Movie Morsels, Pt. 10

 

HALLOWEEN 4: THE RETURN OF MICHAEL MYERS (1988): For reasons I can't fully explain, Mr. Spooky and I ended up having a Halloween sequels marathon on 4th of July weekend this year. We sort of half-watched parts 3 through 5 while eating Ruffles chips with French onion dip and I have to say, it was kind of the best. Part 4 is one of the better sequels, and nothing beats the spooky atmosphere of the opening credits. An excellent way to commemorate midsummer as the unofficial kickoff to the Halloween season. We'll be suckin' on iced pumpkin coffees and cutting across 3 lanes of traffic to get to newly opened Spirit stores before we know it!

HALLOWEEN 5: THE REVENGE OF MICHAEL MYERS (1989): The scene where Tina and her friend are walking in a park and talking about fucking their boyfriends while Michael stalks them has such bizarre and awkward dialogue, delivered in such a strange and stilted fashion, that it almost feels like a scene from Tommy Wiseau's The Room. (One of my all-time favorite bad-good/good-bad comfort movies.) The other thing I really like about this movie is the way Danielle Harris says, "Tee! Nah! Tee! Nah!" I really don't appreciate the way they did her character dirty in part 6.

RETURN OF THE LIVING DEAD (1985): Our July 4th weekend horror-a-thon built to a crescendo with this, my favorite zombie movie. It has fucking everything: Humor, horror, '80s punk rockers, the  naked graveyard dancing that made Linnea Quigley a genre icon, and the truly terrifying notion that it hurts to be dead because you can feel yourself rot. 

ROLLERCOASTER (1977): On actual 4th of July, we went to a Cinematic Void screening of this movie about George Segal foiling a domestic terrorist at Magic Mountain, which I've been wanting to see ever since we watched The Sparks Brothers. It was so fun and a great way to spend the holiday.

THE HOUSES OCTOBER BUILT (2014): It felt like time to revisit this found footage movie about how scary the people who work at Halloween haunts can be, especially if you take into account the fact that they almost never seem to undergo, you know, background checks, or psych evaluations. Perhaps it was reading this recent grim headline -- 'Sex-Ring' Investigation Reveals 'Field Of Screams' Haunted House Ties -- that made it feel so timely? (Relieved to say that I never visited any of the Bloodshed Brothers' haunts, but I've certainly heard of them.) Anyhow, yikes!

A CANDLE FOR THE DEVIL (1973): I do not recommend this film.

STARMAN (1984): What if an alien fell to earth and morphed into the corporeal form of your late husband? What I mean is...would you? Karen Allen would! And does! And I say good for her. This movie is to E.T. what The Shape of Water is to Creature from the Black Lagoon. Ya dig? 

HALLOWEEN KILLS (2021): Yep, I definitely don't like this movie. And what's more, I think it really hates me. 

HORROR IN THE HIGH DESERT (2021): The first of two found footage recommendations I got from the Gaylords of Darkness podcast. (Definitely listen to that podcast if you don't already.) This is about a vlogger who goes missing in the desert. Nicely paced with a creepy payoff. Recommended for found footage fans!

THE 'BURBS (1989): I don't even know where to begin with this movie. It has been one of my ultimate favorites since I saw it IN THEATERS as a kid. It is one of my ultimate comfort movies. It is a PERFECT mid to late summer movie. It has an amazing score. It has Tom Hanks at his absolute peak. The entire supporting cast is pitch perfect and phenomenal. Every line is quotable. I love everything about it. 

INCANTATION (2022): Another Gaylords of D recommendation, and again, it's a good one. Taiwanese found footage that is scary and well-paced. Maybe felt like it was a little long in the end, but definitely another thumbs up for people who like this sort of thing. It's on Netflix right now.

AIRPLANE! (1980): I'd never seen this, but I imagined that it would age super poorly. It actually wasn't too bad -- the jokes are sort of in that Mel Brooks vein. I would say I liked it. I laughed. Don't call me Shirley, and all that. Joe Izusu plays a Hare Krishna. Remember Joe Izusu? I'm guessing you don't.

ESCAPE FROM NEW YORK (1981) / ESCAPE FROM L.A. (1996): No one does a fun fucking movie quite like John Carpenter, right? And these are fun fucking movies. Kurt Russell in an eye patch? Are you serious? Adrienne Barbeau?! Harry Dead Stanton? Is that Isaac Hayes?! Escape from L.A. finds the cheese-to-grit ratio a bit off (as in, it's not as gritty, but far more cheesy), but it's still pretty entertaining. Fun fact, I saw Escape from L.A. before I'd ever even heard of Escape from New York. 

