Okay, so I put up the Formerly Dangerous Movie Club thread, and then I just got busy reading those.
MAN, you guys were ready. I love it. I love that you brought real thoughtful comments, and I’m going to be wading in to reply to many of them today.
In the meantime, though, here’s our weekly space to talk about anything and everything. I’m not a huge fan of advertising, but I’d be a liar if I said I didn’t enjoy watching Bill Murray rampage with a groundhog for a minute. What, if anything, did you end up seeing this weekend, and how did you feel about it?
What’s on your mind, folks, as we head into the week?
I saw DANIEL ISN'T REAL & CRAWL this week. DANIEL ISN'T REAL was a real surprise for me. It wasn't a film on my radar, but it was programmed at my local Alamo's Top Brass screening and it played well to that crowd. I have some nit-picks about the 3rd act, but up until that I was very excited about the film. Definitely would encourage people to see it. Seeing Tim Robbins/Susan Sarandon's son and Arnold's son play off one another like that was a gas. Normally, I'd dismiss them as nepotism/stunt casting but it was anything but that. They were both excellent as Luke and Daniel. Not going to give anything away, but if you like psychological horror that's also a comment on mental illness, this is a good flick. It also works as a fucked up unofficial sequel to SOME KIND OF WONDERFUL if you want to have fun with it. It was good to see Mary Stuart Masterson in it.
As for CRAWL, it works. It's effective. I know QT has sort of alluded to it being one of the best films of the year for him. This was such a great year for movies I'm not sure where something like CRAWL fits for me. I definitely was yelling at the screen with my wife throughout most of it, so in that regard it's effective. I may have even closed my eyes at one point because I couldn't look. So props to them for that.
The thing that is most upsetting to me right now in film discourse is the Twitter nonsense where you have to condemn one film to prop another up. Movies are subjective. It should not be ruled by groupthink. If someone loved LITTLE WOMEN so much it made them cry for hours, that's great. If someone thinks 1917 is a work of art, that's great. You don't need to put them down for feeling passionate about a film. I don't know why the discussion of film has to be one group constantly dunking on another. This was a year where you got incredible stuff like PARASITE, JOJO RABBIT, THE FAREWELL, ROCKETMAN, HER SMELL (which I loved), THE NIGHTINGALE, DRAGGED ACROSS CONCRETE, US, THE WIND, SHADOW and even JOKER which despite the online sentiment towards it, I really liked. Maybe it just awards season nonsense. Maybe it's just Twitter nonsense. But the conversation about film shouldn't be to tear one down in order to prop the one you love up. Because then it's not a conversation -- it's a fucking election and who the Hell needs more of that. Especially, in something that is an escape for most of us.
It's why I'm excited about what Drew is doing. This spot is about loving cinema and being unapologetic about it. We're not always going to agree and that's okay. That's refreshing in this day and age. The conversation about film online has been downright depressing and I'm hopeful what Drew is building is a place where it's about the movies and not this groupthink crap that passes for criticism online.
I watched Paul Schrader's HARDCORE on Criterion, and really liked it -- it must have been fairly edgy when it came out? The end is a letdown (no spoilers, but I'd love to discuss it) but everything else is so good and grimy. That awful, mean, ugly, ridiculous Nic Cage film 8MM owes a lot to it.
To mix it up (and partially inspired by Drew's Thin Man assignment) I also saw William Powell & Myrna Loy in the drama EVELYN PRENTICE, which is quite good, though it's difficult to watch it and not feel like it's Nick and Nora having an especially bad week.
Started a James Bond series rewatch shortly after the new year. In the midst of the Moore years. Watched The Spy Who Loved Me and Moonraker this weekend.
This forced follow-up to the hit original has Morgan Spurlock developing a chicken sandwich fast food chain whilst exposing malpractices in the poultry industry. Decent information slickly presented, but a tad too smarmy.
Hope to catch up on some Oscar noms. Maybe JOKER or PARASITE?
