Detective Ferguson can’t save Madeleine, but he finds her brunette doppelgänger, Judy. He just doesn’t realize he’s already met her. Twin Peaks references, ya see???
New Nightmare (1994)
Poses the question: What if Pazuzu was the world’s most committed Freddy cosplayer?
Also asks, without providing a definitive answer: Which has aged worse, the morphing FX or the dance remix of the Nightmare theme that plays over the credits?
The Cell (2000)
Simultaneously derivative (Matrix, every 90’s Morgan Freeman thriller) and prophetic (begat Inception and, uh, True Detective season 2). Serves no greater purpose than to be your home theater demo disc, but a bunch of creepy cool visuals for my eyeballs is what I wanted in the middle of my October suspense film marathon!
The Blob (1958)
This was a good one to grow up with before I could stomach the Freddies and the Lecterses. The villain is still interesting and icky to look at, but nothing else is!
Sunshine (2007)
Alex Garland’s screenplays tend to be about the danger of losing your sense of self when confronted by new truths about the universe– the horror of being consumed by the uncanny. Where Ex Machina played expertly with my expectations, and Annihilation fell just short of excellence, Danny Boyle’s style assault doesn’t really let this be anything but a slasher in space.
Also: The ravenous, multi-tentacled mass of comic book moviemaking, with its never-sated hunger for English-speaking actors, has ensured that nearly every single crew member of each Icarus mission has been absorbed into a franchise. Resistance is futile.
The Cabin in the Woods (2011)
Millenials Are Killing The Ritual Sacrifice Industry
Ravenous (1999)
“It’s lonely being a cannibal. Tough making friends.”
The grimy, frontiersman’s man flip side of Hannibal the TV series’ erudite classicism, but sharing the prolonged seduction and the deadly lover’s embrace. Much less expected from this subject matter: the whip-whoosh title cards in the opening credit sequence and the Damon Albarn score contributions, serving up some Wacky Late-90’s Indie vibes.
Get Out (2017)
Still the best episode of Peele’s Twilight Zone reboot.
Always Shine (2016)
The Persona influence is front-and-center, and the Hollywood dreams/anxieties give it a shade of Mulholland Dr. (especially in the “running lines gets a little too real” scene). But I was most reminded of Alex Ross Perry’s Queen of Earth, another indie character drama in thriller clothing, that likewise had the cumulative psychological effect of a shrug. Worth watching as the rare example of a horror film divorced from the male gaze.
Scream (1996)
This series’ greatest legacy is a killer who is constantly getting tripped, kicked in the balls, or knocked unconscious, because Ghostface is always just a person in Halloween costume. I mean that sincerely. It’s distinctive.
Buffy the Vampire Slayer (1992)
I grew up with this and the TV series, and while I was always vaguely aware that Whedon disowned this first take, I still reflected on it fondly.
But whewww boy, this is the first time in a number of years that I’ve revisited it, and the direction and staging are supremely inept. The editing feels like a series of desperate attempts to salvage mistakes (e.g. playing the hot-dog-phallus slicing on Hilary Swank’s coverage while layering in off-screen “Hong Kong Phooey” SFX).
It’s embarrassing to realize (on the film’s behalf, not mine) that Merrick is written as explicitly English (“sconehead,” and the like) and Sutherland just… doesn’t… try? To do an accent? Luke Perry actually pulls off the Whedon-speak with the most aplomb, while Paul Reubens and Stephen Root are wisely allowed to improvise all over the place.
A Girl Walks Home Alone at Night (2014)
Cat People (1942)
I love when two randomly selected films reveal tonal parallels. The dreamy black and white atmosphere is a clear commonality, but there’s also the conceptually rare female-stalking-female sequence in each. In the 40’s film, the shape-shifting Irena follows her prey out of sexual jealousy (the tough-as-nails Alice appears to be honing in on Irena’s endlessly patient but charismatically wooden beau), while the vampiric Girl turns out to be motivated more by the reflection she sees of her own numb loneliness in Atti’s fellow “lady of the evening.”
Black Swan (2010)
*Apparently, at least twice a month.
The Hunger (1983)
An opening fade up on Bauhaus lip-syncing to the camera, elliptical editing, key sound effects slathered in ringing reverb, neon as set dressing / accent lighting: the film immediately marks its place on the pop cultural timeline. This is the ’80s, baybee. When film scholars explain that MTV changed the way cinema was edited (images flashed on the screen for mere frames, cross-cutting scenes to establish thematic connection as synthesizers bubble and pulse), they may well refer to this movie. It’s Patient Zero.
But unlike director Tony Scott’s later role in the development of Seizure Cinema, its most striking moments are when the frame holds steady and luxuriates in the European arthouse meets Hammer horror aesthetics of Bowie and Deneuve’s chilly sensuality peering out from pools of shadow.
Though its clear narrative association between sexual bloodplay and sudden disease and decrepitude marks it as an AIDS parable, it’s all but impossible not to draw real life associations from the scenes where Bowie’s character comes to terms with his unnaturally accelerated decline. Appropriately enough, his work in this film, appearing at the height of his youthful beauty in the early scenes, immortalizes him.
The Dead Zone (1983)
hahahahaha the THOUGHT of a single scandal ending a sociopath’s hopes for the presidency
Donnie Darko (2001)
An actual Halloween night-set flick, with a Bunny Suit instead of a blank white Shatner Shape. Same amount of butcher knife, though. I even dressed in Donnie’s pre-Slacker low effort costume back in my high school days, when Richard Kelly’s only good movie was king. Dreaming of a fan-edit that inserts the improved VFX shots from the Director’s Cut into the theatrical version, but uses nothing else from that misbegotten exercise. Also thinking of buying this damn movie for the 4th time via the Arrow remastered release.
The post Suspense Advent 2019 first appeared on GuntonFilm.]]>The post Bowie Remembered: Excerpts from Project ALBUM first appeared on GuntonFilm.]]>
Brazenly ripping off the format from Bennett Media, I’ve decided to assemble a list, AS IT CURRENTLY STANDS in the year of our Lords of Dogtown 2017, of the films swirling around the background of my young-ish brain.
Yeah, it’s not 100. For whatever reason, in assembling this collection, I realized 90 is the threshold before I felt myself stretching, inflating the personal importance of a few likable-enough DVDs on my shelf. Minority Report and Michael Clayton are cracking entertainments, but do I really think about them that often? Finding enough to reach an arbitrary centuplicate was surprisingly difficult, and a few titles were trimmed just to round it off. Just to make things even more frustrating to the listicle addicts, I haven’t ranked them in order of Greatness, but chronologically.
This approach: (1) Breaks up the visual monotony of sequels next to each other, and (2) Insinuates certain things about each films’ relationship to my life. There are several released before I was born, but you can apply my personal timeline against the release schedule and intuit what I probably grew up with, what I explored as a teenager, what I paid my own money to see in the theater. Check the list after the jump!