~*~* And with that, I am all caught up! Will I continue unleashing these morsels on my previously-dormant blog? Perhaps. It has certainly uncorked my creativity. In any case, I appreciate the patience and stamina of anyone who has dared to read this far! *~*~

Movie Morsels, Pt. 9

PENDA'S FEN (1974): Another All the Haunts Be Ours folk horror selection. An enormously sanctimonious teenager comes to terms with his sexuality while at the same time grappling with the wild and unruly pagan past lurking just beneath Britain's staid veneer. I liked it; it has that distinctive early '70s BBC flavor.

ROBIN REDBREAST (1970): Well-suited to be watched as a double feature with Penda's Fen, this is an interesting precursor to The Wicker Man in which a woman moves to a rural English village and discovers that the villagers have certain, uh, customs to which she has becomes an unwitting party.

DAUGHTERS OF SATAN (1972): Fun fact: This was the last movie Tom Selleck filmed before his mustache became sentient!

DARK WATERS (1993): I was hitting that All the Haunts Be Ours boxset pretty hard that week. This is folk horror about a bunch of evil nuns in an evil island convent. Honestly, I found the plot confusing, but the imagery was pretty cool. I would definitely recommend this for people who like creepy Catholic stuff, which I assume is everyone who has ever been in a Catholic church. Damn, those places are creepy, right? This movie is what I hoped The Nun would be. 

AIRHEADS (1994): Brendan Fraser, Adam Sandler, and Steve Buscemi (!) play a band that accidentally takes a radio DJ hostage in order to have their demo played on the air. It definitely had that Wayne's World feel about it, which is not to say that the jokes are anywhere near Wayne's World's record-setting levels of quotability. I guess it's worth a watch though. Also, this was kind of a good look for Steve Buscemi, but also who does he look like? Gibby Haynes? 

REALITY BITES (1994): I didn't think this would hold up but it did. Janeane Garofalo seems cooler and more beautiful than ever. Her hair! Her thrift store dresses! Her lunchbox purses! Probably the most dated thing about the movie is how relegated to the sidelines the one gay character is -- but I suppose at least his big challenge is coming out to his family and not, like, getting AIDS (it was still the '90s, though, so of course a different character has an AIDS scare). I would show this as a double featch with fellow '90s grungy rom-dram (romantic...dramedy?) Singles, which I'm also planning to rewatch. 

HUNT FOR THE WILDERPEOPLE (2016): Our Flag Means Death has us on a bit of a Taika Waititi streak over here at Casa de Spooky, plus seeing a screening of Zulawski's Possession (1981) in theaters means that I'm still kinda obsessed with Sam Neill, so we had to give this a go. It's a cute, funny, touching Kiwi tale of a foster kid who ends up on the run with his gruff foster dad in an Odd Couple-meets-Thelma & Louise situation. Just as quirky and kind-hearted as you've likely come to expect from Mr. Waititi.

THE BLACK PHONE (2021): It felt like most of the people I saw this with were disappointed, but I enjoyed it. Just keep in mind that it's kind of a rape revenge flick, but with kids, and without the rape (although child molestation is heavily hinted at, nothing is shown). I hope that's not a spoiler? Oh, I just realized you could show this with Reality Bites for a really bizarre Ethan Hawke double feature. 

CRY-BABY (1990): Traci Lords is so good in this. She's all winged eyeliner, red lipstick, pencil skirts and sneers. 

SERIAL MOM (1994): And while we were drinking from the John Waters well, I had to revisit my personal favorite entry in his '90s oeuvre. One word: PUSSYWILLOW.

HALLOWEEN III: SEASON OF THE WITCH (1982): I like this movie a little more with every rewatch. It's basically a comfort movie at this point. Is it my favorite non-sequel Halloween sequel? Yeah, I'm pretty sure it is.

HALLOWEEN II (1981): I have never been crazy about this movie on its own merits but I've watched it so many times now that I've developed a begrudging affection for it nonetheless. I will say that I really, really wish Hill & Carpenter hadn't introduced the whole Laurie-is-Michael's-sister element into the franchise -- can you imagine how free the sequels would have been to go absolutely anywhere without that constraint?! Alas. BUT at least we get to see a nurse literally and figuratively pop her clogs! That hot tub death is unnecessarily mean though. Oh, and by the way? "Mr. Sandman" does not fit tonally or thematically. There, I said it. I SAID WHAT I SAID!

 

Movie Morsels, Pt. 8

 

LAKE OF THE DEAD (1958): A cool eerie Norwegian folk horror film that is part of the magnificent All the Haunts Be Ours folk horror box set that you really should own if you enjoy this sub-genre as I do. I know had more I wanted to say about this one but I waited too long to write this so I suppose that will have to wait for later date, post-rewatch. Oops.