Hello everyone! I love this space, Drew! Thanks for all you do. I’m now in the second month of my 365 B&W films year. Thank goodness for the TCM app! One thing I’ve noticed is how movies haven’t changed in terms of quality. That is to say for every great film, there are many more that are just average. I guess B&W movies aren’t always masterpieces. But that could be true of any genre or art form. Nobody ever sets out to make a mere adequate movie on purpose. That said, there is so much worth watching. The movie may not work, but there’s always something worth appreciating. And yes, Spencer Tracy rules. 🙂♥️
I’m a couple of episodes into Little America, and it was immediately so good that I’ve had to fight that streaming-era pull to blast through the whole season at top speed.
I'm also re-watching the first two seasons of Dark on Netflix, which is so very good, if you haven't gotten around to it yet. Some of the best casting I've ever seen, too, for reasons I can't really specify without getting spoilery. I recommend giving it a try if creepy, mind-scrambling sci-fi is something you enjoy.
One of the unsung heroes of Disney+ is its terrific collection of animated shorts, and I’ve been loving that library at my fingertips as much as anything lately. There were a handful of Pixar shorts in the mix that I’d never seen, and I’ve also spent time revisiting old favorites like ‘The Old Mill’ and ‘The Band Concert’ and ‘Hawaiian Holiday.’ (They also host several of Jack Kinney’s terrific Goofy-centric How-To shorts from the ‘40s — ‘The Art of Skiing,’ ‘How to Fish,’ and ‘How to Swim’ — that I’m saving for the end of a super crappy workday when everything sucks and I need a hug.) Last week, they released ‘Short Circuit,’ a program of 14 internally produced shorts from Walt Disney Animation Studios, and there are some real stand-outs in that collection too.
Speaking of shorts, I’m also reading Jenny Slate’s ‘Little Weirds,’ which is delightful (and very much like a lyrical prose representation of the whirling dervish that is Jenny Slate,) as well as working my way through Jack Kirby’s initial run on Mister Miracle.
Oh — and Mike Schur and his team cut out my heart and ate it. The end.
Saw you were reading Bruce Beresford’s diaries Drew. Curious what you think of BB as a filmmaker? He’s had some highs and lows, but I think he’s made four classics - Breaker Morant, Tender Mercies, Black Robe, and the undersern Mister Johnson - and was hugely important to Australian cinema’s growth
I only got through two Miyazaki this week. Cagliostro and Nausicaa. Cagliostro is a real fun, if slight, time. But Nausicaa really hooked me. The kind of big, earnest and thoughtful fantasy storytelling I've been itching for. Clearly a man who came from Japan in a post WW2 society dealing with humanities never ending quest to destroy themselves and the enviornment by chasing the next big weapon. And regardless of whether one likes it or not, Avatar is Cameron clearly chasing a Miyazaki thread and I wonder if he can reach those highs in the sequels. I've always had an aversion to anime for many reasons, from the janky animation to the hurried and nonsensical storytelling within. But clearly those issues don't plague Miyazaki. This is a gorgeous movie and a wonderful piece of dense storytelling. The thirst is real and I can't wait to dive into this work and see how he matures from this point.
I'm currently watching the first John Wick with my brother before the Super Bowl bc he's never seen them. I'm struck anew by how great the worldbuilding is and how great the basic cinematic storytelling is. That first 20-minute chunk before the first shootout is one of the great character buildups ever and then the next 2 movies continue to justify that myth-making. It also hits me for the first time that Stahelski and Leitch must really be close to Keanu to ask him to play this role that must really play close to home, considering the tragedy that has befallen him in life. And I just love that this movie, in its big comic book way, is all about stripping away the notion of having any kind of honor system or code in a criminal enterprise. It's all bs and John being the only one with honor keeps revealing that hypocrisy. I love these movies and can't wait to rewatch the next 2 with my brother.
J.D. Dillard’s Sleight (on Netflix). Wanted to watch this one before checking out Sweetheart.
I found the “man-made super hero” angle a little undercooked and not as compelling as the main character’s “street magician by day/drug dealer by night” storyline.
Still enjoyed it for the effort put in, plus there was some great acting all around. An honestly interesting idea that needed just a little more tweaking to make it work better.
