EXPLORER: THE LAST TEPUI (2022): I watched this because I'm a fan of Alex Honnold, who you'll certainly remember if you've watched the documentary Free Solo -- he's a rock climber who famously scales his conquests without any ropes or safety gear. As someone with a lifelong fear of/fascination with heights, I have to say Free Solo is one of the most terrifying movies I've ever seen and I highly recommend it. Well, he climbs with ropes here. In fact, this isn't really an Alex Honnold movie at all; it's about a biologist who is no longer able to physically make the treacherous trip to discover new animal species on a cliff side deep in the Amazon jungle, and the climbers who are tasked with trying to get him up there anyway. Loved the scenery, but I can probably name half a dozen other climbing documentaries I'd recommend before this one. For Honnold completists only.
THE UNBEARABLE WEIGHT OF MASSIVE TALENT (2022): This is that meta comedy where Nic Cage plays (a fictionalized version of?) Nic Cage. I thought it was really cute and sweet and good-natured. Honestly, I laughed more at this movie than I have at any new comedy in ages. It's silly and fun.
THE NORTHMAN (2022): I enjoyed The Witch (still haven't seen The Lighthouse), so I was certainly interested in director Robert Eggers' take on Norse mythology, but something about this movie never quite gelled for me. I know it was supposed to feel like this huge, magnificent epic, but I was never fully engaged. Is this a "me" problem? I don't know. But Alexander Skarsgård's abs just weren't enough to carry me through.
A NIGHTMARE ON ELM STREET (1984): What can I say? An absolute classic. I still think it's really scary, and Tina's death is so brutal. Like many first installments of horror franchises, it's a lot more subtle than it's given credit for. I'll leave it at that -- it's Nightmare on Elm Street, fer chrissakes; I have to imagine I'm preaching to the choir here.
A NIGHTMARE ON ELM STREET 2: FREDDY'S REVENGE (1985): Here it is, just in time for Pride Month, the slasher with the queer subtext so pronounced that it's basically just regular text! Honestly, I did not grow up watching this movie (or any of the NOES sequels, for that matter -- as a kid I was always a first-installment-only bitch), so I've only seen it a handful of times. I think I like it more every time I watch it though. I know it's not really in line with the rest of the franchise, but I enjoy the possession angle, and it's cool to have a Final Boy for a change. Makes me sad when the bird blows up though.
LIVID (2011): A cool French movie from the directors of the notorious Inside (which I have not seen, because it sounds too brutal for me). I dug the haunted house setting and the spooky ballerinas -- from Suspiria to Black Swan, I love me a spooky-ass ballerina. I watched this on Shudder but I think it's gone now. If you get a chance, check it out; it has a sort of dreamy, Guillermo Del Toro-ish quality, and the ending is very strange. I suppose you could call it a fairy tale.
A NIGHTMARE ON ELM STREET 3: DREAM WARRIORS (1987): I have to be honest: I think this is probably the last great Nightmare movie. (More on that in a later installment of Movie Morsels.) Many people consider this their favorite Nightmare movie, in fact, and while it's not mine, I can see why. I personally don't think it's as scary as part one, but it has memorable characters and some of the best kills of the entire franchise. Of course, it's also where Freddy begins to transition from legit boogeyman to wisecrackin' sass machine ("Welcome to prime time, bitch!," et. al.) Is that fun or kinda tedious? I might vote for the latter, but I guess anything that ultimately gave birth to such top-notch merchandising as Freddy bubble gum can't be all bad.
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