HAPPY GILMORE (1996): As I've mentioned, I have been deep diving into silly/dumb comedies this year, many of which I'd never seen before. Somehow this was a first time watch for me, despite the fact that I was a teenager in the '90s. At long last, I have witnessed Bob Barker and Adam Sandler assaulting one another with my own eyes. Blessed be.

BILL & TED FACE THE MUSIC (2020): I feared this would be awful but it was pretty sweet-natured and cute. I am not really a fan of Bogus Journey so I guess this is my second favorite Bill & Ted movie. If you are tired of unrelenting violence and bad news and you just want to turn off the old skull goblin (that's what I call my brain), this might be worth a watch.

GIRLS JUST WANT TO HAVE FUN (1985): Very young Sarah Jessica Parker and very young Helen Hunt take a TV dance competition by storm. There is also a very very young Shannen Doherty in a little sister role. This is kind of like a sexless Dirty Dancing. The titular fun was had.

THE MONSTER CLUB (1981): I believe I read somewhere that this is the only movie in which Vincent Price played a vampire. If that's true, kind of a shame, as I think it suits him. I actually didn't know this was an anthology, but it is. The segments are a little forgettable but the wraparound (VP takes his would-be victim to the eponymous monster club) is pretty cool. Lots of fun campy musical numbers, including the one where a burlesque dancer takes off her skin and dances around as a skeleton that you may have already seen in animated gif form.

DRACULA'S FIANCEE (2002): When I bought this for my husband, who (like me) is a big Jean Rollin fan (sexy '70s vampire exploitation of the semi-nude ladies in gauzy gowns running through European castles variety), I had no idea it was from 2002. Frankly I didn't know Jean Rollin was still making films in 2002. It was pretty good! Especially considering how much filmmakers like Argento faltered in their more contemporary offerings, Rollin's aesthetic remained intact. 

MARY, MARY, BLOODY MARY (1975): Chosen for its lurid title and poster art, I found this so incredibly slow and forgettable that I can't tell you a thing about it beyond there's an upsetting scene where there are sea creatures in peril (sharks, turtles) on a beach and it bummed me out. I always get freaked out when there are animals in exploitation movies because I have no idea if the animals were actually harmed or not, you know?

THE SEVENTH VICTIM (1943): This is my favorite Val Lewton movie and I love it more each and every time I see it. It's like film noir crossed with Satanic horror crossed with existential goth glamour, and it's only about 70 minutes long. Saw it on the big screen on a 35mm print courtesy of Cinematic Void and it was such a pleasure.

PISTOL (2022): Danny Boyle's Sex Pistols bio series. I kind of hated it, and then I ended up kind of enjoying it. I think you have to be interested in '70s punk rock to make it all the way through. Boyle's frenetic style that I loved so much in Trainspotting felt irritating here. John Lydon has said some terrible things in real life, but his fictional counterpart ended up being my favorite character. If you liked this, I'm begging you to watch Alex Cox's Sid and Nancy. Was it accurate? I dunno, but Chloe Webb and Gary Oldman are absolute screeching, bleeding, yowling, careening treasures.

HIS HOUSE (2020): Really cool horror movie about Sudanese refugees in England trying to adjust to living in a strange new place while coping with unimaginable grief and guilt. The first feature from writer/director Remi Weekes. One of those movies that is more about processing trauma than goosing an audience with jump scares.

CIRCUS OF BOOKS (2019): An interesting-enough doc about the nice heterosexual Jewish couple who owned the titular gay adult bookstore in LA and how they ended up being kinda reluctant stalwarts of the community. 

RAIDERS OF THE LOST ARK (1981)/INDIANA JONES AND THE TEMPLE OF DOOM (1984)/INDIANA JONES AND THE LAST CRUSADE (1989): Indiana Jones is a little uh, problematic (try not to think too much about the implications of his relationship with Karen Allen in Raiders, or the racism/exotification in Temple of Doom) but these are still really entertaining action-adventure summer popcorn movies. Also, I did not realize how much Indiana Jones has influenced my vacation fantasies, but wow. Is this why I'm so obsessed with rope swings into swimming holes, Venice, and the lost city of Petra?!

Movie Morsels, Pt. 7

Okay, so I am way way behind on this little exercise, and although I know that it matters to literally no one else, I said I would do it and so I must finish. However, with such a massive backlog of movies to get through, I will now be offering my thoughts in even smaller little fun-sized morsels -- 1 to 3 sentences, max -- in part so I can catch up and finally finish, and in part because I'm now beginning to forget the details of some of these films. 

The good news is that this started out as a way for me to kickstart my writing, and I have been writing quite a bit more than usual, so hooray! And now, onward...