We started the full five hour affair of “Until the End of the World” now that it’s on Criterion Channel. So far I am completely enamored. It may be the most aesthetically pleasing thing I’ve seen in a long time. Sure it’s overly long and meandering but that’s the point. Loving the retro-futurism with the baroque meets 90s neon. Definitely going to take a few sittings to get through it, but it is a very special thing
So far I've watched (for the first time) RoboCop Wayne's World IRobot Sliding Doors Hanna Dirty Dancing and Enemy of the State.
The only one I actively disliked is Sliding Doors. My standout was Hanna that was great?
Also interesting how many movies from 90s and early 00s that are now considered classics or in our pop culture that were all produced by Weinstein Touchstone and other smaller 'indie" labels.
Side Note I think an remake of IRobot would totally work seems like there was a ton of relatable content and the source material seemed way more interesting than the actual movie.
I've discovered an amazing Youtube series called Nick Knacks where the host is doing a deep dive into every show aired on Nickelodeon, with full historical context, in sequential order. It's become a personal Rosetta Stone, as I'm reminded of shows that were hugely influential on me from 1972-1984 that I hadn't thought of in 40 years. Before Muppet Babies, Indiana Jones, or Flash Gordon, I was hooked on old movie serials by Nickel Flicks. We're nearly 50 episodes into the series, and JUST reaching Nick At Nite. Weirdly, so many of the best episodes have been for shows I either do NOT remember, or never watched. A must-see for pop-culture archeologists and fans of lost media. https://youtu.be/MI-57gAo-Uo
I watched Color from Out of Space (crazy scary good), Johnny Dangerously (still funny), Kill and Kill Again (the name speaks for itself), MI:1 (Kitridge),Fight Club (still great), and Fletch (also still great). Starting S.2 of One Punch Man.
I’m absolutely sitting down to watch Groundhog Day today before the big game. I watch it every year and it’s that rare perfect movie to me. I also watched Walter Bill’s The Driver for the first time and really dug it. Just a great tight piece of crime pulp and it’s crazy to think of how many filmmakers have borrowed from it. Refn’s Drive doesn’t exist without it. I don’t think Hill gets talked about enough in general in terms of influence. Also, young Bruce Dern had a serious Walton Goggins look to him!
I had a double feature of Alien Nation and Robocop 2. I had so much fun just turning off my brain and chugging some beers. Those movies are terrific back to back. I was laughing and cheering all night.
Saw Rhythm Section last night, in part because of the buzz about the car chase. It was a nice little action movie although the script suffered from a common ailment of novels adapted for the screen by their authors, the inability to streamline. Things happen and when they do they feel important, especially because Reed Morano and Blake Lively infuse things with such chaotic energy, but when you think about it everything sort of melts into nothingness. I do recommend it for Morano's direction and Lively's performance, especially if you have A-List or the Regal movie subscription program. It strikes me that this might have done better dropping on a streaming service where the action would still hit and would benefit from being a big fish in a small pond.
A question around the Plex setup you wrote about. I am about to embark on the same adventure. Have currently been ripping all of my DVDs and have 3 4TB drives almost full. Am going to go out and get a proper NAS setup maybe 20TB. My question was around the backups you mentioned. What system did you do for this? Buying multiple 20TB NAS devices will cost a fortune so was wondering if you had a different backup method. I would hate to lose all that data after all the work getting it on there in the first place.
Its not a movie. But I binged the last episodes of BoJack Horsemen. Man, oh man, I am going to miss this show. I am also glad that it featured a fantastic closing for all the characters. Especially considering these days lots of shows get mediocre to poor finales. Glad it ended on as high a note as it could muster.
After *finally* watching Mandy on New Year’s, then seeing Color Out of Space, the wife and I made a resolution to watch/rewatch and review every Nic Cage movie this year. This week has been Ghost Rider, Season of the Witch, Primal, and Running With the Devil.
This venture may break us. Thoughts and prayers appreciated.
I saw DANIEL ISN'T REAL & CRAWL this week. DANIEL ISN'T REAL was a real surprise for me. It wasn't a film on my radar, but it was programmed at my local Alamo's Top Brass screening and it played well to that crowd. I have some nit-picks about the 3rd act, but up until that I was very excited about the film. Definitely would encourage people to see it. Seeing Tim Robbins/Susan Sarandon's son and Arnold's son play off one another like that was a gas. Normally, I'd dismiss them as nepotism/stunt casting but it was anything but that. They were both excellent as Luke and Daniel. Not going to give anything away, but if you like psychological horror that's also a comment on mental illness, this is a good flick. It also works as a fucked up unofficial sequel to SOME KIND OF WONDERFUL if you want to have fun with it. It was good to see Mary Stuart Masterson in it.
As for CRAWL, it works. It's effective. I know QT has sort of alluded to it being one of the best films of the year for him. This was such a great year for movies I'm not sure where something like CRAWL fits for me. I definitely was yelling at the screen with my wife throughout most of it, so in that regard it's effective. I may have even closed my eyes at one point because I couldn't look. So props to them for that.
The thing that is most upsetting to me right now in film discourse is the Twitter nonsense where you have to condemn one film to prop another up. Movies are subjective. It should not be ruled by groupthink. If someone loved LITTLE WOMEN so much it made them cry for hours, that's great. If someone thinks 1917 is a work of art, that's great. You don't need to put them down for feeling passionate about a film. I don't know why the discussion of film has to be one group constantly dunking on another. This was a year where you got incredible stuff like PARASITE, JOJO RABBIT, THE FAREWELL, ROCKETMAN, HER SMELL (which I loved), THE NIGHTINGALE, DRAGGED ACROSS CONCRETE, US, THE WIND, SHADOW and even JOKER which despite the online sentiment towards it, I really liked. Maybe it just awards season nonsense. Maybe it's just Twitter nonsense. But the conversation about film shouldn't be to tear one down in order to prop the one you love up. Because then it's not a conversation -- it's a fucking election and who the Hell needs more of that. Especially, in something that is an escape for most of us.
It's why I'm excited about what Drew is doing. This spot is about loving cinema and being unapologetic about it. We're not always going to agree and that's okay. That's refreshing in this day and age. The conversation about film online has been downright depressing and I'm hopeful what Drew is building is a place where it's about the movies and not this groupthink crap that passes for criticism online.
I watched Paul Schrader's HARDCORE on Criterion, and really liked it -- it must have been fairly edgy when it came out? The end is a letdown (no spoilers, but I'd love to discuss it) but everything else is so good and grimy. That awful, mean, ugly, ridiculous Nic Cage film 8MM owes a lot to it.
To mix it up (and partially inspired by Drew's Thin Man assignment) I also saw William Powell & Myrna Loy in the drama EVELYN PRENTICE, which is quite good, though it's difficult to watch it and not feel like it's Nick and Nora having an especially bad week.
Started a James Bond series rewatch shortly after the new year. In the midst of the Moore years. Watched The Spy Who Loved Me and Moonraker this weekend.
Caught SUPER SIZE ME 2: HOLY CHICKEN! on Prime
This forced follow-up to the hit original has Morgan Spurlock developing a chicken sandwich fast food chain whilst exposing malpractices in the poultry industry. Decent information slickly presented, but a tad too smarmy.
Hope to catch up on some Oscar noms. Maybe JOKER or PARASITE?
Hello everyone! I love this space, Drew! Thanks for all you do. I’m now in the second month of my 365 B&W films year. Thank goodness for the TCM app! One thing I’ve noticed is how movies haven’t changed in terms of quality. That is to say for every great film, there are many more that are just average. I guess B&W movies aren’t always masterpieces. But that could be true of any genre or art form. Nobody ever sets out to make a mere adequate movie on purpose. That said, there is so much worth watching. The movie may not work, but there’s always something worth appreciating. And yes, Spencer Tracy rules. 🙂♥️
Scott Pilgrim, first time since the cinema. I enjoyed it a lot now this time. I think I wanted an Edgar Wright cornetto film, and this is not that!