EUROVISION SONG CONTEST: THE STORY OF FIRE SAGA (2020): A silly Will Ferrell comedy that is basically Blades of Glory but with pop music instead of figure skating, and Rachel McAdams in the Jon Heder role. I had no idea that Eurovision could be so bonkers, so that led me down a fun YouTube rabbit hole. I enjoyed myself and it made me feel better when I was sick.

FYRE FRAUD (2019) / FYRE: THE GREATEST PARTY THAT NEVER HAPPENED (2018): I can't remember which one was which, or which one I preferred. I think it was the one where the dude said he was prepared to blow the dude for bottled water. There is basically no reason to watch these at this point, since Fyre Festival jokes have become so integrated into the zeitgeist that it feels redundant, but again, I was sick, so I figured "now or nevs." Only watch if you're prepared to spend 90+ minutes with the most annoying people on the planet.

THE BUBBLE (2022): I was hungry for another silly comedy so I went with this Judd Apatow joint about movie making during the pandemic. Again, I enjoyed myself, but I can barely remember what happened at this point. Hijinks...of some sort...ensued? Keegan-Michael Key flew a helicopter? I do remember it felt a little long. Seems perfect for watching if you're sick or on a plane or something.

WE HAVE ALWAYS LIVED IN THE CASTLE (2018): The Shirley Jackson novel on which this is based is one of my favorites, so I had high hopes and low expectations, but I was pleasantly surprised. I loved it! And I thought I had heard it wasn't very good, so now I'm wondering where I heard that and whether it came from a fellow lover of the book or not. If you're not familiar with Shirley Jackson this movie might feel very slow and odd. I thought it captured the tone admirably, and I liked the cast.

RUSSIAN DOLL, Season 2 (2022): After that kinda perfect first season, this was a bit of a let down. I will always enjoy Natasha Lyonne (please, cast her in a biopic of Poison Ivy from the Cramps before it's too late!), but the season felt a little disjointed to me. I do love watching her sleuth and smoke, I just wish it were in service to a more cohesive story.

WILD WILD COUNTRY (2018): Yo, I forgot I watched this! See what I mean?! I must crank these out faster! My takeaway was similar to the Fyre Festival docs: Everyone onscreen annoyed me. But I figured, as long as I'm at it, I might as well check out...

HOLY HELL (2016): I preferred this to Wild Wild Country, even though they're both about annoying cults, probably because this was a movie and not a multi-episode series, therefore I was forced to spend less time with said annoying cult leader(s). I've always been concerned that I might inadvertently join a cult. Anyone who's ever taken a yoga class in Los Angeles can probably relate.

CREATURE FROM THE BLACK LAGOON (1954): The Creature is so beleaguered and lumbering; basically, it's underwater Frankenstein. That being said, the underwater shots are so cool, and this is probably a great movie to watch with a tiki cocktail. I would love a Black Lagoon-themed swimming pool with a grotto and a swim-up bar. Wouldn't that be so sick? 

CRUELLA (2021): This is another one that I thought I would hate but I actually enjoyed. I don't know what I heard about it initially, but a friend recommended it and she was right. It was cool to see Emma Stone swan around London in those costumes. I never thought I would hear "I Wanna Be Your Dog" in a Disney movie. If you liked Maleficent (I did), there's no reason you won't like this.

THE BLACKWELL GHOST 6 (2022): Have you heard of the Blackwell Ghost movies? They're very simple, and often very short, found footage and I honestly have no idea how much of what's on screen is true and how much is fiction. I mean, I'm assuming (?!) the paranormal stuff is fake, but...is that the filmmaker/lead actor's real wife? I don't knowwwww! Anyhow, my dude positively cranks these out (six already and more to come, I hope!) and I really recommend them if you like found footage and you scare easily at the sight of, like, a door opening by itself. If you like that kind of thing, this is gold. 

REVENGE OF THE CREATURE (1955) / THE CREATURE WALKS AMONG US (1956): I don't remember these at all, sorry. I love the Creature but I as I recall the sequels just get increasingly frustrating in terms of his mistreatment and it sucks! Poor Creatch! I think The Creature Walks Among Us is the one where they make him live on land and wear human clothes. I guess that one is worth a watch, if only for the 1950s forced conformity weirdness of it all. TBH these are probably fine with the sound off, or maybe I was just feeling salty that day.

THE EXORCIST (1973): Obviously I've seen this movie a million times, but sometimes you just get a craving. Nothing less than a perfect film. My favorite scene is when Ellen Burstyn walks through an autumnal Georgetown while "Tubular Bells" plays and she passes a group of trick-or-treaters and then a couple of nuns, their robes streaming in the breeze. It's so creepy and beautiful.