I’m a couple of episodes into Little America, and it was immediately so good that I’ve had to fight that streaming-era pull to blast through the whole season at top speed.
I'm also re-watching the first two seasons of Dark on Netflix, which is so very good, if you haven't gotten around to it yet. Some of the best casting I've ever seen, too, for reasons I can't really specify without getting spoilery. I recommend giving it a try if creepy, mind-scrambling sci-fi is something you enjoy.
One of the unsung heroes of Disney+ is its terrific collection of animated shorts, and I’ve been loving that library at my fingertips as much as anything lately. There were a handful of Pixar shorts in the mix that I’d never seen, and I’ve also spent time revisiting old favorites like ‘The Old Mill’ and ‘The Band Concert’ and ‘Hawaiian Holiday.’ (They also host several of Jack Kinney’s terrific Goofy-centric How-To shorts from the ‘40s — ‘The Art of Skiing,’ ‘How to Fish,’ and ‘How to Swim’ — that I’m saving for the end of a super crappy workday when everything sucks and I need a hug.) Last week, they released ‘Short Circuit,’ a program of 14 internally produced shorts from Walt Disney Animation Studios, and there are some real stand-outs in that collection too.
Speaking of shorts, I’m also reading Jenny Slate’s ‘Little Weirds,’ which is delightful (and very much like a lyrical prose representation of the whirling dervish that is Jenny Slate,) as well as working my way through Jack Kirby’s initial run on Mister Miracle.
Oh — and Mike Schur and his team cut out my heart and ate it. The end.
Saw you were reading Bruce Beresford’s diaries Drew. Curious what you think of BB as a filmmaker? He’s had some highs and lows, but I think he’s made four classics - Breaker Morant, Tender Mercies, Black Robe, and the undersern Mister Johnson - and was hugely important to Australian cinema’s growth
I only got through two Miyazaki this week. Cagliostro and Nausicaa. Cagliostro is a real fun, if slight, time. But Nausicaa really hooked me. The kind of big, earnest and thoughtful fantasy storytelling I've been itching for. Clearly a man who came from Japan in a post WW2 society dealing with humanities never ending quest to destroy themselves and the enviornment by chasing the next big weapon. And regardless of whether one likes it or not, Avatar is Cameron clearly chasing a Miyazaki thread and I wonder if he can reach those highs in the sequels. I've always had an aversion to anime for many reasons, from the janky animation to the hurried and nonsensical storytelling within. But clearly those issues don't plague Miyazaki. This is a gorgeous movie and a wonderful piece of dense storytelling. The thirst is real and I can't wait to dive into this work and see how he matures from this point.
I'm currently watching the first John Wick with my brother before the Super Bowl bc he's never seen them. I'm struck anew by how great the worldbuilding is and how great the basic cinematic storytelling is. That first 20-minute chunk before the first shootout is one of the great character buildups ever and then the next 2 movies continue to justify that myth-making. It also hits me for the first time that Stahelski and Leitch must really be close to Keanu to ask him to play this role that must really play close to home, considering the tragedy that has befallen him in life. And I just love that this movie, in its big comic book way, is all about stripping away the notion of having any kind of honor system or code in a criminal enterprise. It's all bs and John being the only one with honor keeps revealing that hypocrisy. I love these movies and can't wait to rewatch the next 2 with my brother.
J.D. Dillard’s Sleight (on Netflix). Wanted to watch this one before checking out Sweetheart.
I found the “man-made super hero” angle a little undercooked and not as compelling as the main character’s “street magician by day/drug dealer by night” storyline.
Still enjoyed it for the effort put in, plus there was some great acting all around. An honestly interesting idea that needed just a little more tweaking to make it work better.
The Witches of Eastwick; first-time watch for me last night and, I mean, George Miller... what a great, great movie that is.
We started the full five hour affair of “Until the End of the World” now that it’s on Criterion Channel. So far I am completely enamored. It may be the most aesthetically pleasing thing I’ve seen in a long time. Sure it’s overly long and meandering but that’s the point. Loving the retro-futurism with the baroque meets 90s neon. Definitely going to take a few sittings to get through it, but it is a very special thing
So far I've watched (for the first time) RoboCop Wayne's World IRobot Sliding Doors Hanna Dirty Dancing and Enemy of the State.
The only one I actively disliked is Sliding Doors. My standout was Hanna that was great?
Also interesting how many movies from 90s and early 00s that are now considered classics or in our pop culture that were all produced by Weinstein Touchstone and other smaller 'indie" labels.
Side Note I think an remake of IRobot would totally work seems like there was a ton of relatable content and the source material seemed way more interesting than the actual movie.
I've discovered an amazing Youtube series called Nick Knacks where the host is doing a deep dive into every show aired on Nickelodeon, with full historical context, in sequential order. It's become a personal Rosetta Stone, as I'm reminded of shows that were hugely influential on me from 1972-1984 that I hadn't thought of in 40 years. Before Muppet Babies, Indiana Jones, or Flash Gordon, I was hooked on old movie serials by Nickel Flicks. We're nearly 50 episodes into the series, and JUST reaching Nick At Nite. Weirdly, so many of the best episodes have been for shows I either do NOT remember, or never watched. A must-see for pop-culture archeologists and fans of lost media. https://youtu.be/MI-57gAo-Uo
I watched Color from Out of Space (crazy scary good), Johnny Dangerously (still funny), Kill and Kill Again (the name speaks for itself), MI:1 (Kitridge),Fight Club (still great), and Fletch (also still great). Starting S.2 of One Punch Man.
Also, super random question. Do you recommend any books to read on the history of the american film industry?
This weekend I watched Logan's Run and Westworld for the first time. The criterion channel is a treasure grove of classics I could never find.
I’m absolutely sitting down to watch Groundhog Day today before the big game. I watch it every year and it’s that rare perfect movie to me. I also watched Walter Bill’s The Driver for the first time and really dug it. Just a great tight piece of crime pulp and it’s crazy to think of how many filmmakers have borrowed from it. Refn’s Drive doesn’t exist without it. I don’t think Hill gets talked about enough in general in terms of influence. Also, young Bruce Dern had a serious Walton Goggins look to him!
Loved your Plex column last weekend, but was wondering what you are using to rip your discs. I've tries Handbrake but with some mixed results.
I had a double feature of Alien Nation and Robocop 2. I had so much fun just turning off my brain and chugging some beers. Those movies are terrific back to back. I was laughing and cheering all night.
Saw Rhythm Section last night, in part because of the buzz about the car chase. It was a nice little action movie although the script suffered from a common ailment of novels adapted for the screen by their authors, the inability to streamline. Things happen and when they do they feel important, especially because Reed Morano and Blake Lively infuse things with such chaotic energy, but when you think about it everything sort of melts into nothingness. I do recommend it for Morano's direction and Lively's performance, especially if you have A-List or the Regal movie subscription program. It strikes me that this might have done better dropping on a streaming service where the action would still hit and would benefit from being a big fish in a small pond.
I started on the weekend reading a book about 80's villains called Born to be Bad and i'm really enjoying it. Some great interviews.
A question around the Plex setup you wrote about. I am about to embark on the same adventure. Have currently been ripping all of my DVDs and have 3 4TB drives almost full. Am going to go out and get a proper NAS setup maybe 20TB. My question was around the backups you mentioned. What system did you do for this? Buying multiple 20TB NAS devices will cost a fortune so was wondering if you had a different backup method. I would hate to lose all that data after all the work getting it on there in the first place.
Its not a movie. But I binged the last episodes of BoJack Horsemen. Man, oh man, I am going to miss this show. I am also glad that it featured a fantastic closing for all the characters. Especially considering these days lots of shows get mediocre to poor finales. Glad it ended on as high a note as it could muster.
After *finally* watching Mandy on New Year’s, then seeing Color Out of Space, the wife and I made a resolution to watch/rewatch and review every Nic Cage movie this year. This week has been Ghost Rider, Season of the Witch, Primal, and Running With the Devil.
This venture may break us. Thoughts and prayers appreciated.